Chapter 157 — Chapter 157
36 sections in this chapter.
Fla. Stat. § 157.01 Public ditch, drain or canal
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Whenever it shall be deemed necessary or expedient, for sanitary or agricultural purposes or conducive to the public health, convenience or welfare, or public utility, or for the benefit of any lands that are low, wet, submerged or liable to become submerged, to establish a publi…
Fla. Stat. § 157.02 Action on petition by county commissioners
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Should the county commissioners, when the petition mentioned in s. 157.01, has been considered, deem it improper to grant the same it shall then be denied, but should they deem it proper to grant the same, they shall then enter an order of record that the said petition be granted…
Fla. Stat. § 157.03 Commissioners to appoint committee; report of plans and estimate; letting contract; right-of-way for drains
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When the county commissioners shall order that such ditch, drain or canal, shall be established, they shall appoint a committee of three disinterested freeholders who are citizens of the county, who may employ a surveyor, and shall cause an accurate survey to be made of the propo…
Fla. Stat. § 157.04 Bond required before letting contract
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Before letting contract for the construction of any such ditch, drain or canal, the board of county commissioners shall require the contractor to give a good and sufficient bond payable to the Governor of the state, for the construction and completion of said work according to pl…
Fla. Stat. § 157.05 Work done under supervision of committee; when completed, report to commissioners; payments
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The work shall be done under the supervision of the committee as hereinbefore provided, and when completed, the committee shall report the same to the board of county commissioners, who shall also inspect such work together with the engineer in charge, and approve the same before…
Fla. Stat. § 157.06 Committee to view land before letting contract; assessment; hearing complaints; collection of tax
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If said ditch, drain or canal has been ordered, but before letting the contract therefor, the committee hereinbefore provided for shall view the lands to be benefited by such ditch, drain or canal, as shown by the petition and plat presented to the board of county commissioners, …
Fla. Stat. § 157.07 Where cost of construction exceeds estimated cost commissioners to assess difference
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Whenever any public drain or auxiliary thereto has been constructed, is now in process of construction, or may hereafter be constructed by the board of county commissioners, under the provisions of any law now in force, or that may hereafter be enacted, and the actual cost of the…
Fla. Stat. § 157.08 Assessments; validation
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After the special drainage district has been constituted and the assessments have been made and levied by the board of county commissioners, and before awarding the contract for the construction of any such ditch, drain or canal, the board of county commissioners shall, as soon a…
Fla. Stat. § 157.09 Compensation of committee
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The committee appointed by the county commissioners for the purpose aforesaid shall receive compensation for their services as may be agreed upon; provided, they shall not be paid more than $5 per day for time actually spent by each person.
Fla. Stat. § 157.10 Application to lateral ditches
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The provisions of this chapter with reference to locating, surveying, cutting and maintaining the same, and every other provision of said chapter with reference to such public ditch, drain or canal, are made applicable to all lateral ditches and drains that may be deemed necessar…
Fla. Stat. § 157.11 Lateral drains may be established; commissioners may enlarge district or widen any drain; cost; proviso
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Lateral drains may be established in like manner as main ditches, drains or canals. Such lateral ditches, drains or canals may be made a part of the original plat and survey of such main ditch, drain or canal, and may be in the original petition therefor, or may be established in…
Fla. Stat. § 157.12 Duty of bond trustees to borrow money to pay interest on bonds until collection of first assessment; may issue notes; notes and bonds lien against lands; committee may issue notes
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Whenever any drainage district has been constituted and district drainage bonds issued by the board of county commissioners, as provided in this chapter, the bond trustees shall borrow such money as shall be found necessary to pay the semiannual installments of interest on said b…
Fla. Stat. § 157.13 Use of surplus of bond proceeds
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Should there remain any of the proceeds of the sale of said special drainage district bonds after paying for the construction of the improvements for which said bonds were issued, such surplus shall be held by the bond trustees and paid out by them, upon the order of the board of…
Fla. Stat. § 157.14 Owner may pay whole tax in one sum; county commissioners may make new assessments where former assessments found illegal; time in which assessments may be questioned in collateral proceedings
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Any person owning lands assessed for the purposes hereinbefore specified, may, at any time, pay in full the total amount assessed against his or her property and obtain a release therefrom from the board of county commissioners, and the same shall be entered upon the minutes of t…
Fla. Stat. § 157.15 County commissioners may issue bonds to pay scrip; decrease of assessment
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The county commissioners may, with the consent of the holder of any scrip issued under the provisions of any existing law to raise money to pay for the construction or the deepening or widening of any ditch, drain or canal, issue bonds for a corresponding or longer period, and se…
Fla. Stat. § 157.16 Enlarging drains and assessing cost
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Whenever, heretofore or hereafter, a public drain or auxiliary thereto shall have been constructed by the board of county commissioners of any county under any law now in force, or that hereafter may be in force, the said board of county commissioners upon a petition of one-fourt…
Fla. Stat. § 157.17 Assessment to maintain drains
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Whenever any public drain or auxiliaries thereto shall have been constructed by the board of county commissioners of any county under any law now in force, or that may hereafter be in force, the said board of county commissioners may assess against the lands benefited by said dra…
Fla. Stat. § 157.18 Awarding contract for enlarging or repairing drains
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Whenever it shall become necessary in the opinion of the county commissioners to enlarge or deepen any drain or auxiliary thereto, heretofore constructed, or that may hereafter be constructed, or to contract for the maintenance or repair thereof, the contract for doing such work …
Fla. Stat. § 157.19 Where actual cost exceeds estimated cost; additional work; assessment for same
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Whenever during the construction of any drain or auxiliary thereto, and before the completion thereof, it shall be made evident to the board of county commissioners that the actual cost thereof will exceed the estimated cost thereof, or that further or additional work is necessar…
Fla. Stat. § 157.20 Appointment of committee to view work and make assessments; report to commissioners; form of assessment
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Whenever it shall become necessary to raise money for any of the purposes set out in ss. 157.07 and 157.19 the board of county commissioners shall appoint three competent and disinterested persons who are citizens of the county who shall view the work and all lands benefited by s…
Fla. Stat. § 157.21 Enlargement of drains; appointment of committee; report to commissioners; letting contract; contractor’s bond; payments; assessment
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Whenever the board of county commissioners shall have determined upon a petition, filed as provided in s. 157.16, to enlarge or deepen any drain, they shall appoint a committee of the three competent and disinterested persons who are citizens of the county, who shall cause an acc…
Fla. Stat. § 157.22 Repairing drains; appointment of committee; report to commissioners; contract; bond; assessment
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Whenever it shall become known to the board of county commissioners that it is necessary to repair any public drain or auxiliary thereto the said board of county commissioners shall appoint a committee of three competent and disinterested persons who are citizens of the county wh…
Fla. Stat. § 157.23 Objections to report of committee fixing assessments; notice; hearing; equalization; assessments; collection by tax collector
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Whenever the report of any committee appointed under the provisions of this chapter, showing the amount of assessment against any lands for work done, or to be done, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall have been filed with the board of county commissioners, th…
Fla. Stat. § 157.24 Commissioners may issue interest-bearing scrip against land to borrow money or pay for work; lien on land assessed
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When any assessments under the provision of this chapter have been ordered by the county commissioners they may issue scrip bearing 6 percent interest against the lands assessed, redeemable in 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 years, as the case may be, upon which they may borrow money with which…
Fla. Stat. § 157.25 Compensation of committee; irregular assessment corrected
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The committee appointed by the county commissioners for the purposes aforesaid shall receive such compensation for their services as may be agreed upon. In the event any of the assessments herein provided for shall be declared illegal by any court on account of any irregularities…
Fla. Stat. § 157.26 Repair and maintenance of drains under supervision of county commissioners
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All ditches, drains and canals heretofore or hereafter constructed in any county of the state under the provisions of this chapter, shall for the purpose of maintenance and repair be and remain under the supervision and control of the board of county commissioners of the county w…
Fla. Stat. § 157.27 Proceedings for making repair to drains, etc
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When it shall be made to appear to the board of county commissioners of any county that any such ditch, drain or canal within said county is in need of repair, that fact shall be entered upon the minutes of said board and published in at least one issue of a newspaper published i…
Fla. Stat. § 157.28 Awarding contracts for repair; approval
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If the estimated cost of repairing any such ditch, drain or canal shall not exceed the sum of $100, the board of county commissioners shall have full power to have the same done in such manner as said board may see fit; but if such estimated cost shall exceed $100, then the contr…
Fla. Stat. § 157.29 Levy of tax for maintaining and repairing drains; assessment and collection of tax; sale of land for unpaid taxes
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For the purpose of paying the cost of maintaining and repairing any such ditch, drain or canal and auxiliaries thereto, the board of county commissioners of the several counties of the state, wherein any such ditch, drain or canal is, or may be, located shall, when deemed necessa…
Fla. Stat. § 157.30 Reassessment of lands where attempt to establish ditch or canal irregular
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In all cases where there has been an attempt to establish a public ditch, drain or canal, in any of the counties of this state, and the county commissioners in pursuance of such attempt have proceeded to establish a public ditch, drain or canal, but there has been a failure to co…
Fla. Stat. § 157.31 Notice of reassessment for drainage
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In all such cases, the board of county commissioners, upon the matter being brought to its attention, shall cause to be published in some newspaper published in the county, at least once each week for 2 consecutive weeks, a notice substantially in the following form:Notice of Rea…
Fla. Stat. § 157.32 Reviewing complaints and making assessment against property benefited
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If it shall appear to the board, after hearing all parties interested, that the public ditch, drain or canal has been an actual special benefit to the property served by it, and that the proceedings for the establishment thereof have been carried out bona fide and without fraud, …
Fla. Stat. § 157.33 Issuance of scrip to take up former scrip or bonds
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After the provisions of ss. 157.30-157.32 have been complied with, the board may issue scrip or bonds, as the case may be, to be delivered to the holder or holders of scrip or bonds issued pursuant to former proceedings upon surrender of the former scrip or bonds.
Fla. Stat. § 157.34 Reassessments to have effect as original assessment
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All assessments made pursuant to the provisions of ss. 157.30-157.32, shall have the same force and effect as is provided in cases of original assessments, and payment thereof shall be provided for and be enforced in the same manner.
Fla. Stat. § 157.35 Assessments conclusive after lapse of 6 months
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After the lapse of 6 months from the final action of the board at its meeting to hear complaints against assessments, all assessments made shall be conclusive in any proceedings at law or in equity, in any court in this state.
Fla. Stat. § 157.36 Adjustment of drainage tax liens
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Boards of county commissioners may act as a board of adjustment in settling and adjusting all delinquent drainage tax liens levied for interest and sinking fund purposes in drainage districts created and established in their respective counties of Florida, under authority of this…