The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
BILL: SB 566
INTRODUCER: Senator Rodriguez
SUBJECT: Land Acquisition Trust Fund
DATE: January 9, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Carroll Rogers EN Favorable
2. AEG
3. AP
I. Summary:
SB 566 appropriates $20 million annually from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the purpose of:
 Entering into financial assistance agreements with local governments located in the Florida
Keys or the City of Key West Areas of Critical State Concern to promote the protection or
restoration of Florida Bay, the Florida Keys, and nearshore marine ecosystems, including
coral reefs; or
 Acquiring land within the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern with increased priority
given to acquisitions that achieve a combination of conservation goals.
The bill prohibits DEP from using the appropriated funds to implement wastewater management
projects or programs.
II. Present Situation:
The Florida Keys
The Florida Keys consist of more than 100 miles of small limestone islands formed from ancient
coral reefs rising a few meters above sea level.1 The Keys’ tropical climate supports populations
of rare and unique wildlife and plants that occur nowhere else in the world.2 For example, the
tropical hardwood hammocks in the Keys are the only tropical hardwood forests in the
continental U.S. and are the most imperiled plant communities in the world.3 The Keys also
support many migratory bird species, along with imperiled and rare wildlife and plants, including
1
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Florida Keys – Habitat and Management,
https://myfwc.com/recreation/lead/florida-keys/habitat/ (last visited Dec. 11, 2023).
2
Id.; FWC, A Management Plan for the Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area: 2016-2026, 1 (Feb. 2016) available
at https://myfwc.com/media/5371/fkweamanagementplan2016-2026.pdf.
3
FWC, A Management Plan for the Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area: 2016-2026 at 1.
BILL: SB 566 Page 2
Key deer, American crocodile, tree cactus, and four species of sea turtle.4 Because of its unique
combination of tropical endemic rare and imperiled species and habitats, the conservation of the
critical remaining natural lands in the Keys has long been a commitment of the State of Florida,
the federal government, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), Monroe
County, and many conservation organizations.5 Conservation helps to protect the Keys’
Outstanding Florida Waters, its reefs and islands, its fisheries, and its ecotourism.6
Areas of Critical State Concern
The Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Administration Commission,7 may designate certain
areas within the state that contain resources of statewide or regional significance as areas of
critical state concern.8 There are five designated areas of critical state concern: Big Cypress,9
Green Swamp,10 Florida Keys, Key West,11 and Apalachicola Bay.12
The City of Key West and the Florida Keys Areas of Critical State Concern
The Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern includes the Village of Islamorada, the
municipalities of Marathon, Layton and Key Colony Beach, and unincorporated Monroe
County.13 Following litigation in 1984 to challenge the designation, the City of Key West was
given its own area of critical state concern designation.14
By designating the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern, the legislature intended to:
 Establish a land-use management system that protects the natural environment, conserves and
promotes the community character, promotes orderly and balanced growth in accordance
with the capacity of available and planned public facilities and services, and promotes and
supports a diverse and sound economic base in the Keys;
 Provide affordable housing in close proximity to places of employment in the Keys;
 Protect the constitutional rights of property owners to own, use, and dispose of their real
property;
 Promote coordination and efficiency among governmental agencies that have permitting
jurisdiction over land-use activities within the Keys;
 Promote an appropriate land acquisition and protection strategy for environmentally sensitive
lands within the Keys;
 Protect and improve the nearshore water quality of the Keys through federal, state, and local
funding of water quality improvement projects; and
4
Id.
5
Id.
6
Id. at 1-2.
7
Section 380.031(1), F.S.
8
Section 380.05, F.S.
9
Section 380.055, F.S.
10
Section 380.0551, F.S.
11
Section 380.0552, F.S.
12
Section 380.0555, F.S.
13
Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), City of Key West and the Florida Keys Areas,
https://floridajobs.org/community-planning-and-development/programs/community-planning-table-of-contents/areas-of-
critical-state-concern/city-of-key-west-and-the-florida-keys (last visited Dec. 11, 2023).
14
Id.
BILL: SB 566 Page 3
 Ensure that the population of the Keys can be safely evacuated.15
State, regional, and local agencies and units of government in the Florida Keys Area of Critical
State Concern must coordinate development plans and conduct programs and activities
consistent with principles for guiding development that:
 Strengthen local government capabilities for managing land use and development.
 Protect shoreline and marine resources.
 Protect upland resources, tropical biological communities, freshwater wetlands, native
tropical vegetation, dune ridges and beaches, and wildlife.
 Ensure the maximum well-being of the Keys and its citizens through sound economic
development.
 Limit the adverse impacts of development on water quality.
 Protect the historical heritage of the Keys.
 Protect the value, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and amortized life of existing and proposed
major public investments.16
 Protect and improve water quality by providing for the construction, operation, maintenance,
and replacement of stormwater management facilities; central sewage collection; treatment
and disposal facilities; the installation and proper operation and maintenance of onsite
sewage treatment and disposal systems; and other water quality and supply projects,
including direct and indirect potable reuse.
 Ensure the improvement of nearshore water quality by requiring the construction and
operation of wastewater management facilities, and by directing growth to areas served by
central wastewater treatment facilities through permit allocation systems.
 Limit the adverse impacts of public investments on the environmental resources of the Keys.
 Make available adequate affordable housing for all sectors of the population of the Keys.
 Provide adequate alternatives for the protection of public safety and welfare in the event of a
natural or manmade disaster and for a post-disaster reconstruction plan.
 Protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Keys and maintain the
Keys as a unique Florida resource.17
Florida Keys Stewardship Act
The Florida Keys Stewardship Act revised various policies relating to local government
environmental financing.18 The Act:
 Required the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to annually consider the
recommendations of the Department of Economic Opportunity relating to land purchases
within an area of critical state concern;
15
Section 380.0552, F.S.
16
These investment include the Florida Keys Aqueduct and water supply facilities; sewage collection, treatment, and disposal
facilities, the Key West Naval Air Station and other military facilities; transportation facilities; federal parks, wildlife refuges,
and marine sanctuaries; state parks, recreation facilities, aquatic preserves, and other publicly owned properties; city electric
service and the Florida Keys Electric Co-op; and other utilities, as appropriate. Section 380.0552(7), F.S.
17
Id.
18
Chapter 2016-225, Laws of Fla.; section 259.045, F.S.
BILL: SB 566 Page 4
 Required DEP to make recommendations to the Board of Trustees of the Internal
Improvement Trust Fund with respect to the purchase of fee or any lesser interest in specified
types of lands;
 Allowed local governments and special districts within an area of critical state concern to
recommend additional land purchases;19
 Provided additional principles for guiding development within the Florida Keys Area of
Critical State Concern;20
 Expanded the purposes for which the local government infrastructure surtax21 can be used to
include land acquisition by a county for public recreation, conservation, or protection of
natural resources or to prevent or satisfy private property rights claims resulting from
limitations imposed by the designation of an area of critical state concern;22 and
 Directed that, beginning in the 2017-2018 fiscal year and continuing through the 2026-2027
fiscal year, at least $5 million from the Florida Forever Trust Fund must be spent on land
acquisition within the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern.23
Land Acquisition Trust Fund
Documentary stamp tax revenues are collected under ch. 201, F.S., which requires an excise tax
to be levied on two classes of documents: deeds and other documents related to real property,
which are taxed at the rate of 70 cents per $100; and certificates of indebtedness, promissory
notes, wage assignments, and retail charge account agreements, which are taxed at 35 cents per
$100.24
In 2014, Florida voters approved Amendment One, a constitutional amendment to provide a
dedicated funding source for land and water conservation and restoration.25 The amendment
required that starting on July 1, 2015, and for 20 years thereafter, 33 percent of net revenues
derived from documentary stamp taxes be deposited into the Land Acquisition Trust
Fund (LATF).26 Article X, s. 28 of the State Constitution requires that funds in the LATF be
expended only for the following purposes:
As provided by law, to finance or refinance: the acquisition and
improvement of land, water areas, and related property interests, including
conservation easements, and resources for conservation lands including
wetlands, forests, and fish and wildlife habitat; wildlife management areas;
lands that protect water resources and drinking water sources, including
lands protecting the water quality and quantity of rivers, lakes, streams,
springsheds, and lands providing recharge for groundwater and aquifer
19
Id.
20
Chapter 2016-225, Laws of Fla.; section 380.0552(7), F.S.
21
The local government infrastructure surtax allows the governing authority in each county to levy a discretionary sales
surtax of 0.5 percent or 1 percent. Section 212.055(2), F.S.
22
Chapter 2016-225, Laws of Fla.; section 212.055(2), F.S.
23
Chapter 2016-225, Laws of Fla.; section 259.105(3)(b), F.S.
24
See sections 201.02(1)(a) and 201.08(1)(a), F.S.
25
The Florida Senate, Water and Land Conservation, https://www.flsenate.gov/media/topics/WLC (last visited Nov. 29,
2023).
26
Id.
BILL: SB 566 Page 5
systems; lands in the Everglades Agricultural Area and the Everglades
Protection Area, as defined in Article II, Section 7(b); beaches and shores;
outdoor recreation lands, including recreational trails, parks, and urban open
space; rural landscapes; working farms and ranches; historic or geologic
sites; together with management, restoration of natural systems, and the
enhancement of public access or recreational enjoyment of conservation
lands.
To implement Art. X, s. 28 of the State Constitution, the Legislature passed ch. 2015-229, Laws
of Florida. This act, in part, amended the following sections of law:
 Section 201.15, F.S., to conform to the constitutional requirement that the LATF receive at
least 33 percent of net revenues derived from documentary stamp taxes; and
 Section 375.041, F.S., to designate the LATF within DEP as the trust fund to serve as the
constitutionally mandated depository for the percentage of documentary stamp tax
revenues.27
Under s. 375.041, F.S., funds deposited into the LATF must be distributed in the following order
and amounts:
 First, obligations relating to debt service, specifically, payments relating to debt service on
Florida Forever Bonds and Everglades restoration bonds.
 Then, unless superseded by the General Appropriations Act, before funds are authorized to
be appropriated for other uses:
o A minimum of the lesser of 25 percent of the funds remaining after the payment of debt
service or $200 million annually for Everglades projects that implement the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), the Long-Term Plan, or the
Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program (NEEPP), with priority given to
Everglades restoration projects that reduce harmful discharges of water from Lake
Okeechobee to the St. Lucie or Caloosahatchee estuaries in a timely manner. From these
funds, the following specified distributions are required:
 $32 million annually through the 2023-2024 fiscal year for the Long-Term Plan;
 After deducting the $32 million, the minimum of the lesser of 76.5 percent of the
remainder or $100 million annually through the 2025-2026 fiscal year for CERP; and
 Any remaining funds for Everglades projects under CERP, the Long-Term Plan, or
NEEPP.
o A minimum of the lesser of 7.6 percent of the funds remaining after the payment of debt
service or $50 million annually for spring restoration, protection, and management
projects;
o $5 million annually through the 2025-2026 fiscal year to the St. Johns River Water
Management District for projects dedicated to the restoration of Lake Apopka;
o $64 million to the Everglades Trust Fund in the 2018-2019 fiscal year and each fiscal
year thereafter, for the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir project, and any funds
remaining in any fiscal year shall be made available only for Phase II of the C-51
Reservoir Project or projects that implement CERP, the Long Term Plan, or NEEPP; and
o $50 million annually to SFWMD for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration
Project.
27
Ch. 2015-229, ss. 9 and 50, Laws of Fla.
BILL: SB 566 Page 6
o $100 million annually to DEP for the acquisition of land pursuant to the Florida Forever
Act.
 Then, any remaining moneys are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes set forth in
Art. X, s. 28 of the State Constitution.28
During the 2022 session, the Legislature added language that specifies that the purposes set forth
in s. 375.041(3)(a)3., F.S., relating to Lake Apopka would instead be appropriated as provided in
the General Appropriations Act.29 In August 2023, the General Revenue Estimating Conference
estimated that for fiscal year 2024-2025 a total of $3.67 billion would be collected in
documentary stamp taxes.30 Thirty-three percent of the net revenues collected, or approximately
$1.21 billion, must be deposited into the LATF in accordance with Art. X, s. 28 of the State
Constitution. Of that amount, $104.6 million is committed to debt service, leaving approximately
$1.1 billion to be distributed for the uses specified by s. 375.041, F.S., and other purposes in
accordance with the General Appropriations Act.31
Li