FL H1291

Terminates seven existing conservation trust funds — including the Conservation and Recreation Lands Trust Fund, Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund, Florida Communities Trust Fund, Florida Preservation 2000 Trust Fund, and Water Management Lands Trust Fund — transferring remaining balances to either the Land Acquisition Trust Fund or General Revenue Fund, with limited exceptions for reef/pollution recovery accounts and outstanding bond debt service obligations.

Restructures documentary stamp tax distributions by directing 33% of net collections to the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to implement Article X, Section 28 of the State Constitution, with a priority hierarchy: first for debt service on Preservation 2000, Florida Forever, and Everglades restoration bonds (capped at $300 million/year, bonds retiring by December 31, 2040), then for other constitutionally authorized conservation purposes.

Establishes the Land Acquisition Trust Fund as the central funding mechanism for water and land conservation, with a strict allocation priority: (a) debt service on Florida Forever and Everglades bonds; (b) debt service on pre-2009 water management district bonds (expiring July 1, 2016); (c) $32 million annually to South Florida WMD for the Everglades Long-Term Plan (expiring July 1, 2024); and (d) remaining funds distributed per the General Appropriations Act.

Secures Florida Forever bonds and Everglades restoration bonds on parity, with both subject to a cap limiting the additional bonds test to no more than 58.25% of documentary stamp tax collections; retains the $5.3 billion Florida Forever bond authorization cap and 20-year maximum maturity per series.

Preserves the Florida Forever program's distribution structure, including 35% to DEP for land acquisition, 30% for water management district priorities, 21% to Florida Communities Trust, 3.5% to DACS for agricultural conservation easements, and smaller allocations for recreation, greenways/trails, and working waterfronts — while requiring agencies to spend unencumbered bond proceeds within 3 fiscal years or face legislative redistribution.

Redirects phosphate rock severance tax distributions by eliminating the Conservation and Recreation Lands Trust Fund share (25.5%) and proportionally increasing allocations to the General Revenue Fund (to 47.9%), counties (17.2%), rural areas of opportunity (13.4%), and other existing recipients, with a transitional schedule effective July 1, 2015 through December 31, 2022.

Expands the Water Quality Assurance Trust Fund to absorb functions of the terminated Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund, including ecosystem management programs, SWIM plan implementation, coral reef restoration, ocean outfall programs, and environmental enforcement penalties previously deposited elsewhere.

Retains payment-in-lieu-of-taxes provisions for counties with populations of 150,000 or fewer, requiring water management districts to annually reserve funds covering actual ad valorem tax losses from land acquisitions, with payments based on the three-year pre-acquisition tax average and applications due by May 31 annually.

Mandates public recreational access on lands acquired through Preservation 2000 funds where compatible with natural resource protection, requires management of nonnative invasive species on those lands, and directs that all Florida Forever lands be managed for multiple uses — including outdoor recreation, sustainable forestry, and carbon sequestration — with the Board of Trustees required to adopt rules for carbon sequestration activities on state lands.

Repeals ten statutory sections, including provisions establishing the Green Swamp Land Authority, the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund, the Florida Communities Trust Fund, beach erosion staffing requirements, and the Water Protection and Sustainability Program annual appropriation, while extending the Acquisition and Restoration Council's rulemaking deadline to December 1, 2016.