The Florida Senate

250.40  Armory Board; armories, how obtained.--

(1)  The Armory Board of the state shall consist of the Governor, the Adjutant General, the Assistant Adjutants General, the state quartermaster, and commanders reporting directly to the Adjutant General, in the active National Guard of the state. This board is charged with the supervision and control of all military buildings and real property within the state applied to military uses.

(2)  The term of each member of the Armory Board shall be the period during which the member possesses the qualifications for such membership under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section.

(3)  The members of the Armory Board shall perform the duties imposed upon them by the provisions of this chapter without any special compensation for their services; members of the Armory Board shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061 and shall be paid from the appropriation for the expenses of the Florida National Guard.

(4)  It shall be the duty of the Armory Board to consider and approve the plans for or of all armories and other buildings before such buildings are rented, constructed, or otherwise acquired for military uses by the state.

(5)  Since our national military policy as enunciated in the National Defense Act recognized the National Guard as an important and necessary component of the Army of the United States, and as the defense of the country is a joint responsibility of all political divisions and subdivisions thereof, and since the National Guard is a citizen force by reason of its militia status, it is considered equitable that the expense of the maintenance of the National Guard be not only shared by the state with the Federal Government, but that it should properly be shared also by the counties, cities, and other subdivisions of the state. As the Federal Government is providing liberally for the equipment and training of the National Guard and the state for its administration and management, an equitable division of the responsibility of maintenance would leave with the communities in which units of the National Guard are established the duty of supplying the necessary personnel and adequate housing for the organization.

(6)  In order to provide for the cooperative support of the National Guard, and in order that armories may be provided which will furnish suitable training facilities and adequate storage accommodations for all arms, equipment, and other military property, the Armory Board is authorized to receive, from counties, municipalities, and other sources, donations of land and contributions of money to aid in providing, improving, and maintaining arsenals, armories, campsites, target ranges, and other facilities throughout the state.

(a)1.  Any contributions of money so donated, any moneys derived from the rental of armories and other facilities, any money derived from the rental of billeting operations at Camp Blanding Training Site, the maintenance allowances provided in s. 250.20, and all sums of money collected through fines imposed by a general, special, or summary court of the Florida National Guard, as provided in s. 250.36(5), shall be received by the commanding officer of such facility and shall be deposited in an account in a banking institution in the county in which such facility is located.

2.  The funds so received shall be disbursed for the purposes enumerated in this subsection at the discretion of the post council according to rules and regulations established by the Armory Board. The post council shall be made up of such members as are designated in the rules and regulations of the Armory Board; and the council is authorized to employ personnel to perform such functions as bookkeeping, maintenance, and janitorial services.

(b)  Any property so donated shall be held as other property for the use of the state, and such counties and municipalities are authorized and empowered to make such donations of lands by deed or long-term lease and contributions of moneys for the purposes herein set forth, and to issue bonds or certificates of indebtedness to provide funds for such purposes; and boards of county commissioners are authorized to levy taxes, not to exceed 1 mill, to provide funds for the construction of armories or for the retirement of such bonds or certificates of indebtedness issued to provide funds for the construction of armories.

(7)  Counties and municipalities are authorized to construct armories upon state-owned land which may be made available for such purpose by action of the Armory Board.

(8)  Counties and municipalities are also authorized to grant to the State Armory Board, for military uses, by deed or long-term leases, property that may have been acquired, or buildings that may have been constructed by them, for use as armories and rifle ranges.

(9)  Whenever it becomes necessary in the public interest to acquire private property in order to provide necessary land for campgrounds, rifle ranges, or armories for the organized militia of the state, and the same cannot be acquired by agreement satisfactory to the Armory Board and the parties interested in, or the owners of, such private property, the armory board is authorized and empowered to exercise the right of eminent domain and to proceed to condemn such property in the manner provided by law. Any suit or action brought by the Armory Board to condemn property, as provided for under this section, shall be brought in the name of the Armory Board; and it shall be the duty of the Department of Legal Affairs of the state to conduct the proceedings for and to act as the counsel of the board in such matters.

(10)  The county commissioners, or municipal authorities, may, in their discretion, appropriate a sufficient sum, not otherwise appropriated, to pay the necessary expenses of any unit of the organized militia of the state located in their respective counties or municipalities, to be accounted for to the Adjutant General by the organization receiving such appropriation as other military funds.

History.--ss. 42, 43, 63, ch. 8502, 1921; s. 4, ch. 10185, 1925; s. 5, ch. 12089, 1927; CGL 2054, 2073; s. 6, ch. 20849, 1941; s. 1, ch. 25112, 1949; s. 19, ch. 63-400; ss. 11, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 84-174; s. 1, ch. 90-68; s. 113, ch. 95-148; s. 1, ch. 97-57.

Note.--Former ss. 250.48, 250.70.