An appeals court Wednesday upheld a ruling that rejected a long-running legal battle over state conservation funding.
Spokesmen for the Sierra Club and Florida Wildlife Federation criticized the ruling, saying the Court of Appeals disregarded the will of a majority of Florida voters again.
“This is a disappointing result for the people of Florida, who clearly directed that their tax money go to preserving land for future generations,” said Earthjustice Attorney Alisa Coe.
The case was rooted in a 2014 constitutional amendment that requires setting aside a portion of real-estate documentary stamp tax revenues in what is known as the Land Acquisition Trust Fund for conservation efforts.
Environmental groups said the money is supposed to go to buying and managing additional property and contended in the case that the state improperly diverted money to other expenses.
The allegations involved state budget decisions for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The legal fight started in 2015, but wrangling continued for years and included decisions by the 1st District Court of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court.
In Wednesday’s four-page ruling, a three-judge panel of the appeals court agreed with a 2022 decision by Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh that the case had become moot. “Key to our analysis is the narrow scope within which the plaintiffs consistently framed their claims,” said the ruling by Chief Judge Timothy Osterhaus and Judges Susan Kelsey and M. Kemmerly Thomas.
“They alone controlled their pleadings, and they challenged only the validity of specific 2015-16 appropriations, asking the trial court to order those funds returned to the LATF (Land Acquisition Trust Fund). Once those appropriations were completed or reverted and the fiscal year ended, however, no remedy remained within reach of the active complaint as pleaded, through no fault of the defendants. The claims were moot.”
Conservationists had been seeking a legal declaration that the voter-approved constitutional restrictions on the Land Acquisition Trust Fund could not be violated, but the appeals court opinion considered only whether the misappropriated money could be refunded to the state trust fund.
Earthjustice sued the state in 2015 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.
"The ruling engenders some alarming questions: What happened to the rule of law? How can the court so easily render the will of the voters meaningless? Who is going to pay the price?" said Cris Costello, Senior Organizing Manager for Sierra Club Florida.
“This ruling turns a blind eye to the voice of the people of Florida. By prioritizing technicalities over the merits, they've undermined the very essence of democracy,” said Sarah Gledhill, President and CEO, Florida Wildlife Federation.
The News Service of Florida Contributed to this report. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.