THE BILL ITSELF
CS/SB 546
Conservation Lands
Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 546 By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and Senators Mayfield and Harrell 592-01913-26 2026546c1
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to conservation lands; amending s.
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253.0341, F.S.; requiring the Division of State Lands
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to publish certain information on its website before
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the Acquisition and Restoration Council or the Board
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of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund
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meets to review the proposed sale of conservation
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lands; amending s. 253.42, F.S.; requiring that
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certain parcels proposed for exchange be appraised in
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accordance with certain criteria; deleting provisions
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requiring the division to submit certain requests to
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the council for review; deleting provisions requiring
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the division to provide certain recommendations to the
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board; requiring the division to publish certain
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information on its website before the council or the
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board meets to review a proposed land exchange;
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requiring the division to submit certain requests to
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the council for review and requiring the council to
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provide recommendations to the division in certain
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circumstances; requiring the division to provide
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certain recommendations to the board of trustees in
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certain circumstances; making a technical change;
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amending s. 373.089, F.S.; requiring the governing
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board of a water management district to publish
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certain information on its website before meeting to
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review the proposed sale or exchange of certain lands;
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amending s. 215.196, F.S.; conforming a cross
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reference; providing an effective date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. Present subsections (7) through (19) of section
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253.0341, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (8)
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through (20), respectively, a new subsection (7) is added to
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that section, and present subsection (11) of that section is
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amended, to read:
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253.0341 Surplus of state-owned lands.—
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(7) At least 30 days before any meeting of the Acquisition
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and Restoration Council or board of trustees to review the
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proposed sale of conservation lands, the Division of State Lands
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shall publish the following information on its website:
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(a) The parcels of state-owned land for sale; and
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(b) A statement from the division explaining why the lands
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are no longer needed for conservation purposes.
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(12) (11) Requests to surplus lands may be made by any
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public or private entity or person and shall be determined by
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the board of trustees. All requests to surplus conservation
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lands shall be submitted to the lead managing agency for review
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and recommendation to the Acquisition and Restoration Council,
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and all requests to surplus nonconservation lands shall be
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submitted to the Division of State Lands for review and
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recommendation to the board of trustees. The lead managing
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agencies shall review such requests and make recommendations to
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the council within 90 days after receipt of the requests. Any
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requests to surplus conservation lands that are not acted upon
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within the 90-day period shall be immediately scheduled for
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hearing at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the council.
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Requests to surplus lands shall be considered by the board of
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trustees within 60 days after receipt of the requests from the
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council or division. Requests to surplus lands pursuant to this
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subsection are not required to be offered to state agencies as
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provided in subsection (8) (7) .
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Section 2. Present paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of
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subsection (4) of section 253.42, Florida Statutes, are
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redesignated as paragraphs (d), (e), and (f), respectively, new
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paragraphs (b) and (c) are added to that subsection, and
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paragraph (a) of that subsection is amended, to read:
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253.42 Board of trustees may exchange lands.—This section
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applies to all lands owned by, vested in, or titled in the name
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of the board of trustees whether the lands were acquired by the
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state as a purchase, or through gift, donation, or any other
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conveyance for which no consideration was paid.
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(4)(a) A person who owns land contiguous to state-owned
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land titled to the board of trustees may submit a request to the
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Division of State Lands to exchange all or a portion of the
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privately owned land for all or a portion of the state-owned
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land, whereby the state retains a permanent conservation
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easement over all or a portion of the exchanged state-owned land
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and a permanent conservation easement over all or a portion of
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the exchanged privately owned land. State-owned land exchanged
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pursuant to this subsection must shall be contiguous to the
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privately owned land upon which the state retains a permanent
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conservation easement. Each parcel proposed for exchange
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pursuant to this subsection must have at least one appraisal
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that follows the appraisal criteria, techniques, and methods
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adopted by the board of trustees pursuant to s. 253.025(8)(e) If
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the division elects to proceed with a request, the division must
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submit the request to the Acquisition and Restoration Council
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for review and the council must provide recommendations to the
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division. If the division elects to forward a request to the
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board of trustees, the division must provide its recommendations
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and the recommendations of the council to the board . This
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subsection does not apply to state-owned sovereign submerged
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land.
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(b) At least 30 days before any meeting of the Acquisition
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and Restoration Council or board of trustees to review the
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proposed land exchange of conservation lands, the Division of
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State Lands shall publish the following information on its
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website:
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1. The parcels of state-owned lands proposed for exchange;
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2. The privately owned parcels of land proposed for
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exchange;
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3. The portions of the lands identified in subparagraphs 1.
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and 2. which will be preserved in a permanent conservation
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easement;
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4. A statement from the division explaining how the
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exchange will result in a conservation benefit to the state; and
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5. Any recommendations from the division and the council
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related to the request.
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(c) If the Division of State Lands elects to proceed with a
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request, the division must submit the request to the council for
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review, and the council must provide recommendations to the
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division. If the division elects to forward a request to the
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board of trustees, the division must provide its recommendations
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and the recommendations of the council to the board.
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Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section
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373.089, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
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373.089 Sale or exchange of lands, or interests or rights
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in lands.—The governing board of the district may sell lands, or
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interests or rights in lands, to which the district has acquired
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title or to which it may hereafter acquire title in the
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following manner:
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(6) Any lands the title to which is vested in the governing
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board of a water management district may be surplused pursuant
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to the procedures set forth in this section and s. 373.056 and
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the following:
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(a) For those lands designated as acquired for conservation
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purposes, the governing board shall make a determination that
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the lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes and may
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dispose of them by a two-thirds vote. At least 30 days before
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the governing board meets to review the proposed sale or
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exchange of such lands, the governing board shall publish the
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following information on its website, as applicable:
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1. The parcels of district-owned lands for sale or proposed
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for exchange;
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2. The parcels of privately owned lands proposed for
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exchange;
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3. The portions of the lands identified in subparagraphs 1.
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and 2. which will be preserved in a permanent conservation
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easement; and
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4. A statement from the district explaining why the lands
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are no longer needed for conservation purposes.
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If the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund
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declines to accept title to the lands offered under this
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section, the land may be disposed of by the district under the
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provisions of this section.
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Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 215.196, Florida
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Statutes, is amended to read:
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215.196 Architects Incidental Trust Fund; creation;
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assessment.—
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(1) There is created the Architects Incidental Trust Fund
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for the purpose of:
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(a) Collecting all funds received through the sale of
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surplus state-owned office buildings, as defined in s. 255.248,
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and the nonconservation lands associated with such buildings;
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(b) Diverting funds referenced in s. 253.0341(15)(b) s.
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253.0341(14)(b) ; and
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(c) Providing sufficient funds for the operation of the
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facilities development activities of the Department of
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Management Services.
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Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.