Legislators must revive land-buying program.

commitmentAlmost threeto preserveyears ago, the Florida state’s voters environment.made a far-reachingBy a 3-1 margin, and they firm ratified a constitutional amendment dedicating a third of documentary-stamp taxes collected on real-estate transactions each year to a trust fund to finance land and water conservation programs. The amendment, to be in effect for two decades, amounted to an $18 billion commitment.

Legislative leaders, who bristle at being told how to spend money — even if the instructions come loud and clear from their constituents — pushed back right away, diverting more than $200 million from the trust fund in the very next budget to cover routine environmental agency expenses, including salaries, equipment and insurance premiums. Amendment advocates sued; the case is scheduled to go to trial next year.

But meanwhile, key legislators appear to be warming up to what the voters wanted. Better late than never.

This week the chairman of the state Senate’s Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee, Republican Rob Bradley of Fleming Island, introduced a bill that would require the state to spend at least $100 million a year on Florida Forever, the state’s premier land-buying program. Under former Gov. Jeb Bush, legislators regularly put $300 million a year into the program. But after the Great Recession struck a decade ago, legislators began starving it. In the current year’s budget, Florida Forever didn’t get a penny, though another land-acquisition program was allotted $10 million.

Florida Forever has purchased more than 700,000 acres of natural land since 2001 to preserve wildlife habitat, protect water sources and expand recreation areas, but the program has a priority list identifying more than 2 million additional acres for acquisition. The pressure to develop those acres will intensify as the state keeps growing.

Bradley made a strong case for his bill in a statement. “Floridians are blessed with some of the most unique ecosystems in the world, from springs to the Everglades to coral reefs to world-class beaches and rivers,” he said. “As our population continues to explode, we have an obligation to preserve these unique ecosystems for our children and grandchildren. The Florida Forever program helps us fulfill this obligation.”

We’d add that good environmental policy in Florida is also good economic policy. The state’s two leading industries, tourism and agriculture, depend on a clean environment.

The senator’s bill would strengthen a good law the Legislature passed in 2016 called Legacy Florida. That law commits the state each year to spending at least $200 million to restore the Everglades, $50 million to preserve the state’s endangered natural springs, and $5 million to continue the clean-up of Lake Apopka.

Bradley also has introduced another bill that would to raise annual state spending on preserving springs to $75 million, and commit another $50 million a year to restore the St. Johns River, also by tapping the trust fund. He worked with fellow senator and Orlando Democrat Linda Stewart on the bill. And another key legislator, Senate budget chief Jack Latvala, has proposed spending $50 million a year from the fund to replenish beaches. Latvala, a Clearwater Republican, is running for governor.

There’s enough money in the trust fund to cover all of these commitments, which would add up to $380 million a year, and more. The fund is forecast to take in $862 million next year.

A bill guaranteeing $100 million a year for Florida Forever won’t meet the expectations raised by Amendment 1 in 2014, but it would set a floor for the program that could be elevated in future years. By passing the bill, legislators can begin repaying the debt they owe voters.