Florida HB 441: Conservation Lands

Bill Text

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CS/HB 441 2026 Legislature

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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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CS/HB 441 2026 Legislature

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31
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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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CS/HB 441 2026 Legislature

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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

ENROLLED
CS/HB 441 2026 Legislature

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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Division of State Lands to exchange all or a portion of the 76