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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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An act relating to conservation lands; amending s. 2
253.0341, F.S.; requiring the Division of State Lands 3
to publish certain information on its website before 4
the Acquisition and Restoration Council or the Board 5
of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund 6
meets to review the proposed sale of conservation 7
lands; conforming a cross-reference; amending s. 8
253.42, F.S.; requiring that certain parcels proposed 9
for exchange be appraised in accordance with certain 10
criteria; deleting provisions requiring the division 11
to submit certain requests to the council for review; 12
deleting provisions requiring the division to provide 13
certain recommendations to the board of trustees; 14
requiring the division to publish certain information 15
on its website before the council or the board of 16
trustees meets to review a proposed land exchange; 17
requiring the division to submit certain requests to 18
the council for review and requiring the council to 19
provide recommendations to the division in certain 20
circumstances; requiring the division to provide 21
certain recommendations to the board of trustees in 22
certain circumstances; making a technical change; 23
amending s. 373.089, F.S.; requiring the governing 24
board of a water management district to publish 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
certain information on its website before meeting to 26
review the proposed sale or exchange of certain lands; 27
amending s. 215.196, F.S.; conforming a cross-28
reference; providing an effective date. 29
30
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31
32
Section 1. Present subsections (7) through (19) of section 33
253.0341, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (8) 34
through (20), respectively, subsection (11) of that section is 35
amended, and a new subsection (7) is added to that section, to 36
read: 37
253.0341 Surplus of state-owned lands.— 38
(7) At least 30 days before any meeting of the Acquisition 39
and Restoration Council or the board of trustees to review the 40
proposed sale of conservation lands, the Division of State Lands 41
must publish the following information on its website: 42
(a) The parcels of state-owned land for sale; and 43
(b) A statement from the division explaining why the lands 44
are no longer needed for conservation purposes. 45
(11) Requests to surplus lands may be made by any public 46
or private entity or person and shall be determined by the board 47
of trustees. All requests to surplus conservation lands shall be 48
submitted to the lead managing agency for review and 49
recommendation to the Acquisition and Restoration Council, and 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
all requests to surplus nonconservation lands shall be submitted 51
to the Division of State Lands for review and recommendation to 52
the board of trustees. The lead managing agencies shall review 53
such requests and make recommendations to the council within 90 54
days after receipt of the requests. Any requests to surplus 55
conservation lands that are not acted upon within the 90-day 56
period shall be immediately scheduled for hearing at the next 57
regularly scheduled meeting of the council. Requests to surplus 58
lands shall be considered by the board of trustees within 60 59
days after receipt of the requests from the council or division. 60
Requests to surplus lands pursuant to this subsection are not 61
required to be offered to state agencies as provided in 62
subsection (8) (7). 63
Section 2. Present paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of 64
subsection (4) of section 253.42, Florida Statutes, are 65
redesignated as paragraphs (d), (e), and (f), respectively, 66
paragraph (a) of that subsection is amended, and new paragraphs 67
(b) and (c) are added to that subsection, to read: 68
253.42 Board of trustees may exchange lands.—This section 69
applies to all lands owned by, vested in, or titled in the name 70
of the board of trustees whether the lands were acquired by the 71
state as a purchase, or through gift, donation, or any other 72
conveyance for which no consideration was paid. 73
(4)(a) A person who owns land contiguous to state-owned 74
land titled to the board of trustees may submit a request to the 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Division of State Lands to exchange all or a portion of the 76
privately owned land for all or a portion of the state-owned 77
land, whereby the state retains a permanent conservation 78
easement over all or a portion of the exchanged state-owned land 79
and a permanent conservation easement over all or a portion of 80
the exchanged privately owned land. State-owned land exchanged 81
pursuant to this subsection must shall be contiguous to the 82
privately owned land upon which the state retains a permanent 83
conservation easement. Each parcel proposed for exchange 84
pursuant to this subsection must have at least one appraisal 85
that follows the appraisal criteria, techniques, and methods 86
adopted by the board of trustees pursuant to s. 253.025(8)(e) If 87
the division elects to proceed with a request, the division must 88
submit the request to the Acquisition and Restoration Council 89
for review and the council must provide recommendations to the 90
division. If the division elects to forward a request to the 91
board of trustees, the division must provide its recommendations 92
and the recommendations of the council to the board. This 93
subsection does not apply to state-owned sovereign submerged 94
land. 95
(b) At least 30 days before any meeting of the Acquisition 96
and Restoration Council or the board of trustees to review the 97
proposed land exchange of conservation lands, the Division of 98
State Lands shall publish the following information on its 99
website: 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1. The parcels of state-owned lands proposed for exchange; 101
2. The privately owned parcels of land proposed for 102
exchange; 103
3. The portions of the lands identified in subparagraphs 104
1. and 2. which will be preserved in a permanent conservation 105
easement; 106
4. A statement from the division explaining how the 107
exchange will result in a conservation benefit to the state; and 108
5. Any recommendations from the division and the council 109
related to the request. 110
(c) If the Division of State Lands elects to proceed with 111
a request, the division must submit the request to the council 112
for review, and the council must provide recommendations to the 113
division. If the division elects to forward a request to the 114
board of trustees, the division must provide its recommendations 115
and the recommendations of the council to the board. 116
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section 117
373.089, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 118
373.089 Sale or exchange of lands, or interests or rights 119
in lands.—The governing board of the district may sell lands, or 120
interests or rights in lands, to which the district has acquired 121
title or to which it may hereafter acquire title in the 122
following manner: 123
(6) Any lands the title to which is vested in the 124
governing board of a water management district may be surplused 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
pursuant to the procedures set forth in this section and s. 126
373.056 and the following: 127
(a) For those lands designated as acquired for 128
conservation purposes, the governing board shall make a 129
determination that the lands are no longer needed for 130
conservation purposes and may dispose of them by a two-thirds 131
vote. At least 30 days before the governing board meets to 132
review the proposed sale or exchange of such lands, the 133
governing board shall publish the following information on its 134
website, as applicable: 135
1. The parcels of district-owned lands for sale or 136
proposed for exchange; 137
2. The parcels of privately owned lands proposed for 138
exchange; 139
3. The portions of the lands identified in subparagraphs 140
1. and 2. which will be preserved in a permanent conservation 141
easement; and 142
4. A statement from the district explaining why the lands 143
are no longer needed for conservation purposes. 144
145
If the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund 146
declines to accept title to the lands offered under this 147
section, the land may be disposed of by the district under the 148
provisions of this section. 149
Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 215.196, Florida 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Statutes, is amended to read: 151
215.196 Architects Incidental Trust Fund; creation; 152
assessment.— 153
(1) There is created the Architects Incidental Trust Fund 154
for the purpose of: 155
(a) Collecting all funds received through the sale of 156
surplus state-owned office buildings, as defined in s. 255.248, 157
and the nonconservation lands associated with such buildings; 158
(b) Diverting funds referenced in s. 253.0341(15)(b) s. 159
253.0341(14)(b); and 160
(c) Providing sufficient funds for the operation of the 161
facilities development activities of the Department of 162
Management Services. 163
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 164