The Florida Senate

259.035  Advisory council; powers and duties.--

(1)  There is created a Land Acquisition and Management Advisory Council to be composed of the secretary and a designee of the department, the director of the Division of Forestry of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the executive director of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the director of the Division of Historical Resources of the Department of State, and the secretary of the Department of Community Affairs, or their respective designees. The chairmanship of the council shall rotate annually in the foregoing order. The council shall hold periodic meetings at the request of the chair. The department shall provide primary staff support to the council and shall ensure that council meetings are electronically recorded. Such recordings shall be preserved pursuant to chapters 119 and 257. The department has authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this section.

(2)(a)  The council shall, by the time of the first board meeting in February of each year, establish or update a list of acquisition projects selected for purchase pursuant to this chapter. In scoring potential projects for inclusion on the acquisition list, the council shall give greater consideration to projects that can serve as corridors between lands already in public ownership or under management for conservation and recreational purposes. Acquisition projects shall be ranked, in order of priority, individually as a single group or individually within up to 10 separate groups. The council shall submit to the board of trustees, together with its list of acquisition projects, a Conservation and Recreation Lands report. For each project on an acquisition list, the council shall include in its report the stated purpose for acquiring the project, an identification of the essential parcel or parcels within the project without which the project cannot be properly managed, an identification of those projects or parcels within projects which should be acquired in fee simple or in other than fee simple, an explanation of the reasons why the council selected a particular acquisition technique, a management policy statement for the project, a management prospectus pursuant to s. 259.032(9)(b), an estimate of land value based on county tax assessed values, a map delineating project boundaries, a brief description of the important natural and cultural resources to be protected, preacquisition planning and budgeting, coordination with other public and nonprofit public-lands acquisition programs, a preliminary statement of the extent and nature of public use, an interim management budget, and designation of a management agency or agencies. The Department of Environmental Protection shall prepare the information required by this section for each acquisition project selected for purchase pursuant to this chapter. In addition, the department shall prepare, by July 1 of each year, an acquisition work plan for each project on the acquisition list for which funds will be available for acquisition during the fiscal year. The work plan need not disclose any information that is required by this chapter or chapter 253 to remain confidential.

(b)  An affirmative vote of four members of the council shall be required in order to place a proposed project on a list. Each list shall contain at least twice the number of projects in terms of estimated cost as there are anticipated funds for purchase. The anticipated cost of each project shall include proposed costs for development of the lands necessary to meet the public purpose for which such lands are to be purchased.

(c)  All proposals for acquisition projects pursuant to this chapter shall be developed and adopted by the council. The council shall consider and evaluate in writing the merits and demerits of each project that is proposed for acquisition and shall ensure that each proposed acquisition project will meet a stated public purpose for the preservation of environmentally endangered lands, for the development of outdoor recreation lands, or as provided in s. 259.032(3) and shall determine whether each acquisition project conforms with the comprehensive plan developed pursuant to s. 259.04(1)(a), the comprehensive outdoor recreation and conservation plan developed pursuant to s. 375.021, and the state lands management plan adopted pursuant to s. 253.03(7). Copies of a written report describing each project proposed for acquisition shall be submitted to the board of trustees. The council shall consider and include in each project description its assessment of a project's ecological value, vulnerability, endangerment, ownership pattern, utilization, location, and cost and other pertinent factors in determining whether to recommend a project for state purchase.

(d)  Additionally, the council shall provide assistance to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund in reviewing the recommendations and plans for state-owned lands required by s. 253.034. The council shall, in reviewing the recommendations and plans for state-owned lands required by s. 253.034, consider the optimization of multiple-use strategies to accomplish the provisions of s. 253.034 and specifically consider the management of the timber as a feasible multiple-use strategy in conformance with a timber resource management component prepared by the Division of Forestry or other qualified professional forester.

(3)  Members of the council shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to receive reimbursement by their respective agencies for per diem and travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in s. 112.061.

History.--s. 14, ch. 79-255; s. 3, ch. 81-210; s. 1, ch. 82-46; s. 4, ch. 82-152; s. 24, ch. 83-55; s. 3, ch. 83-114; s. 2, ch. 83-265; s. 31, ch. 86-163; s. 3, ch. 88-387; ss. 8, 9, 11, ch. 89-116; s. 5, ch. 90-217; s. 5, ch. 91-429; ss. 4, 17, ch. 92-288; s. 6, ch. 93-213; s. 3, ch. 94-240; s. 102, ch. 94-356; s. 851, ch. 95-148; s. 4, ch. 96-389; s. 7, ch. 97-164; s. 50, ch. 98-200; s. 2, ch. 98-332.