Bill Text: FL S1378 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Assessment of Lands Used for Conservation Purposes [EPSC]

Spectrum: Unknown

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation [S1378 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S1378-Introduced.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 1378 
 
By the Committee on Finance and Tax 
593-01647A-10                                         20101378__ 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to the assessment of lands used for 
3         conservation purposes; amending s. 193.501, F.S.; 
4         providing for certain lands that are covenanted for 
5         use for conservation purposes to be assessed for ad 
6         valorem taxation in the same manner as lands used for 
7         outdoor recreational or park purposes; redefining the 
8         term “covenant”; defining the term “conservation 
9         purposes”; specifying the information that must be 
10         included in a covenant; requiring covenants to be 
11         notarized; requiring the executive director of the 
12         Department of Revenue to work with the Board of 
13         Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, local 
14         governments, and conservation organizations to develop 
15         a form for a covenant; providing that the requirements 
16         for covenants do not apply to covenants in existence 
17         before the effective date of the act; providing for 
18         retroactive application; providing an effective date. 
19 
20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
21 
22         Section 1. Section 193.501, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
23  read: 
24         193.501 Assessment of lands subject to a conservation 
25  easement, environmentally endangered lands, or lands used for 
26  outdoor recreational, conservation, or park purposes after when 
27  land development rights have been conveyed or conservation 
28  restrictions have been covenanted.— 
29         (1) The owner or owners in fee of any land subject to a 
30  conservation easement as described in s. 704.06; land qualified 
31  as environmentally endangered pursuant to paragraph (6)(i) and 
32  so designated by formal resolution of the governing board of the 
33  municipality or county within which such land is located; land 
34  designated as conservation land in a comprehensive plan adopted 
35  by the appropriate municipal or county governing body; or any 
36  land that which is used utilized for conservation, outdoor 
37  recreational, or park purposes may, by appropriate instrument, 
38  for a term of at least not less than 10 years: 
39         (a) Convey the development right of such land to the 
40  governing board of any public agency in this state within which 
41  the land is located, or to the Board of Trustees of the Internal 
42  Improvement Trust Fund, or to a charitable corporation or trust 
43  as described in s. 704.06(3); or 
44         (b) Enter into a covenant as provided in subsection (8) 
45  Covenant with the governing board of any public agency in this 
46  state within which the land is located, or with the Board of 
47  Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, or with a 
48  charitable corporation or trust as described in s. 704.06(3), 
49  that such land be subject to one or more of the conservation 
50  restrictions provided in s. 704.06(1) or not be used by the 
51  owner for any purpose other than conservation, outdoor 
52  recreational, or park purposes. If land is covenanted and used 
53  for an outdoor recreational purpose, the normal use and 
54  maintenance of the land for that purpose, consistent with the 
55  covenant, is shall not be restricted. 
56         (2) The governing board of any public agency in this state 
57  within which the land is located, or the Board of Trustees of 
58  the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, or a charitable corporation 
59  or trust as described in s. 704.06(3), is authorized to and may 
60  empowered in its discretion to accept any and all instruments 
61  conveying the development right of any such land or enter into a 
62  covenant restricting the use of such land as provided under 
63  subsection (8). establishing a covenant pursuant to subsection 
64  (1), and if accepted by the board or charitable corporation or 
65  trust, The covenant or other instrument shall be promptly filed 
66  with the appropriate officer for recording in the same manner as 
67  any other instrument affecting the title to real property and 
68  shall be indexed and maintained in such a manner that allows 
69  members of the public to locate the covenant or other instrument 
70  affecting any particular property assessed pursuant to this 
71  section. 
72         (3) After When, pursuant to subsections (1) and (2), the 
73  development right in real property has been conveyed, pursuant 
74  to subsections (1) and (2), to the governing board of any public 
75  agency of this state within which the land is located, to the 
76  Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, or to 
77  a charitable corporation or trust as described in s. 704.06(2), 
78  or a covenant has been executed and accepted by the board or 
79  charitable corporation or trust, the lands that which are the 
80  subject of such conveyance or covenant shall be thereafter 
81  assessed as provided in this section. herein: 
82         (a) If the covenant or conveyance extends for a period of 
83  at least not less than 10 years from January 1 in the year such 
84  assessment is made, the property appraiser, in valuing such land 
85  for tax purposes, shall consider no factors other than those 
86  relative to its value for the present use, as restricted by any 
87  conveyance or covenant under this section. 
88         (b) If the covenant or conveyance extends for a period less 
89  than 10 years, the land shall be assessed under the provisions 
90  of s. 193.011, recognizing the nature and length thereof of any 
91  restriction placed on the use of the land under the provisions 
92  of subsection (1). 
93         (4) After making a conveyance of the development right or 
94  executing a covenant pursuant to this section, or conveying a 
95  conservation easement pursuant to this section and s. 704.06, 
96  the owner of the land may shall not use the land in any manner 
97  not consistent with the development right voluntarily conveyed, 
98  or with the restrictions voluntarily imposed, or with the terms 
99  of the conservation easement, and may or shall not change the 
100  use of the land from conservation, outdoor recreational, or park 
101  purposes during the term of such conveyance or covenant without 
102  first obtaining a written instrument from the board or 
103  charitable corporation or trust, which instrument reconveys all 
104  or part of the development right to the owner or releases the 
105  owner from the terms of the covenant. The and which instrument 
106  must be promptly recorded in the same manner as any other 
107  instrument affecting the title to real property. Upon obtaining 
108  approval for reconveyance or release, the reconveyance or 
109  release shall be made to the owner upon payment of the deferred 
110  tax liability. Any payment of the deferred tax liability shall 
111  be payable to the county tax collector within 90 days after of 
112  the date of approval by the board or charitable corporation or 
113  trust of the reconveyance or release. The collector shall 
114  distribute the payment to each governmental unit in the 
115  proportion that its millage bears to the total millage levied on 
116  the parcel for the years in which such conveyance or covenant 
117  was in effect. 
118         (5) The governing board of any public agency, or the Board 
119  of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, or a 
120  charitable corporation or trust that which holds title to a 
121  development right pursuant to this section may not convey that 
122  development right to anyone other than the governing board of 
123  another public agency or a charitable corporation or trust, as 
124  described in s. 704.06(3), or the record owner of the fee 
125  interest in the land to which the development right attaches. 
126  The conveyance from the governing board of a public agency or 
127  the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund to 
128  the owner of the fee shall be made only after a determination by 
129  the board that such conveyance will would not adversely affect 
130  the interest of the public. Section 125.35 does not apply to 
131  such sales, but any public agency accepting any instrument 
132  conveying a development right pursuant to this section shall 
133  immediately forthwith adopt appropriate regulations and 
134  procedures governing the disposition of the development rights 
135  same. These regulations and procedures must provide in part that 
136  the board may not convey a development right to the owner of the 
137  fee without first holding a public hearing and unless notice of 
138  the proposed conveyance and the time and place at which the 
139  public hearing is to be held is published once a week for at 
140  least 2 weeks in a some newspaper of general circulation in the 
141  county involved before prior to the hearing. 
142         (6) Unless the context clearly indicates a different 
143  meaning, as used The following terms whenever used as referred 
144  to in this section, the term have the following meanings unless 
145  a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context: 
146         (a) “Board” means is the governing board of any 
147  municipality city, county, or other public agency of the state 
148  or the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. 
149         (b) “Conservation restriction” means a limitation on a 
150  right to the use of land for purposes of conserving or 
151  preserving land or water areas predominantly in their natural, 
152  scenic, open, agricultural, or wooded condition. The limitation 
153  on rights to the use of land may involve or pertain to any of 
154  the activities enumerated in s. 704.06(1). 
155         (c) “Conservation easement” means that property right 
156  described in s. 704.06. 
157         (d) “Covenant” means an agreement running with the land 
158  which restricts the use of the land exclusively to conservation, 
159  outdoor recreational, or park purposes is a covenant running 
160  with the land. 
161         (e) “Deferred tax liability” means an amount equal to the 
162  difference between the total amount of taxes that would have 
163  been due in March in each of the previous years in which the 
164  conveyance or covenant was in effect if the property had been 
165  assessed under the provisions of s. 193.011 and the total amount 
166  of taxes actually paid in those years when the property was 
167  assessed under the provisions of this section, plus interest on 
168  that difference computed as provided in s. 212.12(3). 
169         (f) “Development right” means is the right of the owner of 
170  the fee interest in the land to change the use of the land. 
171         (g) “Outdoor recreational or park purposes” includes, but 
172  is not necessarily limited to, boating, golfing, camping, 
173  swimming, horseback riding, and archaeological, scenic, or 
174  scientific sites and applies only to land which is open to the 
175  general public. 
176         (h) “Present use” is the manner in which the land is used 
177  utilized on January 1 of the year in which the assessment is 
178  made. 
179         (i) “Qualified as environmentally endangered” means land 
180  that has unique ecological characteristics, rare or limited 
181  combinations of geological formations, or features of a rare or 
182  limited nature constituting habitat suitable for fish, plants, 
183  or wildlife, and that which, if subject to a development 
184  moratorium or one or more conservation easements or development 
185  restrictions appropriate to retaining such land or water areas 
186  predominantly in their natural state, would be consistent with 
187  the conservation, recreation and open space, and, if applicable, 
188  coastal protection elements of the comprehensive plan adopted by 
189  formal action of the local governing body pursuant to s. 
190  163.3161, the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land 
191  Development Regulation Act,; or surface waters and wetlands, as 
192  determined by the methodology ratified in s. 373.4211. 
193         (j) “Conservation purposes” means the retention of: 
194         1. The substantial natural value of land, including 
195  woodlands, wetlands, water courses, ponds, streams, and natural 
196  open spaces; 
197         2. The land as suitable habitat for fish, plants, or 
198  wildlife; or 
199         3. The natural value of land for water quality enhancement 
200  or water recharge. 
201         (7)(a) The property appraiser shall report to the 
202  department showing the just value and the classified use value 
203  of property that is subject to a conservation easement under s. 
204  704.06, property assessed as environmentally endangered land 
205  pursuant to this section, and property assessed as outdoor 
206  recreational or park land. 
207         (b) The tax collector shall annually report to the 
208  department the amount of deferred tax liability collected 
209  pursuant to this section. 
210         (8)(a) A covenant must include: 
211         1. Identification of the land to which the covenant 
212  applies; 
213         2. The land’s allowable use or uses; 
214         3. The period of time for which the covenant applies; 
215         4. The names of all parties to the covenant and the 
216  responsibilities of each party in ensuring that the terms of the 
217  covenant are enforced; 
218         5. Penalties that apply if the covenant is breached; 
219         6. A statement that the covenant runs with the land and 
220  applies to future landowners; and 
221         7. Signatures of all parties to the covenant attesting that 
222  all information in the covenant is true, correct, and complete. 
223         (b) A covenant must be notarized. 
224         (c) The executive director of the Department of Revenue 
225  shall work with the Board of Trustees of the Internal 
226  Improvement Trust Fund, local governments, and conservation 
227  organizations to develop a form for a covenant. However, the use 
228  of the form is not mandatory. 
229         (9)(8) A person or organization that, on January 1, has the 
230  legal title to land that is entitled by law to assessment under 
231  this section shall, on or before March 1 of each year, file an 
232  application for assessment under this section with the county 
233  property appraiser. The application must identify the property 
234  for which assessment under this section is claimed. The initial 
235  application for assessment for any property must include a copy 
236  of the instrument by which the development right is conveyed or 
237  which establishes a covenant that establishes the conservation 
238  purposes for which the land is used. The Department of Revenue 
239  shall prescribe the forms upon which the application is made. 
240  The failure to file an application on or before March 1 of any 
241  year constitutes a waiver of assessment under this section for 
242  that year. However, an applicant who is qualified to receive an 
243  assessment under this section but fails to file an application 
244  by March 1 may file an application for the assessment and may 
245  file, pursuant to s. 194.011(3), a petition with the value 
246  adjustment board requesting that the assessment be granted. The 
247  petition must be filed at any time during the taxable year on or 
248  before the 25th day following the mailing of the notice by the 
249  property appraiser pursuant to s. 194.011(1). Notwithstanding s. 
250  194.013, the applicant must pay a nonrefundable fee of $15 upon 
251  filing the petition. Upon reviewing the petition, if the person 
252  is qualified to receive the assessment and demonstrates 
253  particular extenuating circumstances judged by the property 
254  appraiser or the value adjustment board to warrant granting the 
255  assessment, the property appraiser or the value adjustment board 
256  may grant the assessment. The owner of land that was assessed 
257  under this section in the previous year and whose ownership or 
258  use has not changed may reapply on a short form as provided by 
259  the department. A county may, at the request of the property 
260  appraiser and by a majority vote of its governing body, waive 
261  the requirement that an annual application or statement be made 
262  for assessment of property within the county. Such waiver may be 
263  revoked by a majority vote of the governing body of the county. 
264         (10)(9) A person or entity that owns land assessed pursuant 
265  to this section must notify the property appraiser promptly if 
266  the land becomes ineligible for assessment under this section. 
267  If any property owner fails to notify the property appraiser and 
268  the property appraiser determines that for any year within the 
269  preceding 10 years the land was not eligible for assessment 
270  under this section, the owner of the land is subject to taxes 
271  avoided as a result of such failure plus 15 percent interest per 
272  annum and a penalty of 50 percent of the taxes avoided. The 
273  property appraiser making such determination shall record in the 
274  public records of the county a notice of tax lien against any 
275  property owned by that person or entity in the county, and such 
276  property must be identified in the notice of tax lien. The 
277  property is subject to a lien in the amount of the unpaid taxes 
278  and penalties. The lien when filed shall attach to any property 
279  identified in the notice of tax lien which is owned by the 
280  person or entity and which was improperly assessed. If such 
281  person or entity no longer owns property in that county but owns 
282  property in some other county or counties of this state, the 
283  property appraiser shall record a notice of tax lien in such 
284  other county or counties, identifying the property owned by such 
285  person or entity. 
286         Section 2. The requirements for covenants to convey 
287  development rights or impose conservation restrictions in 
288  section 193.501(8), Florida Statutes, do not apply to such 
289  covenants in existence before the effective date of this act. 
290         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, 
291  and applies retroactively to January 1, 2010.