(1) There is created the Florida Forever Trust Fund to carry out the purposes of ss. 259.032, 259.105, 259.1052, and 375.031. The Florida Forever Trust Fund shall be held and administered by the Department of Environmental Protection. Proceeds from the sale of bonds, except proceeds of refunding bonds, issued under s. 215.618 and payable from moneys transferred to the Land Acquisition Trust Fund under s. 201.15(1), not to exceed $5.3 billion, must be deposited into this trust fund to be distributed and used as provided in s. 259.105(3). The bond resolution adopted by the governing board of the Division of Bond Finance of the State Board of Administration may provide for additional provisions that govern the disbursement of the bond proceeds.
(2) The Department of Environmental Protection shall distribute revenues from the Florida Forever Trust Fund only to programs of state agencies or local governments as set out in s. 259.105(3) or as provided in s. 259.1052. Excluding distributions to the Save Our Everglades Trust Fund and distributions for the acquisition of the Babcock Crescent B Ranch Florida Forever acquisition as provided in s. 259.1052, the distributions shall be spent by the recipient within 90 days after the date on which the Department of Environmental Protection initiates the transfer.
(3) The Department of Environmental Protection shall ensure that the proceeds from the sale of bonds issued under s. 215.618 and payable from moneys transferred to the Land Acquisition Trust Fund under s. 201.15(1) shall be administered and expended in a manner that ensures compliance of each issue of bonds that are issued on the basis that interest thereon will be excluded from gross income for federal income tax purposes, with the applicable provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder, to the extent necessary to preserve the exclusion of interest on the bonds from gross income for federal income tax purposes. The Department of Environmental Protection shall administer the use and disbursement of the proceeds of such bonds or require that the use and disbursement thereof be administered in a manner to implement strategies to maximize any available benefits under the applicable provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code or regulations promulgated thereunder, to the extent not inconsistent with the purposes identified in s. 259.105(3).
History.—s. 1, ch. 99-246; s. 4, ch. 2000-129; s. 6, ch. 2006-231; s. 14, ch. 2008-229; s. 28, ch. 2015-229.
