Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1476 By Senator Simon 3-01255A-23 20231476__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to state acquisition of lands; 3 amending ss. 253.025 and 570.715, F.S.; requiring, 4 rather than authorizing, the Department of 5 Environmental Protection and the Department of 6 Agriculture and Consumer Services to disclose 7 appraisal reports to private landowners or their 8 representatives during acquisition negotiations; 9 requiring private landowners and their representatives 10 to maintain the confidentiality of such reports or 11 information disclosed by the Department of Agriculture 12 and Consumer Services; requiring the final purchase 13 price in certain option contracts for state land 14 acquisitions and less than fee simple conservation 15 easement acquisitions to be the fair market value as 16 determined by the highest appraisal; removing 17 provisions subjecting the final purchase price in 18 certain contracts to approval by the Board of Trustees 19 of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund or the 20 Secretary of Environmental Protection, as applicable; 21 conforming a provision to changes made by the act; 22 providing an effective date. 23 24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25 26 Section 1.Subsection (8) of section 253.025, Florida 27 Statutes, is amended to read: 28 253.025Acquisition of state lands. 29 (8)Before approval by the board of trustees, or, when 30 applicable, the Department of Environmental Protection, of any 31 agreement to purchase land pursuant to this chapter, chapter 32 259, chapter 260, or chapter 375, and before negotiations with 33 the parcel owner to purchase any other land, title to which will 34 vest in the board of trustees, an appraisal of the parcel shall 35 be required as follows: 36 (a)The board of trustees shall adopt by rule the method 37 for determining the value of parcels sought to be acquired by 38 state agencies pursuant to this section. 39 (b)Each parcel to be acquired shall have at least one 40 appraisal. Two appraisals are required when the estimated value 41 of the parcel exceeds $1 million. However, if both appraisals 42 exceed $1 million and differ significantly, a third appraisal 43 may be obtained. If a parcel is estimated to be worth $100,000 44 or less and the director of the Division of State Lands finds 45 that the cost of an outside appraisal is not justified, a 46 comparable sales analysis, an appraisal prepared by the 47 division, or other reasonably prudent procedures may be used by 48 the division to estimate the value of the parcel, provided the 49 publics interest is reasonably protected. The state is not 50 required to appraise the value of lands and appurtenances that 51 are being donated to the state. 52 (c)Appraisal fees and associated costs shall be paid by 53 the agency proposing the acquisition. All appraisals used for 54 the acquisition of lands pursuant to this section shall be 55 prepared by a state-certified appraiser. The board of trustees 56 shall adopt rules for selecting individuals to perform 57 appraisals pursuant to this section. Each fee appraiser selected 58 to appraise a particular parcel shall, before contracting with 59 the agency or a participant in a multiparty agreement, submit to 60 the agency an affidavit substantiating that he or she has no 61 vested or fiduciary interest in such parcel. 62 (d)The fee appraiser and the review appraiser for the 63 agency may not act in any manner that may be construed as 64 negotiating with the owner of a parcel proposed for acquisition. 65 (e)The board of trustees shall adopt by rule the minimum 66 criteria, techniques, and methods to be used in the preparation 67 of appraisal reports. Such rules shall incorporate, to the 68 extent practicable, generally accepted appraisal standards. Any 69 appraisal issued for acquisition of lands pursuant to this 70 section must comply with the rules adopted by the board of 71 trustees. A certified survey must be made which meets the 72 minimum requirements for upland parcels established in the 73 Standards of Practice for Land Surveying in Florida published by 74 the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and which 75 accurately portrays, to the greatest extent practicable, the 76 condition of the parcel as it currently exists. The requirement 77 for a certified survey may, in part or in whole, be waived by 78 the board of trustees any time before submitting the agreement 79 for purchase to the Division of State Lands. When an existing 80 boundary map and description of a parcel are determined by the 81 division to be sufficient for appraisal purposes, the division 82 director may temporarily waive the requirement for a survey 83 until any time before conveyance of title to the parcel. 84 (f)Appraisal reports are confidential and exempt from s. 85 119.07(1), for use by the agency and the board of trustees, 86 until an option contract is executed or, if no option contract 87 is executed, until 2 weeks before a contract or agreement for 88 purchase is considered for approval by the board of trustees. 89 The Department of Environmental Protection shall may disclose 90 appraisal reports to private landowners or their representatives 91 during negotiations for acquisitions using alternatives to fee 92 simple techniques, if the department determines that disclosure 93 of such reports will bring the proposed acquisition to closure. 94 However, the private landowner or their representative must 95 agree to maintain the confidentiality of the reports or 96 information. The department may also disclose appraisal 97 information to public agencies or nonprofit organizations that 98 agree to maintain the confidentiality of the reports or 99 information when joint acquisition of property is contemplated, 100 or when a public agency or nonprofit organization enters into a 101 written agreement with the department to purchase and hold 102 property for subsequent resale to the board of trustees. In 103 addition, the department may use, as its own, appraisals 104 obtained by a public agency or nonprofit organization, if the 105 appraiser is selected from the departments list of appraisers 106 and the appraisal is reviewed and approved by the department. 107 For purposes of this paragraph, the term nonprofit 108 organization means an organization that is exempt from federal 109 income tax under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and, 110 for purposes of the acquisition of conservation lands, an 111 organization whose purpose must include the preservation of 112 natural resources. The agency may release an appraisal report 113 when the passage of time has rendered the conclusions of value 114 in the report invalid or when the acquiring agency has 115 terminated negotiations. 116 (g)Before acceptance of an appraisal, the agency shall 117 submit a copy of such report to the division. The division shall 118 review such report for compliance with the rules of the board. 119 Any questions of applicability of laws affecting an appraisal 120 shall be addressed by the legal office of the agency. 121 (h)The appraisal report shall be accompanied by the sales 122 history of the parcel for at least the previous 5 years. Such 123 sales history shall include all parties and considerations with 124 the amount of consideration verified, if possible. If a sales 125 history would not be useful, or it is cost prohibitive compared 126 to the value of a parcel, the sales history may be waived by the 127 board of trustees. The board of trustees shall adopt a rule 128 specifying guidelines for waiver of a sales history. 129 (i)The board of trustees may consider an appraisal 130 acquired by a seller, or any part thereof, in negotiating to 131 purchase a parcel, but such appraisal may not be used in lieu of 132 an appraisal required by this subsection or to determine the 133 maximum offer allowed by law. 134 (j)1.The board of trustees shall adopt by rule the method 135 for determining the value of parcels sought to be acquired by 136 state agencies pursuant to this section. An offer by a state 137 agency may not exceed the value for that parcel as determined 138 pursuant to the highest approved appraisal or the value 139 determined pursuant to the rules of the board of trustees, 140 whichever value is less. 141 2.For a joint acquisition by a state agency and a local 142 government or other entity apart from the state, the joint 143 purchase price may not exceed 150 percent of the value for a 144 parcel as determined in accordance with the limits in 145 subparagraph 1. The state agency share of a joint purchase offer 146 may not exceed what the agency may offer singly pursuant to 147 subparagraph 1. 148 3.This paragraph does not apply to the acquisition of 149 historically unique or significant property as determined by the 150 Division of Historical Resources of the Department of State. 151 152 Notwithstanding this subsection, on behalf of the board of 153 trustees and before the appraisal of parcels approved for 154 purchase under this chapter or chapter 259, the Secretary of 155 Environmental Protection or the director of the Division of 156 State Lands may enter into option contracts to buy such parcels. 157 Except as otherwise authorized under this subsection, any such 158 option contract shall state that the final purchase price shall 159 be the fair market value as determined by the highest appraisal 160 and is subject to approval by the board of trustees or, if 161 applicable, the Secretary of Environmental Protection, and that 162 the final purchase price may not exceed the maximum offer 163 allowed by law. Any such option contract presented to the board 164 of trustees for final purchase price approval shall explicitly 165 state that payment of the final purchase price is subject to an 166 appropriation from the Legislature. The consideration for such 167 an option may not exceed $1,000 or 0.01 percent of the estimate 168 by the department of the value of the parcel, whichever amount 169 is greater. 170 Section 2.Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) and subsection 171 (5) of section 570.715, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 172 570.715Conservation easement acquisition procedures. 173 (1)For less than fee simple acquisitions pursuant to s. 174 570.71, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 175 shall comply with the following acquisition procedures: 176 (d)On behalf of the board of trustees and before the 177 appraisal of parcels approved for purchase under ss. 178 259.105(3)(i) and 570.71, the department may enter into option 179 contracts to buy less than fee simple interest in such parcels. 180 Any such option contract shall state that the final purchase 181 price is subject to approval by the board of trustees and that 182 the final purchase price shall be the fair market value as 183 determined by the highest approved appraisal and may not exceed 184 the maximum offer authorized by law. Any such option contract 185 presented to the board of trustees for final purchase price 186 approval shall explicitly state that payment of the final 187 purchase price is subject to an appropriation by the 188 Legislature. The consideration for any such option contract may 189 not exceed $1,000 or 0.01 percent of the estimate by the 190 department of the value of the parcel, whichever amount is 191 greater. 192 (5)Appraisal reports are confidential and exempt from s. 193 119.07(1), for use by the department and the board of trustees, 194 until an option contract is executed or, if an option contract 195 is not executed, until 2 weeks before a contract or agreement 196 for purchase is considered for approval by the board of 197 trustees. However, The department shall has the authority, at 198 its discretion, to disclose appraisal reports to private 199 landowners or their representatives during negotiations for 200 acquisitions. However, the private landowner or their 201 representative must agree to maintain the confidentiality of the 202 reports or information using alternatives to fee simple 203 techniques, if the department determines that disclosure of such 204 reports will bring the proposed acquisition to closure. The 205 department may also disclose appraisal information to public 206 agencies or nonprofit organizations that agree to maintain the 207 confidentiality of the reports or information when joint 208 acquisition of property is contemplated, or when a public agency 209 or nonprofit organization enters into a written multiparty 210 agreement with the department. For purposes of this subsection, 211 the term nonprofit organization means an organization whose 212 purposes include the preservation of natural resources, and 213 which is exempt from federal income tax under s. 501(c)(3) of 214 the Internal Revenue Code. The department may release an 215 appraisal report when the passage of time has rendered the 216 conclusions of value in the report invalid or when the 217 department has terminated negotiations. 218 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.