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PANHANDLE COMMUNITIES
MAY BENEFIT FROM LAND
ACQUISITION TRUST FUND
A bill recently introduced by Sen. Bill Montford
(D-Tallahassee) would designate at least $50
million a year from the Land Acquisition Trust
Fund to 14 Panhandle counties that sustained
damage last October from Hurricane Michael.
The trust fund receives money under a 2014
constitutional amendment that mandates
setting aside a portion of documentary-stamp
taxes for land and water conservation. Last
week, Gov. Ron DeSantis directed the state
Division of Emergency Management to expedite
funds to Panhandle communities swamped
financially by “massive” amounts of debris from
Hurricane Michael.
Under Senator Montford’s initiative (SB 376), the
Department of Environmental Protection would
be able to use trust-fund money for reforestation,
ecosystem management, fire control measures,
debris removal, beach renourishment, coastal
protections and wastewater treatment facilities.
Should the measure make it through the legislative
process, funds would be designated to the region
annually for seven years. The state already uses
portions of the trust fund for such things as
Everglades restoration, Lake Apopka restoration,
the construction of a reservoir in the Everglades
Agricultural Area and springs restoration.
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DITCHMEN • JANUARY 2019
FLORIDA MINIMUM WAGE
SET FOR INCREASE
Minimum-wage workers in Florida will get a
little more in their paychecks in 2019. The state’s
minimum wage will be $8.46 an hour as of January
1st, up from $8.25 an hour in 2018, according to
the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.