Florida Supreme Court declines to review overwhelming statewide vote that directed tax dollars for conservation land-buying for future generations

October 14, 2024

Florida Supreme Court declines to review overwhelming statewide vote that directed tax dollars for conservation land-buying for future generations

State agencies using accounting gimmicks, improperly spending land-buying tax money

Contacts

Alisa Coe, Earthjustice, (504) 388-6251, [email protected]

Cris Costello, Sierra Club Florida, (941) 914-0421, [email protected]

Lisa Rinaman St Johns Riverkeeper, (904) 256-790, [email protected]

Sarah Gledhill, Florida Wildlife Federation, (904) 347-6490, [email protected]

Becky Ayech, Environmental Coalition of Southwest Florida, (941) 322-2164, [email protected]

Tallahassee, FL-

The Florida Supreme Court today declined to review a case that centers on the state misspending money that's supposed to pay for conservation land buys.

In 2014, a 75 percent majority of voters directed the state to use tax dollars to buy conservation land for future generations by approving the Water & Land Conservation Amendment to the Florida Constitution.

The Supreme Court today declined to take up the case, which conservationists first filed in 2015. The groups appealed to the Supreme Court to review a decision by the First District Court of Appeals.

By approving the Water & Land Conservation Amendment, voters directed that a portion of state real estate taxes - about $750 million per year - go to buy and manage conservation land. Instead, the Legislature has used accounting gimmicks each year and spent land-buying money for agency overhead and other expenses, including computer monitors, Direct TV service, agricultural equipment, insurance premiums, computers, and - in one case - 1,000 ball caps for agricultural operators.

"It's been 10 years since voters clearly told the state to buy conservation lands, and instead the money is being used like a slush fund. We've stayed in court for a decade fighting for what's right. Voters deserve better, and Florida's environment deserves better," said Earthjustice Attorney Alisa Coe.

Earthjustice filed the 2015 suit on behalf of Sierra Club, St. Johns Riverkeeper, Florida Wildlife Federation and the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida when it became clear that the state was misspending tax dollars from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund. Since then, the case has worked its way through the courts.

"Every year that the Legislature shortchanges our land buying program, we miss critical opportunities to protect natural lands for their conservation and recreation value," said Sarah Gledhill, Florida Wildlife Federation President and CEO. "More than 2.1 million acres are on the Florida Forever Priority List, with many of those acres overlapping with the Florida Wildlife Corridor. If we want to see those lands permanently protected, our state leaders must allocate and spend the funds appropriately."

"Conservation land is important to the people of Florida and this decision doesn't reflect that. People support our public lands passionately. The Water & Land Conservation Amendment was so popular it got 75 percent approval - more votes than any individual candidate that election, " said Cris Costello, Senior Organizing Manager for Sierra Club Florida.

"Investing in conservation land is the most effective and efficient way to protect Florida's waters, to buffer growth and to increase Florida's resilience. Shortchanging Florida's conservation land investment is shortchanging Floridians and the future of the state we love," said St Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman

"We are watching, year after year, as Florida's environmentally vital lands get covered up by more sprawl development Think of all the valuable lands we could have saved over the last 10 years if the state hadn't been swiping this money that we specifically voted to be spent on conservation," said Becky Ayech, President of the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida (ECOSWF).

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