Senate Bill 546 (2026) — Conservation lands
SB 546
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 546 By Senator Mayfield 19-00386C-26 2026546__ Page 1 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
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 Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement 5 Trust Fund meets to review the proposed sale of 6 conservation lands; amending s. 253.42, F.S.; 7 requiring that certain parcels proposed for exchange 8 be appraised in accordance with certain criteria; 9 deleting provisions requiring the division to submit 10 certain requests to the Acquisition and Restoration 11 Council for review; deleting provisions requiring the 12 division to provide certain recommendations to the 13 board; requiring the division to publish certain 14 information on its website before the council meets to 15 review a proposed land exchange; requiring the 16 division to submit certain requests to the council for 17 review and requiring the council to provide 18 recommendations to the division in certain 19 circumstances; requiring the division to provide 20 certain recommendations to the board of trustees in 21 certain circumstances; making a technical change; 22 amending s. 373.089, F.S.; requiring the governing 23 board of a water management district to publish 24 certain information on its website before meeting to 25 review the proposed sale or exchange of certain lands; 26 amending s. 215.196, F.S.; conforming a cross-27 reference; providing an effective date. 28 29
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 546 19-00386C-26 2026546__ Page 2 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30 31
Section 1. Present subsections (8) through (19) of
section 32 253.0341, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (9) 33 through (20), respectively, and a new subsection (8) is added to 34 that section, to read: 35 253.0341 Surplus of state-owned lands.— 36
(8) At least 30 days before the board of trustees meets to 37 review the proposed sale of conservation lands, the Division of 38 State Lands must publish the following information on its 39 website: 40 (
a) The parcels of state-owned land for sale; and 41 (
b) A statement explaining why the lands are no longer 42 needed for conservation purposes, for consideration by the board 43 of trustees. 44
Section 2. Present paragraphs (b), (c), and (
d) of 45 subsection (4) of
section 253.42, Florida Statutes, are 46 redesignated as paragraphs (d), (e), and (f), respectively, new 47 paragraphs (
b) and (
c) are added to that subsection, and 48 paragraph (
a) of that subsection is amended, to read: 49 253.42 Board of trustees may exchange lands.—This
section 50 applies to all lands owned by, vested in, or titled in the name 51 of the board of trustees whether the lands were acquired by the 52 state as a purchase, or through gift, donation, or any other 53 conveyance for which no consideration was paid. 54 (4)(
a) A person who owns land contiguous to state-owned 55 land titled to the board of trustees may submit a request to the 56 Division of State Lands to exchange all or a portion of the 57 privately owned land for all or a portion of the state-owned 58
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 546 19-00386C-26 2026546__ Page 3 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. land, whereby the state retains a permanent conservation 59 easement over all or a portion of the exchanged state-owned land 60 and a permanent conservation easement over all or a portion of 61 the exchanged privately owned land. State-owned land exchanged 62 pursuant to this subsection must shall be contiguous to the 63 privately owned land upon which the state retains a permanent 64 conservation easement.
Each parcel proposed for exchange 65 pursuant to this subsection must have at least one appraisal 66 that follows the appraisal criteria, techniques, and methods 67 adopted by the board of trustees pursuant to s. 253.025(8)(
e) If 68 the division elects to proceed with a request, the division must 69 submit the request to the Acquisition and Restoration Council 70 for review and the council must provide recommendations to the 71 division. If the division elects to forward a request to the 72 board of trustees, the division must provide its recommendations 73 and the recommendations of the council to the board. This 74 subsection does not apply to state-owned sovereign submerged 75 land. 76 (
b) At least 30 days before the Acquisition and Restoration 77 Council meets to review the proposed land exchange of 78 conservation lands, the Division of State Lands shall publish 79 the following information on its website: 80 1. The parcels of state-owned lands proposed for exchange; 81 2. The privately owned parcels of land proposed for 82 exchange; 83 3. The portions of the lands identified in subparagraphs 1. 84 and 2. which will be preserved in a permanent conservation 85 easement; 86 4. A statement from the division explaining how the 87
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 546 19-00386C-26 2026546__ Page 4 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. exchange will result in a conservation benefit to the state; and 88 5. Any recommendations from the division and the council 89 related to the request. 90 (
c) If the Division of State Lands elects to proceed with a 91 request, the division must submit the request to the council for 92 review, and the council must provide recommendations to the 93 division. If the division elects to forward a request to the 94 board of trustees, the division must provide its recommendations 95 and the recommendations of the council to the board. 96
Section 3. Paragraph (
a) of subsection (6) of
section 97 373.089, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 98 373.089 Sale or exchange of lands, or interests or rights 99 in lands.—The governing board of the district may sell lands, or 100 interests or rights in lands, to which the district has acquired 101 title or to which it may hereafter acquire title in the 102 following manner: 103
(6) Any lands the title to which is vested in the governing 104 board of a water management district may be surplused pursuant 105 to the procedures set forth in this
section and s. 373.056 and 106 the following: 107 (
a) For those lands designated as acquired for conservation 108 purposes, the governing board shall make a determination that 109 the lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes and may 110 dispose of them by a two-thirds vote. At least 30 days before 111 the governing board meets to review the proposed sale or 112 exchange of such lands, the governing board shall publish the 113 following information on its website, as applicable: 114 1. The parcels of district-owned lands for sale or proposed 115 for exchange; 116
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 546 19-00386C-26 2026546__ Page 5 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 2. The parcels of privately owned lands proposed for 117 exchange; 118 3. The portions of the lands identified in subparagraphs 1. 119 and 2. which will be preserved in a permanent conservation 120 easement; and 121 4. A statement from the district explaining why the lands 122 are no longer needed for conservation purposes. 123 124 If the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund 125 declines to accept title to the lands offered under this 126 section, the land may be disposed of by the district under the 127 provisions of this section. 128
Section 4. Subsection (1) of
section 215.196, Florida 129 Statutes, is amended to read: 130 215.196 Architects Incidental Trust Fund; creation; 131 assessment.— 132
(1) There is created the Architects Incidental Trust Fund 133 for the purpose of: 134 (
a) Collecting all funds received through the sale of 135 surplus state-owned office buildings, as defined in s. 255.248, 136 and the nonconservation lands associated with such buildings; 137 (
b) Diverting funds referenced in s. 253.0341(15)(
b) s. 138 253.0341(14)(b); and 139 (
c) Providing sufficient funds for the operation of the 140 facilities development activities of the Department of 141 Management Services. 142