ENROLLED 2022 Legislature CS for CS for CS for SB 1078, 1st Engrossed 20221078er 1 2 An act relating to soil and water conservation 3 districts; amending s. 582.15, F.S.; providing for the 4 subdivision of certain proposed soil and water 5 conservation districts; requiring the Department of 6 Agriculture and Consumer Services to subdivide certain 7 proposed soil and water conservation districts; 8 amending s. 582.18, F.S.; requiring the supervisors of 9 each soil and water conservation district to be 10 elected from each of the districts subdivisions; 11 providing for the initial terms of office of 12 candidates elected in each district subdivision; 13 amending s. 582.19, F.S.; providing qualification 14 requirements for supervisors to serve on the governing 15 body of a soil and water conservation district; 16 requiring candidates to submit a specified affirmation 17 at the time of qualifying; creating s. 582.195, F.S.; 18 requiring mandatory public meetings at least annually 19 for the supervisors of soil and water conservation 20 districts; creating s. 582.295, F.S.; providing for 21 the automatic dissolution of soil and water 22 conservation districts under certain conditions; 23 providing for the transfer of the assets and 24 liabilities of such districts to the department; 25 exempting automatic dissolutions from specified 26 provisions; dissolving the Baker Soil and Water 27 Conservation District and the Martin Soil and Water 28 Conservation District; transferring the assets and 29 liabilities of those districts to the department; 30 requiring all supervisors of soil and water 31 conservation district governing bodies to be elected 32 at the 2022 general election; specifying that 33 subsequent elections will be held according to certain 34 provisions; providing for the subdivision of certain 35 soil and water conservation districts by a specified 36 date; requiring the department to subdivide certain 37 soil and water conservation districts by a specified 38 date; providing transitional provisions regarding the 39 implementation of newly subdivided districts and the 40 election of supervisors; providing an effective date. 41 42 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 43 44 Section 1.Subsection (4) is added to section 582.15, 45 Florida Statutes, to read: 46 582.15Organization of district, etc. 47 (4)After the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 48 Services has determined that operation of a proposed district is 49 administratively practicable and feasible and that the district 50 boundaries are wholly located in one county, the district must 51 be subdivided into five numbered subdivisions that match, as 52 practicable, the boundaries of either the five county commission 53 districts or five school board districts within the county. When 54 neither the county commission nor the school board is subdivided 55 into five districts, or when the district is comprised of 56 multiple counties, the department shall subdivide the district 57 into five numbered subdivisions as nearly equal in area as 58 practicable to ensure geographical representation within that 59 soil and water conservation districts governing body. 60 Section 2.Subsection (1) of section 582.18, Florida 61 Statutes, is amended to read: 62 582.18Election of supervisors of each district. 63 (1)The election of supervisors for each soil and water 64 conservation district shall be held every 2 years, with one 65 supervisor elected from each of the five numbered subdivisions 66 created by the department pursuant to s. 582.15(4). The 67 elections shall be held at the time of the general election 68 provided for by s. 100.041. The office of the supervisor of a 69 soil and water conservation district is a nonpartisan office, 70 and candidates for such office are prohibited from campaigning 71 or qualifying for election based on party affiliation. 72 (a)Each candidate for supervisor for such district must 73 shall qualify as directed by chapter 99. 74 (b)Each nominee who collects or expends campaign 75 contributions shall conduct her or his campaign for supervisor 76 of a soil and water conservation district in accordance with the 77 provisions of chapter 106. Candidates who neither receive 78 contributions nor make expenditures, other than expenditures for 79 verification of signatures on petitions, are exempt from the 80 provisions of chapter 106 requiring establishment of bank 81 accounts and appointment of a campaign treasurer, but shall file 82 periodic reports as required by s. 106.07. 83 (c)The names of all nominees on behalf of whom such 84 nominating petitions have been filed shall appear upon ballots 85 in accordance with the general election laws. All qualified 86 electors residing within the district shall be eligible to vote 87 in such election. The candidates who receive the largest number 88 of the votes cast from each group of candidates in such election 89 shall be the elected supervisors from such group for such 90 district. In the case of a newly created district participating 91 in a regular election for the first time, three groups of 92 candidates shall be elected from district subdivisions 1, 3, and 93 5 for terms of 4 years, and candidates two groups shall be 94 elected from district subdivisions 2 and 4 for initial terms of 95 2 years. Each candidate elected shall assume office on the first 96 Tuesday after the first Monday in January following the 97 election. 98 Section 3.Subsection (1) of section 582.19, Florida 99 Statutes, is amended to read: 100 582.19Qualifications and tenure of supervisors. 101 (1)The governing body of the district shall consist of 102 five supervisors, elected as provided in s. 582.18 hereinabove. 103 (a)To qualify to serve on the governing body of a 104 district, a supervisor must be an eligible voter who resides in 105 the district and who: 106 1.Is actively engaged in, or retired after 10 years of 107 being engaged in, agriculture as defined in s. 570.02; 108 2.Is employed by an agricultural producer; or 109 3.Owns, leases, or is actively employed on land classified 110 as agricultural under s. 193.461. 111 (b)At the time of qualifying, a candidate for supervisor 112 shall submit an affirmation in substantially the following form: 113 114 State of Florida 115 County of .... 116 117 Statement of Candidate for Supervisor of Soil and Water 118 Conservation District 119 120 I, ...(Name of candidate)..., a candidate for Supervisor of 121 Soil and Water Conservation District, meet the qualifications 122 pursuant to s. 582.19(1), Florida Statutes, to serve on the 123 governing body of the Soil and Water Conservation District. 124 ...(Signature of candidate)... 125 ...(Address)... 126 127 Sworn to and subscribed before me this .... day of 128 ........, ...(year)...., at .... County, Florida. 129 Section 4.Section 582.195, Florida Statutes, is created to 130 read: 131 582.195Mandatory meeting of supervisors.All five 132 supervisors of the governing body of each district shall meet at 133 least once per calendar year in a public meeting pursuant to s. 134 286.011. 135 Section 5.Section 582.295, Florida Statutes, is created to 136 read: 137 582.295Automatic dissolution of districts. 138 (1)If the governing body of a district fails to meet as 139 required under s. 582.195, the district shall be automatically 140 dissolved as of January 1 of the year immediately following the 141 year in which the governing body failed to meet. All assets and 142 liabilities of the district shall be transferred to the 143 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 144 (2)Sections 189.076, 582.30, 582.31, and 582.32 do not 145 apply to dissolution of a district under this section. 146 Section 6.The Department of Economic Opportunity declared 147 the Baker Soil and Water Conservation District inactive on 148 August 3, 2020, and the Martin Soil and Water Conservation 149 District inactive on March 17, 2020; therefore, the districts 150 are hereby dissolved and all assets and liabilities of the 151 districts are transferred to the Department of Agriculture and 152 Consumer Services. 153 Section 7.(1)Each supervisor for a soil and water 154 conservation district governing body shall be elected at the 155 2022 general election. After the 2022 general election, 156 candidates shall be elected pursuant to s. 582.18(1)(c), Florida 157 Statutes, as amended by this act, and subsection (3). 158 (2)By January 1, 2023, a district in existence on July 1, 159 2022, which was not subdivided in its initial creation pursuant 160 to chapter 582, Florida Statutes, and whose district boundaries 161 are wholly located in one county must be subdivided into five 162 numbered subdivisions that match, as practicable, the boundaries 163 of either the five county commission districts or five school 164 board districts in the county. When neither the county 165 commission nor the school board is subdivided into five 166 districts, or when the district is comprised of multiple 167 counties, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 168 shall subdivide the district into five numbered subdivisions as 169 nearly equal in area as practicable to ensure geographical 170 representation within that soil and water conservation 171 districts governing body. 172 (3)The following procedures apply to the election of 173 supervisors of soil and water conservation districts subdivided 174 by the department pursuant to subsection (2): 175 (a)District governing body seats 1, 3, and 5, which have 176 terms that initially expired in January 2025 or 2027, as 177 applicable depending on the year in which the district was 178 formed, shall represent district subdivisions 1, 3, and 5, 179 respectively. Such seats shall be filled for a term of 4 years. 180 (b)District governing body seats 2 and 4, which have terms 181 that initially expired in January 2025 or 2027, as applicable 182 depending on the year in which the district was formed, shall 183 represent district subdivisions 2 and 4, respectively. Such 184 seats shall initially be filled for a term of 2 years in order 185 to achieve staggered terms; thereafter, any such seats shall be 186 filled for a term of 4 years as provided under s. 582.19, 187 Florida Statutes. 188 Section 8.This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.