It’s been 10 years since Floridians overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure to generate upward of $1 billion annually for land conservation until 2035. The Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) and other state conservation groups noticed immediate misallocation of these critical funds and began a long legal battle with the Florida legislature in 2015.
We’re disappointed to report that on October 14 this year, the Florida Supreme Court declined to review the case—but the fight isn’t over.
Recap: The Need for the Water and Land Legacy Amendment
Florida has always been a national leader in the land conservation space. Acquiring lands for conservation had been a bipartisan priority under Governors Graham, Martinez, Chiles, Bush, and Crist. However, funding for land conservation was essentially eliminated under the 2009 Scott Administration, creating a yearly uncertainty of allocation.
In response, groups from around the state organized the Florida Water and Land Legacy Coalition, including the state’s leading conservation groups such as FWF, Trust for Public Land, Audubon of Florida, Sierra Club, and others. This coalition launched a campaign to place the Florida Water and Land Conservation Amendment, widely known as Amendment 1, on the November 2014 ballot.
The goal of the constitutional amendment was to assure Floridians that adequate funding would be available for 20 years solely to conserve land surrounding critical water resources, wildlife habitat, parks, trails, greenways and other natural areas. Funding would come from one-third of the documentary stamp tax (an existing fee on all real estate transactions) which was initially estimated to generate $10 billion in funding over the 20-year life of the amendment. However, after the dramatic increase in property values, we would now expect closer to $1 billion each year.
Amendment 1’s Misallocation and Legal Hurdles
In November 2014, an impressive 75 percent of Floridians voted in favor of Amendment 1 to provide approximately $20 billion over 20 years for the state to “acquire, restore, improve, and manage conservation lands.” Unfortunately, instead of using these funds as intended, the state quickly redirected them to unrelated agency overhead expenditures, including items like hats and DirecTV subscriptions.
In response to the Florida Legislature’s failure to follow the state constitution and fulfill the will of the people, FWF and our partners filed a lawsuit to halt the misspending and redirect the funds to their intended use.
Following years of legal maneuvering, the Leon County Circuit Court ruled in 2018 on what Amendment 1 means: the funds must go to conservation land acquisition and management of those acquired lands. It was a great victory not only for conservation, but as a statement that the Legislature must do as the voters direct, no matter the issues. The Legislature appealed the decision, beginning an intentional slow-walking of the case. This delay resulted in the courts ruling the case was “moot”—meaning the case had dragged on for far too long resulting in no “controversy remaining.”
The Florida Supreme Court declined this October to review our challenge to the state Legislature’s misspending of land conservation dollars in the 2015-2016 state budget. The highest state court didn’t give a reason for declining the review. This outcome leaves the courts’ interpretation of the amendment and its requirements unresolved.
What happens next?
Amendment 1 is intended to fund Florida conservation for another 10 years. In 2023, the state Legislature statutorily allocated $100 million for land conservation. Some celebrated the allocation codified in statute, however it is woefully not enough to protect Florida’s water, wildlife, and wild spaces. In 2024, FWF alongside its conservation partners asked for a minimum of $500 million to account for the balance of funds that are not allocated in statute. We will continue to work with the public, conservation partners, and state lawmakers about this immense opportunity we are missing for land conservation in Florida.
We thank our lawyers at Earthjustice for their hard work and dedication, as well as our co-plaintiffs: Sierra Club of Florida, St. Johns Riverkeeper, and the Environmental Coalition of Southwest Florida.
Timeline
November 2014 – Nearly 75% of voters approved the Water and Land Legacy Amendment (Amendment 1)
June 2015 – Florida Legislature passed the 2015-2016 state budget misappropriating the funds intended to “acquire, restore, improve, and manage conservation lands.”
June 2015 – Owing to the Legislature’s reluctance to abide by Floridians’ wishes, the Florida Wildlife Federation and other conservation organizations sued for unconstitutionally spending Amendment 1 dollars—beginning a long legal battle.
June 2018 – Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson ruled the Legislature misspent millions of dollars that should have gone to land conservation programs, such as Florida Forever. Per Judge Dodson, the meaning of Amendment 1, is clear and monies in the Land Acquisition Trust Fund should be used for just that: land acquisition.
July 2018 – The Legislature appealed the decision to the First District Court of Appeals.
September 2019 – The appellate order overturned the trial court’s decision that the money could only be spent on lands purchased after the Amendment, and thereby funds could be used on existing conservation lands. The appellate court did not, however, indicate exactly how the money must be spent, and sent that important issue back to the trial judge.
October 2022 – After long delays by the Legislature slow-walking the case, the trial court agreed that the case was “moot”, and the funds could not be repaid. We appealed the decision back to the First District Court of Appeal.
February 2024 – The First District Court of Appeal agreed with the trial court’s determination of mootness.
April 2024 – We petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to review the decision by the First District Court of Appeals.
October 2024 – The Florida Supreme Court declined to review our case.
