The Florida Senate

597.006  Aquaculture Interagency Coordinating Council.--

(1)  CREATION.--The Legislature finds and declares that there is a need for interagency coordination with regard to aquaculture by the following agencies: the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development; the Department of Community Affairs; the Department of Environmental Protection; the ¹Department of Labor and Employment Security; the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; the statewide consortium of universities under the Florida Institute of Oceanography; Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University; the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida; and the Florida Sea Grant Program. It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to hereby create an Aquaculture Interagency Coordinating Council to act as an advisory body as defined in s. 20.03(9).

(2)  COMPOSITION.--The head of each agency listed in subsection (1) shall designate an aquaculture coordinator to act as the aquaculture contact person regarding the statutory responsibilities of the agency and to serve as a member of the Aquaculture Interagency Coordinating Council, except that the Vice President for Agricultural Affairs of the University of Florida or designee shall represent the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

(3)  MEETINGS; PROCEDURES; RECORDS.--The coordinating council shall meet at least quarterly.

(a)  A chair and vice chair shall be elected by the membership and shall serve for 1 year, commencing in September. The chair shall preside at all meetings and shall call a meeting of the coordinating council as often as necessary to transact business. Meetings shall include at least one joint annual meeting with the Aquaculture Review Council. The coordinating council may designate subcommittees from time to time to assist in carrying out its responsibilities.

(b)  A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum, and action by a majority of a quorum shall be official.

(c)  The department shall have primary responsibility for providing administrative and staff support services for the coordinating council and shall maintain a complete record of the proceedings of each meeting, which record shall include the names of members present and the actions taken. Such records shall be kept on file with the department, and these records and other documents about matters within the jurisdiction of the coordinating council shall be subject to inspection by the members of the coordinating council.

(4)  PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITIES.--The purpose of the coordinating council is to establish positive interagency cooperation to foster the development of the state's aquaculture industry. In carrying out this purpose, the coordinating council shall:

(a)  Serve as a forum for the discussion and study of governmental regulations relating to aquaculture.

(b)  Review and discuss aquaculture issues developed by the Aquaculture Review Council.

(c)  Formulate responses to industry issues, as presented by the Aquaculture Review Council, which include solutions and policy alternatives to facilitate aquaculture development.

(d)  Review the recommendations for short-term research projects submitted to the commissioner by the Aquaculture Review Council. The coordinating council shall forward any pertinent comments to the commissioner.

(e)  Review the results of the aquaculture research projects funded by the department.

(f)  Establish and maintain effective and cooperative linkages between member agencies, the Aquaculture Review Council, and public and private institutional research, extension, and service programs, so that recommendations for improvement are responsive to the needs of aquaculture.

(g)  Prepare an annual report to be submitted by December 1 of each year to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the chairs of the legislative appropriations and agriculture committees, and the heads of each agency represented on the coordinating council. This report shall describe all actions and include all recommendations of the coordinating council, as well as the responsive actions taken by the agencies. This report shall provide a list of all aquaculture activities undertaken by member agencies. The list shall include the needs each activity is designed to address, the results, the funds expended on each activity, and the source of those funds.

(h)  Develop guidelines for use by member agencies when reporting any aquaculture activities.

History.--ss. 6, 8, ch. 84-90; ss. 4, 5, 6, ch. 88-377; s. 6, ch. 90-92; s. 12, ch. 91-187; ss. 5, 6, ch. 93-152; s. 468, ch. 94-356; s. 226, ch. 99-245; s. 30, ch. 2000-364.

¹Note.--Section 69, ch. 2002-194, repealed s. 20.171, which created the Department of Labor and Employment Security.