The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
BILL: SB 1400
INTRODUCER: Senator Burgess
SUBJECT: Land Acquisition Trust Fund
DATE: January 14, 2022
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Collazo Rogers EN Favorable
2. AEG
3. AP
I. Summary:
SB 1400 amends s. 375.041, F.S., regarding the Land Acquisition Trust Fund, to provide an
annual appropriation in the amount of $20 million to the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) to implement the Heartland Headwaters Protection and Sustainability Act
(Act).
The funds must be used to enter into financial assistance agreements and distributed in
accordance with the projects identified in the heartland headwaters annual report submitted to the
Legislature to finance the cost of designing or constructing projects that protect, restore, or
enhance the headwaters of the river systems located in the Heartland Region of Central Florida.
The distribution must be reduced by an amount equal to the debt service paid on bonds issued
after July 1, 2022 for these purposes.
The bill also contains legislative findings regarding the enactment and purposes of the Act,
findings from the Central Florida Water Initiative and its Regional Water Supply Plan, and the
need for consistent funding support to implement the Act.
II. Present Situation:
Polk County Regional Water Cooperative
The Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC) was created in 2016 through Interlocal
Agreement and consists of Polk County and 15 municipal member governments.
1
It was formed
to provide for regional cooperation on the development and delivery of water resources to meet
1
Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), Consolidated Annual Report (March 1, 2021), 7-1, available
at https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/sites/default/files/medias/documents/2021-Consolidated-Annual-Report-Approved.pdf
(last visited Jan. 12, 2022).
REVISED: BILL: SB 1400 Page 2
future water demands within Polk County. The majority of the PRWC jurisdiction is located
within the District’s Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA), while the entirety of its
jurisdiction is located within the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) planning area.
2
The Southern Water Use Caution Area
The SWUCA was established in 1992, by the Southwest Florida Water Management District
(SWFWMD), in response to growing water demands from public supply, agriculture, mining,
power generation and recreational uses and environmental concerns related to these ground water
withdrawals.
3
It encompasses approximately 5,100 square miles, including all of DeSoto,
Hardee, Manatee and Sarasota counties, and parts of Charlotte, Highlands, Hillsborough and
Polk counties.
4
In 2006, the SWFWMD adopted the SWUCA Recovery Strategy
5
that has four main goals:
Achieve minimum flows in the upper Peace River;
Achieve minimum lake levels in lakes along the Lake Wales Ridge, which extends roughly
90 miles along the center of the state in Polk and Highlands counties;
6
Achieve the saltwater intrusion minimum aquifer level; and
Ensure water supply needs are met for existing and projected reasonable and beneficial uses.
7
Central Florida Water Initiative
The CFWI is a collaborative water supply planning effort involving the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP), the St. Johns River Water Management District, the South
Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), SWFWMD, the Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services, regional public water supply utilities, and other stakeholders.
8
These groups
have been tasked with addressing the current and long-term water supply needs of Central
Florida without causing harm to the water resources and associated natural systems.
9
2
Id.
3
Section 373.0363(2)(a), F.S.; SWFWMD, Southern Water Use Caution Area, https://www.swfwmd.state.
fl.us/projects/southern-water-use-caution-area (last visited Jan. 11, 2022).
4
Section 373.0363(1)(c), F.S.; SWFWMD, Southern Water Use Caution Area, https://www.swfwmd.state.
fl.us/projects/southern-water-use-caution-area (last visited Jan. 11, 2022).
5
The “Southern Water Use Caution Area Recovery Strategy” is the SWFWMD’s planning, regulatory, and financial strategy
for ensuring that adequate water supplies are available to meet growing demands while protecting and restoring the water and
related natural resources of the area. Section 373.0363(1)(d), F.S.
6
SWFWMD, Ridge Lakes Stakeholder Workgroup, https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/projects/ridge-lakes-stakeholder-
workgroup (last visited Jan. 11, 2022).
7
SWFWMD, Southern Water Use Caution Area, https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/projects/southern-water-use-caution-area
(last visited Jan. 11, 2022).
8
Section 373.0465(1)(c), F.S. Stakeholders include water utilities, environmental groups, business organizations, agricultural
communities, and others.
9
Section 373.0465(1)(c), F.S. BILL: SB 1400 Page 3
The CFWI Initiative Area, also known as the CFWI Planning Area, includes Orange, Osceola,
Polk, Seminole, and southern Lake counties.
10
It is home to approximately 2.9 million people
and supports tourism, agriculture, and an industrial and commercial sector.
11
The areas encompassed by the CFWI Planning Area have traditionally relied on groundwater
from the Floridan aquifer system as their primary source of water.
12
Evaluations predict that
fresh groundwater resources alone will be insufficient to meet 2040 projected water demands and
currently permitted allocations for withdrawal without resulting in unacceptable impacts to water
resources and related natural systems.
13
These impacts can include drying out wetlands, reducing
spring flows, lowering lake levels, and degrading groundwater quality from saltwater intrusion.
14
Alternative water sources will need to be developed to meet the projected demands.
15
Funding of PRWC Projects
According to the Heartland Headwaters Protection and Sustainability Act Annual
Comprehensive Water Resources Report (FY 2022-23) (Heartland Report), the projects
identified as “Approved” in this table are the most important projects to the PRWC members:
10
Section 373.0465(2)(a), F.S.; Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI), What is CFWI?, https://cfwiwater.com/what_is_
CFWI.html (last visited Jan. 10, 2022).
11
CFWI, Regional Water Supply Plan 2020 Planning Document, ii, available at https://cfwiwater.com/pdfs/CFWI_
2020RWSP_FINAL_PlanDocRpt_12-10-2020.pdf (last visited Jan. 10, 2022).
12
CFWI, Value of Water, https://cfwiwater.com/value_of_water.html (last visited Jan. 10, 2022).
13
CFWI, Regional Water Supply Plan 2020 Planning Document, 89-90, available at https://cfwiwater.com/pdfs/CFWI_
2020RWSP_FINAL_PlanDocRpt_12-10-2020.pdf (last visited Jan. 10, 2022).
14
CFWI, Value of Water, https://cfwiwater.com/value_of_water.html (last visited Jan. 10, 2022).
15
See id. BILL: SB 1400 Page 4
The table above lists the two “Approved” and 24 other local member government projects (there
are 26 total), including total project cost, requested state funding, local government funding, and
other funding sources.
16
Detailed project descriptions are provided in the Heartland Report.
17
Heartland Headwaters Protection and Sustainability Act
The Heartland water supply planning region (Heartland Planning Region) covers approximately
2,569 square miles and includes Hardee County and those portions of Polk and Highlands
counties within the SWFWMD.
18
The region is underlain by three aquifer systems: the surficial,
intermediate and Floridan; the latter is the primary source of water in the region and in the entire
SWFWMD area.
19
In 2017, the Legislature enacted the Heartland Headwaters Protection and Sustainability Act
(Act).
20
The purpose of the Act was to recognize the critical importance of Polk County's
aquifers to the economic and ecological health of the region as headwaters for six of Florida's
major river systems.
21
The Act requires the development of a comprehensive annual report to be
completed by the PRWC and submitted to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the
House, DEP, and the water management districts (WMDs) by December 1 of each year.
22
In
addition, the Act further requires the PRWC to coordinate with the appropriate WMD to provide
a status report on projects receiving priority state funding and to include such status report in the
consolidated water management district annual report.
23
Land Acquisition Trust Fund
Documentary stamp tax revenues are collected under ch. 201, F.S., which requires an excise tax
to be levied on two classes of documents: deeds and other documents related to real property,
which are taxed at the rate of 70 cents per $100; and certificates of indebtedness, promissory
notes, wage assignments, and retail charge account agreements, which are taxed at 35 cents per
$100.
24
In 2014, Florida voters approved Amendment One, a constitutional amendment to provide a
dedicated funding source for land and water conservation and restoration.
25
The amendment
required that starting on July 1, 2015, and for 20 years thereafter, 33 percent of net revenues
derived from documentary stamp taxes be deposited into the Land Acquisition Trust
16
Polk Regional Water Cooperative, Heartland Headwaters Protection and Sustainability Act Annual Comprehensive Water
Resources Report (FY 2022-23), Table C (on file with the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources).
17
Id. at Table B.
18
SWFWMD, RWSP Heartland Planning Region, https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/resources/plans-reports/rwsp/rwsp-
heartland-planning-region (last visited Jan. 22, 2022).
19
Id.
20
Ch. 2017-111, s. 1, Laws of Fla., codified in ss. 373.462-.463, F.S.
21
Section 373.462(1)-(6), F.S.
22
Section 373.463(1)-(2), F.S.
23
Section 373.463(3), F.S.
24
See ss. 201.02(1)(a) and 201.08(1)(a), F.S.
25
The Florida Senate, Water and Land Conservation, https://www.flsenate.gov/media/topics/WLC (last visited Jan. 11,
2022). BILL: SB 1400 Page 5
Fund (LATF).
26
Article X, s. 28 of the State Constitution requires that funds in the LATF be
expended only for the following purposes:
As provided by law, to finance or refinance: the acquisition and
improvement of land, water areas, and related property interests, including
conservation easements, and resources for conservation lands including
wetlands, forests, and fish and wildlife habitat; wildlife management areas;
lands that protect water resources and drinking water sources, including
lands protecting the water quality and quantity of rivers, lakes, streams,
springsheds, and lands providing recharge for groundwater and aquifer
systems; lands in the Everglades Agricultural Area and the Everglades
Protection Area, as defined in Article II, Section 7(b); beaches and shores;
outdoor recreation lands, including recreational trails, parks, and urban open
space; rural landscapes; working farms and ranches; historic or geologic
sites; together with management, restoration of natural systems, and the
enhancement of public access or recreational enjoyment of conservation
lands.
27
To implement Art. X, s. 28 of the State Constitution, the Legislature passed ch. 2015-229, Laws
of Florida. This act, in part, amended the following sections of law:
Section 201.15, F.S., to conform to the constitutional requirement that the LATF receive at
least 33 percent of net revenues derived from documentary stamp taxes; and
Section 375.041, F.S., to designate the LATF within DEP as the trust fund to serve as the
constitutionally mandated depository for the percentage of documentary stamp tax
revenues.
28
Under s. 375.041, F.S., funds deposited into the LATF must be distributed in the following order
and amounts:
First, obligations relating to debt service, specifically:
o Payments relating to debt service on Florida Forever Bonds and Everglades restoration
bonds.
Then, before funds are authorized to be appropriated for other uses:
o A minimum of the lesser of 25 percent of the funds remaining after the payment of debt
service or $200 million annually for Everglades projects that implement the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), the Long-Term Plan, or the
Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program (NEEPP), with priority given to
Everglades restoration projects that reduce harmful discharges of water from Lake
Okeechobee to the St. Lucie or Caloosahatchee estuaries in a timely manner. From these
funds, the following specified distributions are required:
$32 million annually through the 2023-2024 fiscal year for the Long-Term Plan;
After deducting the $32 million, the minimum of the lesser of 76.5 percent of the
remainder or $100 million annually through the 2025-2026 fiscal year for the CERP;
and
26
Id.
27
FLA. CONST. art. X, s. 28(b)(1).
28
Ch. 2015-229, ss. 9 and 50, Laws of Fla. BILL: SB 1400 Page 6
Any remaining funds for Everglades projects under the CERP, the Long-Term Plan,
or the NEEPP.
o A minimum of the lesser of 7.6 percent of the funds remaining after the payment of debt
service or $50 million annually for spring restoration, protection, and management
projects;
o $5 million annually through the 2025-2026 fiscal year to the St. Johns River Water
Management District for projects dedicated to the restoration of Lake Apopka;
o $64 million to the Everglades Trust Fund in the 2018-2019 fiscal year and each fiscal
year thereafter, for the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir project, and any funds
remaining in any fiscal year shall be made available only for Phase II of the C-51
Reservoir Project or projects that implement the CERP, the Long Term Plan, or the
NEEPP; and
o $50 million annually to the SFWMD for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration
Project.
Then, any remaining moneys are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes set forth in
Art. X, s. 28 of the State Constitution.
29
The General Revenue Estimating Conference in August 2021 estimated that for fiscal year (FY)
2021-2022 a total of $3.82 billion would be collected in documentary stamp taxes.
30
Thirty-three
percent of the net revenues collected, or approximately $1.26 billion, must be deposited into the
LATF in accordance with Art. X, s. 28 of the State Constitution. Of that amount, $136 million is
committed to debt service, leaving $1.12 billion to be distributed for the uses specified by s.
375.041, F.S., and other purposes in accordance with the General Appropriations Act.
31
Litigation
In 2015, two lawsuits were filed challenging the constitutionality of appropriations from the
LATF and expenditures by state agencies.
32
The cases were consolidated and a hearing was held
in June of 2018.
33
The plaintiffs argued that funds from the LATF were appropriated and
expended for general state expenses in ways that were inconsistent with the constitutional
language. The circuit court held for the plaintiffs, stating the amendment requires the funds be
used for acquiring conservation lands, and for improving, managing, restoring, and enhancing
public access to conservation lands acquired after the effective date of the amendment.
34
The
decision described how the LATF funds may be used, and ruled numerous appropriations from
2015 and 2016 unconstitutional.
35
The circuit court decision was appealed and the First District Court of Appeal overturned the
circuit court ruling, holding that the LATF funds are not restricted to use on land purchased by
29
Section 375.041(3)-(4), F.S.
30
Office of Economic & Demographic Research, Revenue Estimating Conference, Documentary Stamp Tax, Conference
Results (Aug. 2021), available at http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/docstamp/docstampexecsummary.pdf (last visited
Jan. 11, 2022).
31
Id.
32
Florida Wildlife Federation, Inc. v. Negron, No. 2015-CA-001423 (Fla. 2nd Cir. Ct.); Florida Defenders of the
Environment, Inc., v. Detzner, No. 2015-CA-002682 (Fla. 2nd Cir. Ct.).
33
Florida Wildlife Federation, Inc. v. Negron, Nos. 2015-CA-001423, 2015-CA-002682 (Fla. 2nd Cir. Ct. June 28, 2018).
34
Id. at 3.
35
Id. at 7–8. BILL: SB 1400 Page 7
the state after the constitutional amendment took effect in 2015.
36
The court also held that the
plain language in the Constitution authorizing the use of funds for management, restoration, and
enhancement activities would specifically authorize use of the funds on activities beyond land
acquisition.
37
The case was then remanded to the circuit court to rule on the legality of
appropriations made since the enactment of the constitutional amendment.
38
The circuit court dismissed the lawsuit on January 3, 2022, finding that it was moot because the
money approved by the Legislature in 2015 had already been spent.
39
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 of the bill provides the following Legislative findings:
The Legislature unanimously approved CS/CS/HB 573, the Heartland Headwaters Protection
and Sustainability Act (Act), in 2017, to protect the headwaters of the Alafia, Hillsborough,
Kissimmee, Ocklawaha, Peace, and Withlacoochee Rivers located in the Green Swamp and
Polk County, which are some of the most important and vulnerable water resources in the
state.
In the same Act, the Legislature declared that it is an important state interest to partner with
regional water supply authorities and local governments, in accordance with the water
resource and water supply development provisions in state law, to protect the water resources
of the headwaters of the Alafia, Hillsborough, Kissimmee, Ocklawaha, Peace, and
Withlacoochee Rivers and the surrounding areas.
In 2020, the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) Regional Water Supply Plan (RWSP),
which is developed pursuant to state law, projected the population of the region to reach 4.4
million by 2040, which is a 49 percent increase from a 2015 estimate. The total average of
surface water and groundwater use in the CFWI Planning Area is projected to increase 36
percent from 667 million gallons per day in 2015 to 908 million gallons per day in 2040.
40
The CFWI RWSP concluded that in some areas of the CFWI Planning Area, fresh
groundwater is near or has exceeded the limits of groundwater availability and that
alternative water sources will need to be developed along with additional water conservation
efforts and local management strategies to meet the 2040 projected water demands or
currently permitted allocations while allowing currently stressed water resources and natural
systems to recover.
41
Consistent funding support is required in order to support the efforts of the water
management districts to protect the rivers, springs, and wetlands in the region while
providing for responsible development of these water resources to support growth and
36
Oliva v. Florida Wildlife Federation, Inc., 1D18-3141 (Fla. 1st Dist. Ct. App.), available at
https://www.1dca.org/content/download/536427/5956785/file/183141_1286_09092019_09211709_i.pdf (last visited Sept.
23, 2019).
37
Id. at 9-10.
38
Id. at 11.
39
Florida Wildlife Federation, Inc. v. Negron, Nos. 2015-CA-001423, 2015-CA-002682 (Fla. 2nd Cir. Ct. Jan. 3, 2022),
available at https://www.politico.com/states/f/?id=0000017e-21d8-d3d7-a37f-afdee5cb0000&source=email (last visited Jan.
11, 2022).
40
These figures are taken from the Central Florida Water Initiative’s (CFWI’s) Final 2020 Central Florida Water Initiative
Regional Water Supply Plan 2020 (RWSP). See CFWI RWSP, 4, available at https://cfwiwater.com/pdfs/CFWI_2020
RWSP_FINAL_PlanDocRpt_12-10-2020.pdf (last visited Jan. 13, 2022).
41
This conclusion is taken from the CFWI RWSP. Id. at v. BILL: SB 1400 Page 8
provide for public health and safety.
Section 2 amends s. 375.041(3)(b)6., F.S., to provide an annual appropriation of $20 million to
the Department of Environmental Protection to implement the Act. These funds must be used to
enter into financial assistance agreements and distributed in accordance with the projects
identified in the heartland headwaters annual report to the Legislature, to finance the cost of
designing or constructing projects that protect, restore, or enhance the headwaters of the river
systems located in the Heartland Region of Central Florida. Additionally, the distribution must
be reduced by an amount equal to the debt service paid on bonds issued after July 1, 2022 for
these purposes.
Section 3 provides that the bill takes effect July 1, 2022.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
Article X, s. 28 of the Florida Constitution requires that funds distributed into the Land
Acquisition Trust Fund be expended only for the purposes identified in that section. To
ensure consistency with the Florida Constitution, the expenditures funded by the bill must
fall into one or more of the identified purposes.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None. BILL: SB 1400 Page 9
C. Government Sector Impact:
The bill provides an annual appropriation of $20 million to the Department of
Environmental Protection to implement the Act. The funds must be used to enter into
financial assistance agreements and distributed in accordance with the projects identified
in the heartland headwaters annual report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to
s. 373.463, F.S., to finance the cost of designing or constructing projects that protect,
restore, or enhance the headwaters of the river systems located in the Heartland Region of
Central Florida. The distribution must be reduced by an amount equal to the debt service
paid on bonds issued after July 1, 2022 for these purposes.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends section 375.041 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.