Miami-Dade Legislative Item
File Number: 150282
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File Number: 150282 File Type: Resolution Status: Adopted
Version: 0 Reference: R-173-15 Control: Board of County Commissioners
File Name: URGING TO ALLOCATE FUNDING FOR EEL PROGRAM Introduced: 2/6/2015
Requester: NONE Cost: Final Action: 2/18/2015
Agenda Date: 2/18/2015 Agenda Item Number: 11A1
Notes: Title: RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO ALLOCATE FUNDING FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY’S ENVIRONMENTALLY ENDANGERED LANDS PROGRAM FOR CONSERVATION LAND ACQUISITION AND MANAGEMENT PURSUANT TO THE FLORIDA WATER AND LAND CONSERVATION INITIATIVE, FLORIDA CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 1
Indexes: URGING
Sponsors: Daniella Levine Cava, Prime Sponsor
  Sally A. Heyman, Co-Sponsor
  Barbara J. Jordan, Co-Sponsor
  Dennis C. Moss, Co-Sponsor
  Rebeca Sosa, Co-Sponsor
Sunset Provision: No Effective Date: Expiration Date:
Registered Lobbyist: None Listed


Legislative History

Acting Body Date Agenda Item Action Sent To Due Date Returned Pass/Fail

Board of County Commissioners 2/18/2015 11A1 Adopted P

County Attorney 2/6/2015 Assigned Javier Zapata 2/6/2015

Legislative Text


TITLE
RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO ALLOCATE FUNDING FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY�S ENVIRONMENTALLY ENDANGERED LANDS PROGRAM FOR CONSERVATION LAND ACQUISITION AND MANAGEMENT PURSUANT TO THE FLORIDA WATER AND LAND CONSERVATION INITIATIVE, FLORIDA CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 1

BODY
WHEREAS, on November 4, 2014, 75.64 percent of Florida voters overwhelmingly approved Florida Constitutional Amendment 1, the Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative, which authorizes no less than 33 percent of net revenues collected from the existing excise tax on real estate documents (the �stamp tax�) to be used to acquire, restore, and improve land and water areas throughout Florida; and
WHEREAS, the revenues collected pursuant to Amendment 1 may be used to help finance the acquisition and management of conservation land in Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, as the most populous county in Florida and with numerous high value properties within its borders, Miami-Dade County generates a significant share of Florida�s total stamp tax revenue; and
WHEREAS, stamp tax revenues have historically been used to provide state funding for the purchase of environmentally significant Florida lands; and
WHEREAS, Florida is known for its beautiful rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands, forests, wildlife habitat, and beaches and shores, and these natural assets are central to our quality of life and economic vitality; and
WHEREAS, outdoor recreation and tourism is one of Florida�s most significant industries, employing one out of every nine residents, drawing 90 million people annually to our state, and contributing $71 billion to our economy in 2012; and
WHEREAS, in 1990 the citizens of Miami-Dade County voted to create the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program (�EEL Program�), and approved a two-year property tax to fund the EEL Program�s acquisition, protection, and maintenance of environmentally endangered lands; and
WHEREAS, the EEL Program and its purchasing partners have brought more than 20,700 acres of environmentally endangered lands into public ownership within the County and manages 2,800 additional acres of natural lands within Miami-Dade County Parks; and
WHEREAS, these environmentally endangered lands contain many treasured natural resources that contribute greatly to the recreational opportunities and quality of life enjoyed by Florida residents and visitors alike; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County's environmentally endangered lands provide many critical public services to our residents and visitors, such as protecting against saltwater intrusion, reducing stormwater runoff from polluting surface waters and Biscayne Bay, providing aquifer recharge and wellfield protection, providing carbon sequestration, protecting numerous species, and habitat conservation; and
WHEREAS, the County has focused significant efforts on environmentally endangered land acquisition in areas of critical importance to Everglades Restoration, such as the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands and the South Dade Wetlands; and
WHEREAS, with support from Florida's Governors and Legislatures from 1990 through 2008, two state programs, Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever, received approximately $300 million in state funding each year; and
WHEREAS, the EEL Program, has benefited directly from state land conservation management and restoration programs funded through Preservation 2000, Florida Forever, and the Florida Communities Trust by receiving over $14.5 million in grants from these programs; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County, primarily through the EEL Program, has worked in partnership with the State of Florida to acquire almost 12,000 acres of conservation land titled to the state; and
WHEREAS, the EEL Program has acquired another 12,000 acres of conservation lands titled to the County; and
WHEREAS, the EEL Program spends over $3 million annually on the management of these state and county-owned conservation lands; and
WHEREAS, acquisition, management, and restoration of conservation lands in Miami-Dade County requires a sustainable, dedicated source of funding,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the Florida Legislature to allocate funding for Miami-Dade County�s Environmentally Endangered Lands Program for conservation land acquisition and management pursuant to the Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative, Florida Constitutional Amendment 1.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the Governor, Senate President, House Speaker, and the Chair and Members of the Miami-Dade State Legislative Delegation.
Section 3. Directs the County's state lobbyists to advocate for the issues raised in Section 1 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to amend the 2015 State Legislative Package to include this item.



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