CS/HB 1355

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to management of state-owned lands;
3	providing legislative intent; directing the Office of
4	Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to
5	conduct a study on centralization of the land management
6	activities of the state and to submit the study to the
7	Legislature; directing the Department of Environmental
8	Protection to issue a request for proposals for a public-
9	private land management demonstration pilot project for
10	state parks and greenways and trails; specifying
11	requirements for the project; requiring the Office of
12	Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to
13	prepare and submit a report to the Governor, the
14	Legislature, the Acquisition and Restoration Council, and
15	the Legislative Budget Commission; providing report
16	requirements; providing a limitation for the annual cost
17	of the pilot project; directing the Department of
18	Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Fish
19	and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Department of
20	Agriculture and Consumer Services, to issue a request for
21	proposals for a public-private land management
22	demonstration pilot project for specified conservation
23	lands; specifying requirements for the project; requiring
24	a certified auditor to prepare and submit a report to the
25	Governor, the Legislature, the Acquisition and Restoration
26	Council, and the Legislative Budget Commission; providing
27	report requirements; providing a limitation for the annual
28	cost of the pilot project; providing an effective date.
29
30	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32	Section 1.  The Legislature finds and declares:
33	(1)  Land acquisition programs have provided tremendous
34	financial resources for purchasing environmentally significant
35	lands to protect those lands from imminent development or
36	alteration, thereby ensuring present and future generations'
37	access to important waterways, open spaces, and recreation and
38	conservation lands.
39	(2)  Over the past 30 years, the state has invested more
40	than $6 billion to conserve approximately 3.8 million acres of
41	land for environmental, recreational, and preservation purposes.
42	With a total of 3.8 million acres of conservation land purchased
43	in this state, 2.4 million acres were purchased under the
44	Florida Forever and Preservation 2000 programs. Much of this
45	land is open to the public for recreation, including a total of
46	more than 500 state parks, preserves, forests, wildlife
47	management areas, and other conservation and recreation areas.
48	(3)  The Legislature has declared that state conservation
49	lands shall be managed to maintain or enhance the resources the
50	state is seeking to protect by acquiring the land and to
51	accelerate public access to the lands as soon as practicable.
52	(4)  A long-term financial commitment to restoring,
53	enhancing, and managing the state's public lands is required to
54	implement land management plans to ensure that:
55	(a)  The natural resource values of such lands are
56	restored, enhanced, managed, and protected;
57	(b)  The public enjoys the lands to their fullest
58	potential; and
59	(c)  The state achieves the full benefits of its investment
60	of public dollars.
61	(5)  Most of the state's conservation lands are managed by
62	the following state agencies:
63	(a)  The Division of Forestry in the Department of
64	Agriculture and Consumer Services.
65	(b)  The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
66	(c)  The Division of Recreation and Parks in the Department
67	of Environmental Protection.
68	(d)  The Office of Greenways and Trails in the Department
69	of Environmental Protection.
70	(e)  The Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas in the
71	Department of Environmental Protection.
72	(6)  Land management expenditures have generally increased
73	over the last 7 years, increasing from approximately $173
74	million in fiscal year 2001-2002 to approximately $215 million
75	in fiscal year 2006-2007. The average expenditure per acre
76	managed in fiscal year 2006-2007 was $66, but expenditures per
77	acre managed varied greatly from agency to agency and parcel to
78	parcel.
79	(7)  In its October report on the methodology and formula
80	for allocating land management funds, the Land Management
81	Uniform Accounting Council, created in s. 259.037, Florida
82	Statutes, concluded that the current level of land management
83	funding clearly will be insufficient to provide for the full
84	funding of land management needs.
85	(8)  If the state is to achieve the full benefits of its
86	investment of public dollars in conversation lands, it must
87	manage these lands as effectively and efficiently as possible.
88	(9)  With limited financial resources to fund competing
89	priorities and increasing funding needs to manage public lands,
90	the state cannot afford to fund unnecessary duplicative
91	management functions in multiple state agencies. Although the
92	five state agencies that manage the state's conservation lands
93	all have different management approaches to address the missions
94	and purposes of each respective agency, the land management
95	approach should be governed by the purposes for which the
96	conservation lands were acquired.
97	(10)  A privatization pilot program for land management
98	would allow the Legislature to better evaluate the effectiveness
99	and efficiency of the state's land management activities by:
100	(a)  Identifying and achieving cost efficiencies and
101	reductions in administrative and operating costs; and
102	(b)  Reducing duplication.
103	Section 2.  The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
104	Government Accountability is directed to conduct a study of the
105	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department
106	of Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
107	Commission, and any related state law enforcement officer
108	positions to determine the most efficient means of centralizing
109	the land management activities of the state, including, but not
110	limited to, recommendations for restructuring or subdividing
111	acquisition and management responsibilities. The study shall be
112	submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
113	House of Representatives no later than December 1, 2009.
114	Section 3.  The Department of Environmental Protection
115	shall issue a request for proposals for a public-private land
116	management demonstration pilot project for a period of 5 years.
117	The pilot project area shall consist of existing state parks and
118	greenways and trails. The request for proposals shall be awarded
119	no later than December 31, 2009. Proposals shall not exceed an
120	average management cost of $75 per acre per year. Once awarded,
121	the contractor shall prepare a land management plan consistent
122	with the duties and responsibilities of the department and
123	submit the plan to the Acquisition and Restoration Council for
124	approval, and provide a copy of the plan to the Legislative
125	Budget Commission. Any funds appropriated for the land
126	management pilot project shall be held in budget reserve until
127	such time as the department submits and the Legislative Budget
128	Commission approves a plan which includes a recommended request
129	for proposals regarding the expenditure of the funds. The
130	contractor shall be responsible for all land management
131	activities except for law enforcement. The effectiveness of the
132	project shall be reviewed and compared to other state land
133	management results by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and
134	Government Accountability. The Office of Program Policy Analysis
135	and Government Accountability shall submit a report to the
136	Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
137	of Representatives, the Acquisition and Restoration Council, and
138	the Legislative Budget Commission. The cost of the 5-year pilot
139	project may not exceed $4.5 million annually.
140	Section 4.  The Department of Environmental Protection, in
141	consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
142	and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, shall
143	issue a request for proposals for a public-private conservation
144	land management demonstration pilot project for a period of 5
145	years. The request for proposals must clearly state the
146	management goals for the conservation lands and allow private
147	contractors to propose how these goals would be met within the
148	prescribed budget. In addition, the Legislature is particularly
149	interested in how a contractor would account for and report
150	costs, activities, and achievements and innovate the manner in
151	which management plans are formulated, presented, and
152	implemented. A performance bond of no more than $1 million shall
153	be required for the contract, and neither the Department of
154	Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
155	Commission, nor the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
156	Services may cancel the contract unless the contractor is in
157	default of the contract. The pilot project area shall consist of
158	the nonsubmerged lands within the following conservation
159	properties: Andrews Wildlife Management Area, Big Bend Wildlife
160	Management Area, Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve, Waccasassa Bay
161	Preserve State Park, Ross Prairie State Forest, Indian Lake
162	State Forest, and Goethe State Forest. The request for proposals
163	shall be awarded no later than December 31, 2009. To achieve
164	cost savings to the state, proposals may not exceed an average
165	management cost of $25 per acre per year. Once awarded, the
166	contractor shall prepare a land management plan consistent with
167	the duties and responsibilities of the Department of
168	Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
169	Commission, and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
170	Services and the certification standard of the Forest
171	Stewardship Council, submit the plan to the Acquisition and
172	Restoration Council for review and approval, and provide a copy
173	of the plan to the Legislative Budget Commission. Any funds
174	appropriated for the land management pilot project shall be held
175	in budget reserve until such time as the Department of
176	Environmental Protection submits and the Legislative Budget
177	Commission approves a plan which includes a recommended request
178	for proposals regarding the expenditure of the funds. The
179	contractor shall be responsible for all land management
180	activities except for law enforcement, wildfire suppression,
181	derelict vessel removal, manatee surveys, water sampling, or any
182	other regulatory activity not specifically related to the
183	management of state conservation lands. The Department of
184	Environmental Protection shall hire an auditor certified by the
185	Forest Stewardship Council to review and accurately and fairly
186	compare the pilot project to other state land management results
187	and provide recommendations to fully certify the project for all
188	state lands. The auditor shall submit a report to the Governor,
189	the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
190	Representatives, the Acquisition and Restoration Council, and
191	the Legislative Budget Commission. The cost of the 5-year pilot
192	project may not exceed $4.5 million annually.
193	Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.