Legislative leaders are appealing a Leon County circuit judge’s ruling that the state has not properly carried out a 2014 constitutional amendment that required spending on land and water conservation.
Attorneys for House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, and Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, filed a notice this week of taking the case to the 1st District Court of Appeal. As is common, the notice does not detail the arguments that the Legislature will make at the appeals court.
Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson last month ruled that lawmakers had failed to properly comply with the voter-approved constitutional amendment, which required using money from a real-estate tax to bolster land and water conservation. Environmental groups filed legal challenges against the state, contending that lawmakers had diverted portions of the money to other expenses.
The notice of appeal was filed after Dodson refused to grant a rehearing in the case.