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 54
INTRODUCER: Senator Rodriguez
SUBJECT: Land Acquisition Trust Fund
DATE: January 13, 2023
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Carroll Rogers EN Pre-meeting
2. AEG
3. AP
I. Summary:
SB 54 appropriates $20 million from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) for the purpose of:
Entering into financial assistance agreements with local governments located in the Florida
Keys or the City of Key West Areas of Critical State Concern to promote the protection or
restoration of Florida Bay, the Florida Keys, and nearshore marine ecosystems, including
coral reefs; or
Acquiring land within the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern with increased priority
given to acquisitions that achieve a combination of conservation goals.
The bill prohibits DEP from using the appropriated funds to implement wastewater management
projects or programs.
II. Present Situation:
The Florida Keys
The Florida Keys consist of more than 100 miles of small limestone islands formed from ancient
coral reefs rising a few meters above sea level.
1
The Keys’ tropical climate supports populations
of rare and unique wildlife and plants that occur nowhere else in the world.
2
For example, the
tropical hardwood hammocks in the Keys are the only tropical hardwood forests in the
continental U.S. and are the most imperiled plant communities in the world.
3
The Keys also
support many migratory bird species, along with imperiled and rare wildlife and plants including
1
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Florida Keys – Habitat and Management,
https://myfwc.com/recreation/lead/florida-keys/habitat/ (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).
2
Id.; FWC, A Management Plan for the Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area: 2016-2026, 1 (Feb. 2016) available
at https://myfwc.com/media/5371/fkweamanagementplan2016-2026.pdf (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).
3
FWC, A Management Plan for the Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area: 2016-2026 at 1.
REVISED: BILL: SB 54 Page 2
the Key deer, American crocodile, tree cactus, and four species of sea turtle.
4
Because of its
unique combination of tropical endemic rare and imperiled species and habitats, the conservation
of the critical remaining natural lands in the Florida Keys has long been a commitment of the
State of Florida, the federal government, the South Florida Water Management District, Monroe
County, and many conservation organizations.
5
Conservation helps to protect the Keys’
Outstanding Florida Waters, its reefs and islands, its fisheries, and its ecotourism opportunities.
6
Areas of Critical State Concern
The Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Administration Commission,
7
may designate certain
areas within the state that contain resources of statewide or regional significance as areas of
critical state concern.
8
There are five designated areas of critical state concern: the Big Cypress,
9
Green Swamp,
10
Florida Keys, Key West,
11
and Apalachicola Bay Areas.
12
The City of Key West and the Florida Keys Areas of Critical State Concern
The Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern includes the Village of Islamorada, the
municipalities of Marathon, Layton and Key Colony Beach, and unincorporated Monroe
County.
13
Following litigation in 1984 to challenge the designation, the City of Key West was
given its own area of critical state concern designation.
14
By designating the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern, the legislature intended to:
Establish a land-use management system that protects the natural environment, conserves and
promotes the community character, promotes orderly and balanced growth in accordance
with the capacity of available and planned public facilities and services, and promotes and
supports a diverse and sound economic base in the Florida Keys;
Provide affordable housing in close proximity to places of employment in the Florida Keys;
Protect the constitutional rights of property owners to own, use, and dispose of their real
property;
Promote coordination and efficiency among governmental agencies that have permitting
jurisdiction over land-use activities within the Florida Keys;
Promote an appropriate land acquisition and protection strategy for environmentally sensitive
lands within the Florida Keys;
Protect and improve the nearshore water quality of the Florida Keys through federal, state,
and local funding of water quality improvement projects; and
4
Id.
5
Id.
6
Id. at 1-2.
7
Section 380.031(1), F.S.
8
Section 380.05, F.S.
9
Section 380.055, F.S.
10
Section 380.0551, F.S.
11
Section 380.0552, F.S.
12
Section 380.0555, F.S.
13
Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), City of Key West and the Florida Keys Areas,
https://floridajobs.org/community-planning-and-development/programs/community-planning-table-of-contents/areas-of-
critical-state-concern/city-of-key-west-and-the-florida-keys (last visited Jan. 6, 2023).
14
Id. BILL: SB 54 Page 3
Ensure that the population of the Florida Keys can be safely evacuated.
15
State, regional, and local agencies and units of government in the Florida Keys Area of Critical
State Concern must coordinate development plans and conduct programs and activities
consistent with principles for guiding development that:
Strengthen local government capabilities for managing land use and development.
Protect shoreline and marine resources.
Protect upland resources, tropical biological communities, freshwater wetlands, native
tropical vegetation, dune ridges and beaches, and wildlife.
Ensure sound economic development.
Limit the adverse impacts of development on water quality.
Protect the historical heritage of the Florida Keys.
Protect the value, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and amortized life of existing and proposed
major public investments.
16
Protect and improve water quality by providing for the construction, operation, maintenance,
and replacement of stormwater management facilities; central sewage collection; treatment
and disposal facilities; the installation and proper operation and maintenance of onsite
sewage treatment and disposal systems; and other water quality and supply projects,
including direct and indirect potable reuse.
Ensure the improvement of nearshore water quality by requiring the construction and
operation of wastewater management facilities, and by directing growth to areas served by
central wastewater treatment facilities through permit allocation systems.
Limit the adverse impacts of public investments on the environmental resources of the
Florida Keys.
Make available adequate affordable housing for all sectors of the population of the Florida
Keys.
Provide adequate alternatives for the protection of public safety and welfare in the event of a
natural or manmade disaster and for a post-disaster reconstruction plan.
Protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Florida Keys and maintain
the Florida Keys as a unique Florida resource.
17
Florida Keys Stewardship Act
The Florida Keys Stewardship Act revised various policies relating to local government
environmental financing.
18
The Act:
Required the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to annually consider the
recommendations of the Department of Economic Opportunity relating to land purchases
within an area of critical state concern;
15
Section 380.0552, F.S.
16
These investment include the Florida Keys Aqueduct and water supply facilities; sewage collection, treatment, and disposal
facilities, the Key West Naval Air Station and other military facilities; transportation facilities; federal parks, wildlife refuges,
and marine sanctuaries; state parks, recreation facilities, aquatic preserves, and other publicly owned properties; city electric
service and the Florida Keys Electric Co-op; and other utilities, as appropriate. Section 380.0552(7), F.S.
17
Id.
18
Chapter 2016-225, Laws of Fla.; Section 259.045, F.S. BILL: SB 54 Page 4
Required DEP to make recommendations to the Board of Trustees of the Internal
Improvement Trust Fund with respect to the purchase of fee or any lesser interest in specified
types of lands;
Allowed local governments and special districts within an area of critical state concern to
recommend additional land purchases;
Provided additional principles for guiding development within the Florida Keys Area of
Critical State Concern;
19
Expanded the purposes for which the local government infrastructure surtax
20
can be used to
include land acquisition by a county for public recreation, conservation, or protection of
natural resources or to prevent or satisfy private property rights claims resulting from
limitations imposed by the designation of an area of critical state concern;
21
and
Directed that, beginning in the 2017-2018 fiscal year and continuing through the 2026-2027
fiscal year, at least $5 million from the Florida Forever Trust Fund must be spent on land
acquisition within the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern.
22
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.
23
In 2014, Florida voters approved Amendment One, a constitutional amendment to provide a
dedicated funding source for land and water conservation and restoration.
24
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
Fund (LATF).
25
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;
19
Chapter 2016-225, Laws of Fla.; Section 380.0552(7), F.S.
20
The local government infrastructure surtax allows the governing authority in each county to levy a discretionary sales
surtax of 0.5 percent or 1 percent. Section 212.055(2), F.S.
21
Chapter 2016-225, Laws of Fla.; Section 212.055(2), F.S.
22
Chapter 2016-225, Laws of Fla.; s. 259.105(3)(b), F.S.
23
See ss. 201.02(1)(a) and 201.08(1)(a), F.S.
24
The Florida Senate, Water and Land Conservation, https://www.flsenate.gov/media/topics/WLC (last visited Jan. 4, 2023).
25
Id. BILL: SB 54 Page 5
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.
26
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.
27
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, payments relating to debt service on
Florida Forever Bonds and Everglades restoration bonds.
Then, unless superseded by the General Appropriations Act, 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
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
26
FLA. CONST. art. X, s. 28(b)(1).
27
Ch. 2015-229, ss. 9 and 50, Laws of Fla. BILL: SB 54 Page 6
o $50 million annually to the South Florida Water Management District 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.
28
During the 2022 session, the Legislature added language that specifies that the purposes set forth
in s. 375.041(3)(a)3., F.S., relating to Lake Apopka would instead be appropriated as provided in
the General Appropriations Act.
29
In August 2022, the General Revenue Estimating Conference
estimated that for fiscal year 2022-2023 a total of $4.52 billion would be collected in
documentary stamp taxes.
30
Thirty-three percent of the net revenues collected, or approximately
$1.49 billion, must be deposited into the LATF in accordance with Art. X, s. 28 of the State
Constitution. Of that amount, $124 million is committed to debt service, leaving $1.36 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 State Constitution.
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 that numerous appropriations from 2015
and 2016 were unconstitutional.
35
On appeal, 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 the state after the constitutional
amendment took effect in 2015.
36
The court 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
28
Section 375.041(3)-(4), F.S.
29
Chapter 2022-157, Laws of Fla.
30
Office of Economic & Demographic Research, Revenue Estimating Conference, Documentary Stamp Tax, Conference
Results (Aug. 2022), available at http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/docstamp/docstampexecsummary.pdf (last visited
Jan. 5, 2023).
31
Id.
32
Fla. Wildlife Fed’n v. Negron, No. 2015-CA-001423 (Fla. 2nd Cir. Ct.); Fla. Defenders of the Env’t, Inc., v. Detzner, No.
2015-CA-002682 (Fla. 2nd Cir. Ct.).
33
Fla. Wildlife Fed’n 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.
36
Oliva v. Fla. Wildlife Fed’n, 281 So. 3d 531, 539 (Fla. 1st Dist. Ct. App., 2019).
37
Id. at 537.
38
Id. at 539. BILL: SB 54 Page 7
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
On July 20, 2022, the
Florida Wildlife Federation filed a motion to reopen the case.
40
The case is now on appeal in the
First District Court of Appeal.
41
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 amends s. 375.041, F.S., to appropriate $20 million to the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) to:
Implement the Florida Keys Stewardship Act by entering into financial assistance
agreements with local governments located in the Florida Keys Area of Critical State
Concern or the City of Key West Area of Critical State Concern to promote the protection or
restoration of Florida Bay, the Florida Keys, and nearshore marine ecosystems, including
coral reefs; or
Acquire land within the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern, giving increased
priority to acquisitions that achieve a combination of conservation goals, including protecting
water resources and natural groundwater recharge.
The bill prohibits DEP from using the appropriated funds to implement wastewater management
projects or programs, notwithstanding any other law. The bill requires the distribution of the $20
million to be reduced by an amount equal to the debt service paid out of the LATF on bonds
issued for these purposes after July 1, 2023.
The bill deletes obsolete language that directed LATF funds to be appropriated for the 2022-
2023 fiscal year as provided in the General Appropriations Act.
Section 2 provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
See Present Situation.
39
Fla Wildlife Fed’n 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. 5, 2023).
40
Dep’t of Environmental Protection, Fla. Enviro. Cases August, 1 (Aug. 2022) (on file with the Senate Committee on
Environment and Natural Resources).
41
Fla. Wildlife Fed’n v. Fla. Legislature, No. 1D22-3142 (Fla. 1st Dist. Ct. App., 2022). BILL: SB 54 Page 8
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
IV. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The bill will have a positive fiscal impact of $20 million to the Florida Keys area.
V. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VI. Related Issues:
None.
VII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends section 375.041 of the Florida Statutes.
VIII. 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.