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Florida Statute 253.002 - Full Text and Legal Analysis Florida Statute 253.002 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
Fla. Stat. § 253.002 (2026) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Amendments
253.002 Department of Environmental Protection, water management districts, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; duties with respect to state lands.—
(1) The Department of Environmental Protection shall perform all staff duties and functions related to the acquisition, administration, and disposition of state lands, title to which is or will be vested in the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. However, upon the effective date of rules adopted pursuant to s. 373.427, a water management district created under s. 373.069 shall perform the staff duties and functions related to the review of any application for authorization to use board of trustees-owned submerged lands necessary for an activity regulated under part IV of chapter 373 for which the water management district has permitting responsibility as set forth in an operating agreement adopted pursuant to s. 373.046(4). The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall perform the staff duties and functions related to the review of applications and compliance with conditions for use of board of trustees-owned submerged lands under authorizations or leases issued pursuant to ss. 253.67-253.75 and 597.010 and the acquisition, administration, and disposition of conservation easements pursuant to s. 570.71. Unless expressly prohibited by law, the board of trustees may delegate to the department any statutory duty or obligation relating to the acquisition, administration, or disposition of lands, title to which is or will be vested in the board of trustees. The board of trustees may also delegate to any water management district created under s. 373.069 the authority to take final agency action, without any action on behalf of the board, on applications for authorization to use board of trustees-owned submerged lands for any activity regulated under part IV of chapter 373 for which the water management district has permitting responsibility as set forth in an operating agreement adopted pursuant to s. 373.046(4). This water management district responsibility under this subsection is subject to the department’s general supervisory authority pursuant to s. 373.026(6). The board of trustees may also delegate to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services the authority to take final agency action on behalf of the board on applications to use board of trustees-owned submerged lands for any activity for which that department has responsibility pursuant to ss. 253.67-253.75, 369.25, 369.251, and 597.010. However, the board of trustees shall retain the authority to take final agency action on establishing any areas for leasing, new leases, expanding existing lease areas, or changing the type of lease activity in existing leases. Upon issuance of an aquaculture lease or other real property transaction relating to aquaculture, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services must send a copy of the document and the accompanying survey to the Department of Environmental Protection. The board of trustees may also delegate to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission the authority to take final agency action, without any action on behalf of the board, on applications for authorization to use board of trustees-owned submerged lands for any activity regulated under ss. 369.20 and 369.22.
(2) Delegations to the department, or a water management district, or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services of authority to take final agency action on applications for authorization to use submerged lands owned by the board of trustees, without any action on behalf of the board of trustees, shall be by rule, provided that delegations related to port conceptual permits shall be in accordance with s. 373.4133. Until rules adopted pursuant to this subsection become effective, existing delegations by the board of trustees shall remain in full force and effect. However, the board of trustees is not limited or prohibited from amending these delegations. The board of trustees shall adopt by rule any delegations of its authority to take final agency action without action by the board of trustees on applications for authorization to use board of trustees-owned submerged lands. Any final agency action, without action by the board of trustees, taken by the department, or a water management district, or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on applications to use board of trustees-owned submerged lands shall be subject to the provisions of s. 373.4275. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, the board of trustees, the Department of Legal Affairs, and the department retain the concurrent authority to assert or defend title to submerged lands owned by the board of trustees.
History.—s. 4, ch. 79-255; s. 5, ch. 93-213; s. 488, ch. 94-356; s. 1, ch. 2000-364; s. 3, ch. 2005-157; s. 3, ch. 2008-150; s. 2, ch. 2009-86; s. 7, ch. 2010-201; s. 2, ch. 2012-190; s. 4, ch. 2025-157.

Cases Citing F.S. 253.002

Fla. Stat. § 253.002 (2026) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Amendments
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·Bd. of Trs. v. Am. Educ. Enter., LLC, 99 So. 3d 450 (Fla. 2012).

Cited 101 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 37 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 589, 2012 WL 4449131, 2012 Fla. LEXIS 1859

...CANADY, J., concurs in result. . Although the Board is the entity responsible for the disposition of the property at issue, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (the FDEP) performs all duties involved in the disposition and sale of state property. See § 253.002, Fla....
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Cited as authorityHill (2026)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Reaffirmed(citing case) (2026)
phrase: "reaffirming"
Cited as authority(citing case) (2026)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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·DeCarion v. Martinez, 537 So. 2d 1083 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989).

Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1989 WL 3900

Appellants have requested that we construe section 253.02(2), Florida Statutes (1987) which provides:
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Cited as authority(citing case) (2002)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authority(citing case) (1997)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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·Slater v. Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest, 26 F. Supp. 3d 1239 (M.D. Fla. 2014).

Cited 1 times | Published | District Court, M.D. Florida | 2014 WL 2700835, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80868

altogether. Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 253(2) & cmt. b (explaining that “one party’s repudiation
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Cited as authority(citing case) (2026)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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·Bd. of Trs. of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund v. Barnett, 533 So. 2d 1202 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988).

Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 13 Fla. L. Weekly 2590, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 5131, 1988 WL 123813

...Sections 253.03(1) and (7), Florida Statutes. The Department of Natural Resources, Division of State Lands (the ‘Department’), is empowered to ‘perform all staff duties and functions’ related to the administration of the submerged lands held by Plaintiff. Section 253.002, Florida Statutes....
...Plaintiff admits it had all required information at the time the Consent of Use was issued. “14. Paragraph 8 of Plaintiff’s Complaint states: By letter dated April 8, 1983 (a copy of which is attached and incorporated as Exhibit A), the Florida Department of Natural Resources (DNR), on behalf of the BOARD and pursuant to s. 253.002, Florida Statutes, advised Defendants that it had no objection to the construction of the proposed dock....
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Cited as authoritySexton (2012)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authority(citing case) (2001)
phrase: "rule_authority"
AdoptedChilders (1997)
phrase: "adopted in"
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Farrugia v. O'D ASKEW, 371 F. Supp. 736 (N.D. Fla. 1973).

Cited 1 times | Published | District Court, N.D. Florida | 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13490

administered by the Internal Improvement Trust Fund § 253.02, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. Among those lands within
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Anderson Columbia v. Bd. of Trs., 748 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1999 WL 1244426

..."developed" within the meaning of section 253.129, Florida Statutes (1999), and therefore remain sovereignty lands. It is also clear that the proposed rule requires substantial reworking, and I join the judgment of the court on that basis. NOTES [1] Section 253.002, Florida Statutes (1997), provides that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) shall perform staff duties for the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (agency)....
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Bd. of Trs. v. Walton Cnty., 121 So. 3d 1166 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).

Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 5302580, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 15067

lands with the authority to sue and be sued. See § 253.02, Fla. Stat. Appellant Florida Department of Environmental
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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1986).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

successors in office (hereafter Board of Trustees). Section 253.02(1), F.S. See, s.253.002, F.S., authorizing
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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1980).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

Elton J. Gissendanner Executive Director Department of Natural Resources Tallahassee QUESTIONS: 1. Do the provisions of s. 253.002 , F....
...79-255, Laws of Florida, the Department of General Services and the Division of Forestry can proceed to acquire property, may they do so before the Division of State Lands promulgates rules concerning the procedures to be followed as set forth in the 1979 act? SUMMARY: Section 253.002 , F....
...S., require the prior adoption of rules by the Division of State Lands before an acquiring state agency may proceed to acquire lands subject to and in accordance with applicable statutory authority and the acquisition procedures set forth in s. 253.025 . AS TO QUESTION 1: Section 253.002 , F....
...s. 253.025 , F. S. This amendment of s. 375.031 (1) by ch. 79-255 has the effect of requiring the Division of Recreation and Parks to make its statutorily authorized land acquisitions in accordance with the procedures prescribed in s. 253.025 . Thus s. 253.002 , F....

This Florida statute resource is curated by this site's author, a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney (Florida Bar No. 39104). For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.