Fellow Floridians:
A very important issue will be on the ballot this fall:
Amendment 4 - The Conservation Amendment.
Amendment 4 will appear on the ballot on November 4, 2008. With the approval of 60% or more of general election voters, this measure will be incorporated into the state's constitution.
Amendment 4 accomplishes two extremely significant goals:
- Landowners who put their environmentally significant lands into perpetual conservation protection, by a conservation easement or other mechanism, will be exempted from property taxes. The land that is set aside will be saved forever, no matter who the owner is in the future. No houses or malls, just fish and wildlife habitat and water recharge – FOREVER.
- Amendment 4 also allows those who use their lands for conservation purposes to be taxed at the same rate as those who have agricultural lands. While not perpetual in nature, the lessening of the tax burden on these landowners will keep desirable lands green that otherwise might have been lost to development.
Amendment 4, while slightly diminishing governmental revenue, will also reduce public expenditures as conserved lands cost the public very little, requiring no ongoing public services, such as police, roads and public schools as are required with developed lands.
The Florida Forever program and local government conservation programs can only go so far on limited dollars to protect needed lands. If no other effort is made, by 2060, at our present rate of growth, another 7 million acres will have been lost to development. That means more than the doubling of the size of current urbanized areas. It is time to act to help ensure that future generations have clean estuaries, abundant fresh water, wild landscapes, Florida panthers, camping areas, hunting lands and fishing spots. Without the adequate preservation of private conservation property, along with public lands, the outlook for clean water and open spaces is very dim.
How Amendment 4 changes the State Constitution:
Art. VII (bold language is proposed new language)
Section 3
(g) There shall be granted an ad valorem tax exemption for real property dedicated in perpetuity for conservation purposes, including real property encumbered by perpetual conservation easements or by other perpetual conservation protections, as defined by general law.
Section 4
(b) As provided by general law and subject to conditions, limitations, and reasonable definitions specified therein, land used for conservation purposes shall be classified by general law and assessed solely on the basis of character or use.
Art. XII Schedule
Section 28. Property tax exemption and classification and assessment of land used for conservation purposes. The amendment to Section 3 of Article VII requiring the creation of an ad valorem tax exemption for real property dedicated in perpetuity for conservation purposes, and the amendment to Section 4 of Article VII, requiring land used for conservation purposes to be classified by general law and assessed solely on the basis of character or use for purposes of ad valorem taxation, shall take effect upon approval by the electors and shall be implemented by January 1, 2010. This section shall take effect upon approval of the electors.
Note – The above reflects the combination of Constitutional Proposals 15 and 16 as approved by the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission (TBRC). For more information, please go to the TBRC homepage and look under Reports for CP15/CP16.
For more information, call Preston Robertson (850) 656-7113
FWC resolution supports Amendment 4
June 12, 2008
Contact: Henry Cabbage, 850-528-1755
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) unanimously passed a resolution Thursday, expressing support for proposed Constitutional Amendment 4.
The amendment, to appear on the general election ballot in November, would create incentives for landowners to set aside land for conservation easements or practice proactive conservation to benefit wildlife. If 60 percent of voters approve the amendment, it will become part of the Florida State Constitution.
The resolution notes that Florida’s population may double to 36 million people within the next 50 years. It says development will claim millions of acres of wilderness and erode the state’s rich legacy of outdoor recreation if officials fail to address growth projections with wise and creative solutions.
“…It is beyond the means of the government of the Great State of Florida to purchase all the natural lands that stand to be lost to development in the years to come,” the resolution reads. “(Amendment 4)…would offer a meaningful solution to this issue.”
Original resolution can be found HERE.
Click Here to Visit the Official
Amendment 4 Conservation Website.
If your group or organization would like to endorse Amendment 4,
please click HERE.
Amendment 4 Supporters
Political Advertisement Paid for by Citizens for Conservation Land, Inc., PO Box 6870, Tallahassee, FL 32314
