Senate Bill sb1420

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1420

    By Senator Dockery





    15-910B-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to rural land protection;

  3         amending s. 570.70, F.S.; providing conclusions

  4         of a study by the Department of Agriculture and

  5         Consumer Services; amending s. 201.15, F.S.;

  6         providing for the distribution of certain

  7         excise taxes on documents to the Rural Lands

  8         Program Trust Fund of the department; creating

  9         s. 215.6195, F.S.; authorizing the issuance of

10         bonds for rural land protection; providing

11         certain conditions; providing for the deposit

12         of proceeds; providing that issuance of such

13         bonds is in the best interests of the state;

14         amending s. 570.207, F.S.; providing uses for

15         funds in the Conservation and Recreation Lands

16         Program Trust Fund; amending s. 570.71, F.S.;

17         authorizing the use of rural land protection

18         bonds to implement provisions relating to

19         conservation and rural land protection

20         easements and agreements; providing a

21         contingent effective date.

22  

23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

24  

25         Section 1.  Section 570.70, Florida Statutes, is

26  amended to read:

27         570.70  Legislative findings; study.--

28         (1)  The Legislature finds and declares that:

29         (a)(1)  A thriving rural economy with a strong

30  agricultural base, healthy natural environment, and viable

31  rural communities is an essential part of Florida. Rural areas

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1420
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 1  also include the largest remaining intact ecosystems and best

 2  examples of remaining wildlife habitats as well as a majority

 3  of privately owned land targeted by local, state, and federal

 4  agencies for natural resource protection.

 5         (b)(2)  The growth of Florida's population can result

 6  in agricultural and rural lands being converted into

 7  residential or commercial development.

 8         (c)(3)  The agricultural, rural, natural resource, and

 9  commodity values of rural lands are vital to the state's

10  economy, productivity, rural heritage, and quality of life.

11         (d)(4)  There is The Legislature further recognizes the

12  need for enhancing the ability of rural landowners to obtain

13  economic value from their property, protecting rural

14  character, controlling urban sprawl, and providing necessary

15  open space for agriculture and the natural environment, and

16  the importance of maintaining and protecting Florida's rural

17  economy through innovative planning and development strategies

18  in rural areas and the use of incentives that reward

19  landowners for good stewardship of land and natural resources.

20         (e)(5)  The purpose of this act is to bring under

21  public protection lands that serve to limit subdivision and

22  conversion of agricultural and natural areas that provide

23  economic, open space, water, and wildlife benefits by

24  acquiring land or related interests in land such as perpetual,

25  less-than-fee acquisitions, agricultural protection

26  agreements, and resource conservation agreements and

27  innovative planning and development strategies in rural areas.

28         (2)  A study conducted by the department to determine

29  and prioritize needs for implementing the provisions of this

30  section and s. 570.71 concluded the following:

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1420
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 1         (a)  Between 1964 and 1997, this state lost nearly 5

 2  million acres of valuable agricultural land, with most of the

 3  loss involving ranch and forest lands.

 4         (b)  This state currently has 9,114,000 acres of

 5  agricultural land with natural resource attributes, including

 6  groundwater recharge, natural floodplain, and significant

 7  species habitat, and more than 900,000 acres of this land will

 8  be converted to other uses within a decade.

 9         (c)  The objective of a program to protect agricultural

10  land with natural resource value through conservation

11  easements and other tools should be protection of 1 acre for

12  every acre lost.

13         Section 2.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section

14  201.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

15         201.15  Distribution of taxes collected.--All taxes

16  collected under this chapter shall be distributed as follows

17  and shall be subject to the service charge imposed in s.

18  215.20(1), except that such service charge shall not be levied

19  against any portion of taxes pledged to debt service on bonds

20  to the extent that the amount of the service charge is

21  required to pay any amounts relating to the bonds:

22         (1)  Sixty-two and sixty-three hundredths percent of

23  the remaining taxes collected under this chapter shall be used

24  for the following purposes:

25         (d)  The remainder of the moneys distributed under this

26  subsection, after the required payments under paragraphs (a),

27  (b), and (c), shall be paid into the State Treasury to the

28  credit of the General Revenue Fund of the state to be used and

29  expended for the purposes for which the General Revenue Fund

30  was created and exists by law, or to the Ecosystem Management

31  and Restoration Trust Fund or to the Marine Resources

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1420
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 1  Conservation Trust Fund as provided in subsection (11), or to

 2  the Rural Lands Program Trust Fund of the Department of

 3  Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to s. 215.6195.

 4  Moneys available under this paragraph shall first be used to

 5  pay debt service due on any rural land protection bond or to

 6  make any other payments required pursuant to the bond

 7  documents authorizing the issuance before such moneys are used

 8  for other purposes authorized by this paragraph.

 9         Section 3.  Section 215.6195, Florida Statutes, is

10  created to read:

11         215.6195  Bonds for rural land protection.--

12         (1)  The issuance of rural land protection bonds is

13  authorized. The rural land protection bonds may be issued over

14  the next 10 fiscal years commencing on July 1, 2004, in an

15  amount not exceeding $100 million in any fiscal year, subject

16  to the provisions of s. 570.71 and pursuant to s. 11(e), Art.

17  VII of the State Constitution. The duration of each series of

18  bonds issued may not exceed 20 annual maturities. Except for

19  refunding bonds, a series of bonds may not be issued unless an

20  amount equal to the debt service coming due in the year of

21  issuance has been specifically appropriated in the General

22  Appropriations Act.

23         (2)  The state covenants with the holders of rural land

24  protection bonds that it will not take any action that will

25  materially and adversely affect the rights of such holders so

26  long as the bonds are outstanding, including, but not limited

27  to, a reduction in the portion of documentary stamp taxes

28  distributable to the Rural Lands Program Trust Fund of the

29  Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for payment of

30  debt service.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1420
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 1         (3)  Bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be

 2  payable from taxes distributable to the Rural Lands Program

 3  Trust Fund of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer

 4  Services pursuant to s. 201.15(1)(d). Bonds issued pursuant to

 5  this section do not constitute a general obligation of, or a

 6  pledge of the full faith and credit of, the state.

 7         (4)  The Department of Agriculture and Consumer

 8  Services shall request the Division of Bond Finance of the

 9  State Board of Administration to issue the rural land

10  protection bonds authorized by this section. The Division of

11  Bond Finance shall issue such bonds pursuant to the State Bond

12  Act.

13         (5)  The proceeds from the sale of bonds issued

14  pursuant to this section, less the costs of issuance, the

15  costs of funding reserve accounts, and other costs with

16  respect to the bonds, shall be deposited into the Conservation

17  and Recreation Lands Program Trust Fund of the Department of

18  Agriculture and Consumer Services as provided in s. 570.71.

19         (6)  There shall be no sale, disposition, lease,

20  easement, license, or other use of any land, water areas, or

21  related property interests acquired or improved with proceeds

22  of rural land protection bonds which would cause all or any

23  portion of the interest of such bonds to lose the exclusion

24  from gross income for federal income tax purposes.

25         (7)  The initial series of rural land protection bonds

26  shall be validated in addition to any other bonds required to

27  be validated pursuant to s. 215.82. Any complaint for

28  validation of bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be

29  filed only in the circuit court of the county where the seat

30  of state government is situated, the notice required to be

31  published by s. 75.06 shall be published only in the county

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1420
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 1  where the complaint is filed, and the complaint and order of

 2  the circuit court shall be served only on the state attorney

 3  of the circuit in which the action is pending.

 4         Section 4.  In accordance with section 215.98(1),

 5  Florida Statutes, the Legislature determines that the issuance

 6  of rural land protection bonds under section 3 of this act is

 7  in the best interest of the state and should be implemented.

 8         Section 5.  Subsection (1) of section 570.207, Florida

 9  Statutes, is amended to read:

10         570.207  Conservation and Recreation Lands Program

11  Trust Fund of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer

12  Services.--

13         (1)  There is created a Conservation and Recreation

14  Lands Program Trust Fund within the Department of Agriculture

15  and Consumer Services. The purpose of the trust fund is to

16  provide for the management of conservation and recreation

17  lands by the department and to fund the Rural and Family Lands

18  Protection Act created in ss. 570.70 and 570.71. The

19  department may use not more than one-half of 1 percent of the

20  bond proceeds deposited into the trust fund for administrative

21  purposes. Funds may be appropriated to the trust fund from the

22  Conservation and Recreation Lands Trust Fund in the Department

23  of Environmental Protection, as created by s. 259.032(2), or

24  from such other sources as the Legislature may determine for

25  the management of conservation and recreation lands by the

26  department. Additionally, subject to the provisions of s.

27  11(e), Art. VII of the State Constitution, the department may

28  use bond proceeds deposited pursuant to s. 215.6195 and funds

29  from such other sources as the Legislature determines for the

30  acquisition of conservation easements and rural land

31  protection easements and for funding agricultural protection

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1420
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 1  agreements and resource conservation agreements pursuant to s.

 2  570.71.

 3         Section 6.  Subsection (12) of section 570.71, Florida

 4  Statutes, is amended to read:

 5         570.71  Conservation easements and agreements.--

 6         (12)  The department is authorized to use funds from

 7  the following sources to implement this act:

 8         (a)  State funds;

 9         (b)  Rural land protection bonds as authorized by s.

10  215.6195;

11         (c)(b)  Federal funds;

12         (d)(c)  Other governmental entities;

13         (e)(d)  Nongovernmental organizations; or

14         (f)(e)  Private individuals.

15  

16  Any such funds provided shall be deposited into the

17  Conservation and Recreation Lands Program Trust Fund within

18  the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and used

19  for the purposes of this act.

20         Section 7.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004, if

21  Senate Bill _____, or similar legislation creating the Rural

22  Lands Program Trust Fund, is adopted in the same legislative

23  session or an extension thereof and becomes law.

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1420
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 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Provides conclusions of a study by the Department of
      Agriculture and Consumer Services. Provides for the
 4    distribution of certain excise taxes on documents to the
      Rural Lands Program Trust Fund of the department.
 5    Authorizes the issuance of bonds for rural land
      protection. Provides for the deposit of proceeds.
 6    Provides that issuance of such bonds is in the best
      interests of the state. Provides uses for funds in the
 7    Conservation and Recreation Lands Program Trust Fund.
      Authorizes the use of rural land protection bonds to
 8    implement provisions relating to conservation and rural
      land protection easements and agreements.
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