SB 546 Florida Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Conservation Lands

Summary

Conservation Lands; Requiring the Division of State Lands to publish certain information on its website before the Acquisition and Restoration Council or the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund meets to review the proposed sale of conservation lands; requiring that certain parcels proposed for exchange be appraised in accordance with certain criteria; requiring the governing board of a water management district to publish certain information on its website before meeting to review the proposed sale or exchange of certain lands, etc.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status in committee 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S 546 Filed → S 546 c1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to broaden the oversight of conservation land sales by requiring the Division of State Lands to publish notices before meetings of both the Acquisition and Restoration Council and the Board of Trustees, whereas the original version only required notification for the Board. Additionally, the Committee Substitute added new procedural rules for handling surplus land requests, establishing specific 90-day and 60-day review timelines for the council and board, respectively, and clarifying which agency reviews conservation versus nonconservation land requests.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include the Acquisition and Restoration Council in the public notification process for conservation land sales, in addition to the Board of Trustees. It also introduced new administrative procedures for surplus land requests that were not present in the original filing.

REQUIREMENT

Expanded public notification requirements to include meetings of the Acquisition and Restoration Council alongside the Board of Trustees for proposed conservation land sales.

Established a mandatory 90-day review period for the Acquisition and Restoration Council and a 60-day review period for the Board of Trustees regarding surplus land requests.

Clarified that requests for surplus conservation lands must go to the lead managing agency for review by the council, while nonconservation land requests go to the Division of State Lands for review by the board.

TECHNICAL

Adjusted the numbering of subsections and paragraphs within the Florida Statutes to accommodate the new text.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

23–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 24

Feb 17, 2026

D Democratic5

5 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican18

17 Yea 1

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 17, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (23-0-1)

senate

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable by- Rules; YEAS 23 NAYS 0

upper

Feb 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/17/26, 12:00 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; YEAS 11 NAYS 0

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government, 02/04/26, 3:45 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

upper

Jan 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Environment and Natural Resources, 01/13/26, 1:30 pm, 110 Senate Building

upper

Dec 9, 2025

Committee

Referred to Environment and Natural Resources; Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; Rules

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor