CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1980).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...of the Department of Natural Resources, and the Division of Forestry of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services continue to perform their land acquisition responsibilities while conforming to the procedures set forth in ch. 79-255? 2. In s. 253.025 , F. S., do the terms `agency' and `state agency' refer to and apply to the Division of State Lands or to the state agencies acquiring lands? 3. Can the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, pursuant to s. 253.025 , F....
...rks of the Department of Natural Resources, and the Division of Forestry of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may continue to perform their statutorily authorized acquisition duties. The terms `agency' and `state agency' as used in s. 253.025 , F. S., do not apply to and are to be distinguished from the Division of State Lands and its functions. The board of trustees is not authorized by s. 253.025 to purchase land with funds appropriated to another agency for the acquisition of lands, although such acquisitions are subject to approval by the board. Proposals for acquisition projects under ch. 259, F. S., and s. 253.023, F....
...259.035 do not authorize or require any transfer of funds from the Conservation and Recreation Lands Trust Fund if the prescribed priority list of acquisition projects is not completed by January 1 of each year by the selection committee, nor is any penalty provided for failure to meet such deadline. Section 253.025 does not, nor do ss....
...272.124 and
589.07 , F. S., require the prior adoption of rules by the Division of State Lands before an acquiring state agency may proceed to acquire lands subject to and in accordance with applicable statutory authority and the acquisition procedures set forth in s.
253.025 ....
...Management of the Department of General Services, and the Division of Forestry of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, respectively, with the proviso that such acquisitions be in accordance with the acquisition procedures provided in s. 253.025 , F....
...Finn,
312 So.2d 726 (Fla. 1975). In pertinent part the title of the act states that the several statutory sections governing these (and other) departments and divisions are amended to require them to follow the land acquisition procedures prescribed in s.
253.025 ....
...375.031 (1), F. S., which deals with the acquisition of outdoor recreation and park lands by the Division of Recreation and Parks of the Department of Natural Resources, specifically provides that all such land acquisitions shall conform to the provisions of s.
253.025 , F. S. This amendment of s.
375.031 (1) by ch. 79-255 has the effect of requiring the Division of Recreation and Parks to make its statutorily authorized land acquisitions in accordance with the procedures prescribed in s.
253.025 ....
...staff functions for the board of trustees related to such acquisition, and the several named divisions may continue to perform their statutorily authorized acquisition duties. AS TO QUESTION 2: The title of ch. 79-255, Laws of Florida, provides that s. 253.025 , F. S., is created to require `certain state agencies ' (Emphasis supplied.) to follow the prescribed procedures `in acquisition of land.' Section 9 of the act creates s. 253.025 , which in pertinent part states: Prior to any state agency initiating any land acquisition ....
...such agency shall coordinate with the Division of State Lands . . . . Once the state agency has determined and established the public purpose for an acquisition and the unavailability of existing suitable state-owned lands, the state agency may proceed to acquire such lands . . . . (Emphasis supplied.) At s. 253.025 (4)(b), F....
...S., it is provided that `[a]ppraisal fees shall be paid by the agency proposing the acquisition' (Emphasis supplied.) and that an `agency proposing an acquisition shall select fee appraisers from [a] list' maintained by the Division of State Lands. Further, in s. 253.025 (4)(c) dealing with appraisal reports, it states: `Prior to acceptance, the agency shall submit a copy of such report to the Division of State Lands.' (Emphasis supplied.) In the context of the above-cited provisions there is no apparent distinction between the terms `state agency' an `agency.' Moreover, it seems evident that the use of those terms in the context of s. 253.025 , F. S., does not apply to the Division of State Lands. This is further shown by the following portion of s. 253.025 (5): (a) Negotiations for land acquisition between a landowner or his designated agent and a state agency , title to whose land is held by the board of trustees, shall not be commenced prior to completion of the appraisal report ....
...e with the agency . (c) Upon the initiation of negotiations, the state agency shall inform the owner in writing that all agreements for purchase are subject to approval by the board of trustees. (Emphasis supplied.) I might also note that throughout s. 253.025 specific reference is also made to the Division of State Lands. See s. 253.025 (1), (4)(b) and (c), and (5)(d) and (e). The specific reference throughout to the division distinguishes its functions from those to be performed by an `agency' or `state agency.' AS TO QUESTION 3: Nothing in s. 253.025 , F. S., authorizes the board of trustees to expend moneys appropriated to another agency for the acquisition of lands. Section 253.025 (5)(a), (c), and (d) clearly reveals that individual state agencies acquiring lands may make agreements to purchase, subject to approval by the board of trustees, pursuant to available statutory authority for acquisition. Section 253.025 (5)(e) explicitly provides that the board of trustees can either approve or reject the affected state agency's agreement to purchase, but this does not confer on the board of trustees any authority to actually purchase lands itself with funds appropriated to another agency....
...ry 1 of each year. The Division of State Lands is required to provide primary staff support to the committee. It is stated that `[a]ll proposals for acquisition projects pursuant to this chapter [the Land Conservation Act of 1972, ch. 259, F. S.] or s. 253.023 shall originate from the committee .' (Emphasis supplied.) The committee is required to consider and evaluate in writing the merits of each proposed project submitted to it and ensure that each proposed acquisition project will carry out the public purpose for preserving environmentally endangered lands, for developing outdoor recreation lands, or as otherwise provided in s. 253.023(3)(b), F....
...ands plan developed pursuant to ss.
253.03 (7) and
259.04 (1)(a), F. S., respectively. Copies of a written report on each project considered for acquisition must be submitted to the board of trustees. Thus, acquisitions pursuant to ch. 259 F. S., or s.
253.023, F....
...S., to be submitted to the committee for evaluation. This is confirmed by the amendment to s.
259.04 (2) made by s. 15, ch. 79-255, Laws of Florida, which provides: For state capital projects for outdoor recreation lands, the provisions of chapter 375 and s.
253.025 shall apply....
...rity. Section
259.035 makes no reference to any transfer of funds. There is no express penalty provided for failure to meet these deadlines, and none can be implied. Moneys are credited to the Conservation and Recreation Lands Trust Fund pursuant to s.
253.023, F....
...79-255, Laws of Florida, specifically provide for and sanction the authority of the Division of Building Construction and Property Management of the Department of General Services and the Division of Forestry of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to acquire lands in accordance with the procedures provided in s. 253.025 , F. S. Section 253.025 does require an acquiring agency to coordinate with the Division of State Lands to determine the availability of existing state-owned lands and the public purpose for which an acquisition is being proposed. Once these have been determined, the acquiring agency is empowered to proceed to acquire such lands by employing all available statutory authority for such acquisition. Section 253.025 , F. S., does not provide for or require the prior adoption of rules by the Division of State Lands, nor does s. 16 or s. 18 of ch. 79-255 require the adoption of any such rules by the division. Section 253.025 (9) does, however, authorize the board of trustees and all affected agencies to adopt such rules and regulations `as are necessary' to carry out the purposes of that section. Therefore, I find no prohibition against any affected, acquiring state agency proceeding to acquire land subject to and in accordance with applicable statutory authority and the acquisition procedures for state lands provided in s. 253.025 , although the Division of State Lands has not yet adopted rules of procedure....
