Senate Bill 0864e2
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Fish and Wildlife
3 Conservation Commission; amending s. 20.325,
4 F.S.; specifying the divisions in the Fish and
5 Wildlife Conservation Commission; transferring
6 the duties of the Marine Fisheries Commission
7 assigned to the Board of Trustees of the
8 Internal Improvement Trust Fund to the
9 commission; transferring the duties of the Game
10 and Fresh Water Fish Commission to the Fish and
11 Wildlife Conservation Commission; transferring
12 certain duties of the Department of
13 Environmental Protection, Division of Marine
14 Resources and Division of Law Enforcement, to
15 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission;
16 amending s. 20.255, F.S.; providing for the
17 organization and powers of the Department of
18 Environmental Protection; providing for a
19 transition advisory committee to determine the
20 appropriate number of support service personnel
21 to be transferred; providing for an operating
22 agreement and an annual work plan regarding
23 responsibilities shared by the department and
24 the commission; providing for submission of the
25 work plan to the Governor and the Legislature;
26 providing for a memorandum of agreement between
27 the commission and the department regarding
28 responsibilities of the Florida Marine Research
29 Institute to the department; amending s.
30 206.606, F.S.; revising the distribution of
31 funds; amending s. 259.101, F.S.; providing for
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1 the sale of conservation lands; amending s.
2 370.0603, F.S.; establishing the Marine
3 Resources Conservation Trust Fund in the Fish
4 and Wildlife Conservation Commission; amending
5 s. 370.0608, F.S.; revising the use of license
6 fees by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
7 Commission; amending s. 370.16; transferring
8 certain activities related to oysters and
9 shellfish to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
10 Commission; amending s. 370.26, F.S.;
11 transferring certain activities related to
12 aquaculture to the Fish and Wildlife
13 Conservation Commission; amending s. 932.7055,
14 F.S.; providing for funds to be deposited into
15 the Forfeited Property Trust Fund; amending ss.
16 20.055, 23.21, 120.52, 120.81, 163.3244,
17 186.003, 186.005, 229.8058, 240.155, 252.365,
18 253.05, 253.45, 253.75, 253.7829, 253.787,
19 255.502, 258.157, 258.397, 258.501, 259.035,
20 259.036, 282.1095, 282.404, 285.09, 285.10,
21 288.021, 288.975, 316.640, 320.08058, 327.02,
22 327.25, 327.26, 327.28, 327.30, 327.35215,
23 327.395, 327.41, 327.43, 327.46, 327.48,
24 327.70, 327.71, 327.731, 327.74, 327.803,
25 327.804, 327.90, 328.01, 339.281, 341.352,
26 369.20, 369.22, 369.25, 370.01, 370.021,
27 370.028, 370.06, 370.0605, 370.0615, 370.062,
28 370.063, 370.0805, 370.081, 370.092, 370.093,
29 370.1107, 370.1111, 370.12, 370.13, 370.14,
30 370.1405, 370.142, 370.1535, 370.17, 370.31,
31 372.001, 372.01, 372.0215, 372.0222, 372.0225,
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1 372.023, 372.025, 372.03, 372.051, 372.06,
2 372.07, 372.071, 372.072, 372.0725, 372.073,
3 372.074, 372.105, 372.106, 372.12, 372.121,
4 372.16, 372.26, 372.265, 372.27, 372.31,
5 372.57, 372.5714, 372.5717, 372.5718, 372.574,
6 372.651, 372.653, 372.66, 372.661, 372.662,
7 372.663, 372.664, 372.6645, 372.667, 372.6672,
8 372.672, 372.673, 372.674, 372.70, 372.701,
9 372.7015, 372.7016, 372.72, 372.73, 372.74,
10 372.76, 372.761, 372.77, 372.7701, 372.771,
11 372.85, 372.86, 372.87, 372.88, 372.89,
12 372.901, 372.911, 372.912, 372.92, 372.921,
13 372.922, 372.97, 372.971, 372.98, 372.981,
14 372.99, 372.9901, 372.9903, 372.9904, 372.9906,
15 372.991, 372.992, 372.995, 373.453, 373.455,
16 373.4595, 373.465, 373.466, 373.591, 375.021,
17 375.311, 375.312, 376.121, 378.011, 378.036,
18 378.409, 380.061, 388.45, 388.46, 403.0752,
19 403.0885, 403.413, 403.507, 403.508, 403.518,
20 403.526, 403.527, 403.5365, 403.7841, 403.786,
21 403.787, 403.9325, 403.941, 403.9411, 403.961,
22 403.962, 403.972, 403.973, 487.0615, 581.186,
23 585.21, 597.003, 597.004, 597.006, 784.07,
24 790.06, 790.15, 828.122, 832.06, 843.08,
25 870.04, 943.1728, F.S.; conforming provisions
26 to the State Constitution and this act;
27 repealing s. 370.0205, F.S., which provides for
28 the use of citizen support organizations;
29 repealing s. 370.025, F.S., which provides
30 policies for the Marine Fisheries Commission;
31 repealing s. 370.026, F.S., which provides for
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1 the creation of the Marine Fisheries
2 Commission; repealing s. 370.027, F.S., which
3 provides for rulemaking authority; repealing s.
4 372.021, F.S., which provides for the powers of
5 the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission;
6 repealing s. 372.061, F.S., which provides for
7 meetings of the Game and Fresh Water Fish
8 Commission; repealing s. 373.1965, F.S., which
9 creates the Coordinating Council on the
10 Restoration of the Kissimmee River Valley and
11 Taylor Creek-Nubbins Slough Basin; repealing s.
12 373.197, F.S., which provides direction for the
13 Kissimmee River Valley and Taylor Creek-Nubbins
14 Slough Basin restoration project; repealing s.
15 403.261, F.S., which provides for the repeal of
16 rulemaking jurisdiction over air and water
17 pollution; creating s. 403.0611, F.S.;
18 providing for the use of citizen support
19 organizations; creating s. 406.0613, F.S.;
20 providing authorization for publications;
21 creating s. 403.0614, F.S.; providing for the
22 administration of Department of Environmental
23 Protection grant programs; amending ss.
24 161.031, 161.36, 252.937, 309.01, 370.023,
25 370.03, 370.0607, 370.0609, 370.061, 370.07,
26 370.071, 370.08, 370.0821, 370.10, 370.103,
27 370.135, 370.143, 370.15, 370.151, 370.153,
28 370.1603, 370.172, 370.18, 370.19, 370.20,
29 370.21, 372.107, 376.15, 823.11, F.S.;
30 conforming provisions to the State Constitution
31 and this act; authorizing the executive Office
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1 of the Governor to transfer funds when
2 necessary because of the reorganization made by
3 this act, after prior consultation with
4 specified legislative committees; providing an
5 effective date.
6
7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
9 Section 1. Section 20.325, Florida Statutes, is
10 amended to read:
11 20.325 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
12 Water Fish Commission.--The Legislature, recognizing the Fish
13 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
14 as being specifically provided for and authorized by the State
15 Constitution under s. 9, Art. IV, grants rights and privileges
16 to the commission, as contemplated by s. 6, Art. IV of the
17 State Constitution, equal to those of departments established
18 under this chapter, while preserving its constitutional
19 designation and title as a commission.
20 (1) The head of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
21 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission is the commission
22 appointed by the Governor as provided for in s. 9, Art. IV of
23 the State Constitution.
24 (2) The following divisions are established within the
25 commission:
26 (a) Division of Administrative Services.
27 (b) Division of Law Enforcement.
28 (c) Division of Freshwater Fisheries.
29 (d) Division of Wildlife.
30 (e) Division of Marine Resources.
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1 (3) The commission shall appoint an executive director
2 who shall be subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate and
3 upon approval shall serve at the pleasure of the commission.
4 The powers, duties, and functions of the commission shall be
5 as prescribed by law.
6 Section 2. The powers, duties, functions, and
7 jurisdiction as set forth in statutes in effect on March 1,
8 1998, and staff, equipment, and fund balances of the Marine
9 Fisheries Commission assigned to the Board of Trustees of the
10 Internal Improvement Trust Fund are transferred by a type two
11 transfer, as defined in section 20.06, Florida Statutes, to
12 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
13 Section 3. The powers, duties, functions, staff,
14 equipment, and fund balances of the Game and Fresh Water Fish
15 Commission are transferred by a type two transfer, as defined
16 in section 20.06, Florida Statutes, to the Fish and Wildlife
17 Conservation Commission.
18 Section 4. The powers, duties, functions, staff,
19 equipment, facilities, and fund balances of the Department of
20 Environmental Protection, Division of Marine Resources,
21 related to the Office of Fisheries Management, Bureau of
22 Marine Resources Regulation and Development, Bureau of
23 Protected Species Management, and the Florida Marine Research
24 Institute are transferred by a type two transfer, to the Fish
25 and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The remaining powers,
26 duties, functions, staff, equipment and fund balances of the
27 Division of Marine Resources relating to the Bureau of Coastal
28 and Aquatic Managed Areas shall remain in the Department of
29 Environmental Protection.
30 Section 5. The powers, duties, functions, staff,
31 equipment, facilities, and fund balances of the Department of
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1 Environmental Protection, Division of Law Enforcement, related
2 to the Office of Enforcement Planning and Policy Coordination,
3 Bureau of Administrative Support, Bureau of Operational
4 Support, and the Bureau of Environmental Law Enforcement, are
5 transferred by a type two transfer to the Fish and Wildlife
6 Conservation Commission, except for those powers, duties,
7 functions, staff, equipment, facilities, and fund balances of
8 the Bureau relating to the Florida Park Patrol, the Bureau of
9 Emergency Response, and the Office of Investigations, which
10 shall remain in the department's Division of Law Enforcement.
11 No duties or responsibilities relating to boating safety
12 matters shall remain in the Department of Environmental
13 Protection.
14 Section 6. Subsection (6) of section 20.255, Florida
15 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended, present subsection (7)
16 of that section is redesignated as subsection (10), and new
17 subsections (7), (8), and (9), are added to that section, to
18 read:
19 20.255 Department of Environmental Protection.--There
20 is created a Department of Environmental Protection.
21 (6) The following divisions of the Department of
22 Environmental Protection are established:
23 (a) Division of Administrative and Technical Services.
24 (b) Division of Air Resource Management.
25 (c) Division of Water Resource Management Facilities.
26 (d) Division of Law Enforcement.
27 (e) Division of Resource Assessment and Management
28 Marine Resources.
29 (f) Division of Waste Management.
30 (g) Division of Recreation and Parks.
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1 (h) Division of State Lands, the director of which is
2 to be appointed by the secretary of the department, subject to
3 confirmation by the Governor and Cabinet sitting as the Board
4 of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.
5 (i) Division of Environmental Resource Permitting.
6
7 In order to ensure statewide and intradepartmental
8 consistency, the department's divisions shall direct the
9 district offices and bureaus on matters of interpretation and
10 applicability of the department's rules and programs.
11 (7) Law enforcement officers of the Department of
12 Environmental Protection who meet the provisions of s. 943.13
13 are constituted law enforcement officers of this state with
14 full power to investigate and arrest for any violation of the
15 laws of this state and the rules of the department and the
16 Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. The
17 general laws applicable to investigations, searches, and
18 arrests by peace officers of this state apply to such law
19 enforcement officers.
20 (8) Records and documents of the Department of
21 Environmental Protection shall be retained by the department
22 as specified in record retention schedules established under
23 the general provisions of chapters 119 and 257. Further, the
24 department is authorized to:
25 (a) Destroy or otherwise dispose of those records and
26 documents in conformity with the approved retention schedules.
27 (b) Photograph, microphotograph, or reproduce such
28 records and documents on film, as authorized and directed by
29 the approved retention schedules, in a manner such that each
30 page will be exposed in exact conformity with the original
31 records and documents retained in compliance with the
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1 provisions of this section. Photographs or microphotographs in
2 the form of film or print of any records which are made in
3 compliance with the provisions of this section shall have the
4 same force and effect as the originals thereof would have and
5 shall be treated as originals for the purpose of their
6 admissibility in evidence. Duly certified or authenticated
7 reproductions of such photographs or microphotographs shall be
8 admitted in evidence equally with the original photographs or
9 microphotographs. The impression of the seal of the Department
10 of Environmental Protection on a certificate made by the
11 department and signed by the Secretary of Environmental
12 Protection entitles the certificate to be received in all
13 courts and in all proceedings in this state and is prima facie
14 evidence of all factual matters set forth in the certificate.
15 A certificate may relate to one or more records as set forth
16 in the certificate or in a schedule attached to the
17 certificate.
18 (9) The Department of Environmental Protection may
19 require that bond be given by any employee of the department,
20 payable to the Governor of the state and the Governor's
21 successor in office, for the use and benefit of those whom it
22 concerns, in such penal sums and with such good and sufficient
23 surety or sureties as are approved by the department,
24 conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of the
25 employee.
26 Section 7. The Secretary of the Department of
27 Environmental Protection and the Executive Director of the
28 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall each appoint
29 three staff members to a transition advisory committee to
30 review and determine the appropriate number of positions, up
31 to 60 positions and their related funding levels and sources
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1 from the Office of General Counsel and from the Division of
2 Administrative and Technical Services, to be transferred from
3 the Department of Environmental Protection to the Fish and
4 Wildlife Conservation Commission to provide legal services and
5 administrative and operational support services, including
6 communications equipment involving the National Crime
7 Information System (NCIS) and the Florida Crime Information
8 System (FCIS) which were previously provided to the programs
9 transferred by sections 4 and 5 of this act. The Governor
10 shall appoint a staff member from the Office of Planning and
11 Budget to chair the meetings of the transition advisory
12 committee and to assist in implementing these provisions as
13 appropriate with adjustments in the operating budgets of the
14 two agencies involved during Fiscal Year 1999-2000 as provided
15 by chapter 216, Florida Statutes, and providing consultation
16 with the Appropriations Committees in the Senate and the House
17 of Representatives.
18 Section 8. The Executive Director of the Fish and
19 Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Secretary of the
20 Department of Environmental Protection shall develop and adopt
21 an operating agreement and an annual work plan to accomplish
22 responsibilities shared between the agencies.
23 (1) The operating agreement shall be completed by no
24 later than January 31, 2000, and shall detail commission law
25 enforcement responsibilities for emergency response. Until the
26 operating plan has been completed and adopted, the department
27 may call upon the commission for emergency response and the
28 commission is directed to respond to said requests.
29 (2) The work plan shall be submitted by August 1, 1999
30 to the Governor, Speaker of the House and President of the
31 Senate and may include recommendations for facilitating
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1 department law enforcement and emergency response needs, the
2 research priorities of the Florida Marine Research Institute,
3 and the needs of other appropriate department programs.
4 (3) A memorandum of agreement will be developed
5 between the Department of Environmental Protection and the
6 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission which will
7 detail the responsibilities of the Florida Marine Research
8 Institute to the department, to include, at a minimum, the
9 following services:
10 1. Environmental monitoring and assessment,
11 2. Restoration research and development of restoration
12 technology, and
13 3. Technical support and response for oil spills, ship
14 groundings, major marine species die-offs, hazardous spills,
15 and natural disasters.
16 Section 9. Subsection (1) of section 206.606, Florida
17 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
18 206.606 Distribution of certain proceeds.--
19 (1) Moneys collected pursuant to ss. 206.41(1)(g) and
20 206.87(1)(e) shall be deposited in the Fuel Tax Collection
21 Trust Fund created by s. 206.875. Such moneys, exclusive of
22 the service charges imposed by s. 215.20, and exclusive of
23 refunds granted pursuant to s. 206.41, shall be distributed
24 monthly to the State Transportation Trust Fund, except that:
25 (a) $6.30 $7.55 million shall be transferred to the
26 Department of Environmental Protection in each fiscal year
27 and. The transfers must be made in equal monthly amounts
28 beginning on July 1 of each fiscal year. $1.25 million of the
29 amount transferred shall be deposited annually in the Marine
30 Resources Conservation Trust Fund and must be used by the
31 department to fund special projects to provide recreational
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1 channel marking, public launching facilities, and other
2 boating-related activities. The department shall annually
3 determine where unmet needs exist for boating-related
4 activities, and may fund such activities in counties where,
5 due to the number of vessel registrations, insufficient
6 financial resources are available to meet total water resource
7 needs. The remaining proceeds of the annual transfer shall be
8 deposited in the Aquatic Plant Control Trust Fund to and must
9 be used for aquatic plant management, including nonchemical
10 control of aquatic weeds, research into nonchemical controls,
11 and enforcement activities. Beginning in fiscal year
12 1993-1994, the department shall allocate at least $1 million
13 of such funds to the eradication of melaleuca.
14 (b) $2.5 $1.25 million shall be transferred to the
15 State Game Trust Fund in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
16 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission in each fiscal year. The
17 transfers must be made in equal monthly amounts beginning on
18 July 1 of each fiscal year. The commission shall annually
19 determine where unmet needs exist for boating-related
20 activities, and may fund such activities in counties where,
21 due to the number of vessel registrations, insufficient
22 financial resources are available to meet the total water
23 resource needs. and must be used for recreational boating
24 activities of a type consistent with projects eligible for
25 funding under the Florida Boating Improvement Program
26 administered by the Department of Environmental Protection,
27 and freshwater fisheries management and research.
28 (c) 0.65 percent of moneys collected pursuant to s.
29 206.41(1)(g) shall be transferred to the Agricultural
30 Emergency Eradication Trust Fund.
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1 Section 10. Paragraph (f) of subsection (3) and
2 subsection (6) of section 259.101, Florida Statutes, 1998
3 Supplement, are amended to read:
4 259.101 Florida Preservation 2000 Act.--
5 (3) LAND ACQUISITION PROGRAMS SUPPLEMENTED.--Less the
6 costs of issuance, the costs of funding reserve accounts, and
7 other costs with respect to the bonds, the proceeds of bonds
8 issued pursuant to this act shall be deposited into the
9 Florida Preservation 2000 Trust Fund created by s. 375.045.
10 Ten percent of the proceeds of any bonds deposited into the
11 Preservation 2000 Trust Fund shall be distributed by the
12 Department of Environmental Protection to the Department of
13 Environmental Protection for the purchase by the South Florida
14 Water Management District of lands in Dade, Broward, and Palm
15 Beach Counties identified in s. 7, chapter 95-349, Laws of
16 Florida. This distribution shall apply for any bond issue for
17 the 1995-1996 fiscal year. For the 1997-1998 fiscal year only,
18 $20 million per year from the proceeds of any bonds deposited
19 into the Florida Preservation 2000 Trust Fund shall be
20 distributed by the Department of Environmental Protection to
21 the St. Johns Water Management District for the purchase of
22 lands necessary to restore Lake Apopka. The remaining proceeds
23 shall be distributed by the Department of Environmental
24 Protection in the following manner:
25 (f) Two and nine-tenths percent to the Fish and
26 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to
27 fund the acquisition of inholdings and additions to lands
28 managed by the commission which are important to the
29 conservation of fish and wildlife.
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1 Local governments may use federal grants or loans, private
2 donations, or environmental mitigation funds, including
3 environmental mitigation funds required pursuant to s.
4 338.250, for any part or all of any local match required for
5 the purposes described in this subsection. Bond proceeds
6 allocated pursuant to paragraph (c) may be used to purchase
7 lands on the priority lists developed pursuant to s. 259.035.
8 Title to lands purchased pursuant to paragraphs (a), (d), (e),
9 (f), and (g) shall be vested in the Board of Trustees of the
10 Internal Improvement Trust Fund, except that title to lands,
11 or rights or interests therein, acquired by either the
12 Southwest Florida Water Management District or the St. Johns
13 River Water Management District in furtherance of the Green
14 Swamp Land Authority's mission pursuant to s. 380.0677(3),
15 shall be vested in the district where the acquisition project
16 is located. Title to lands purchased pursuant to paragraph
17 (c) may be vested in the Board of Trustees of the Internal
18 Improvement Trust Fund, except that title to lands, or rights
19 or interests therein, acquired by either the Southwest Florida
20 Water Management District or the St. Johns River Water
21 Management District in furtherance of the Green Swamp Land
22 Authority's mission pursuant to s. 380.0677(3), shall be
23 vested in the district where the acquisition project is
24 located. This subsection is repealed effective October 1,
25 2000. Prior to repeal, the Legislature shall review the
26 provisions scheduled for repeal and shall determine whether to
27 reenact or modify the provisions or to take no action.
28 (6) DISPOSITION OF LANDS.--
29 (a) Any lands acquired pursuant to paragraph (3)(a),
30 paragraph (3)(c), paragraph (3)(d), paragraph (3)(e),
31 paragraph (3)(f), or paragraph (3)(g), if title to such lands
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1 is vested in the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement
2 Trust Fund, may be disposed of by the Board of Trustees of the
3 Internal Improvement Trust Fund in accordance with the
4 provisions and procedures set forth in s. 253.034(6) s.
5 253.034(5), and lands acquired pursuant to paragraph (3)(b)
6 may be disposed of by the owning water management district in
7 accordance with the procedures and provisions set forth in ss.
8 373.056 and 373.089 provided such disposition also shall
9 satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c).
10 (b) Land acquired for conservation purposes may be
11 disposed of only after the Board of Trustees of the Internal
12 Improvement Trust Fund or, in the case of water management
13 district lands, the owning water management district governing
14 board makes a determination that preservation of the land is
15 no longer necessary for conservation purposes and only upon a
16 two-thirds vote of the appropriate governing board. Following
17 a determination by the governing board that the land is no
18 longer needed for conservation purposes, the governing board
19 must also make a determination that the land is of no further
20 benefit to the public, as required by s. 253.034(6), or that
21 the land is surplus land under s. 373.056 or s. 373.089. Any
22 lands eligible for disposal under these procedures also may be
23 exchanged for other lands described in the same paragraph of
24 subsection (3) as the lands disposed of. Before land can be
25 determined to be of no further benefit to the public as
26 required by s. 253.034(5), or to be no longer required for its
27 purposes under s. 373.056(4), whichever may be applicable,
28 there shall first be a determination by the Board of Trustees
29 of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, or, in the case of
30 water management district lands, by the owning water
31 management district, that such land no longer needs to be
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1 preserved in furtherance of the intent of the Florida
2 Preservation 2000 Act. Any lands eligible to be disposed of
3 under this procedure also may be used to acquire other lands
4 through an exchange of lands, provided such lands obtained in
5 an exchange are described in the same paragraph of subsection
6 (3) as the lands disposed.
7 (c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), no such
8 disposition of land shall be made if such disposition would
9 have the effect of causing all or any portion of the interest
10 on any revenue bonds issued to fund the Florida Preservation
11 2000 Act to lose their exclusion from gross income for
12 purposes of federal income taxation. Any revenue derived from
13 the disposal of such lands may not be used for any purpose
14 except for deposit into the Florida Preservation 2000 Trust
15 Fund for recredit to the share held under subsection (3), in
16 which such disposed land is described.
17 Section 11. Subsection (1) of section 370.0603,
18 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
19 370.0603 Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund;
20 purposes.--
21 (1) The Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund
22 within the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
23 Department of Environmental Protection shall serve as a
24 broad-based depository for funds from various marine-related
25 activities and shall be administered by the commission
26 department for the purposes of:
27 (a) Funding for marine research.
28 (b) Funding for fishery enhancement, including, but
29 not limited to, fishery statistics development, artificial
30 reefs, and fish hatcheries.
31 (c) Funding for marine law enforcement.
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1 (d) Funding for administration of licensing programs
2 for recreational fishing, saltwater products sales, and
3 related information and education activities.
4 (e) Funding for the operations of the Fish and
5 Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission.
6 (f) Funding for titling and registration of vessels.
7 (g) Funding for marine turtle protection, research,
8 and recovery activities from revenues that are specifically
9 credited to the trust fund for these purposes.
10 (h) Funding activities for rehabilitation of oyster
11 harvesting areas from which special oyster surcharge fees are
12 collected, including relaying and transplanting live oysters.
13 Section 12. Section 370.0608, Florida Statutes, 1998
14 Supplement, is amended to read:
15 370.0608 Deposit of license fees; allocation of
16 federal funds.--
17 (1) All license fees collected pursuant to s. 370.0605
18 shall be deposited into the Marine Resources Conservation
19 Trust Fund, to be used as follows:
20 (a) Not more than 5 percent of the total fees
21 collected shall be for the Marine Fisheries Commission to be
22 used to carry out the responsibilities of the commission and
23 to provide for the award of funds to marine research
24 institutions in this state for the purposes of enabling such
25 institutions to conduct worthy marine research projects.
26 (b) Not less than 2.5 percent of the total fees
27 collected shall be used for aquatic education purposes.
28 (c)1. The remainder of such fees shall be used by the
29 department for the following program functions:
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1 (a)a. Not more than 12.5 5 percent of the total fees
2 collected, for administration of the licensing program and for
3 information and education.
4 (b)b. Not more than 30 percent of the total fees
5 collected, for law enforcement.
6 (c)c. Not less than 27.5 percent of the total fees
7 collected, for marine research.
8 (d)d. Not less than 30 percent of the total fees
9 collected, for fishery enhancement, including, but not limited
10 to, fishery statistics development, artificial reefs, and fish
11 hatcheries.
12 (2)2. The Legislature shall annually appropriate to
13 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
14 Environmental Protection from the General Revenue Fund for the
15 activities and programs specified in subsection (1)
16 subparagraph 1. at least the same amount of money as was
17 appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection
18 from the General Revenue Fund for such activities and programs
19 for fiscal year 1988-1989, and the amounts appropriated to the
20 commission department for such activities and programs from
21 the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund shall be in
22 addition to the amount appropriated to the commission
23 department for such activities and programs from the General
24 Revenue Fund. The proceeds from recreational saltwater fishing
25 license fees paid by fishers shall only be appropriated to the
26 commission Department of Environmental Protection.
27 (3)(2) The Department of Environmental Protection and
28 the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall develop and
29 maintain a memorandum of understanding to provide for the
30 equitable allocation of federal aid available to Florida
31 pursuant to the Sport Fish Restoration Administration Funds.
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1 Funds available from the Wallop-Breaux Aquatic Resources Trust
2 Fund shall be distributed between the department and the
3 commission in proportion to the numbers of resident fresh and
4 saltwater anglers as determined by the most current data on
5 license sales. Unless otherwise provided by federal law, the
6 department and the commission, at a minimum, shall provide the
7 following:
8 (a) Not less than 5 percent or more than 10 percent of
9 the funds allocated to the commission each agency shall be
10 expended for an aquatic resources education program; and
11 (b) Not less than 10 percent of the funds allocated to
12 the commission each agency shall be expended for acquisition,
13 development, renovation, or improvement of boating facilities.
14 (4)(3) All license fees collected pursuant to s.
15 370.0605 shall be transferred to the Marine Resources
16 Conservation Trust Fund within 7 days following the last
17 business day of the week in which the license fees were
18 received by the commission. One-fifth of the total proceeds
19 derived from the sale of 5-year licenses and replacement
20 5-year licenses, and all interest derived therefrom, shall be
21 available for appropriation annually.
22 Section 13. Section 370.16, Florida Statutes, 1998
23 Supplement, is amended to read:
24 370.16 Oysters and shellfish; regulation.--
25 (1) LEASE, APPLICATION FORM; NOTICE TO RIPARIAN OWNER;
26 LANDS LEASED TO BE COMPACT.--When any qualified person desires
27 to lease a part of the bottom or bed of any of the water of
28 this state, for the purpose of growing oysters or clams, as
29 provided for in this section, he or she shall present to the
30 Department of Environmental Protection Division of Marine
31 Resources a written application setting forth the name and
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1 address of the applicant, a reasonably definite description of
2 the location and amount of land covered by water desired, and
3 shall pray that the application be filed; that the water
4 bottoms be surveyed and a plat or map of the survey thereof be
5 made if no plat or map of such bottoms should have been so
6 made thereto; and that the water bottoms described be leased
7 to the applicant under the provisions of this section. Such
8 applicant shall accompany with his or her written application
9 a sufficient sum to defray the estimated expenses of the
10 survey; thereupon the department division shall file such
11 application and shall direct the same surveyed and platted
12 forthwith at the expense of the applicant. When applications
13 are made by two or more persons for the same lands, they shall
14 be leased to the applicant who first filed application for
15 same; but to all applications for leases of any of the bottoms
16 of said waters owned under the riparian acts of the laws of
17 Florida, heretofore enacted, notice of such application shall
18 be given the riparian owner, when known, and, when not known,
19 notice of such application shall be given by publication for 4
20 weeks in some newspaper published in the county in which the
21 water bottoms lie; and when there is no newspaper published in
22 such county, then by posting the notice for 4 weeks at the
23 courthouse door of the county, and preference shall be given
24 to the riparian owners under the terms and conditions herein
25 created, when the riparian owner makes application for such
26 water bottoms for the purpose of planting oysters or clams
27 before the same are leased to another. The lands leased shall
28 be as compact as possible, taking into consideration the shape
29 of the body of water and the condition of the bottom as to
30 hardness, or soft mud or sand, or other conditions which would
31
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1 render the bottoms desirable or undesirable for the purpose of
2 oyster or clam cultivation.
3 (2) SURVEYS, PLATS, AND MAPS OF REEFS.--The Department
4 of Environmental Protection Division of Marine Resources shall
5 accept, adopt, and use official reports, surveys, and maps of
6 oyster, clam, or other shellfish grounds made under the
7 direction of any authority of the United States as prima facie
8 evidence of the natural oyster and clam reefs, for the purpose
9 and intent of this chapter. The department said division may
10 also make surveys of any natural oyster or clam reefs when it
11 deems such surveys necessary and where such surveys are made
12 pursuant to an application for a lease, the cost thereof may
13 be charged to the applicant as a part of the cost of his or
14 her application.
15 (3) EXECUTION OF LEASES; LESSEE TO STAKE OFF
16 BOUNDARIES; PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH
17 REGULATIONS.--As soon as the survey has been made and the plat
18 or map thereof filed with the Department of Environmental
19 Protection Division of Marine Resources and the cost thereof
20 paid by the applicant, the department division may execute in
21 duplicate a lease of the water bottoms to the applicant. One
22 duplicate, with a plat or map of the water bottoms so leased,
23 shall be delivered to the applicant, and the other, with a
24 plat or map of the bottom so leased, shall be retained by the
25 department division and registered in a lease book which shall
26 be kept exclusively for that purpose by the department
27 division; thereafter the lessees shall enjoy the exclusive use
28 of the lands and all oysters and clams, shell, and cultch
29 grown or placed thereon shall be the exclusive property of
30 such lessee as long as he or she shall comply with the
31 provisions of this chapter. The department division shall
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1 require the lessee to stake off and mark the water bottoms
2 leased, by such ranges, monuments, stakes, buoys, etc., so
3 placed and made as not to interfere with the navigation, as it
4 may deem necessary to locate the same to the end that the
5 location and limits of the lands embraced in such lease be
6 easily and accurately found and fixed, and such lessee shall
7 keep the same in good condition during the open and closed
8 oyster or clam season. All leases shall be marked according to
9 the standards derived from the uniform waterway markers for
10 safety and navigation as described in s. 327.40. The
11 department division may stipulate in each individual lease
12 contract the types, shape, depth, size, and height of marker
13 or corner posts. Failure on the part of the lessee to comply
14 with the orders of the department division to this effect
15 within the time fixed by it, and to keep the markers, etc., in
16 good condition during the open and closed oyster or clam
17 season, shall subject such lessee to a fine not exceeding $100
18 for each and every such offense. All lessees shall cause the
19 area of the leased water bottoms and the names of the lessees
20 to be shown by signs as may be determined by the department
21 division, if so required.
22 (4) LEASES IN PERPETUITY; RENT; STIPULATIONS; TAXES;
23 CULTIVATION, ETC.--
24 (a) All leases made under the provisions of this
25 chapter shall begin on the day executed and continue in
26 perpetuity under such restrictions as shall herein be stated.
27 The rent for the first 10 years shall be $5 per acre, or any
28 fraction of an acre, per year. The actual rate charged for
29 all leases shall consist of the minimum rate of $15 per acre,
30 or any fraction of an acre, per year and shall be adjusted on
31 January 1, 1995, and every 5 years thereafter, based upon the
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1 5-year average change in the Consumer Price Index. However,
2 the rent for any lease currently in effect shall not be
3 increased during the first 10 years of said lease. This rent
4 shall be paid in advance at the time of signing the lease up
5 to January 1 following, and annually thereafter in advance on
6 or before January 1, whether the lease be held by the original
7 lessee or by an heir, assignee, or transferee.
8 (b) A surcharge of $5 per acre, or any fraction of an
9 acre, per annum shall be levied upon each lease, other than a
10 perpetual lease granted pursuant to this subsection, and
11 deposited into the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund.
12 The surcharge shall be levied until the balance of receipts
13 from the surcharge equals or exceeds $30,000. For the fiscal
14 year immediately following the year in which the balance of
15 receipts from the surcharge equals or exceeds $30,000, no
16 surcharge shall be levied unless the balance from receipts
17 from the surcharge is less than or equal to $20,000. For the
18 fiscal year immediately following the year in which the
19 balance of receipts from the surcharge is less than or equal
20 to $20,000, the surcharge shall be and shall remain $5 per
21 acre, or any fraction of an acre, per annum until the balance
22 of receipts from the surcharge again is equal to or exceeds
23 $30,000. The purpose of the surcharge is to provide a
24 mechanism to have financial resources immediately available
25 for cleanup and rehabilitation of abandoned or vacated lease
26 sites. The department is authorized to adopt rules necessary
27 to carry out the provisions of this subsection.
28 (c) Moneys in the fund that are not needed currently
29 for cleanup and rehabilitation of abandoned or vacated lease
30 sites shall be deposited with the Treasurer to the credit of
31 the fund and may be invested in such manner as is provided for
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1 by statute. Interest received on such investment shall be
2 credited to the fund.
3 (d) Funds from receipts from the surcharge within the
4 Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund from the surcharge
5 established by paragraph (b) shall be disbursed for the
6 following purposes and no others:
7 1. Administrative expenses, personnel expenses, and
8 equipment costs of the department related to cleanup and
9 rehabilitation of abandoned or vacated aquaculture lease sites
10 and enforcement of provisions of subsections (1)-(13).
11 2. All costs involved in the cleanup and
12 rehabilitation of abandoned or vacated lease sites.
13 3. All costs and damages which are the proximate
14 results of lease abandonment or vacation.
15 4. The department shall recover to the use of the fund
16 from the person or persons abandoning or vacating the lease,
17 jointly and severally, all sums owed or expended from the
18 fund. Requests for reimbursement to the fund for the above
19 costs, if not paid within 30 days of demand, shall be turned
20 over to the Department of Legal Affairs for collection.
21 (e) Effective cultivation shall consist of the growing
22 of the oysters or clams in a density suitable for commercial
23 harvesting over the amount of bottom prescribed by law. This
24 commercial density shall be accomplished by the planting of
25 seed oysters, shell, and cultch of various descriptions. The
26 Department of Environmental Protection Division of Marine
27 Resources may stipulate in each individual lease contract the
28 types, shape, depth, size, and height of cultch materials on
29 lease bottoms according to the individual shape, depth,
30 location, and type of bottom of the proposed lease. Each
31 tenant leasing from the state water bottoms under the
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1 provisions of this section shall have begun, within 1 year
2 from the date of such lease, bona fide cultivation of the
3 same, and shall, by the end of the second year from the
4 commencement of his or her lease, have placed under
5 cultivation at least one-fourth of the water bottom leased and
6 shall each year thereafter place in cultivation at least
7 one-fourth of the water bottom leased until the whole,
8 suitable for bedding of oysters or clams, shall have been put
9 in cultivation by the planting thereon of not less than 200
10 barrels of oysters, shell, or its equivalent in cultch to the
11 acre. When leases are granted, or when grants have heretofore
12 been made under existing laws for the planting of oysters or
13 clams, such lessee or grantee is authorized to plant the
14 leased or granted bottoms both in oysters and clams.
15 (f) These stipulations will apply to all leases
16 granted after the passing of this section. All leases
17 existing prior to the passing of this section will operate
18 under the law which was in effect when the leases were
19 granted.
20 (g) When evidence is gathered by the department and
21 such evidence conclusively shows a lack of effective
22 cultivation, the department may revoke leases and return the
23 bottoms in question to the public domain.
24 (h) The department has the authority to adopt rules
25 and regulations pertaining to the water column over shellfish
26 leases. All cultch materials in place 6 months after the
27 formal adoption and publication of rules and regulations
28 establishing standards for cultch materials on shellfish
29 leases which do not comply with such rules and regulations may
30 be declared a nuisance by the department. The department
31 shall have the authority to direct the lessee to remove such
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1 cultch in violation of this section. The department may
2 cancel a lease upon the refusal by the lessee violating such
3 rules and regulations to remove unlawful cultch materials, and
4 all improvements, cultch, marketable oysters, and shell shall
5 become the property of the state. The department shall have
6 the authority to retain, dispose of, or remove such materials
7 in the best interest of the state.
8 (5) INCREASE OF RENTALS AFTER 10 YEARS.--After 10
9 years from the execution of the lease, the rentals shall be
10 increased to a minimum of $1 per acre per annum. The
11 department shall assess rental value on the leased water
12 bottoms, taking into consideration their value as
13 oyster-growing or clam-growing water bottoms, their nearness
14 to factories, transportation, and other conditions adding
15 value thereto and placing such valuation upon them in shape of
16 annual rental to be paid thereunder as said condition shall
17 warrant.
18 (6) LEASES TRANSFERABLE, ETC.--The leases shall be
19 inheritable and transferable, in whole or in part, and shall
20 also be subject to mortgage, pledge, or hypothecation and
21 shall be subject to seizure and sale for debts as any other
22 property, rights, and credits in this state, and this
23 provision shall also apply to all buildings, betterments, and
24 improvements thereon. Leases granted under this section cannot
25 be transferred, by sale or barter, in whole or in part,
26 without the written, express acquiescence of the Department of
27 Environmental Protection Division of Marine Resources, and
28 such a transferee shall pay a $50 transfer fee before
29 department division acquiescence may be given. No lease or
30 part of a lease may be transferred by sale or barter until the
31 lease has been in existence at least 2 years and has been
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1 cultivated according to the statutory standards found in
2 paragraph (4)(e), except as otherwise provided by regulation
3 adopted by the department Division of Marine Resources. No
4 such inheritance or transfer shall be valid or of any force or
5 effect whatever unless evidenced by an authentic act,
6 judgment, or proper judicial deed, registered in the office of
7 the department division in a book to be provided for said
8 purpose. The department division shall keep proper indexes so
9 that all original leases and all subsequent changes and
10 transfers can be easily and accurately ascertained.
11 (7) PAYMENT OF RENT; FORFEITURE FOR NONPAYMENT;
12 NOTICE, ETC.--All leases shall stipulate for the payment of
13 the annual rent in advance on or before January 1 of each
14 year, and the further stipulation that the failure of the
15 tenant to pay the rent punctually on or before that day, or
16 within 30 days thereafter shall ipso facto, and upon demand,
17 terminate and cancel said lease and forfeit to the state all
18 the works, improvements, betterments, oysters, and clams on
19 the leased water bottoms, and authorize the Department of
20 Environmental Protection Division of Marine Resources to at
21 once enter on said water bottom and take possession thereof,
22 and such water bottom shall then be open for lease as herein
23 provided; and the department division shall within 10 days
24 thereafter enter such termination, cancellation, and
25 forfeiture on its books and shall give such public notice
26 thereof, and of the fact that the water bottoms are open to
27 lease, as it shall deem proper; provided, that the department
28 division may, in its discretion, waive such termination,
29 cancellation, and forfeiture when the rent due, with 10
30 percent additional, and all costs and expenses growing out of
31 such failure to pay, be tendered to it within 60 days after
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1 the same became due; provided, that in all cases of
2 cancellation of lease, the department division shall, after 60
3 days' notice by publication in some newspaper published in the
4 state, having a general statewide circulation, which notice
5 shall contain a full description of the leased waters and beds
6 and any parts thereof, sell such lease to the highest and best
7 bidder; and all moneys received over and above the rents due
8 to the state, under the terms of the lease and provisions
9 herein, and costs and expenses growing out of such failure to
10 pay, shall be paid to the lessee forfeiting his or her rights
11 therein. No leased water bottoms shall be forfeited for
12 nonpayment of rent under the provisions of this section,
13 unless there shall previously have been mailed by the said
14 department division to the last known address of such tenant
15 according to the books of said department division, 30 days'
16 notice of the maturity of such lease. Whenever any leased
17 water bottoms are forfeited for nonpayment of rent, and there
18 is a plat or survey thereof in the archives of the department
19 division, when such bedding grounds are re-leased, no new
20 survey thereof shall be made, but the original stakes,
21 monuments, and bounds shall be preserved, and the new lease
22 shall be based upon the original survey. This subsection
23 shall also apply to all costs and expenses taxed against a
24 lessee by the department division under this section.
25 (8) CANCELLATION OF LEASES TO NATURAL REEFS.--Any
26 person, within 6 months from and after the execution of any
27 lease to water bottoms, may file a petition with the
28 Department of Environmental Protection Division of Marine
29 Resources for the purpose of determining whether a natural
30 oyster or clam reef having an area of not less than 100 square
31 yards existed within the leased area on the date of the lease,
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1 with sufficient natural or maternal oysters or clams thereon
2 (not including coon oysters) to have constituted a stratum
3 sufficient to have been resorted to by the public generally
4 for the purpose of gathering the same to sell for a
5 livelihood. The petition shall be in writing addressed to the
6 Division of Marine Resources of the Department of
7 Environmental Protection, verified under oath, stating the
8 location and approximate area of the natural reef and the
9 claim or interest of the petitioner therein and requesting the
10 cancellation of the lease to the said natural reef. No
11 petition may be considered unless it is accompanied by a
12 deposit of $10 to defray the expense of examining into the
13 matter. The petition may include several contemporaneous
14 natural reefs of oysters or clams. Upon receipt of such
15 petition, the department division shall cause an investigation
16 to be made into the truth of the allegations of the petition,
17 and, if found untrue, the $10 deposit shall be retained by the
18 department division to defray the expense of the
19 investigation, but should the allegations of the petition be
20 found true and the leased premises to contain a natural oyster
21 or clam reef, as above described, the said $10 shall be
22 returned to the petitioner and the costs and expenses of the
23 investigation taxed against the lessee and the lease canceled
24 to the extent of the natural reef and the same shall be marked
25 with buoys and stakes and notices placed thereon showing the
26 same to be a public reef, the cost of the markers and notices
27 to be taxed against the lessee.
28 (9) WHEN NATURAL REEFS MAY BE INCLUDED IN LEASE.--When
29 an application for oyster or clam bedding grounds is filed and
30 upon survey of such bedding ground, it should develop that the
31 area applied for contains natural oyster or clam reefs or beds
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1 less in size than 100 square yards, or oyster or clam reefs or
2 bars of greater size, but not of sufficient quantity to
3 constitute a stratum, and it should further be made to appear
4 to the Department of Environmental Protection Division of
5 Marine Resources by the affidavit of the applicant, together
6 with such other proof as the department division may require,
7 that the natural reef, bed, or bar could not be excluded, and
8 the territory applied for properly protected or policed, the
9 department division may, if it deems it for the best interest
10 of the state and the oyster industry so to do, permit the
11 including of such natural reefs, beds, or bars; and it shall
12 fix a reasonable value on the same, to be paid by the
13 applicant for such bedding ground; provided, that no such
14 natural reefs shall be included in any lease hereafter granted
15 to the bottom or bed of waters of this state contiguous to
16 Franklin County. There shall be no future oyster leases
17 issued in Franklin County except for purposes of oyster
18 aquaculture activities approved under ss. 253.67-253.75.
19 However, such aquaculture leases shall be for an area not
20 larger than 1 acre and shall not be transferred or subleased.
21 Only the flexible belt system or off-bottom methods may be
22 used for aquaculture on these lease areas, and no cultch
23 materials shall be placed on the bottom of the lease areas.
24 Under no circumstances shall mechanical dredging devices be
25 used to harvest oysters on such lease areas. Oyster
26 aquaculture leases issued in Franklin County shall be issued
27 only to Florida residents.
28 (10) SETTLEMENT OF BOUNDARY DISPUTES; REVIEW.--The
29 Department of Environmental Protection Division of Marine
30 Resources shall determine and settle all disputes as to
31 boundaries between lessees of bedding grounds. The department
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1 division shall, in all cases, be the judge as to whether any
2 particular bottom is or is not a natural reef or whether it is
3 suitable for bedding oysters or clams.
4 (11) TRESPASS ON LEASED BEDS; GATHERING OYSTERS AND
5 CLAMS BETWEEN SUNSET AND SUNRISE FROM NATURAL REEFS, ETC.--Any
6 person who willfully takes oysters, shells, cultch, or clams
7 bedded or planted by a licensee under this chapter, or grantee
8 under the provisions of heretofore existing laws, or riparian
9 owner who may have heretofore planted the same on his or her
10 riparian bottoms, or any oysters or clams deposited by anyone
11 making up a cargo for market, or who willfully carries or
12 attempts to carry away the same without permission of the
13 owner thereof, or who willfully or knowingly removes, breaks
14 off, destroys, or otherwise injures or alters any stakes,
15 bounds, monuments, buoys, notices, or other designations of
16 any natural oyster or clam reefs or beds or private bedding or
17 propagating grounds, or who willfully injures, destroys, or
18 removes any other protection around any oyster or clam beds,
19 or who willfully moves any bedding ground stakes, buoys,
20 marks, or designations, placed by the department division, or
21 who gathers oysters or clams between sunset and sunrise from
22 the natural reefs or from private bedding grounds, is guilty
23 of a violation of this section.
24 (12) PROTECTION OF OYSTER AND CLAM REEFS AND
25 SHELLFISH.--
26 (a) The Department of Environmental Protection
27 Division of Marine Resources shall improve, enlarge, and
28 protect the natural oyster and clam reefs of this state to the
29 extent it may deem advisable and the means at its disposal
30 will permit.
31
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1 (b) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
2 division shall also, to the same extent, assist in protecting
3 shellfish aquaculture products produced on leased or granted
4 reefs in the hands of lessees or grantees from the state.
5 Harvesting shellfish is prohibited within a distance of 25
6 feet outside lawfully marked lease boundaries or within
7 setback and access corridors within specifically designated
8 high-density aquaculture lease areas and aquaculture use
9 zones.
10 (c) The department, in cooperation with the
11 commission, division shall provide the Legislature annually
12 with recommendations as needed for the development and the
13 proper protection of the rights of the state and private
14 holders therein with respect to the oyster and clam business.
15 (13) STAKING OFF WATER BOTTOMS OR BEDDING OYSTERS
16 WITHOUT OBTAINING LEASE.--Any person staking off the water
17 bottoms of this state, or bedding oysters on the bottoms of
18 the waters of this state, without previously leasing same as
19 required by law shall be guilty of a violation of this
20 section, and shall acquire no rights by reason of such staking
21 off. This provision does not apply to grants heretofore made
22 under the provisions of any heretofore existing laws or to
23 artificial beds made heretofore by a riparian owner or his or
24 her grantees on the owner's riparian bottoms.
25 (14) SHELLFISH HARVESTING SEASONS; DAYS: SPECIAL
26 PROVISIONS RELATING TO APALACHICOLA BAY.--
27 (a) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
28 Marine Fisheries Commission shall consider setting the
29 shellfish harvesting seasons in the Apalachicola Bay as
30 follows:
31
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1 1. The open season shall be from October 1 to July 31
2 of each year.
3 2. The entire bay, including private leased or granted
4 grounds, shall be closed to shellfish harvesting from August 1
5 to September 30 of each year for the purpose of oyster
6 relaying and transplanting and shell planting.
7 (b) If the commission changes the harvesting seasons
8 by rule as set forth in this subsection, for 3 years after the
9 rule takes effect, the commission department shall monitor the
10 impacts of the new harvesting schedule on the bay and on local
11 shellfish harvesters to determine whether the new harvesting
12 schedule should be discontinued, retained, or modified. In
13 monitoring the new schedule and in preparing its report, the
14 commission department shall consider the following:
15 1. Whether the bay benefits ecologically from being
16 closed to shellfish harvesting from August 1 to September 30
17 of each year.
18 2. Whether the new harvesting schedule enhances the
19 enforcement of shellfish harvesting laws in the bay.
20 3. Whether the new harvesting schedule enhances
21 natural shellfish production, oyster relay and planting
22 programs, and shell planting programs in the bay.
23 4. Whether the new harvesting schedule has more than a
24 short-term adverse economic impact, if any, on local shellfish
25 harvesters.
26 (c) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
27 Marine Fisheries Commission by rule shall consider restricting
28 harvesting on shellfish grants or leases to the same days of
29 the week as harvesting on public beds.
30 (15) REMOVING OYSTERS, CLAMS, OR MUSSELS FROM NATURAL
31 REEFS; LICENSES, ETC., PENALTY.--
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1 (a) It is unlawful to use a dredge or any means or
2 implement other than hand tongs in removing oysters from the
3 natural or artificial state reefs. This restriction shall
4 apply to all areas of the Apalachicola Bay for all shellfish
5 harvesting, excluding private grounds leased or granted by the
6 state prior to July 1, 1989, if the lease or grant
7 specifically authorizes the use of implements other than hand
8 tongs for harvesting. Except in the Apalachicola Bay, upon
9 the payment of $25 annually, for each vessel or boat using a
10 dredge or machinery in the gathering of clams or mussels, a
11 special activity license may be issued by the Fish and
12 Wildlife Conservation Commission division pursuant to s.
13 370.06 for such use to such person.
14 (b) Special activity licenses issued to harvest
15 shellfish by dredge or other mechanical means from privately
16 held shellfish leases or grants in Apalachicola Bay shall
17 include, but not be limited to, the following conditions:
18 1. The use of any mechanical harvesting device other
19 than ordinary hand tongs for taking shellfish for any purpose
20 from public shellfish beds in Apalachicola Bay shall be
21 unlawful.
22 2. The possession of any mechanical harvesting device
23 on the waters of Apalachicola Bay from 5 p.m. until sunrise
24 shall be unlawful.
25 3. Leaseholders or grantees shall telephonically
26 notify the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division
27 of Law Enforcement and the Division of Marine Resources no
28 less than 48 hours prior to each day's use of a dredge or
29 scrape in order to arrange for a commission Marine Patrol
30 officer to be present on the lease or grant area while a
31 dredge or scrape is used on the lease or grant. Under no
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1 circumstances may a dredge or scrape be used without a
2 commission Marine Patrol officer present.
3 4. Only two dredges or scrapes per lease or grant may
4 be possessed or operated at any time.
5 5. Each vessel used for the transport or deployment of
6 a dredge or scrape shall prominently display the lease or
7 grant number or numbers, in numerals which are at least 12
8 inches high and 6 inches wide, in such a manner that the lease
9 or grant number or numbers are readily identifiable from both
10 the air and the water. The commission department shall apply
11 other statutes, rules, or conditions necessary to protect the
12 environment and natural resources from improper transport,
13 deployment, and operation of a dredge or scrape. Any
14 violation of this paragraph or of any other statutes, rules,
15 or conditions referenced in the special activity license shall
16 be considered a violation of the license and shall result in
17 revocation of the license and forfeiture of the bond submitted
18 to the commission department as a prerequisite to the issuance
19 of this license.
20 (c) Oysters may be harvested from natural or public or
21 private leased or granted grounds by common hand tongs or by
22 hand, by scuba diving, free diving, leaning from vessels, or
23 wading. In the Apalachicola Bay, this provision shall apply
24 to all shellfish.
25 (16) FISHING FOR RELAYING OR TRANSPLANTING PURPOSES.--
26 (a) Designation of areas for the taking of oysters and
27 clams to be planted on leases, grants, and public areas is to
28 be made by qualified personnel of the Fish and Wildlife
29 Conservation Commission Division of Marine Resources. Oysters,
30 clams, and mussels may be taken for relaying or transplanting
31 at any time during the year so long as, in the opinion of the
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1 commission division, the public health will not be endangered.
2 The amount of oysters, clams, and mussels to be obtained for
3 relaying or transplanting, the area relayed or transplanted
4 to, and relaying or transplanting time periods will be
5 established in each case by the commission division.
6 (b) Application for a special activity license issued
7 pursuant to s. 370.06 for obtaining oysters, clams, or mussels
8 for relaying from closed shellfish harvesting areas to
9 shellfish or aquaculture leases in open areas or certified
10 controlled purification plants or transplanting sublegal-sized
11 oysters, clams, or mussels to shellfish aquaculture leases for
12 growout or cultivation purposes must be made to the commission
13 division. In return, the commission division may assign an
14 area and a period of time for the oysters, clams, or mussels
15 to be relayed or transplanted to be taken. All relaying and
16 transplanting operations shall take place under the
17 surveillance of the commission division.
18 (c) Relayed oysters, clams, or mussels shall not be
19 subsequently harvested for any reason without written
20 permission or public notice from the commission division, if
21 oysters, clams, or mussels were relayed from areas not
22 approved by the commission division as shellfish harvesting
23 areas.
24 (17) LICENSES; OYSTER, CLAM, AND MUSSEL
25 CANNERIES.--Every person as a condition precedent to the
26 operation of any oyster, clam, or mussel canning factory in
27 this state shall obtain a license pursuant to s. 370.071 and
28 pay a license fee of $50.
29 (18) FALSE RETURNS AS TO OYSTERS OR CLAMS
30 HANDLED.--Each packer, canner, corporation, firm, commission
31 person, or dealer in fish shall, on the first day of each
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1 month, make a return under oath to the Fish and Wildlife
2 Conservation Commission Division of Marine Resources, as to
3 the number of oysters, clams, and shellfish purchased, caught,
4 or handled during the preceding month. Whoever is found
5 guilty of making any false affidavit to any such report is
6 guilty of perjury and punished as provided by law, and any
7 person who fails to make such report shall be punished by a
8 fine not exceeding $500 or by imprisonment in the county jail
9 not exceeding 6 months.
10 (19) DEPOSIT OF SHELLFISH LEASE RENTAL FEES.--Rental
11 fees for shellfish leases issued under this section shall be
12 deposited into the Land Acquisition Marine Resources
13 Conservation Trust Fund and used for shellfish-related
14 aquaculture activities, including research, lease compliance
15 inspections, mapping, and siting.
16 (20) WATER PATROL FOR COLLECTION OF TAX.--
17 (a) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
18 Division of Law Enforcement may establish and maintain
19 necessary patrols of the salt waters of Florida, with
20 authority to use such force as may be necessary to capture any
21 vessel or person violating the provisions of the laws relating
22 to oysters and clams, and may establish ports of entry at
23 convenient locations where the severance or privilege tax
24 levied on oysters and clams may be collected or paid and may
25 make such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary for
26 the enforcement of such tax.
27 (b) Each person in any way dealing in shellfish shall
28 keep a record, on blanks or forms prescribed by the commission
29 Division of Marine Resources, of all oysters, clams, and
30 shellfish taken, purchased, used, or handled by him or her,
31 with the name of the persons from whom purchased, if
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1 purchased, together with the quantity and the date taken or
2 purchased, and shall exhibit this account at all times when
3 requested so to do by the commission division or any
4 conservation agent; and he or she shall, on the first day of
5 each month, make a return under oath to the commission
6 division as to the number of oysters, clams, and shellfish
7 purchased, caught, or handled during the preceding month. The
8 commission division may require detailed returns whenever it
9 deems them necessary.
10 (21) SEIZURE OF VESSELS AND CARGOES VIOLATING OYSTER
11 AND CLAM LAWS, ETC.--Vessels, with their cargoes, violating
12 the provisions of the laws relating to oysters and clams may
13 be seized by anyone duly and lawfully authorized to make
14 arrests under this section or by any sheriff or the sheriff's
15 deputies, and taken into custody, and when not arrested by the
16 sheriff or the sheriff's deputies, delivered to the sheriff of
17 the county in which the seizure is made, and shall be liable
18 to forfeiture, on appropriate proceedings being instituted by
19 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of
20 Marine Resources, before the courts of that county. In such
21 case the cargo shall at once be disposed of by the sheriff,
22 for account of whom it may concern. Should the master or any
23 of the crew of said vessel be found guilty of using dredges or
24 other instruments in fishing oysters on natural reefs contrary
25 to law, or fishing on the natural oyster or clam reefs out of
26 season, or unlawfully taking oysters or clams belonging to a
27 lessee, such vessel shall be declared forfeited by the court,
28 and ordered sold and the proceeds of the sale shall be
29 deposited with the Treasurer to the credit of the General
30 Revenue Fund; any person guilty of such violations shall not
31 be permitted to have any license provided for in this chapter
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1 within a period of 1 year from the date of conviction.
2 Pending proceedings such vessel may be released upon the owner
3 furnishing bond, with good and solvent security in double the
4 value of the vessel, conditioned upon its being returned in
5 good condition to the sheriff to abide the judgment of the
6 court.
7 (22) OYSTER AND CLAM REHABILITATION.--The board of
8 county commissioners of the several counties may appropriate
9 and expend such sums as it may deem proper for the purpose of
10 planting or transplanting oysters, clams, oyster shell, clam
11 shell, or cultch or to perform such other acts for the
12 enhancement of the oyster and clam industries of the state,
13 out of any sum in the county treasury not otherwise
14 appropriated.
15 (23) DREDGING OF DEAD SHELLS PROHIBITED.--The dredging
16 of dead shell deposits is prohibited in the state.
17 (24) COOPERATION WITH UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE
18 SERVICE.--The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
19 Division of Marine Resources shall cooperate with the United
20 States Fish and Wildlife Service, under existing federal laws,
21 rules, and regulations, and is authorized to accept donations,
22 grants, and matching funds from the Federal Government in
23 order to carry out its oyster resource and development
24 responsibilities. The commission division is further
25 authorized to accept any and all donations including funds,
26 oysters, or oyster shells.
27 (25) OYSTER AND CLAM SHELLS PROPERTY OF DEPARTMENT
28 DIVISION.--
29 (a) Except for oysters used directly in the half-shell
30 trade, 50 percent of all shells from oysters and clams shucked
31 commercially in the state shall be and remain the property of
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1 the Department of Environmental Protection Division of Marine
2 Resources when such shells are needed and required for
3 rehabilitation projects and planting operations, in
4 cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
5 Commission, when sufficient resources and facilities exist for
6 handling and planting said shell, and when the collection and
7 handling of such shell is practical and useful, except that
8 bona fide holders of leases and grants may retain 75 percent
9 of such shell as they produce for planting purposes by
10 obtaining a special activity license from the commission
11 division pursuant to s. 370.06. Storage, transportation, and
12 planting of shells so retained by lessees and grantees shall
13 be carried out under the surveillance of agents of the Fish
14 and Wildlife Conservation Commission division and be subject
15 to such reasonable time limits as the department division may
16 fix. In the event of an accumulation of an excess of shells,
17 the department division is authorized to sell shells only to
18 private growers for use in oyster or clam cultivation on bona
19 fide leases and grants. No profit shall accrue to the
20 department division in these transactions, and shells are to
21 be sold for the estimated moneys spent by the department
22 division to gather and stockpile the shells. Planting of
23 shells obtained from the department division by purchase shall
24 be subject to the surveillance of the Fish and Wildlife
25 Conservation Commission division if the department division
26 chooses to exercise its right of supervision. Any shells not
27 claimed and used by private oyster cultivators 10 years after
28 shells are gathered and stockpiled may be sold at auction to
29 the highest bidder for any private use.
30
31
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1 (b) Whenever the department division determines that
2 it is unfeasible to collect oyster or clam shells, the shells
3 become the property of the producer.
4 (c) Whenever oyster or clam shells are owned by the
5 department division and it is not useful or feasible to use
6 them in the rehabilitation projects, and when no leaseholder
7 has exercised his or her option to acquire them, the
8 department division may sell such shells for the highest price
9 obtainable. The shells thus sold may be used in any manner
10 and for any purpose at the discretion of the purchaser.
11 (d) Moneys derived from the sale of shell shall be
12 deposited in the Land Acquisition Marine Resources
13 Conservation Trust Fund for shellfish programs.
14 (e) The department division shall annually publish
15 notice, in a newspaper serving the county, of its intention to
16 collect the oyster and clam shells and shall notify, by
17 certified mail, each shucking establishment from which shells
18 are to be collected. The notice shall contain the period of
19 time the department division intends to collect the shells in
20 that county and the collection purpose.
21 (26) OYSTER CULTURE.--The Fish and Wildlife
22 Conservation Commission Division of Marine Resources shall
23 protect all oyster beds, oyster grounds, and oyster reefs from
24 damage or destruction resulting from improper cultivation,
25 propagation, planting, or harvesting and control the pollution
26 of the waters over or surrounding oyster grounds, beds, or
27 reefs, and to this end the Department of Health and
28 Rehabilitative Services is authorized and directed to lend its
29 cooperation to the commission division, to make available to
30 it its laboratory testing facilities and apparatus. The
31 commission division may also do and perform all acts and
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1 things within its power and authority necessary to the
2 performance of its duties.
3 (27) HEALTH PERMITS.--
4 (a) Any person engaged in harvesting, handling, or
5 processing oysters for commercial use shall be required to
6 obtain a health permit from the county health department or
7 from a private physician.
8 (b) No person shall be employed or remain employed in
9 a certified oyster house without the possession of the
10 required health permit.
11 (c) For the purpose of this subsection, "commercial
12 use" shall be a quantity of more than 4 bushels, or more than
13 2 gallons, of shucked oysters, per person or per boat, or any
14 number or quantity of oysters if the oysters are to be sold.
15 (28) REQUIREMENTS FOR OYSTER VESSELS.--
16 (a) All vessels used for the harvesting, gathering, or
17 transporting of oysters for commercial use shall be
18 constructed and maintained to prevent contamination or
19 deterioration of oysters. To this end, all such vessels shall
20 be provided with false bottoms and bulkheads fore and aft to
21 prevent oysters from coming in contact with any bilge water.
22 No dogs or other animals shall be allowed at any time on
23 vessels used to harvest or transport oysters. A violation of
24 any provision of this subsection shall result in at least the
25 revocation of the violator's license.
26 (b) For the purpose of this subsection, "commercial
27 use" shall be a quantity of more than 4 bushels, or more than
28 2 gallons, of shucked oysters, per person or per boat, or any
29 number or quantity of oysters if the oysters are to be sold.
30
31
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1 Section 14. Subsections (2), (3), (8), (9), (10), and
2 (11) of section 370.26, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are
3 amended to read:
4 370.26 Aquaculture definitions; marine aquaculture
5 products, producers, and facilities.--
6 (2) The Department of Environmental Protection shall
7 encourage the development of aquaculture and the production of
8 aquaculture products. The department shall develop a process
9 consistent with this section that would consolidate permits,
10 general permits, special activity licenses, and other
11 regulatory requirements to streamline the permitting process
12 and result in effective regulation of aquaculture activities.
13 This process shall provide for a single application and
14 application fee for marine aquaculture activities which are
15 regulated by the department. Procedures to consolidate
16 permitting actions under this section do not constitute rules
17 within the meaning of s. 120.52.
18 (3) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer
19 Services shall act as a clearinghouse for aquaculture
20 applications, and act as a liaison between the Fish and
21 Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Marine Resources,
22 the Division of State Lands, the Department of Environmental
23 Protection district offices, other divisions within the
24 Department of Environmental Protection, and the water
25 management districts. The Department of Agriculture and
26 Consumer Services shall be responsible for regulating marine
27 aquaculture producers, except as specifically provided herein.
28 (8) The department shall:
29 (a) Coordinate with the Aquaculture Review Council,
30 the Aquaculture Interagency Coordinating Council, and the
31
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1 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services when
2 developing criteria for aquaculture general permits.
3 (b) Permit experimental technologies to collect and
4 evaluate data necessary to reduce or mitigate environmental
5 concerns.
6 (c) Provide technical expertise and promote the
7 transfer of information that would be beneficial to the
8 development of aquaculture.
9 (9) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
10 department shall encourage the development of aquaculture in
11 the state through the following:
12 (a) Providing assistance in developing technologies
13 applicable to aquaculture activities, evaluating practicable
14 production alternatives, and providing management agreements
15 to develop innovative culture practices.
16 (b) Permitting experimental technologies to collect
17 and evaluate data necessary to reduce or mitigate
18 environmental concerns.
19 (c) Providing technical expertise and promoting the
20 transfer of information that would be beneficial to the
21 development of aquaculture.
22 (b)(d) Facilitating aquaculture research on life
23 histories, stock enhancement, and alternative species, and
24 providing research results that would assist in the
25 evaluation, development, and commercial production of
26 candidate species for aquaculture, including:
27 1. Providing eggs, larvae, fry, and fingerlings to
28 aquaculturists when excess cultured stocks are available from
29 the commission's department's facilities and the culture
30 activities are consistent with the commission's department's
31 stock enhancement projects. Such stocks may be obtained by
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1 reimbursing the commission department for the cost of
2 production on a per-unit basis. Revenues resulting from the
3 sale of stocks shall be deposited into the trust fund used to
4 support the production of such stocks.
5 2. Conducting research programs to evaluate candidate
6 species when funding and staff are available.
7 3. Encouraging the private production of marine fish
8 and shellfish stocks for the purpose of providing such stocks
9 for statewide stock enhancement programs. When such stocks
10 become available, the commission department shall reduce or
11 eliminate duplicative production practices that would result
12 in direct competition with private commercial producers.
13 4. Developing a working group, in cooperation with the
14 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the
15 Aquaculture Review Council, and the Aquaculture Interagency
16 Coordinating Council, to plan and facilitate the development
17 of private marine fish and nonfish hatcheries and to encourage
18 private/public partnerships to promote the production of
19 marine aquaculture products.
20 (c)(e) Coordinating with Cooperating with the Game and
21 Fresh Water Fish Commission and public and private research
22 institutions within the state to advance the aquaculture
23 production and sale of sturgeon as a food fish.
24 (10) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
25 department shall coordinate with the Aquaculture Review
26 Council and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
27 Services to establish and implement grant programs to provide
28 funding for projects and programs that are identified in the
29 state's aquaculture plan, pending legislative appropriations.
30 The commission department and the Department of Agriculture
31 and Consumer Services shall establish and implement a grant
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1 program to make grants available to qualified nonprofit,
2 educational, and research entities or local governments to
3 fund infrastructure, planning, practical and applied research,
4 development projects, production economic analysis, and
5 training and stock enhancement projects, and to make grants
6 available to counties, municipalities, and other state and
7 local entities for applied aquaculture projects that are
8 directed to economic development, pending legislative
9 appropriations.
10 (11) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
11 department shall provide assistance to the Department of
12 Agriculture and Consumer Services in the development of an
13 aquaculture plan for the state.
14 Section 15. Subsection (5) of section 932.7055,
15 Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
16 932.7055 Disposition of liens and forfeited
17 property.--
18 (5) If the seizing agency is a state agency, all
19 remaining proceeds shall be deposited into the General Revenue
20 Fund. However, if the seizing agency is:
21 (a) The Department of Law Enforcement, the proceeds
22 accrued pursuant to the provisions of the Florida Contraband
23 Forfeiture Act shall be deposited into the Forfeiture and
24 Investigative Support Trust Fund as provided in s. 943.362 or
25 into the department's Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund as
26 provided in s. 943.365, as applicable.
27 (b) The Department of Environmental Protection, the
28 proceeds accrued pursuant to the provisions of the Florida
29 Contraband Forfeiture Act shall be deposited into the
30 Forfeited Property Trust Fund Marine Resources Conservation
31 Trust Fund to be used for law enforcement purposes as provided
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1 in ss. 370.021 and 370.061 or into the department's Federal
2 Law Enforcement Trust Fund as provided in s. 20.2553, as
3 applicable.
4 (c) The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco,
5 the proceeds accrued pursuant to the Florida Contraband
6 Forfeiture Act shall be deposited into the Alcoholic Beverage
7 and Tobacco Trust Fund or into the department's Federal Law
8 Enforcement Trust Fund as provided in s. 561.027, as
9 applicable.
10 (d) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
11 Vehicles, the proceeds accrued pursuant to the Florida
12 Contraband Forfeiture Act shall be deposited into the
13 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Law
14 Enforcement Trust Fund as provided in s. 932.705(1)(a) or into
15 the department's Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund as
16 provided in s. 932.705(1)(b), as applicable.
17 (e) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
18 Water Fish Commission, the proceeds accrued pursuant to the
19 provisions of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act shall be
20 deposited into the State Game Trust Fund as provided in ss.
21 372.73, 372.9901, and 372.9904, into the Marine Resources
22 Conservation Trust Fund as provided in s. 370.061, or into the
23 commission's Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund as provided in
24 s. 372.107, as applicable.
25 (f) A state attorney's office acting within its
26 judicial circuit, the proceeds accrued pursuant to the
27 provisions of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act shall be
28 deposited into the State Attorney's Forfeiture and
29 Investigative Support Trust Fund to be used for the
30 investigation of crime and prosecution of criminals within the
31 judicial circuit.
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1 (g) A school board security agency employing law
2 enforcement officers, the proceeds accrued pursuant to the
3 provisions of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act shall be
4 deposited into the School Board Law Enforcement Trust Fund.
5 (h) One of the State University System police
6 departments acting within the jurisdiction of its employing
7 state university, the proceeds accrued pursuant to the
8 provisions of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act shall be
9 deposited into that state university's special law enforcement
10 trust fund.
11 (i) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer
12 Services, the proceeds accrued pursuant to the provisions of
13 the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act shall be deposited into
14 the Agricultural Law Enforcement Trust Fund or into the
15 department's Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund as provided in
16 s. 570.205, as applicable.
17 (j) The Department of Military Affairs, the proceeds
18 accrued from federal forfeiture sharing pursuant to 21 U.S.C.
19 ss. 881(e)(1)(A) and (3), 18 U.S.C. s. 981(e)(2), and 19
20 U.S.C. s. 1616a shall be deposited into the Armory Board Trust
21 Fund and used for purposes authorized by such federal
22 provisions based on the department's budgetary authority or
23 into the department's Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund as
24 provided in s. 250.175, as applicable.
25 Section 16. Subsection (1) of section 20.055, Florida
26 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
27 20.055 Agency inspectors general.--
28 (1) For the purposes of this section:
29 (a) "State agency" means each department created
30 pursuant to this chapter, and also includes the Executive
31 Office of the Governor, the Department of Military Affairs,
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1 the Parole Commission, the Board of Regents, the Fish and
2 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission,
3 the Public Service Commission, and the state courts system.
4 (b) "Agency head" means the Governor, a Cabinet
5 officer, a secretary as defined in s. 20.03(5), or an
6 executive director as defined in s. 20.03(6). It also includes
7 the chair of the Public Service Commission and the Chief
8 Justice of the State Supreme Court.
9 Section 17. Subsection (1) of section 23.21, Florida
10 Statutes, is amended to read:
11 23.21 Definitions.--For purposes of this part:
12 (1) "Department" means a principal administrative unit
13 within the executive branch of state government, as defined in
14 chapter 20, and includes the State Board of Administration,
15 the Executive Office of the Governor, the Fish and Wildlife
16 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the Parole
17 Commission, the Agency for Health Care Administration, the
18 Board of Regents, the State Board of Community Colleges, the
19 Justice Administrative Commission, the Capital Collateral
20 Representative, and separate budget entities placed for
21 administrative purposes within a department.
22 Section 18. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
23 120.52, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
24 120.52 Definitions.--As used in this act:
25 (1) "Agency" means:
26 (b) Each state officer and state department,
27 departmental unit described in s. 20.04, commission, regional
28 planning agency, board, multicounty special district with a
29 majority of its governing board comprised of nonelected
30 persons, and authority, including, but not limited to, the
31 Commission on Ethics and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
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1 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission when acting pursuant to
2 statutory authority derived from the Legislature, educational
3 units, and those entities described in chapters 163, 298, 373,
4 380, and 582 and s. 186.504, except any legal entity or agency
5 created in whole or in part pursuant to chapter 361, part II,
6 an expressway authority pursuant to chapter 348, or any legal
7 or administrative entity created by an interlocal agreement
8 pursuant to s. 163.01(7), unless any party to such agreement
9 is otherwise an agency as defined in this subsection.
10 (c) Each other unit of government in the state,
11 including counties and municipalities, to the extent they are
12 expressly made subject to this act by general or special law
13 or existing judicial decisions.
14 Section 19. Subsection (5) of section 120.81, Florida
15 Statutes, is amended to read:
16 120.81 Exceptions and special requirements; general
17 areas.--
18 (5) HUNTING AND FISHING REGULATION.--Agency action
19 which has the effect of altering established hunting or
20 fishing seasons, or altering established annual harvest limits
21 for saltwater fishing if the procedure for altering such
22 harvest limits is set out by rule of the Fish and Wildlife
23 Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission, is not a rule as
24 defined by this chapter, provided such action is adequately
25 noticed in the area affected through publishing in a newspaper
26 of general circulation or through notice by broadcasting by
27 electronic media.
28 Section 20. Subsection (6) of section 163.3244,
29 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
30 163.3244 Sustainable communities demonstration
31 project.--
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1 (6) The secretary of the Department of Environmental
2 Protection, the Secretary of Community Affairs, the Secretary
3 of Transportation, the Commissioner of Agriculture, the
4 executive director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game
5 and Fresh Water Fish Commission, and the executive directors
6 of the five water management districts shall have the
7 authority to enter into agreements with landowners,
8 developers, businesses, industries, individuals, and
9 governmental agencies as may be necessary to effectuate the
10 provisions of this section.
11 Section 21. Subsection (6) of section 186.003, Florida
12 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
13 186.003 Definitions.--As used in ss. 186.001-186.031
14 and 186.801-186.911, the term:
15 (6) "State agency" means each executive department,
16 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
17 Commission, the Parole Commission, and the Department of
18 Military Affairs.
19 Section 22. Subsection (1) of section 186.005, Florida
20 Statutes, is amended to read:
21 186.005 Designation of departmental planning
22 officer.--
23 (1) The head of each executive department and the
24 Public Service Commission, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
25 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the Parole Commission,
26 and the Department of Military Affairs shall select from
27 within such agency a person to be designated as the planning
28 officer for such agency. The planning officer shall be
29 responsible for coordinating with the Executive Office of the
30 Governor and with the planning officers of other agencies all
31
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1 activities and responsibilities of such agency relating to
2 planning.
3 Section 23. Subsection (1) of section 229.8058,
4 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
5 229.8058 Advisory Council on Environmental Education;
6 establishment; responsibilities.--
7 (1) There is created within the Legislature the
8 Advisory Council on Environmental Education. The council shall
9 have 14 voting members, including:
10 (a) Two members of the Senate, appointed by the
11 President of the Senate.
12 (b) Two members of the House of Representatives,
13 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
14 (c) Five members appointed by the Governor.
15 (d) A representative of the Department of Education.
16 (e) A representative of the Department of
17 Environmental Protection.
18 (f) A representative of the Fish and Wildlife
19 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
20 (g) A representative of the Executive Office of the
21 Governor.
22 (h) The chair of the Environmental Education
23 Foundation.
24 Section 24. Subsection (6) of section 240.155, Florida
25 Statutes, is amended to read:
26 240.155 Campus master plans and campus development
27 agreements.--
28 (6) Before a campus master plan is adopted, a copy of
29 the draft master plan must be sent for review to the host and
30 any affected local governments, the state land planning
31 agency, the Department of Environmental Protection, the
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1 Department of Transportation, the Department of State, the
2 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
3 Commission, and the applicable water management district and
4 regional planning council. These agencies must be given 90
5 days after receipt of the campus master plans in which to
6 conduct their review and provide comments to the Board of
7 Regents. The commencement of this review period must be
8 advertised in newspapers of general circulation within the
9 host local government and any affected local government to
10 allow for public comment. Following receipt and consideration
11 of all comments, and the holding of at least two public
12 hearings within the host jurisdiction, the Board of Regents
13 shall adopt the campus master plan. It is the intent of the
14 Legislature that the Board of Regents comply with the notice
15 requirements set forth in s. 163.3184(15) to ensure full
16 public participation in this planning process. Campus master
17 plans developed under this section are not rules and are not
18 subject to chapter 120 except as otherwise provided in this
19 section.
20 Section 25. Subsection (1) of section 252.365, Florida
21 Statutes, is amended to read:
22 252.365 Designation of emergency coordination
23 officers.--
24 (1) The head of each executive department, the
25 executive director of each water management district, the
26 Public Service Commission, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
27 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, and the Department of
28 Military Affairs shall select from within such agency a person
29 to be designated as the emergency coordination officer for the
30 agency and an alternate.
31
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1 Section 26. Section 253.05, Florida Statutes, is
2 amended to read:
3 253.05 Prosecuting officers to assist in protecting
4 state lands.--State attorneys, other prosecuting officers of
5 the state or county, wildlife officers of the Fish and
6 Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish
7 Commission, conservation officers, together with the Secretary
8 of Environmental Protection, and county sheriffs and their
9 deputies shall see that the lands owned by the state, as
10 described in ss. 253.01 and 253.03, shall not be the object of
11 damage, trespass, depredation, or unlawful use by any person.
12 The said officers and their deputies shall, upon information
13 that unlawful use is being made of state lands, report the
14 same, together with the information in their possession
15 relating thereto, to the Board of Trustees of the Internal
16 Improvement Trust Fund and shall cooperate with the said board
17 in carrying out the purposes of ss. 253.01-253.04 and this
18 section. State attorneys and other prosecuting officers of the
19 state or any county, upon request of the Governor or Board of
20 Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, shall
21 institute and maintain such legal proceedings as may be
22 necessary to carry out the purpose of said sections.
23 Section 27. Subsection (1) of section 253.45, Florida
24 Statutes, is amended to read:
25 253.45 Sale or lease of phosphate, clay, minerals,
26 etc., in or under state lands.--
27 (1) The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement
28 Trust Fund may sell or lease any phosphate, earth or clay,
29 sand, gravel, shell, mineral, metal, timber or water, or any
30 other substance similar to the foregoing, in, on, or under,
31 any land the title to which is vested in the state, the
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1 Department of Management Services, the Department of
2 Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
3 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the State Board of
4 Education, or any other state board, department, or agency;
5 provided that the board of trustees may not grant such a sale
6 or lease on the land of any other state board, department, or
7 agency without first obtaining approval therefrom. No sale or
8 lease provided for in this section shall be allowed on
9 hard-surfaced beaches that are used for bathing or driving and
10 areas contiguous thereto out to a mean low-water depth of 3
11 feet and landward to the nearest paved public road. Any sale
12 or lease provided for in this section shall be conducted by
13 competitive bidding as provided for in ss. 253.52, 253.53, and
14 253.54. The proceeds of such sales or leases are to be
15 credited to the board of trustees, board, department, or
16 agency which has title or control of the land involved.
17 Section 28. Section 253.75, Florida Statutes, is
18 amended to read:
19 253.75 Studies and recommendations by the department
20 and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water
21 Fish Commission; designation of recommended traditional and
22 other use zones; supervision of aquaculture operations.--
23 (1) Prior to the granting of any lease under this act,
24 the board shall request a recommendation by the department,
25 when the application relates to tidal bottoms, and by the Fish
26 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
27 Commission, when the application relates to bottom land
28 covered by fresh water. Such recommendations shall be based on
29 such factors as an assessment of the probable effect of the
30 proposed leasing arrangement on the lawful rights of riparian
31 owners, navigation, commercial and sport fishing, and the
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1 conservation of fish or other wildlife or other natural
2 resources, including beaches and shores.
3 (2) The department and the Fish and Wildlife
4 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall both
5 have the following responsibilities with respect to submerged
6 land and water column falling within their respective
7 jurisdictions:
8 (a) To undertake, or cause to be undertaken, the
9 studies and surveys necessary to support their respective
10 recommendations to the board;
11 (b) To institute procedures for supervising the
12 aquaculture activities of lessees holding under this act and
13 reporting thereon from time to time to the board; and
14 (c) To designate in advance areas of submerged land
15 and water column owned by the state for which they recommend
16 reservation for uses that may possibly be inconsistent with
17 the conduct of aquaculture activities. Such uses shall
18 include, but not be limited to, recreational, commercial and
19 sport fishing and other traditional uses, exploration for
20 petroleum and other minerals, and scientific instrumentation.
21 The existence of such designated areas shall be considered by
22 the board in granting leases under this act.
23 Section 29. Subsection (3) of section 253.7829,
24 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
25 253.7829 Management plan for retention or disposition
26 of former Cross Florida Barge Canal lands; authority to manage
27 lands until disposition.--
28 (3)(a) Before taking any action to control the rhesus
29 monkey population located in Marion County, the Fish and
30 Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish
31 Commission shall conduct a study of the options available to
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1 them to deal with control of the rhesus monkeys located within
2 a 10-mile radius of the convergence of the Oklawaha and Silver
3 Rivers. The options studied shall include but not be limited
4 to:
5 1. Developing a management plan to allow the monkeys
6 to remain in their present locations.
7 2. Relocating all or some of the monkeys to
8 appropriate private state or federal lands in the United
9 States.
10 3. Sterilizing all or some of the monkeys, regardless
11 of whether they remain in their present location or are
12 relocated.
13 4. Euthanizing all or some of the monkeys.
14 (b) During the time the study is being conducted, the
15 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water
16 Fish Commission may control monkeys that constitute a threat
17 to visitors to such area. Such control includes, but is not
18 limited to, the right to deny public access to any area where
19 the monkeys are known to congregate. The Fish and Wildlife
20 Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
21 shall post adequate warning signs in areas to which the public
22 is denied access.
23 (c) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Florida Game
24 and Fresh Water Fish Commission may consult with any other
25 local or state agency while conducting the study and may
26 subcontract with any such agency to complete the study.
27 (d) The study of the options shall be delivered to the
28 Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.
29 (e) Nothing in this subsection affects the signed
30 agreement between the department and the Silver Springs
31 Attraction regarding the relocation of rhesus monkeys from
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1 Silver River State Park to the attraction, and such agreement
2 continues to be valid.
3 Section 30. Subsection (4) of section 253.787, Florida
4 Statutes, is amended to read:
5 253.787 Florida Greenways Coordinating Council;
6 composition; duties.--
7 (4) The council is to be composed of 26 members,
8 consisting of:
9 (a) Four members appointed by the Governor, four
10 members appointed by the President of the Senate, and four
11 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of
12 Representatives. Each appointing authority must consider
13 ethnic and gender balance and appoint one member who is
14 representative of:
15 1. Business interests;
16 2. The interests of landowners;
17 3. Conservation interests; and
18 4. Recreation interests.
19
20 The Governor shall designate one of his or her appointees as
21 chair of the council.
22 (b) Six members appointed by the Governor with the
23 concurrence of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
24 the House of Representatives, one of whom represents the
25 government of an urban county, one of whom represents the
26 government of a rural county, two of whom represent a
27 municipal government, one of whom represents the state's water
28 management districts, and one of whom represents a federal
29 land management entity active in the state.
30 (c) Eight ex officio members consisting of the head or
31 designee of the following state agencies: the Department of
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1 Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation,
2 the Department of Community Affairs, the Division of Forestry
3 of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the
4 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
5 Commission, the Department of Commerce, the Department of
6 Education, and the Division of Historical Resources of the
7 Department of State.
8 Section 31. Subsection (3) of section 255.502, Florida
9 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
10 255.502 Definitions; ss. 255.501-255.525.--As used in
11 this act, the following words and terms shall have the
12 following meanings unless the context otherwise requires:
13 (3) "Agency" means any department created by chapter
14 20, the Executive Office of the Governor, the Fish and
15 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission,
16 the Parole Commission, the State Board of Administration, the
17 Department of Military Affairs, or the Legislative Branch or
18 the Judicial Branch of state government.
19 Section 32. Subsection (2) of section 258.157, Florida
20 Statutes, is amended to read:
21 258.157 Prohibited acts in Savannas State Reserve.--
22 (2) It is unlawful for any person, except a law
23 enforcement or conservation officer, to have in his or her
24 possession any firearm while within the Savannas except when
25 in compliance with regulations established by the Fish and
26 Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish
27 Commission applying to lands within the described boundaries.
28 Section 33. Subsection (4) of section 258.397, Florida
29 Statutes, is amended to read:
30 258.397 Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve.--
31 (4) RULES.--
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1 (a) The board of trustees shall adopt and enforce
2 reasonable rules and regulations to carry out the provisions
3 of this section and specifically to provide:
4 1. Additional preserve management criteria as may be
5 necessary to accommodate special circumstances.
6 2. Regulation of human activity within the preserve in
7 such a manner as not to interfere unreasonably with lawful and
8 traditional public uses of the preserve, such as fishing (both
9 sport and commercial), boating, and swimming.
10 (b) Other uses of the preserve, or human activity
11 within the preserve, although not originally contemplated, may
12 be permitted by the board of trustees, but only subsequent to
13 a formal finding of compatibility with the purposes of this
14 section.
15 (c) Fishing involving the use of seines or nets is
16 prohibited in the preserve, except when the fishing is for
17 shrimp or mullet and such fishing is otherwise permitted by
18 state law or rules promulgated by the Fish and Wildlife
19 Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission. As used in this
20 paragraph, the terms "seines" or "nets" shall not include
21 landing nets, cast nets, or bully nets.
22 Section 34. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
23 258.501, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
24 258.501 Myakka River; wild and scenic segment.--
25 (7) MANAGEMENT COORDINATING COUNCIL.--
26 (a) Upon designation, the department shall create a
27 permanent council to provide interagency and intergovernmental
28 coordination in the management of the river. The coordinating
29 council shall be composed of one representative appointed from
30 each of the following: the department, the Department of
31 Transportation, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
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1 Fresh Water Fish Commission, the Department of Community
2 Affairs, the Division of Forestry of the Department of
3 Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Division of Historical
4 Resources of the Department of State, the Tampa Bay Regional
5 Planning Council, the Southwest Florida Water Management
6 District, the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council,
7 Manatee County, Sarasota County, Charlotte County, the City of
8 Sarasota, the City of North Port, agricultural interests,
9 environmental organizations, and any others deemed advisable
10 by the department.
11 Section 35. Subsection (1) of section 259.035, Florida
12 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
13 259.035 Advisory council; powers and duties.--
14 (1) There is created a Land Acquisition and Management
15 Advisory Council to be composed of the secretary and a
16 designee of the department, the director of the Division of
17 Forestry of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
18 Services, the executive director of the Fish and Wildlife
19 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the
20 director of the Division of Historical Resources of the
21 Department of State, and the secretary of the Department of
22 Community Affairs, or their respective designees. The
23 chairmanship of the council shall rotate annually in the
24 foregoing order. The council shall hold periodic meetings at
25 the request of the chair. The department shall provide primary
26 staff support to the council and shall ensure that council
27 meetings are electronically recorded. Such recordings shall be
28 preserved pursuant to chapters 119 and 257. The department has
29 authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54
30 to implement the provisions of this section.
31
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1 Section 36. Subsection (1) of section 259.036, Florida
2 Statutes, is amended to read:
3 259.036 Management review teams.--
4 (1) To determine whether conservation, preservation,
5 and recreation lands titled in the name of the Board of
6 Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund are being
7 managed for the purposes for which they were acquired and in
8 accordance with a land management plan adopted pursuant to s.
9 259.032, the board of trustees, acting through the Department
10 of Environmental Protection, shall cause periodic management
11 reviews to be conducted as follows:
12 (a) The department shall establish a regional land
13 management review team composed of the following members:
14 1. One individual who is from the county or local
15 community in which the parcel or project is located and who is
16 selected by the county commission in the county which is most
17 impacted by the acquisition.
18 2. One individual from the Division of Recreation and
19 Parks of the department.
20 3. One individual from the Division of Forestry of the
21 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
22 4. One individual from the Fish and Wildlife
23 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
24 5. One individual from the department's district
25 office in which the parcel is located.
26 6. A private land manager mutually agreeable to the
27 state agency representatives.
28 7. A member of the local soil and water conservation
29 district board of supervisors.
30 8. A member of a conservation organization.
31
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1 (b) The staff of the Division of State Lands shall act
2 as the review team coordinator for the purposes of
3 establishing schedules for the reviews and other staff
4 functions. The Legislature shall appropriate funds necessary
5 to implement land management review team functions.
6 Section 37. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
7 282.1095, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
8 282.1095 State agency law enforcement radio system.--
9 (2)(a) The Joint Task Force on State Agency Law
10 Enforcement Communications shall consist of eight members, as
11 follows:
12 1. A representative of the Division of Alcoholic
13 Beverages and Tobacco of the Department of Business and
14 Professional Regulation who shall be appointed by the
15 secretary of the department.
16 2. A representative of the Division of Florida Highway
17 Patrol of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
18 who shall be appointed by the executive director of the
19 department.
20 3. A representative of the Department of Law
21 Enforcement who shall be appointed by the executive director
22 of the department.
23 4. A representative of the Fish and Wildlife
24 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission who shall be
25 appointed by the executive director of the commission.
26 5. A representative of the Division of Law Enforcement
27 of the Department of Environmental Protection who shall be
28 appointed by the secretary of the department.
29 6. A representative of the Department of Corrections
30 who shall be appointed by the secretary of the department.
31
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1 7. A representative of the Division of State Fire
2 Marshal of the Department of Insurance who shall be appointed
3 by the State Fire Marshal.
4 8. A representative of the Department of
5 Transportation who shall be appointed by the secretary of the
6 department.
7 Section 38. Subsections (3) and (7) of section
8 282.404, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
9 282.404 Geographic information board; definition;
10 membership; creation; duties; advisory council; membership;
11 duties.--
12 (3) The board consists of the Director of Planning and
13 Budgeting within the Executive Office of the Governor, the
14 executive director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game
15 and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the executive director of the
16 Department of Revenue, and the State Cadastral Surveyor, as
17 defined in s. 177.503, or their designees, and the heads of
18 the following agencies, or their designees: the Department of
19 Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Community
20 Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection, the
21 Department of Transportation, and the Board of Professional
22 Surveyors and Mappers. The Governor shall appoint to the board
23 one member each to represent the counties, municipalities,
24 regional planning councils, water management districts, and
25 county property appraisers. The Governor shall initially
26 appoint two members to serve 2-year terms and three members to
27 serve 4-year terms. Thereafter, the terms of all appointed
28 members must be 4 years and the terms must be staggered.
29 Members may be appointed to successive terms and incumbent
30 members may continue to serve the board until a new
31 appointment is made.
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1 (7) The Geographic Information Advisory Council
2 consists of one member each from the Office of Planning and
3 Budgeting within the Executive Office of the Governor, the
4 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
5 Commission, the Department of Revenue, the Department of
6 Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Community
7 Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection, the
8 Department of Transportation, the State Cadastral Surveyor,
9 the Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers, counties,
10 municipalities, regional planning councils, water management
11 districts, and property appraisers, as appointed by the
12 corresponding member of the board, and the State Geologist.
13 The Governor shall appoint to the council one member each, as
14 recommended by the respective organization, to represent the
15 Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of
16 Health, the Florida Survey and Mapping Society, Florida Region
17 of the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing,
18 Florida Association of Cadastral Mappers, the Florida
19 Association of Professional Geologists, Florida Engineering
20 Society, Florida Chapter of the Urban and Regional Information
21 Systems Association, the forestry industry, the State
22 University System survey and mapping academic research
23 programs, and State University System geographic information
24 systems academic research programs; and two members
25 representing utilities, one from a regional utility, and one
26 from a local or municipal utility. These persons must have
27 technical expertise in geographic information issues. The
28 Governor shall initially appoint six members to serve 2-year
29 terms and six members to serve 4-year terms. Thereafter, the
30 terms of all appointed members must be 4 years and must be
31 staggered. Members may be appointed to successive terms, and
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1 incumbent members may continue to serve the council until a
2 successor is appointed. Representatives of the Federal
3 Government may serve as ex officio members without voting
4 rights.
5 Section 39. Subsection (2) of section 285.09, Florida
6 Statutes, is amended to read:
7 285.09 Rights of Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes with
8 respect to hunting, fishing, and frogging.--
9 (2) In addition, members of the Miccosukee Tribe may
10 take wild game and fish for subsistence purposes and take
11 frogs for personal consumption as food or for commercial
12 purposes at any time within their reservation and the area
13 leased to the Miccosukee Tribe pursuant to the actions of the
14 Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund on
15 April 8, 1981. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
16 Fresh Water Fish Commission may restrict, for wildlife
17 management purposes, the exercise of these rights in the area
18 leased. Prior to placing restrictions upon hunting, fishing,
19 and frogging for subsistence purposes, the Fish and Wildlife
20 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall
21 totally restrict nonsubsistence uses for the particular
22 species.
23 Section 40. Section 285.10, Florida Statutes, is
24 amended to read:
25 285.10 No license or permit fees required;
26 identification card required.--Indians may exercise the
27 hunting, fishing, and frogging rights granted to them in those
28 areas specified by s. 285.09 without payment of licensing or
29 permitting fees. Each Indian exercising such rights shall be
30 required to have an identification card issued without cost by
31 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
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1 Commission through the chairs of the Miccosukee Tribe and
2 Seminole Tribe. Each Indian is required to have the
3 identification card on his or her person at all times when
4 exercising such rights and shall exhibit it to officers of the
5 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
6 Commission upon the request of such officers.
7 Section 41. Subsection (1) of section 288.021, Florida
8 Statutes, is amended to read:
9 288.021 Economic development liaison.--
10 (1) The heads of the Department of Transportation, the
11 Department of Environmental Protection and an additional
12 member appointed by the secretary of the department, the
13 Department of Labor and Employment Security, the Department of
14 Education, the Department of Community Affairs, the Department
15 of Management Services, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
16 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall designate a
17 high-level staff member from within such agency to serve as
18 the economic development liaison for the agency. This person
19 shall report to the agency head and have general knowledge
20 both of the state's permitting and other regulatory functions
21 and of the state's economic goals, policies, and programs.
22 This person shall also be the primary point of contact for the
23 agency with the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
24 Development on issues and projects important to the economic
25 development of Florida, including its rural areas, to expedite
26 project review, to ensure a prompt, effective response to
27 problems arising with regard to permitting and regulatory
28 functions, and to work closely with the other economic
29 development liaisons to resolve interagency conflicts.
30
31
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1 Section 42. Subsections (8) and (9) of section
2 288.975, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to
3 read:
4 288.975 Military base reuse plans.--
5 (8) At the request of a host local government, the
6 Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development shall
7 coordinate a presubmission workshop concerning a military base
8 reuse plan within the boundaries of the host jurisdiction.
9 Agencies that shall participate in the workshop shall include
10 any affected local governments; the Department of
11 Environmental Protection; the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
12 Economic Development; the Department of Community Affairs; the
13 Department of Transportation; the Department of Health; the
14 Department of Children and Family Services; the Department of
15 Agriculture and Consumer Services; the Department of State;
16 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
17 Commission; and any applicable water management districts and
18 regional planning councils. The purposes of the workshop shall
19 be to assist the host local government to understand issues of
20 concern to the above listed entities pertaining to the
21 military base site and to identify opportunities for better
22 coordination of planning and review efforts with the
23 information and analyses generated by the federal
24 environmental impact statement process and the federal
25 community base reuse planning process.
26 (9) If a host local government elects to use the
27 optional provisions of this act, it shall, no later than 12
28 months after notifying the agencies of its intent pursuant to
29 subsection (3) either:
30 (a) Send a copy of the proposed military base reuse
31 plan for review to any affected local governments; the
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1 Department of Environmental Protection; the Office of Tourism,
2 Trade, and Economic Development; the Department of Community
3 Affairs; the Department of Transportation; the Department of
4 Health; the Department of Children and Family Services; the
5 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the
6 Department of State; the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
7 Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission; and any
8 applicable water management districts and regional planning
9 councils, or
10 (b) Petition the secretary of the Department of
11 Community Affairs for an extension of the deadline for
12 submitting a proposed reuse plan. Such an extension request
13 must be justified by changes or delays in the closure process
14 by the federal Department of Defense or for reasons otherwise
15 deemed to promote the orderly and beneficial planning of the
16 subject military base reuse. The secretary of the Department
17 of Community Affairs may grant extensions to the required
18 submission date of the reuse plan.
19 Section 43. Subsection (1) of section 316.640, Florida
20 Statutes, is amended to read:
21 316.640 Enforcement.--The enforcement of the traffic
22 laws of this state is vested as follows:
23 (1) STATE.--
24 (a)1.a. The Division of Florida Highway Patrol of the
25 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Division
26 of Law Enforcement of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
27 Commission Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the Division
28 of Law Enforcement of the Department of Environmental
29 Protection, and law enforcement officers of the Department of
30 Transportation each have authority to enforce all of the
31 traffic laws of this state on all the streets and highways
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1 thereof and elsewhere throughout the state wherever the public
2 has a right to travel by motor vehicle.
3 b. University police officers shall have authority to
4 enforce all of the traffic laws of this state when such
5 violations occur on or about any property or facilities that
6 are under the guidance, supervision, regulation, or control of
7 the State University System, except that traffic laws may be
8 enforced off-campus when hot pursuit originates on-campus.
9 c. Community college police officers shall have the
10 authority to enforce all the traffic laws of this state only
11 when such violations occur on any property or facilities that
12 are under the guidance, supervision, regulation, or control of
13 the community college system.
14 d. Police officers employed by an airport authority
15 shall have the authority to enforce all of the traffic laws of
16 this state only when such violations occur on any property or
17 facilities that are owned or operated by an airport authority.
18 e. The Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement of the
19 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall have the
20 authority to enforce traffic laws of this state only as
21 authorized by the provisions of chapter 570. However, nothing
22 in this section shall expand the authority of the Office of
23 Agricultural Law Enforcement at its agricultural inspection
24 stations to issue any traffic tickets except those traffic
25 tickets for vehicles illegally passing the inspection station.
26 f. School safety officers shall have the authority to
27 enforce all of the traffic laws of this state when such
28 violations occur on or about any property or facilities which
29 are under the guidance, supervision, regulation, or control of
30 the district school board.
31
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1 2. An agency of the state as described in subparagraph
2 1. is prohibited from establishing a traffic citation quota. A
3 violation of this subparagraph is not subject to the penalties
4 provided in chapter 318.
5 3. Any disciplinary action taken or performance
6 evaluation conducted by an agency of the state as described in
7 subparagraph 1. of a law enforcement officer's traffic
8 enforcement activity must be in accordance with written
9 work-performance standards. Such standards must be approved by
10 the agency and any collective bargaining unit representing
11 such law enforcement officer. A violation of this subparagraph
12 is not subject to the penalties provided in chapter 318.
13 (b)1. The Department of Transportation has authority
14 to enforce on all the streets and highways of this state all
15 laws applicable within its authority.
16 2.a. The Department of Transportation shall develop
17 training and qualifications standards for toll enforcement
18 officers whose sole authority is to enforce the payment of
19 tolls pursuant to s. 316.1001. Nothing in this subparagraph
20 shall be construed to permit the carrying of firearms or other
21 weapons, nor shall a toll enforcement officer have arrest
22 authority.
23 b. For the purpose of enforcing s. 316.1001,
24 governmental entities, as defined in s. 334.03, which own or
25 operate a toll facility may employ independent contractors or
26 designate employees as toll enforcement officers; however, any
27 such toll enforcement officer must successfully meet the
28 training and qualifications standards for toll enforcement
29 officers established by the Department of Transportation.
30 Section 44. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1), of
31 section 320.08058, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, as
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1 amended by section 7 of chapter 98-414, Laws of Florida, and
2 subsections (5), (18), (19), and (25) of that section are
3 amended to read:
4 320.08058 Specialty license plates.--
5 (1) MANATEE LICENSE PLATES.--
6 (b) The manatee license plate annual use fee must be
7 deposited into the Save the Manatee Trust Fund, created within
8 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
9 Environmental Protection. The funds deposited in the Save the
10 Manatee Trust Fund may be used only for manatee-related
11 environmental education; manatee research; facilities, as
12 provided in s. 370.12(4)(5)(b); and manatee protection and
13 recovery.
14 (5) FLORIDA PANTHER LICENSE PLATES.--
15 (a) The department shall develop a Florida panther
16 license plate as provided in this section. Florida panther
17 license plates must bear the design of a Florida panther and
18 the colors that department approves. In small letters, the
19 word "Florida" must appear at the bottom of the plate.
20 (b) The department shall distribute the Florida
21 panther license plate annual use fee in the following manner:
22 1. Eighty-five percent must be deposited in the
23 Florida Panther Research and Management Trust Fund in the Fish
24 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
25 to be used for education and programs to protect the
26 endangered Florida panther.
27 2. Fifteen percent, but no less than $300,000, must be
28 deposited in the Florida Communities Trust Fund to be used
29 pursuant to the Florida Communities Trust Act.
30 (c) A person or corporation that purchases 10,000 or
31 more panther license plates shall pay an annual use fee of $5
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1 per plate and an annual processing fee of $2 per plate, in
2 addition to the applicable license tax required under s.
3 320.08.
4 (18) LARGEMOUTH BASS LICENSE PLATES.--
5 (a) The department shall develop a Largemouth Bass
6 license plate as provided in this section to commemorate the
7 official freshwater fish of this state. The word "Florida"
8 must appear at the top of the plate, the words "Go Fishing"
9 must appear at the bottom of the plate, and a representation
10 of a largemouth bass must appear to the left of the numerals.
11 (b) The annual use fees shall be distributed to the
12 State Game Trust Fund and used by the Fish and Wildlife
13 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to fund
14 current conservation programs that maintain current levels of
15 protection and management of this state's fish and wildlife
16 resources, including providing hunting, fishing, and
17 nonconsumptive wildlife opportunities.
18 (19) SEA TURTLE LICENSE PLATES.--
19 (a) The department shall develop a Sea Turtle license
20 plate as provided in this section. The word "Florida" must
21 appear at the top of the plate, the words "Helping Sea Turtles
22 Survive" must appear at the bottom of the plate, and the image
23 of a sea turtle must appear in the center of the plate.
24 (b) The annual use fees shall be deposited in the
25 Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund in the Fish and
26 Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida Department of
27 Environmental Protection. The first $500,000 in annual revenue
28 shall be used by the Florida Marine Turtle Protection Program
29 to conduct sea turtle protection, research, and recovery
30 programs. The remaining annual use proceeds shall be used by
31 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
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1 Environmental Protection for sea turtle conservation
2 activities, except that up to 30 percent of the remaining
3 annual use fee proceeds shall be annually dispersed through
4 the marine turtle grants program as provided in s.
5 370.12(1)(h).
6 (25) CONSERVE WILDLIFE LICENSE PLATES.--
7 (a) The department shall develop a Conserve Wildlife
8 license plate. Conserve Wildlife license plates shall bear the
9 colors and design approved by the department. The word
10 "Florida" shall appear at the top of the plate, and the words
11 "Conserve Wildlife" shall appear at the bottom of the plate.
12 The plate design shall include the likeness of a Florida black
13 bear.
14 (b) The proceeds of the Conserve Wildlife license
15 plate annual use fee shall be forwarded to the Wildlife
16 Foundation of Florida, Inc., a citizen support organization
17 created pursuant to s. 372.0215.
18 1. Notwithstanding s. 320.08062, up to 10 percent of
19 the proceeds from the annual use fee may be used for marketing
20 the Conserve Wildlife license plate and administrative costs
21 directly related to the management and distribution of the
22 proceeds.
23 2. The remaining proceeds from the annual use fee
24 shall be used for programs and activities of the Fish and
25 Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish
26 Commission that contribute to the health and well-being of
27 Florida black bears and other wildlife diversity.
28 Section 45. Present subsection (5) of section 327.02,
29 Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is redesignated as
30 subsection (6), present subsection (6) is repealed, subsection
31
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1 (7) is amended, and new subsection (5) is added to that
2 section to read:
3 327.02 Definitions of terms used in this chapter and
4 in chapter 328.--As used in this chapter and in chapter 328,
5 unless the context clearly requires a different meaning, the
6 term:
7 (5) "Commission" means the Fish and Wildlife
8 Conservation Commission.
9 (7) "Division" means the Division of Law Enforcement
10 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
11 Environmental Protection.
12 Section 46. Subsection (17) of section 327.25, Florida
13 Statutes, is amended to read:
14 327.25 Classification; registration; fees and charges;
15 surcharge; disposition of fees; fines; marine turtle
16 stickers.--
17 (17) MARINE TURTLE STICKER.--The Department of Highway
18 Safety and Motor Vehicles Department of Environmental
19 Protection shall offer for sale with vessel registrations a
20 waterproof sticker in the shape of a marine turtle at an
21 additional cost of $5, the proceeds of which shall be
22 deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund to
23 be used for marine turtle protection, research, and recovery
24 efforts pursuant to the provisions of s. 370.12(1).
25 Section 47. Section 327.26, Florida Statutes, is
26 amended to read:
27 327.26 Stickers or emblems for the Save the Manatee
28 Trust Fund.--The commission department shall prepare stickers
29 or emblems signifying support for the Save the Manatee Trust
30 Fund which shall be given to persons who contribute to the
31 Save the Manatee Trust Fund as provided in s. 327.25. The
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1 commission department may accept stickers or emblems donated
2 by any governmental or nongovernmental entity for the purposes
3 of this section.
4 Section 48. Subsection (2) of section 327.28, Florida
5 Statutes, is amended to read:
6 327.28 Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund;
7 vessel registration funds; appropriation and distribution.--
8 (2) All funds collected pursuant to s. 370.06(2) shall
9 be deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund.
10 Such funds shall be used to pay the cost of implementing the
11 saltwater products license program. Additional proceeds from
12 the licensing revenue shall be distributed among the following
13 program functions:
14 (a) No more than 15 percent nor less than the amount
15 deposited in the former Marine Fisheries Commission Trust Fund
16 pursuant to this subsection in fiscal year 1987-1988 shall go
17 to the Marine Fisheries Commission for its operations;
18 (a)(b) No more than 15 percent shall go to law
19 enforcement;
20 (b)(c) No more than 25 percent shall go to the Florida
21 Saltwater Products Promotion Trust Fund within the Department
22 of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the purpose of
23 providing marketing and extension services including industry
24 information and education; and
25 (c)(d) The remainder, but at least 45 percent, shall
26 go to the Division of Marine Resources of the Fish and
27 Wildlife Conservation Commission, for use in marine research
28 and statistics development, including quota management.
29 Section 49. Subsection (2) of section 327.30, Florida
30 Statutes, is amended to read:
31 327.30 Collisions, accidents, and casualties.--
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1 (2) In the case of collision, accident, or other
2 casualty involving a vessel in or upon or entering into or
3 exiting from the water, including capsizing, collision with
4 another vessel or object, sinking, personal injury requiring
5 medical treatment beyond immediate first aid, death,
6 disappearance of any person from on board under circumstances
7 which indicate the possibility of death or injury, or damage
8 to any vessel or other property in an apparent aggregate
9 amount of at least $500, the operator shall without delay, by
10 the quickest means available give notice of the accident to
11 one of the following agencies: the Division of Law
12 Enforcement; the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
13 Water Fish Commission; the sheriff of the county within which
14 the accident occurred; or the police chief of the municipality
15 within which the accident occurred, if applicable.
16 Section 50. Subsection (5) of section 327.35215,
17 Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
18 327.35215 Penalty for failure to submit to test.--
19 (5) Moneys collected by the clerk of the court
20 pursuant to this section shall be disposed of in the following
21 manner:
22 (a) If the arresting officer was employed or appointed
23 by a state law enforcement agency except the Fish and Wildlife
24 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the moneys
25 shall be deposited into the Marine Resources Conservation
26 Trust Fund or the State Game Trust Fund.
27 (b) If the arresting officer was employed or appointed
28 by a county or municipal law enforcement agency, the moneys
29 shall be deposited into the law enforcement trust fund of that
30 agency.
31
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1 (c) If the arresting officer was employed or appointed
2 by the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the money shall
3 be deposited into the State Game Trust Fund.
4 Section 51. Section 327.395, Florida Statutes, is
5 amended to read:
6 327.395 Boating safety identification cards.--
7 (1) Until October 1, 2001, a person born after
8 September 30, 1980, and on or after October 1, 2001, a person
9 21 years of age or younger may not operate a vessel powered by
10 a motor of 10 horsepower or greater unless such person has in
11 his or her possession aboard the vessel photographic
12 identification and a boater safety identification card issued
13 by the commission department which shows that he or she has:
14 (a) Completed a commission department-approved boater
15 education course that meets the minimum 8-hour instruction
16 requirement established by the National Association of State
17 Boating Law Administrators;
18 (b) Passed a course equivalency examination approved
19 by the commission department; or
20 (c) Passed a temporary certificate examination
21 developed or approved by the commission department.
22 (2) Any person may obtain a boater safety
23 identification card by complying with the requirements of this
24 section.
25 (3) The commission department may appoint liveries,
26 marinas, or other persons as its agents to administer the
27 course, course equivalency examination, or temporary
28 certificate examination and issue identification cards under
29 guidelines established by the commission department. An agent
30 must charge the $2 examination fee, which must be forwarded to
31
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1 the commission department with proof of passage of the
2 examination and may charge and keep a $1 service fee.
3 (4) An identification card issued to a person who has
4 completed a boating education course or a course equivalency
5 examination is valid for life. A card issued to a person who
6 has passed a temporary certification examination is valid for
7 12 months from the date of issuance.
8 (5) A person is exempt from subsection (1) if he or
9 she:
10 (a) Is licensed by the United States Coast Guard to
11 serve as master of a vessel.
12 (b) Operates a vessel only on a private lake or pond.
13 (c) Is accompanied in the vessel by a person who is
14 exempt from this section or who holds an identification card
15 in compliance with this section, is 18 years of age or older,
16 and is attendant to the operation of the vessel and
17 responsible for any violation that occurs during the
18 operation.
19 (d) Is a nonresident who has in his or her possession
20 proof that he or she has completed a boater education course
21 or equivalency examination in another state which meets or
22 exceeds the requirements of subsection (1).
23 (e) Is exempted by rule of the commission department.
24 (6) A person who violates this section is guilty of a
25 noncriminal infraction, punishable as provided in s. 327.73.
26 (7) The commission department shall design forms and
27 adopt rules to administer this section. Such rules shall
28 include provision for educational and other public and private
29 entities to offer the course and administer examinations.
30 (8) The commission department shall institute and
31 coordinate a statewide program of boating safety instruction
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1 and certification to ensure that boating courses and
2 examinations are available in each county of the state.
3 (9) The commission department is authorized to
4 establish and to collect a $2 examination fee to cover
5 administrative costs.
6 Section 52. Section 327.41, Florida Statutes, is
7 amended to read:
8 327.41 Uniform waterway regulatory markers.--
9 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
10 Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt rules and
11 regulations establishing a uniform system of regulatory
12 markers for the Florida Intracoastal Waterway, compatible with
13 the system of regulatory markers prescribed by the United
14 States Coast Guard, and shall give due regard to the System of
15 Uniform Waterway Markers approved by the Advisory Panel of
16 State Officials to the Merchant Marine Council, United States
17 Coast Guard.
18 (2) Any county or municipality which has been granted
19 a restricted area designation, pursuant to s. 327.46, for a
20 portion of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway within its
21 jurisdiction may apply to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
22 Commission Department of Environmental Protection for
23 permission to place regulatory markers within the restricted
24 area.
25 (3) Application for placing regulatory markers on the
26 Florida Intracoastal Waterway shall be made to the commission
27 Division of Marine Resources, accompanied by a map locating
28 the approximate placement of the markers, a statement of the
29 specification of the markers, a statement of purpose of the
30 markers, and a statement of the city or county responsible for
31 the placement and upkeep of the markers.
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1 (4) No person or municipality, county, or other
2 governmental entity shall place any regulatory markers in, on,
3 or over the Florida Intracoastal Waterway without a permit
4 from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of
5 Marine Resources.
6 (5) Aquaculture leaseholds shall be marked as required
7 by this section, and the Department of Environmental
8 Protection may approve alternative marking requirements as a
9 condition of the lease pursuant to s. 253.68. The provisions
10 of this section notwithstanding, no permit shall be required
11 for the placement of markers required by such a lease.
12 Section 53. Section 327.43, Florida Statutes, is
13 amended to read:
14 327.43 Silver Glen Run and Silver Glen Springs;
15 navigation channel; anchorage buoys; violations.--
16 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
17 Department of Environmental Protection is hereby directed to
18 mark a navigation channel within Silver Glen Run and Silver
19 Glen Springs, located on the western shore of Lake George on
20 the St. Johns River.
21 (2) The commission department is further directed to
22 establish permanent anchorage buoys within Silver Glen Run and
23 Silver Glen Springs.
24 (3) Vessel anchorage or mooring shall only be allowed
25 utilizing permanently established anchorage buoys. No vessel
26 shall anchor or otherwise attach, temporarily or permanently,
27 to the bottom within Silver Glen Run or Silver Glen Springs.
28 (4) Any violation of this act shall constitute a
29 violation of the boating laws of this state and shall be
30 punishable by issuance of a uniform boating citation as
31 provided in s. 327.74. Any person who refuses to post a bond
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1 or accept and sign a uniform boating citation, as provided in
2 s. 327.73(3), commits a misdemeanor of the second degree,
3 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
4 Section 54. Subsection (1) of section 327.46, Florida
5 Statutes, is amended to read:
6 327.46 Restricted areas.--
7 (1) The commission department shall have the authority
8 for establishing, by rule, restricted areas on the waters of
9 the state for any purpose deemed necessary for the safety of
10 the public, including, but not limited to, boat speeds and
11 boat traffic where such restrictions are deemed necessary
12 based on boating accidents, visibility, tides, congestion, or
13 other navigational hazards. Each such restricted area shall
14 be developed in consultation and coordination with the
15 governing body of the county or municipality in which the
16 restricted area is located and, where required, with the
17 United States Army Corps of Engineers. Restricted areas shall
18 be established in accordance with procedures under chapter
19 120.
20 Section 55. Section 327.48, Florida Statutes, is
21 amended to read:
22 327.48 Regattas, races, marine parades, tournaments,
23 or exhibitions.--Any person directing the holding of a
24 regatta, tournament, or marine parade or exhibition shall
25 secure a permit from the Coast Guard when such event is held
26 in navigable waters of the United States. A person directing
27 any such affair in any county shall notify the sheriff of the
28 county, or the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Game
29 and Fresh Water Fish Commission, or the department at least 15
30 days prior to any event in order that appropriate arrangements
31 for safety and navigation may be assured. Any person or
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1 organization sponsoring a regatta or boat race, marine parade,
2 tournament, or exhibition shall be responsible for providing
3 adequate protection to the participants, spectators, and other
4 users of the water.
5 Section 56. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 327.70,
6 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 327.70 Enforcement of this chapter and chapter 328.--
8 (1) This chapter and chapter 328 shall be enforced by
9 the Division of Law Enforcement of the Fish and Wildlife
10 Conservation department and its officers, the Game and Fresh
11 Water Fish Commission and its officers, the sheriffs of the
12 various counties and their deputies, and any other authorized
13 law enforcement officer, all of whom may order the removal of
14 vessels deemed to be an interference or a hazard to public
15 safety, enforce the provisions of this chapter and chapter
16 328, or cause any inspections to be made of all vessels in
17 accordance with this chapter and chapter 328.
18 (3) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
19 department or any other law enforcement agency may make any
20 investigation necessary to secure information required to
21 carry out and enforce the provisions of this chapter and
22 chapter 328.
23 Section 57. Section 327.71, Florida Statutes, is
24 amended to read:
25 327.71 Exemption.--The commission department may, if
26 it finds that federal law imposes less restrictive
27 requirements than provided herein or if it determines that
28 boating safety will not be adversely affected, issue temporary
29 exemptions from any provision of this chapter or rules
30 established hereunder, on such terms and conditions as it
31 considers appropriate.
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1 Section 58. Subsections (1) and (3) of section
2 327.731, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to
3 read:
4 327.731 Mandatory education for violators.--
5 (1) Every person convicted of a criminal violation of
6 this chapter, every person convicted of a noncriminal
7 infraction under this chapter if the infraction resulted in a
8 reportable boating accident, and every person convicted of two
9 noncriminal infractions as defined in s. 327.73(1)(h) through
10 (k), (m) through (p), (s), and (t), said infractions occurring
11 within a 12-month period, must:
12 (a) Enroll in, attend, and successfully complete, at
13 his or her own expense, a boating safety course that meets
14 minimum standards established by the commission department by
15 rule; however, the commission department may provide by rule
16 for waivers of the attendance requirement for violators
17 residing in areas where classroom presentation of the course
18 is not available;
19 (b) File with the commission department within 90 days
20 proof of successful completion of the course;
21 (c) Refrain from operating a vessel until he or she
22 has filed the proof of successful completion of the course
23 with the commission department.
24
25 Any person who has successfully completed an approved boating
26 course shall be exempt from these provisions upon showing
27 proof to the commission department as specified in paragraph
28 (b).
29 (3) The commission department shall print on the
30 reverse side of the defendant's copy of the boating citation a
31 notice of the provisions of this section. Upon conviction, the
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1 clerk of the court shall notify the defendant that it is
2 unlawful for him or her to operate any vessel until he or she
3 has complied with this section, but failure of the clerk of
4 the court to provide such a notice shall not be a defense to a
5 charge of unlawful operation of a vessel under subsection (2).
6 Section 59. Subsections (1), (2), (4), (6), and (10)
7 of section 327.74, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
8 327.74 Uniform boating citations.--
9 (1) The commission department shall prepare, and
10 supply to every law enforcement agency in this state which
11 enforces the laws of this state regulating the operation of
12 vessels, an appropriate form boating citation containing a
13 notice to appear (which shall be issued in prenumbered books
14 with citations in quintuplicate) and meeting the requirements
15 of this chapter or any laws of this state regulating boating,
16 which form shall be consistent with the state's county court
17 rules and the procedures established by the commission
18 department.
19 (2) Courts, enforcement agencies, and the commission
20 department are jointly responsible to account for all uniform
21 boating citations in accordance with the procedures
22 promulgated by the commission department.
23 (4) The chief administrative officer of every law
24 enforcement agency shall require the return to him or her of
25 the commission department record copy of every boating
26 citation issued by an officer under his or her supervision to
27 an alleged violator of any boating law or ordinance and all
28 copies of every boating citation which has been spoiled or
29 upon which any entry has been made and not issued to an
30 alleged violator.
31
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1 (6) The chief administrative officer shall transmit,
2 on a form approved by the commission department, the
3 commission department record copy of the uniform boating
4 citation to the commission department within 5 days after
5 submission of the original and one copy to the court. A copy
6 of such transmittal shall also be provided to the court having
7 jurisdiction for accountability purposes.
8 (10) Upon final disposition of any alleged offense for
9 which a uniform boating citation has been issued, the court
10 shall, within ten days, certify said disposition to the
11 commission department.
12 Section 60. Section 327.803, Florida Statutes, are
13 amended to read:
14 327.803 Boating Advisory Council.--
15 (1) The Boating Advisory Council is created within the
16 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
17 Environmental Protection and shall be composed of 15 16
18 members. The initial members shall be appointed before August
19 1, 1994, and must include:
20 (a) One representative from the Fish and Wildlife
21 Conservation Commission Department of Environmental
22 Protection, who shall serve as the chair of the council.
23 (b) One representative each from the Game and Fresh
24 Water Fish Commission, the United States Coast Guard
25 Auxiliary, the United States Power Squadron, and the inland
26 navigation districts.
27 (c) One representative of manatee protection
28 interests, one representative of the marine industries, two
29 representatives of water-related environmental groups, one
30 representative of marine manufacturers, one representative of
31 commercial vessel owners or operators, one representative of
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1 sport boat racing, and two representatives of the boating
2 public, each of whom shall be nominated by the Executive
3 Director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
4 Secretary of Environmental Protection and appointed by the
5 Governor to serve staggered 2-year terms.
6 (d) One member of the House of Representatives, who
7 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
8 Representatives.
9 (e) One member of the Senate, who shall be appointed
10 by the President of the Senate.
11 (2) The council shall meet at the call of the chair,
12 at the request of a majority of its membership, or at such
13 times as may be prescribed by rule.
14 (3) The purpose of the council is to make
15 recommendations to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
16 Commission Department of Environmental Protection and the
17 Department of Community Affairs regarding issues affecting the
18 boating community, including, but not limited to, issues
19 related to:
20 (a) Boating safety education.
21 (b) Boating-related facilities, including marinas and
22 boat testing facilities.
23 (c) Boat usage.
24
25 However, it is not the purpose of the council to make
26 recommendations to the Marine Fisheries Commission.
27 (4) Members of the council shall serve without
28 compensation.
29 Section 61. Section 327.804, Florida Statutes, is
30 amended to read:
31
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1 327.804 Compilation of statistics on boating accidents
2 and violations.--The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
3 Department of Environmental Protection shall compile
4 statistics on boating accidents and boating violations of the
5 age groups of persons affected by chapter 96-187, Laws of
6 Florida.
7 Section 62. Section 327.90, Florida Statutes, is
8 amended to read:
9 327.90 Transactions by electronic or telephonic
10 means.--The commission department is authorized to accept any
11 application provided for under this chapter by electronic or
12 telephonic means.
13 Section 63. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
14 328.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
15 328.01 Application for certificate of title.--
16 (2)
17 (c) In making application for an initial title, the
18 owner of a homemade vessel shall establish proof of ownership
19 by submitting with the application:
20 1. A notarized statement of the builder or its
21 equivalent, whichever is acceptable to the Department of
22 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, if the vessel is less than
23 16 feet in length; or
24 2. A certificate of inspection from the Division of
25 Law Enforcement of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
26 Department of Environmental Protection or the Game and Fresh
27 Water Fish Commission and a notarized statement of the builder
28 or its equivalent, whichever is acceptable to the Department
29 of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, if the vessel is 16 feet
30 or more in length.
31
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1 Section 64. Subsection (1) of section 339.281, Florida
2 Statutes, is amended to read:
3 339.281 Damage to transportation facility by vessel;
4 marine accident report; investigative authorities;
5 penalties.--
6 (1) Whenever any vessel has caused damage to a
7 transportation facility, the managing owner, agent, or master
8 of such vessel shall immediately, or as soon thereafter as
9 possible, report the same to the nearest Fish and Wildlife
10 Conservation Commission Officer Florida Marine Patrol, the
11 sheriff of the county wherein such accident occurred, the Game
12 and Fresh Water Fish Commission, or the Florida Highway
13 Patrol, who shall immediately go to the scene of the accident
14 and, if necessary, board the vessel subsequent to the accident
15 in pursuance of its investigation. The law enforcement agency
16 investigating the accident shall submit a copy of its report
17 to the department.
18 Section 65. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
19 341.352, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
20 341.352 Certification hearing.--
21 (2)(a) The parties to the certification proceeding
22 are:
23 1. The franchisee.
24 2. The Department of Commerce.
25 3. The Department of Environmental Protection.
26 4. The Department of Transportation.
27 5. The Department of Community Affairs.
28 6. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
29 Water Fish Commission.
30 7. Each water management district.
31 8. Each local government.
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1 9. Each regional planning council.
2 10. Each metropolitan planning organization.
3 Section 66. Subsection (3) of section 369.20, Florida
4 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
5 369.20 Florida Aquatic Weed Control Act.--
6 (3) It shall be the duty of the department to guide
7 and coordinate the activities of all public bodies,
8 authorities, agencies, and special districts charged with the
9 control or eradication of aquatic weeds and plants. It may
10 delegate all or part of such functions to the Fish and
11 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
12 Section 67. Subsection (9) of section 369.22, Florida
13 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
14 369.22 Nonindigenous aquatic plant control.--
15 (9) The department may delegate various nonindigenous
16 aquatic plant control and maintenance functions to the Fish
17 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
18 Commission. The commission shall, in accepting commitments to
19 engage in nonindigenous aquatic plant control and maintenance
20 activities, be subject to the rules of the department, except
21 that the commission shall regulate, control, and coordinate
22 the use of any fish for aquatic weed control in fresh waters
23 of the state. In addition, the commission shall render
24 technical and other assistance to the department in order to
25 carry out most effectively the purposes of s. 369.20.
26 However, nothing herein shall diminish or impair the
27 regulatory authority of the commission with respect to the
28 powers granted to it by s. 9, Art. IV of the State
29 Constitution.
30 Section 68. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section
31 369.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
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1 369.25 Aquatic plants; definitions; permits; powers of
2 department; penalties.--
3 (3) The department has the following powers:
4 (b) To establish by rule lists of aquatic plant
5 species regulated under this section, including those exempted
6 from such regulation, provided the Department of Agriculture
7 and Consumer Services and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
8 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission approve such lists prior
9 to the lists becoming effective.
10 Section 69. Section 370.01, Florida Statutes, 1998
11 Supplement, is amended to read:
12 370.01 Definitions.--In construing these statutes,
13 where the context does not clearly indicate otherwise, the
14 word, phrase, or term:
15 (1) "Authorization" means a number issued by the Fish
16 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
17 Commission, or its authorized agent, which serves in lieu of a
18 license or permits and affords the privilege purchased for a
19 specified period of time.
20 (2) "Beaches" and "shores" shall mean the coastal and
21 intracoastal shoreline of this state bordering upon the waters
22 of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of
23 Florida, and any part thereof, and any other bodies of water
24 under the jurisdiction of the State of Florida, between the
25 mean high-water line and as far seaward as may be necessary to
26 effectively carry out the purposes of this act.
27 (3) "Closed season" shall be that portion of the year
28 wherein the laws or rules of Florida forbid the taking of
29 particular species of game or varieties of fish.
30
31
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1 (4) "Coastal construction" includes any work or
2 activity which is likely to have a material physical effect on
3 existing coastal conditions or natural shore processes.
4 (5) "Commission" shall mean the Fish and Wildlife
5 Conservation Commission.
6 (6)(5) "Common carrier" shall include any person,
7 firm, or corporation, who undertakes for hire, as a regular
8 business, to transport persons or commodities from place to
9 place offering his or her services to all such as may choose
10 to employ the common carrier and pay his or her charges.
11 (7)(6) "Coon oysters" are oysters found growing in
12 bunches along the shore between high-water mark and low-water
13 mark.
14 (8)(7) "Department" shall mean the Department of
15 Environmental Protection.
16 (9)(8) "Erosion control," "beach preservation," and
17 "hurricane protection" shall include any activity, work,
18 program, project, or other thing deemed necessary by the
19 Division of Marine Resources of the Department of
20 Environmental Protection to effectively preserve, protect,
21 restore, rehabilitate, stabilize, and improve the beaches and
22 shores of this state, as defined above.
23 (10)(9) "Exhibit" means to present or display upon
24 request.
25 (11)(10) "Finfish" means any member of the classes
26 Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, or Osteichthyes.
27 (12)(11) "Food fish" shall include mullet, trout,
28 redfish, sheepshead, pompano, mackerel, bluefish, red snapper,
29 grouper, black drum, jack crevalle, and all other fish
30 generally used for human consumption.
31
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1 (13)(12) "Guide" shall include any person engaged in
2 the business of guiding hunters or hunting parties, fishers or
3 fishing parties, for compensation.
4 (14)(13) "Marine fish" means any saltwater species of
5 finfish of the classes Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, and
6 Osteichthyes, and marine invertebrates in the classes
7 Gastropoda, Bivalvia, and Crustacea, or the phylum
8 Echinodermota, but does not include nonliving shells or
9 Echinoderms.
10 (15)(14) A "natural oyster or clam reef" or "bed" or
11 "bar" shall be considered and defined as an area containing
12 not less than 100 square yards of the bottom where oysters or
13 clams are found in a stratum.
14 (16)(15) "Nonresident alien" shall mean those
15 individuals from other nations who can provide documentation
16 from the Immigration and Naturalization Service evidencing
17 permanent residency status in the United States. For the
18 purposes of this chapter, a "nonresident alien" shall be
19 considered a "nonresident."
20 (17)(16) "Open season" shall be that portion of the
21 year wherein the laws of Florida for the preservation of fish
22 and game permit the taking of particular species of game or
23 varieties of fish.
24 (18)(17) "Reef bunch oysters" are oysters found
25 growing on the bars or reefs in the open bay and exposed to
26 the air between high and low tide.
27 19(18) "Resident" or "resident of Florida" includes
28 citizens of the United States who have continuously resided in
29 this state, next preceding the making of their application for
30 hunting, fishing, or other license, for the following period
31 of time, to wit: For 1 year in the state and 6 months in the
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1 county when applied to all fish and game laws not related to
2 freshwater fish and game.
3 (20)(19) "Resident alien" shall mean those persons who
4 have continuously resided in this state for at least 1 year
5 and 6 months in the county and can provide documentation from
6 the Immigration and Naturalization Service evidencing
7 permanent residency status in the United States. For the
8 purposes of this chapter, a "resident alien" shall be
9 considered a "resident."
10 (21)(20) "Restricted species" means any species of
11 saltwater products for which the state by law, or the Fish and
12 Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission by rule, has
13 found it necessary to so designate. The term includes a
14 species of saltwater products designated by the commission as
15 restricted within a geographical area or during a particular
16 time period of each year. Designation as a restricted species
17 does not confer the authority to sell a species pursuant to s.
18 370.06 if the law or rule prohibits the sale of the species.
19 (22)(21) "Salt water," except where otherwise provided
20 by law, shall be all of the territorial waters of Florida
21 excluding all lakes, rivers, canals, and other waterways of
22 Florida from such point or points where the fresh and salt
23 waters commingle to such an extent as to become unpalatable
24 because of the saline content, or from such point or points as
25 may be fixed for conservation purposes by the Fish and
26 Wildlife Conservation Division of Marine Resources of the
27 Department of Environmental Protection and the Game and Fresh
28 Water Fish Commission, with the consent and advice of the
29 board of county commissioners of the county or counties to be
30 affected.
31
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1 (23)(22) "Saltwater fish" shall include all classes of
2 pisces, shellfish, sponges, and crustacea indigenous to salt
3 water.
4 (24)(23) "Saltwater license privileges," except where
5 otherwise provided by law, means any license, endorsement,
6 certificate, or permit issued pursuant to this chapter.
7 (25)(24) "Saltwater products" means any species of
8 saltwater fish, marine plant, or echinoderm, except shells,
9 and salted, cured, canned, or smoked seafood.
10 (26)(25) "Shellfish" shall include oysters, clams, and
11 whelks.
12 (27)(26) "Transport" shall include shipping,
13 transporting, carrying, importing, exporting, receiving or
14 delivering for shipment, transportation or carriage or export.
15 Section 70. Section 370.021, Florida Statutes, 1998
16 Supplement, is amended to read:
17 370.021 Administration; rules, publications, records;
18 penalties; injunctions.--
19 (1) RULES.--The Department of Environmental Protection
20 has authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and
21 120.54 to implement provisions of law conferring powers or
22 duties upon it. The director of each division shall submit to
23 the department suggested rules and regulations for that
24 division. Any person violating or otherwise failing to comply
25 with any of the rules and regulations adopted as aforesaid is
26 guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as
27 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, unless otherwise
28 provided by law.
29 (1)(2) PENALTIES.--Unless otherwise provided by law,
30 any person, firm, or corporation who is convicted for
31 violating any provision of this chapter, any rule of the
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1 department adopted pursuant to this chapter, or any rule of
2 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission
3 adopted pursuant to this chapter, shall be punished:
4 (a) Upon a first conviction, by imprisonment for a
5 period of not more than 60 days or by a fine of not less than
6 $100 nor more than $500, or by both such fine and
7 imprisonment.
8 (b) On a second or subsequent conviction within 12
9 months, by imprisonment for not more than 6 months or by a
10 fine of not less than $250 nor more than $1,000, or by both
11 such fine and imprisonment.
12 (2)(3) MAJOR VIOLATIONS.--In addition to the penalties
13 provided in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) (2)(a) and (b), the
14 court shall assess additional penalties against any person,
15 firm, or corporation convicted of major violations as follows:
16 (a) For a violation involving more than 100 illegal
17 blue crabs, crawfish, or stone crabs, an additional penalty of
18 $10 for each illegal blue crab, crawfish, stone crab, or part
19 thereof.
20 (b) For a violation involving the taking or harvesting
21 of shrimp from a nursery or other prohibited area, an
22 additional penalty of $10 for each pound of illegal shrimp or
23 part thereof.
24 (c) For a violation involving the taking or harvesting
25 of oysters from nonapproved areas or the taking or possession
26 of unculled oysters, an additional penalty of $10 for each
27 bushel of illegal oysters.
28 (d) For a violation involving the taking or harvesting
29 of clams from nonapproved areas, an additional penalty of $100
30 for each 500 count bag of illegal clams.
31
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1 (e) For a violation involving the taking, harvesting,
2 or possession of any of the following species, which are
3 endangered, threatened, or of special concern:
4 1. Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum);
5 2. Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus);
6 3. Common snook (Centropomus undecimalis);
7 4. Atlantic loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta
8 caretta);
9 5. Atlantic green turtle (Chelonia mydas mydas);
10 6. Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea);
11 7. Atlantic hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata
12 imbracata);
13 8. Atlantic ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempi); or
14 9. West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus
15 latirostris),
16
17 an additional penalty of $100 for each unit of marine life or
18 part thereof.
19 (f) For a second or subsequent conviction within 24
20 months for any violation of the same law or rule involving the
21 taking or harvesting of more than 100 pounds of any finfish,
22 an additional penalty of $5 for each pound of illegal finfish.
23 (g) For any violation involving the taking,
24 harvesting, or possession of more than 1,000 pounds of any
25 illegal finfish, an additional penalty equivalent to the
26 wholesale value of the illegal finfish.
27 (h) The proceeds from the penalties assessed pursuant
28 to this subsection shall be deposited into the Marine
29 Resources Conservation Trust Fund to be used for marine
30 fisheries research or into the commission's department's
31
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1 Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund as provided in s. 372.107
2 s. 20.2553, as applicable.
3 (i) Permits issued to any person, firm, or corporation
4 by the commission department to take or harvest saltwater
5 products, or any license issued pursuant to s. 370.06 or s.
6 370.07 may be suspended or revoked by the commission
7 department, pursuant to the provisions and procedures of s.
8 120.60, for any major violation prescribed in this subsection:
9 1. Upon a second conviction for a violation which
10 occurs within 12 months after a prior violation, for up to 60
11 days.
12 2. Upon a third conviction for a violation which
13 occurs within 24 months after a prior violation, for up to 180
14 days.
15 3. Upon a fourth conviction for a violation which
16 occurs within 36 months after a prior violation, for a period
17 of 6 months to 3 years.
18 (j) Upon the arrest and conviction for a major
19 violation involving stone crabs, the licenseholder must show
20 just cause why his or her license should not be suspended or
21 revoked. For the purposes of this paragraph, a "major
22 violation" means a major violation as prescribed for illegal
23 stone crabs; any single violation involving possession of more
24 than 25 stone crabs during the closed season or possession of
25 25 or more whole-bodied or egg-bearing stone crabs; any
26 violation for trap molestation, trap robbing, or pulling traps
27 at night; or any combination of violations in any
28 3-consecutive-year period wherein more than 75 illegal stone
29 crabs in the aggregate are involved.
30 (k) Upon the arrest and conviction for a major
31 violation involving crawfish, the licenseholder must show just
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1 cause why his or her license should not be suspended or
2 revoked. For the purposes of this paragraph, a "major
3 violation" means a major violation as prescribed for illegal
4 crawfish; any single violation involving possession of more
5 than 25 crawfish during the closed season or possession of
6 more than 25 wrung crawfish tails or more than 25 egg-bearing
7 or stripped crawfish; any violation for trap molestation, trap
8 robbing, or pulling traps at night; or any combination of
9 violations in any 3-consecutive-year period wherein more than
10 75 illegal crawfish in the aggregate are involved.
11 (l) Upon the arrest and conviction for a major
12 violation involving blue crabs, the licenseholder shall show
13 just cause why his or her saltwater products license should
14 not be suspended or revoked. This paragraph shall not apply
15 to an individual fishing with no more than five traps. For
16 the purposes of this paragraph, a "major violation" means a
17 major violation as prescribed for illegal blue crabs, any
18 single violation wherein 50 or more illegal blue crabs are
19 involved; any violation for trap molestation, trap robbing, or
20 pulling traps at night; or any combination of violations in
21 any 3-consecutive-year period wherein more than 100 illegal
22 blue crabs in the aggregate are involved.
23 (m) Upon the conviction for a major violation
24 involving finfish, the licenseholder must show just cause why
25 his or her saltwater products license should not be suspended
26 or revoked. For the purposes of this paragraph, a major
27 violation is prescribed for the taking and harvesting of
28 illegal finfish, any single violation involving the possession
29 of more than 100 pounds of illegal finfish, or any combination
30 of violations in any 3-consecutive-year period wherein more
31
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1 than 200 pounds of illegal finfish in the aggregate are
2 involved.
3 (n) Upon final disposition of any alleged offense for
4 which a citation for any violation of this chapter or the
5 rules of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries
6 Commission has been issued, the court shall, within 10 days,
7 certify the disposition to the commission department.
8
9 Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 948.01, no court may
10 suspend, defer, or withhold adjudication of guilt or
11 imposition of sentence for any major violation prescribed in
12 this subsection.
13 (3)(4) PENALTIES FOR USE OF ILLEGAL NETS.--
14 (a) It shall be a major violation pursuant to
15 subsection (3) and shall be punished as provided below for any
16 person, firm, or corporation to be simultaneously in
17 possession of any species of mullet in excess of the
18 recreational daily bag limit and any gill or other entangling
19 net as defined in s. 16(c), Art. X of the State Constitution.
20 Simultaneous possession under this provision shall include
21 possession of mullet and gill or other entangling nets on
22 separate vessels or vehicles where such vessels or vehicles
23 are operated in coordination with one another including
24 vessels towed behind a main vessel. This subsection does not
25 prohibit a resident of this state from transporting on land,
26 from Alabama to this state, a commercial quantity of mullet
27 together with a gill net if:
28 1. The person possesses a valid commercial fishing
29 license that is issued by the State of Alabama and that allows
30 the person to use a gill net to legally harvest mullet in
31 commercial quantities from Alabama waters.
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1 2. The person possesses a trip ticket issued in
2 Alabama and filled out to match the quantity of mullet being
3 transported, and the person is able to present such trip
4 ticket immediately upon entering this state.
5 3. The mullet are to be sold to a wholesale saltwater
6 products dealer located in Escambia County or Santa Rosa
7 County, which dealer also possesses a valid seafood dealer's
8 license issued by the State of Alabama. The dealer's name must
9 be clearly indicated on the trip ticket.
10 4. The mullet being transported are totally removed
11 from any net also being transported.
12 (b) In addition to being subject to the other
13 penalties provided in this chapter, any violation of s. 16,
14 Art. X of the State Constitution, paragraph (b), or any rules
15 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries
16 Commission which implement the gear prohibitions and
17 restrictions specified therein shall be considered a major
18 violation; and any person, firm, or corporation receiving any
19 judicial disposition other than acquittal or dismissal of such
20 violation shall be subject to the following additional
21 penalties:
22 1. For a first major violation within a 7-year period,
23 a civil penalty of $2,500 and suspension of all saltwater
24 products license privileges for 90 calendar days following
25 final disposition shall be imposed.
26 2. For a second major violation under this paragraph
27 charged within 7 years of a previous judicial disposition,
28 which results in a second judicial disposition other than
29 acquittal or dismissal, a civil penalty of $5,000 and
30 suspension of all saltwater products license privileges for 12
31 months shall be imposed.
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1 3. For a third and subsequent major violation under
2 this paragraph, charged within a 7-year period, resulting in a
3 third or subsequent judicial disposition other than acquittal
4 or dismissal, a civil penalty of $5,000, lifetime revocation
5 of the saltwater products license, and forfeiture of all gear
6 and equipment used in the violation shall be imposed.
7
8 A court may suspend, defer, or withhold adjudication of guilt
9 or imposition of sentence only for any first violation of s.
10 16, Art. X of the State Constitution, or any rule or statute
11 implementing its restrictions, determined by a court only
12 after consideration of competent evidence of mitigating
13 circumstances to be a nonflagrant or minor violation of those
14 restrictions upon the use of nets. Any violation of s. 16,
15 Art. X of the State Constitution, or any rule or statute
16 implementing its restrictions, occurring within a 7-year
17 period commencing upon the conclusion of any judicial
18 proceeding resulting in any outcome other than acquittal shall
19 be punished as a second, third, or subsequent violation
20 accordingly.
21 (c) During the period of suspension or revocation of
22 saltwater license privileges under this subsection, the
23 licensee may not participate in the taking or harvesting or
24 attempt the taking or harvesting of saltwater products from
25 any vessel within the waters of the state, or any other
26 activity requiring a license, permit, or certificate issued
27 pursuant to this chapter. Any person who violates this
28 paragraph is:
29 1. Upon a first or second conviction, to be punished
30 as provided by paragraph (1)(a) (2)(a) or paragraph (1)(b)
31 (2)(b).
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1 2. Upon a third or subsequent conviction, guilty of a
2 felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s.
3 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
4 (d) Upon reinstatement of saltwater license privileges
5 suspended pursuant to a violation of this section, a licensee
6 owning or operating a vessel containing or otherwise
7 transporting in or on Florida waters any gill net or other
8 entangling net, or containing or otherwise transporting in
9 nearshore and inshore Florida waters any net containing more
10 than 500 square feet of mesh area shall remain restricted for
11 a period of 12 months following reinstatement, to operation
12 under the following conditions:
13 1. Vessels subject to this reinstatement period shall
14 be restricted to the corridors established by commission
15 department rule.
16 2. A violation of the reinstatement period provisions
17 shall be punishable pursuant to paragraphs (1)(a) and (b)
18 (2)(a) and (b).
19 (e) Rescission and revocation proceedings under this
20 section shall be governed by chapter 120.
21 (4)(5) ADDITIONAL PENALTIES FOR MAJOR VIOLATIONS
22 INVOLVING CERTAIN FINFISH.--It shall be a major violation
23 pursuant to this section and punishable pursuant to paragraph
24 (3)(b) (4)(b) for any person to be in possession of any
25 species of trout, snook, or redfish which is three fish in
26 excess of the recreational or commercial daily bag limit.
27 (5)(6) BUYING SALTWATER PRODUCTS FROM UNLICENSED
28 SELLER.--In addition to being subject to other penalties
29 provided in this chapter, any violation of s. 370.06 or s.
30 370.07, or rules of the commission department implementing s.
31 370.06 or s. 370.07, involving buying saltwater products from
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1 an unlicensed person, firm, or corporation, shall be a major
2 violation, and the commission department may assess the
3 following penalties:
4 (a) For a first violation, the commission department
5 may assess a civil penalty of up to $2,500 and may suspend the
6 wholesale or and/or retail dealer's license privileges for up
7 to 90 calendar days.
8 (b) For a second violation occurring within 12 months
9 of a prior violation, the commission department may assess a
10 civil penalty of up to $5,000 and may suspend the wholesale or
11 and/or retail dealer's license privileges for up to 180
12 calendar days.
13 (c) For a third or subsequent violation occurring
14 within a 24-month period, the commission department shall
15 assess a civil penalty of $5,000 and shall suspend the
16 wholesale or and/or retail dealer's license privileges for up
17 to 24 months.
18
19 Any proceeds from the civil penalties assessed pursuant to
20 this subsection shall be deposited into the Marine Resources
21 Conservation Trust Fund and shall be used as follows: 40
22 percent for administration and processing purposes and 60
23 percent for law enforcement purposes.
24 (6)(7) RULES; ADMISSIBILITY AS EVIDENCE.--Rules and
25 regulations shall be admitted as evidence in the courts of the
26 state when accompanied by an affidavit from the executive
27 director secretary of the commission department certifying
28 that the rule or regulation has been lawfully adopted,
29 promulgated, and published; and such affidavit shall be prima
30 facie evidence of proper adoption, promulgation, and
31 publication of the rule or regulation.
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1 (7)(8) PUBLICATIONS BY COMMISSION DEPARTMENT.--The
2 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission department through
3 the Division of Administration and Technical Services is given
4 authority, from time to time in its discretion, to cause the
5 statutory laws under its jurisdiction, together with any rules
6 and regulations promulgated by it, to be published in pamphlet
7 form for free distribution in this state. The commission
8 department is authorized to make charges for technical and
9 educational publications and mimeographed material of use for
10 educational or reference purposes. Such charges shall be made
11 at the discretion of the commission Division of Administration
12 and Technical Services. Such charges may be sufficient to
13 cover cost of preparation, printing, publishing, and
14 distribution. All moneys received for publications shall be
15 deposited into the fund from which the cost of the publication
16 was paid. The commission department is further authorized to
17 enter into agreements with persons, firms, corporations,
18 governmental agencies, and other institutions whereby
19 publications may be exchanged reciprocally in lieu of payments
20 for said publications.
21 (8)(9) POWERS OF OFFICERS.--
22 (a) The department may designate such employees of the
23 several divisions, as it may deem necessary in its discretion,
24 as law enforcement officers, who shall meet the provisions of
25 s. 943.13(1)-(10) and have the powers and duties conferred in
26 this subsection, except that such employees shall comply with
27 the provisions of chapter 943. Such Law enforcement officers
28 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the
29 Director of the Division of Law Enforcement, are constituted
30 law enforcement officers of this state with full power to
31 investigate and arrest for any violation of the laws of this
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1 state and the rules and regulations of the commission
2 department under their jurisdiction. and for violations of
3 chapter 253 and the rules and regulations promulgated
4 thereunder. The general laws applicable to arrests by peace
5 officers of this state shall also be applicable to such law
6 enforcement officers of the commission. Such law enforcement
7 officers may enter upon any land or waters of the state for
8 performance of their lawful duties and may take with them any
9 necessary equipment, and such entry will not constitute a
10 trespass. It is lawful for any boat, motor vehicle, or
11 aircraft owned or chartered by the commission department or
12 its agents or employees to land on and depart from any of the
13 beaches or waters of the state. Such law enforcement officers
14 have the authority, without warrant, to board, inspect, and
15 search any boat, fishing appliance, storage or processing
16 plant, fishhouse, spongehouse, oysterhouse, or other
17 warehouse, building, or vehicle engaged in transporting or
18 storing any fish or fishery products. Such authority to search
19 and inspect without a search warrant is limited to those cases
20 in which such law enforcement officers have reason to believe
21 that fish or any saltwater products are taken or kept for
22 sale, barter, transportation, or other purposes in violation
23 of laws or rules promulgated under this law. Any such law
24 enforcement officer may at any time seize or take possession
25 of any saltwater products or contraband which have been
26 unlawfully caught, taken, or processed or which are unlawfully
27 possessed or transported in violation of any of the laws of
28 this state or any rule or regulation of the commission
29 department. Such law enforcement officers may arrest any
30 person in the act of violating any of the provisions of this
31 law, the rules or regulations of the commission department,
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1 the provisions of chapter 253 and the rules and regulations
2 promulgated thereunder, or any of the laws of this state. It
3 is hereby declared unlawful for any person to resist such
4 arrest or in any manner interfere, either by abetting or
5 assisting such resistance or otherwise interfering, with any
6 such law enforcement officer while engaged in the performance
7 of the duties imposed upon him or her by law or regulation of
8 the commission department.
9 (b) The Legislature finds that the checking and
10 inspection of saltwater products aboard vessels is critical to
11 good fishery management and conservation and that, because
12 almost all saltwater products are either iced or cooled in
13 closed areas or containers, the enforcement of seasons, size
14 limits, and bag limits can only be effective when inspection
15 of saltwater products so stored is immediate and routine.
16 Therefore, in addition to the authority granted in paragraph
17 (a), a law enforcement officer of the commission department
18 who has probable cause to believe that the vessel has been
19 used for fishing prior to the inspection shall have full
20 authority to open and inspect all containers or areas where
21 saltwater products are normally kept aboard vessels while such
22 vessels are on the water, such as refrigerated or iced
23 locations, coolers, fish boxes, and bait wells, but
24 specifically excluding such containers that are located in
25 sleeping or living areas of the vessel.
26 (10) DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS.--The
27 Department of Legal Affairs shall attend to the legal business
28 of the Department of Environmental Protection and its
29 divisions; but, if at any time any question of law or any
30 litigation arises and the Department of Legal Affairs is
31 otherwise occupied and cannot give the time and attention
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1 necessary to such question of law or litigation as the
2 occasion demands, the several state attorneys shall attend to
3 any such question of law or litigation arising within their
4 respective circuits; and, if such state attorney is otherwise
5 occupied and cannot give the time and attention necessary to
6 such question of law or litigation as the case may demand, the
7 Department of Environmental Protection may employ additional
8 counsel for that particular cause, with the advice and consent
9 of the Department of Legal Affairs. Such additional counsel's
10 fees shall be paid from the moneys appropriated to the
11 Department of Environmental Protection.
12 (9)(11) RETENTION, DESTRUCTION, AND REPRODUCTION OF
13 RECORDS.--Records and documents of the Fish and Wildlife
14 Conservation Commission Department of Environmental Protection
15 created in compliance with and in the implementation of this
16 chapter or former chapter 371 shall be retained by the
17 commission department as specified in record retention
18 schedules established under the general provisions of chapters
19 119 and 257. Such records retained by the Department of
20 Environmental Protection on July 1, 1999, shall be transferred
21 to the commission. Further, the commission department is
22 authorized to:
23 (a) Destroy, or otherwise dispose of, those records
24 and documents in conformity with the approved retention
25 schedules.
26 (b) Photograph, microphotograph, or reproduce such
27 records and documents on film, as authorized and directed by
28 the approved retention schedules, whereby each page will be
29 exposed in exact conformity with the original records and
30 documents retained in compliance with the provisions of this
31 section. Photographs or microphotographs in the form of film
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1 or print of any records, made in compliance with the
2 provisions of this section, shall have the same force and
3 effect as the originals thereof would have and shall be
4 treated as originals for the purpose of their admissibility in
5 evidence. Duly certified or authenticated reproductions of
6 such photographs or microphotographs shall be admitted in
7 evidence equally with the original photographs or
8 microphotographs. The impression of the seal of the Fish and
9 Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of Environmental
10 Protection on a certificate made pursuant to the provisions
11 hereof and signed by the Executive Director of the Fish and
12 Wildlife Conservation Commission Secretary of Environmental
13 Protection shall entitle the same to be received in evidence
14 in all courts and in all proceedings in this state and shall
15 be prima facie evidence of all factual matters set forth in
16 the certificate. A certificate may relate to one or more
17 records, as set forth in the certificate, or in a schedule
18 continued on an attachment to the certificate.
19 (c) Furnish certified copies of such records for a fee
20 of $1 which shall be deposited in the Marine Resources
21 Conservation Trust Fund.
22 (10)(12) COURTS OF EQUITY MAY ENJOIN.--Courts of
23 equity in this state have jurisdiction to enforce the
24 conservation laws of this state by injunction.
25 (13) BOND OF EMPLOYEES.--The department may require,
26 as it determines, that bond be given by any employee of the
27 department or divisions thereof, payable to the Governor of
28 the state and the Governor's successor in office, for the use
29 and benefit of those whom it may concern, in such penal sums
30 with good and sufficient surety or sureties approved by the
31
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1 department conditioned for the faithful performance of the
2 duties of such employee.
3 (11)(14) REVOCATION OF LICENSES.--Any person licensed
4 under this chapter who has been convicted of taking
5 aquaculture species raised at a certified facility shall have
6 his or her license revoked for 5 years by the Fish and
7 Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of Environmental
8 Protection pursuant to the provisions and procedures of s.
9 120.60.
10 Section 71. Section 370.028, Florida Statutes, 1998
11 Supplement, is amended to read:
12 370.028 Enforcement of commission rules; penalties for
13 violation of rule.--Rules of the Fish and Wildlife
14 Conservation department and the Marine Fisheries Commission
15 shall be enforced by any law enforcement officer certified
16 pursuant to s. 943.13. Any person who violates or otherwise
17 fails to comply with any rule adopted by the commission shall
18 be punished pursuant to s. 370.021(1) s. 370.021(2).
19 Section 72. Section 370.06, Florida Statutes, 1998
20 Supplement, is amended to read:
21 370.06 Licenses.--
22 (1) LICENSE ON PURSE SEINES.--There is levied, in
23 addition to any other taxes thereon, an annual license tax of
24 $25 upon each purse seine used in the waters of this state.
25 This license fee shall be collected in the manner provided in
26 this section.
27 (2) SALTWATER PRODUCTS LICENSE.--
28 (a) Every person, firm, or corporation that sells,
29 offers for sale, barters, or exchanges for merchandise any
30 saltwater products, or which harvests saltwater products with
31 certain gear or equipment as specified by law, must have a
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1 valid saltwater products license, except that the holder of an
2 aquaculture certificate under s. 597.004 is not required to
3 purchase and possess a saltwater products license in order to
4 possess, transport, or sell marine aquaculture products. Each
5 saltwater products license allows the holder to engage in any
6 of the activities for which the license is required. The
7 license must be in the possession of the licenseholder or
8 aboard the vessel and shall be subject to inspection at any
9 time that harvesting activities for which a license is
10 required are being conducted. A restricted species endorsement
11 on the saltwater products license is required to sell to a
12 licensed wholesale dealer those species which the state, by
13 law or rule, has designated as "restricted species." This
14 endorsement may be issued only to a person who is at least 16
15 years of age, or to a firm certifying that over 25 percent of
16 its income or $5,000 of its income, whichever is less, is
17 attributable to the sale of saltwater products pursuant to a
18 license issued under this paragraph or a similar license from
19 another state. This endorsement may also be issued to a
20 for-profit corporation if it certifies that at least $5,000 of
21 its income is attributable to the sale of saltwater products
22 pursuant to a license issued under this paragraph or a similar
23 license from another state. However, if at least 50 percent of
24 the annual income of a person, firm, or for-profit corporation
25 is derived from charter fishing, the person, firm, or
26 for-profit corporation must certify that at least $2,500 of
27 the income of the person, firm, or corporation is attributable
28 to the sale of saltwater products pursuant to a license issued
29 under this paragraph or a similar license from another state,
30 in order to be issued the endorsement. Such income attribution
31 must apply to at least 1 year out of the last 3 years. For the
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1 purpose of this section "income" means that income which is
2 attributable to work, employment, entrepreneurship, pensions,
3 retirement benefits, and social security benefits. To renew an
4 existing restricted species endorsement, a marine aquaculture
5 producer possessing a valid saltwater products license with a
6 restricted species endorsement may apply income from the sale
7 of marine aquaculture products to licensed wholesale dealers.
8 1. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
9 department is authorized to require verification of such
10 income. Acceptable proof of income earned from the sale of
11 saltwater products shall be:
12 a. Copies of trip ticket records generated pursuant to
13 this subsection (marine fisheries information system),
14 documenting qualifying sale of saltwater products;
15 b. Copies of sales records from locales other than
16 Florida documenting qualifying sale of saltwater products;
17 c. A copy of the applicable federal income tax return,
18 including Form 1099 attachments, verifying income earned from
19 the sale of saltwater products;
20 d. Crew share statements verifying income earned from
21 the sale of saltwater products; or
22 e. A certified public accountant's notarized statement
23 attesting to qualifying source and amount of income.
24
25 Any provision of this section or any other section of the
26 Florida Statutes to the contrary notwithstanding, any person
27 who owns a retail seafood market or and/or restaurant at a
28 fixed location for at least 3 years who has had an
29 occupational license for 3 years prior to January 1, 1990, who
30 harvests saltwater products to supply his or her retail store
31 and has had a saltwater products license for 1 of the past 3
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1 years prior to January 1, 1990, may provide proof of his or
2 her verification of income and sales value at the person's
3 retail seafood market or and/or restaurant and in his or her
4 saltwater products enterprise by affidavit and shall thereupon
5 be issued a restricted species endorsement.
6 2. Exceptions from income requirements shall be as
7 follows:
8 a. A permanent restricted species endorsement shall be
9 available to those persons age 62 and older who have qualified
10 for such endorsement for at least 3 out of the last 5 years.
11 b. Active military duty time shall be excluded from
12 consideration of time necessary to qualify and shall not be
13 counted against the applicant for purposes of qualifying.
14 c. Upon the sale of a used commercial fishing vessel
15 owned by a person, firm, or corporation possessing or eligible
16 for a restricted species endorsement, the purchaser of such
17 vessel shall be exempted from the qualifying income
18 requirement for the purpose of obtaining a restricted species
19 endorsement for a period of 1 year after purchase of the
20 vessel.
21 d. Upon the death or permanent disablement of a person
22 possessing a restricted species endorsement, an immediate
23 family member wishing to carry on the fishing operation shall
24 be exempted from the qualifying income requirement for the
25 purpose of obtaining a restricted species endorsement for a
26 period of 1 year after the death or disablement.
27 e. A restricted species endorsement may be issued on
28 an individual saltwater products license to a person age 62 or
29 older who documents that at least $2,500 is attributable to
30 the sale of saltwater products pursuant to the provisions of
31 this paragraph.
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1 f. A permanent restricted species endorsement may also
2 be issued on an individual saltwater products license to a
3 person age 70 or older who has held a saltwater products
4 license for at least 3 of the last 5 license years.
5 g. Any resident who is certified to be totally and
6 permanently disabled by a verified written statement, based
7 upon the criteria for permanent total disability in chapter
8 440 from a physician licensed in this state, by any branch of
9 the United States Armed Services, by the Social Security
10 Administration, or by the United States Department of Veterans
11 Affairs or its predecessor, or any resident who holds a valid
12 identification card issued by the Department of Veterans'
13 Affairs pursuant to s. 295.17, shall be exempted from the
14 income requirements if he or she also has held a saltwater
15 products license for at least 3 of the last 5 license years
16 prior to the date of the disability. A Disability Award Notice
17 issued by the United States Social Security Administration is
18 not sufficient certification for a resident to obtain the
19 income exemption unless the notice certifies that the resident
20 is totally and permanently disabled.
21
22 At least one saltwater products license bearing a restricted
23 species endorsement shall be aboard any vessel harvesting
24 restricted species in excess of any bag limit or when fishing
25 under a commercial quota or in commercial quantities, and such
26 vessel shall have a commercial vessel registration. This
27 subsection does not apply to any person, firm, or corporation
28 licensed under s. 370.07(1)(a)1. or (b) for activities
29 pursuant to such licenses. A saltwater products license may be
30 issued in the name of an individual or a valid boat
31 registration number. Such license is not transferable. A decal
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1 shall be issued with each saltwater products license issued to
2 a valid boat registration number. The saltwater products
3 license decal shall be the same color as the vessel
4 registration decal issued each year pursuant to s. 327.11(5)
5 and shall indicate the period of time such license is valid.
6 The saltwater products license decal shall be placed beside
7 the vessel registration decal and, in the case of an
8 undocumented vessel, shall be placed so that the vessel
9 registration decal lies between the vessel registration number
10 and the saltwater products license decal. Any saltwater
11 products license decal for a previous year shall be removed
12 from a vessel operating on the waters of the state. A resident
13 shall pay an annual license fee of $50 for a saltwater
14 products license issued in the name of an individual or $100
15 for a saltwater products license issued to a valid boat
16 registration number. A nonresident shall pay an annual license
17 fee of $200 for a saltwater products license issued in the
18 name of an individual or $400 for a saltwater products license
19 issued to a valid boat registration number. An alien shall pay
20 an annual license fee of $300 for a saltwater products license
21 issued in the name of an individual or $600 for a saltwater
22 products license issued to a valid boat registration number.
23 Any person who sells saltwater products pursuant to this
24 license may sell only to a licensed wholesale dealer. A
25 saltwater products license must be presented to the licensed
26 wholesale dealer each time saltwater products are sold, and an
27 imprint made thereof. The wholesale dealer shall keep records
28 of each transaction in such detail as may be required by rule
29 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
30 Environmental Protection not in conflict with s. 370.07(6),
31 and shall provide the holder of the saltwater products license
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1 with a copy of the record. It is unlawful for any licensed
2 wholesale dealer to buy saltwater products from any unlicensed
3 person under the provisions of this section, except that a
4 licensed wholesale dealer may buy from another licensed
5 wholesale dealer. It is unlawful for any licensed wholesale
6 dealer to buy saltwater products designated as "restricted
7 species" from any person, firm, or corporation not possessing
8 a restricted species endorsement on his or her saltwater
9 products license under the provisions of this section, except
10 that a licensed wholesale dealer may buy from another licensed
11 wholesale dealer. The commission Department of Environmental
12 Protection shall be the licensing agency, may contract with
13 private persons or entities to implement aspects of the
14 licensing program, and shall establish by rule a marine
15 fisheries information system in conjunction with the licensing
16 program to gather fisheries data.
17 (b) Any person who sells, offers for sale, barters, or
18 exchanges for merchandise saltwater products must have a
19 method of catch preservation which meets the requirements and
20 standards of the seafood quality control code promulgated by
21 the commission Department of Environmental Protection.
22 (c) A saltwater products license is required to
23 harvest commercial quantities of saltwater products. Any
24 vessel from which commercial quantities of saltwater products
25 are harvested must have a commercial vessel registration.
26 Commercial quantities of saltwater products shall be defined
27 as:
28 1. With respect to those species for which no bag
29 limit has been established, more than 100 pounds per person
30 per day, provided that the harvesting of two fish or less per
31
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1 person per day shall not be considered commercial quantities
2 regardless of aggregate weight; and
3 2. With respect to those species for which a bag limit
4 has been established, more than the bag limit allowed by law
5 or rule.
6 (d)1. In addition to the saltwater products license, a
7 marine life fishing endorsement is required for the harvest of
8 marine life species as defined by rule of the Fish and
9 Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission. This
10 endorsement may be issued only to a person who is at least 16
11 years of age or older or to a corporation holding a valid
12 restricted species endorsement.
13 2.a. Effective July 1, 1998, and until July 1, 2002, a
14 marine life endorsement may not be issued under this
15 paragraph, except that those endorsements that are active
16 during the 1997-1998 fiscal year may be renewed.
17 b. In 1998 persons or corporations holding a marine
18 life endorsement that was active in the 1997-1998 fiscal year
19 or an immediate family member of that person must request
20 renewal of the marine life endorsement before December 31,
21 1998.
22 c. In subsequent years and until July 1, 2002, a
23 marine life endorsement holder or member of his or her
24 immediate family must request renewal of the marine life
25 endorsement before September 30 of each year.
26 d. If a person or corporation holding an active marine
27 life fishing endorsement or a member of that person's
28 immediate family does not request renewal of the endorsement
29 before the applicable dates specified in this paragraph, the
30 commission department shall deactivate that marine life
31 fishing endorsement.
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1 e. In the event of the death or disability of a person
2 holding an active marine life fishing endorsement, the
3 endorsement may be transferred by the person to a member of
4 his or her immediate family or may be renewed by any person so
5 designated by the executor of the person's estate.
6 f. Persons or corporations who hold saltwater product
7 licenses with marine life fishing endorsements issued to their
8 vessel registration numbers and who subsequently replace their
9 existing vessels with new vessels may transfer the existing
10 marine life fishing endorsement to the new boat registration
11 numbers.
12 g. Persons or corporations who hold saltwater product
13 licenses with marine life fishing endorsements issued to their
14 name and who subsequently incorporate or unincorporate may
15 transfer the existing marine life fishing endorsement to the
16 new corporation or person.
17 h. By July 1, 2000, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
18 Marine Fisheries Commission shall prepare a report regarding
19 options for the establishment of a limited-entry program for
20 the marine life fishery and submit the report to the Governor,
21 the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
22 Representatives, and the chairs of the Senate and House
23 committees having jurisdiction over marine resources.
24 3. The fee for a marine life fishery endorsement on a
25 saltwater products license shall be $75. These license fees
26 shall be collected and deposited in the Marine Resources
27 Conservation Trust Fund and used for the purchase and
28 installation of vessel mooring buoys at coral reef sites and
29 for research related to marine fisheries.
30 (3) NET LICENSES.--Except for cast nets and bait
31 seines which are 100 feet in length or less and which have a
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1 mesh that is 3/8 inch or less, all nets used to take
2 finfish, including, but not limited to, gill nets, trammel
3 nets, and beach seines, must be licensed or registered. Each
4 net used to take finfish for commercial purposes, or by a
5 nonresident, must be licensed under a saltwater products
6 license issued pursuant to subsection (2) and must bear the
7 number of such license. A noncommercial resident net
8 registration must be issued to each net used to take finfish
9 for noncommercial purposes and may only be issued to residents
10 of the state. Each net so registered must bear the name of the
11 person in whose name the net is registered.
12 (4) SPECIAL ACTIVITY LICENSES.--
13 (a) A special activity license is required for any
14 person to use gear or equipment not authorized in this chapter
15 or rule of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries
16 Commission for harvesting saltwater species. In accordance
17 with this chapter, s. 16, Art. X of the State Constitution,
18 and rules of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine
19 Fisheries Commission, the commission department may issue
20 special activity licenses for the use of nonconforming gear or
21 equipment, including, but not limited to, trawls, seines and
22 entangling nets, traps, and hook and line gear, to be used in
23 harvesting saltwater species for scientific and governmental
24 purposes, and, where allowable, for innovative fisheries. The
25 commission department may prescribe by rule application
26 requirements and terms, conditions, and restrictions to be
27 incorporated into each special activity license. This
28 subsection does not apply to gear or equipment used by
29 certified marine aquaculturists to harvest marine aquaculture
30 products.
31
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1 (b) The commission department is authorized to issue
2 special activity licenses in accordance with this section and
3 s. 370.31, to permit the importation, possession, and
4 aquaculture of anadromous sturgeon. The special activity
5 license shall provide for specific management practices to
6 prevent the release and escape of cultured anadromous sturgeon
7 and to protect indigenous populations of saltwater species.
8 (c) The commission department is authorized to issue
9 special activity licenses, in accordance with s. 370.071, to
10 permit the harvest or cultivation of oysters, clams, mussels,
11 and crabs when such activities relate to quality control,
12 sanitation, public health regulations, innovative technologies
13 for aquaculture activities, or the protection of shellfish
14 resources provided in this chapter, unless such authority is
15 delegated to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
16 Services, pursuant to a memorandum of understanding.
17 (d) The conditions and specific management practices
18 established in this section may be incorporated into permits
19 and authorizations issued pursuant to chapter 253, chapter
20 373, chapter 403, or this chapter, when incorporating such
21 provisions is in accordance with the aquaculture permit
22 consolidation procedures. No separate issuance of a special
23 activity license is required when conditions and specific
24 management practices are incorporated into permits or
25 authorizations under this paragraph. Implementation of this
26 section to consolidate permitting actions does not constitute
27 rules within the meaning of s. 120.52.
28 (e) The commission department is authorized to issue
29 special activity licenses in accordance with ss. 370.071,
30 370.101, and this section; aquaculture permit consolidation
31 procedures in s. 370.26(3)(a); and rules of the Fish and
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1 Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission to permit
2 the capture and possession of saltwater species protected by
3 law and used as stock for artificial cultivation and
4 propagation.
5 (f) The commission department is authorized to adopt
6 rules to govern the administration of special activities
7 licenses as provided in this chapter and rules of the
8 commission Marine Fisheries Commission. Such rules may
9 prescribe application requirements and terms, conditions, and
10 restrictions for any such special activity license requested
11 pursuant to this section.
12 (5) APALACHICOLA BAY OYSTER HARVESTING LICENSE.--
13 (a) For purposes of this section, the following
14 definitions shall apply:
15 1. "Person" means an individual.
16 2. "Resident" means any person who has:
17 a. Continuously resided in this state for 6 months
18 immediately preceding the making of his or her application for
19 an Apalachicola Bay oyster harvesting license; or
20 b. Established a domicile in this state and evidenced
21 that domicile as provided in s. 222.17.
22 (b) No person shall harvest oysters from the
23 Apalachicola Bay without a valid Apalachicola Bay oyster
24 harvesting license issued by the Fish and Wildlife
25 Conservation Commission department. This requirement shall not
26 apply to anyone harvesting noncommercial quantities of oysters
27 in accordance with chapter 46-27, Florida Administrative Code,
28 or to any person less than 18 years old.
29 (c) Any person wishing to obtain an Apalachicola Bay
30 oyster harvesting license shall submit an annual fee for the
31 license during a 45-day period from May 17 to June 30 of each
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1 year preceding the license year for which the license is
2 valid. Failure to pay the annual fee within the required time
3 period shall result in a $500 late fee being imposed before
4 issuance of the license.
5 (d) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
6 department shall collect an annual fee of $100 from residents
7 and $500 from nonresidents for the issuance of an Apalachicola
8 Bay oyster harvesting license. The license year shall begin on
9 July 1 of each year and end on June 30 of the following year.
10 The license shall be valid only for the licensee. Only bona
11 fide residents of Florida may obtain a resident license
12 pursuant to this subsection.
13 (e) Each person who applies for an Apalachicola Bay
14 oyster harvesting license shall, before receiving the license,
15 attend an educational seminar of not more than 16 hours
16 length, developed and conducted jointly by the Apalachicola
17 National Estuarine Research Reserve, the commission's
18 department's Division of Law Enforcement, and the commission's
19 department's Apalachicola District Shellfish Environmental
20 Assessment Laboratory. The seminar shall address, among other
21 things, oyster biology, conservation of the Apalachicola Bay,
22 sanitary care of oysters, small business management, and water
23 safety. The seminar shall be offered five times per year, and
24 each person attending shall receive a certificate of
25 participation to present when obtaining an Apalachicola Bay
26 oyster harvesting license.
27 (f) Each person, while harvesting oysters in
28 Apalachicola Bay, shall have in possession a valid
29 Apalachicola Bay oyster harvesting license, or proof of having
30 applied for a license within the required time period, and
31
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1 shall produce such license or proof of application upon
2 request of any law enforcement officer.
3 (g) Each person who obtains an Apalachicola Bay oyster
4 harvesting license shall prominently display the license
5 number upon any vessel the person owns which is used for the
6 taking of oysters, in numbers which are at least 10 inches
7 high and 1 inch wide, so that the permit number is readily
8 identifiable from the air and water. Only one vessel
9 displaying a given number may be used at any time. A licensee
10 may harvest oysters from the vessel of another licensee.
11 (h) Any person holding an Apalachicola Bay oyster
12 harvesting license shall receive credit for the license fee
13 against the saltwater products license fee.
14 (i) The proceeds from Apalachicola Bay oyster
15 harvesting license fees shall be deposited in the Marine
16 Resources Conservation Trust Fund and, less reasonable
17 administrative costs, shall be used or distributed by the
18 commission department for the following purposes in
19 Apalachicola Bay:
20 1. Relaying and transplanting live oysters.
21 2. Shell planting to construct or rehabilitate oyster
22 bars.
23 3. Education programs for licensed oyster harvesters
24 on oyster biology, aquaculture, boating and water safety,
25 sanitation, resource conservation, small business management,
26 marketing, and other relevant subjects.
27 4. Research directed toward the enhancement of oyster
28 production in the bay and the water management needs of the
29 bay.
30 (j) Any person who violates any of the provisions of
31 paragraphs (b) and (d)-(g) commits a misdemeanor of the second
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1 degree, punishable as provided in ss. 775.082 and 775.083.
2 Nothing in this subsection shall limit the application of
3 existing penalties.
4 (6) LICENSE YEAR.--The license year on all licenses
5 relating to saltwater products dealers, seafood dealers,
6 aliens, residents, and nonresidents, unless otherwise
7 provided, shall begin on July 1 of each year and end on June
8 30 of the next succeeding year. All licenses shall be so
9 dated. However, if the commission department determines that
10 it is in the best interest of the state to issue a license
11 required under this chapter to an individual on the birthday
12 of the applicant, the commission department may establish by
13 rule a procedure to do so. This section does not apply to
14 licenses and permits when their use is confined to an open
15 season.
16 (7) LICENSES SUBJECT TO INSPECTION; NONTRANSFERABLE;
17 EXCEPTION.--Licenses of every kind and nature granted under
18 the provisions of the fish and game laws of this state are at
19 all times subject to inspection by the police officers of this
20 state and, the wildlife officers of the Fish and Wildlife
21 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, and the
22 officers of the Marine Patrol. Such licenses are not
23 transferable unless otherwise provided by law.
24 (8) COLLECTION OF LICENSES, FEES.--Unless otherwise
25 provided by law, all license taxes or fees provided for in
26 this chapter shall be collected by the commission department
27 or its duly authorized agents or deputies to be deposited by
28 the Comptroller in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust
29 Fund. The commission department may by rule establish a
30 reasonable processing fee for any free license or permit
31 required under this chapter.
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1 Section 73. Section 370.0605, Florida Statutes, 1998
2 Supplement, is amended to read:
3 370.0605 Saltwater fishing license required; fees.--
4 (1)(a) No person, except as provided in this section,
5 may take, attempt to take, or possess any marine fish for
6 noncommercial purposes unless the person has been issued an
7 authorization, or has obtained a license pursuant to paragraph
8 (2)(a) and any required permits under ss. 370.1111 and 370.14,
9 nor may any person operate any vessel wherein a fee is paid
10 either directly or indirectly for the purpose of taking,
11 attempting to take, or possessing any marine fish for
12 noncommercial purposes, unless he or she has been issued an
13 authorization or has obtained a license for each vessel for
14 that purpose and has paid the license fee pursuant to
15 subparagraphs (2)(b)1. and 2. for such vessel. One-year
16 licenses must be dated when issued and remain valid for 12
17 months after the date of issuance. Each license must bear on
18 its face, in indelible ink, the name of the person to whom it
19 is issued and other information required by the commission
20 department, and, if the license is issued to the owner,
21 operator, or custodian of a vessel, the vessel registration
22 number or federal documentation number must be included.
23 Licenses, permits, and authorizations are not transferable.
24 (b) Any required license, permit, or authorization
25 must be in the personal possession of the person taking,
26 attempting to take, or possessing marine fish or in the
27 possession of the person operating any vessel wherein a fee is
28 paid, either directly or indirectly, for the purpose of taking
29 or attempting to take marine fish for noncommercial purposes
30 and must be exhibited to any authorized law enforcement
31
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1 officer upon his or her request. A positive form of
2 identification is required when using an authorization.
3 (c)1. The 5-year licenses provided herein shall be
4 embossed with the applicant's name, date of birth, and other
5 pertinent information as deemed necessary by the commission
6 department.
7 2. A resident 5-year license which was purchased by a
8 resident of this state who subsequently resides in another
9 state will be honored for activities authorized by the
10 license.
11 3. A positive form of identification is required when
12 using a 5-year license.
13 (2) Saltwater fishing license fees are as follows:
14 (a)1. For a resident of the state, $12 for a 1-year
15 license.
16 2. For a resident of the state, $60 for 5 consecutive
17 years from the date of purchase.
18 3. For a nonresident of the state, $5 for a 3-day
19 license, $15 for a 7-day license, and $30 for a 1-year
20 license.
21 4. For purposes of this section, "resident" has the
22 same meaning as that found in s. 372.001.
23 (b)1. For any person who operates any vessel licensed
24 to carry more than 10 customers wherein a fee is paid, either
25 directly or indirectly, for the purpose of taking or
26 attempting to take marine fish, $800 per year. The license
27 must be kept aboard the vessel at all times.
28 2. For any person who operates any vessel licensed to
29 carry no more than 10 customers, or for any person licensed to
30 operate any vessel carrying 6 or fewer customers, wherein a
31 fee is paid, either directly or indirectly, for the purpose of
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1 taking or attempting to take marine fish, $400 per year;
2 provided any person licensed to operate any vessel carrying 6
3 or fewer customers but who operates a vessel carrying 4 or
4 fewer customers, wherein a fee is paid, either directly or
5 indirectly, for such purposes, $200 per year. The license must
6 be kept aboard the vessel at all times.
7 3. A person who operates a vessel required to be
8 licensed pursuant to subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. may
9 obtain a license in his or her own name, and such license
10 shall be transferable and apply to any vessel operated by the
11 purchaser, provided that the purchaser has paid the
12 appropriate license fee.
13 4. For any pier fixed to the land for the purpose of
14 taking or attempting to take marine fish therefrom, $500 per
15 year. Owners, operators, or custodians of piers have the
16 discretion to buy the annual $500 license. Those who elect to
17 purchase such license must have the license available for
18 inspection at all times.
19 5. For a recreational vessel not for hire and for
20 which no fee is paid either directly or indirectly by guests,
21 for the purpose of taking or attempting to take marine fish
22 noncommercially, $2,000 per year. The license may be purchased
23 at the option of the vessel owner and must be kept aboard the
24 vessel at all times. A log of species taken and the date the
25 species were taken shall be maintained and a copy of the log
26 filed with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
27 Department of Environmental Protection at the time of renewal
28 of the license.
29 (c) The commission department is authorized to reduce
30 the fees for licenses under this section for residents of
31
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1 those states with which the commission department has entered
2 into reciprocal agreements with respect to such fees.
3 (d) License fees paid pursuant to this subsection are
4 nonrefundable and may not be used as credit toward any other
5 license fee required by this chapter. No other license fee
6 paid pursuant to this chapter shall be used as credit towards
7 the license fees required by this subsection. The owner,
8 operator, or custodian of a vessel the operator of which has
9 been licensed pursuant to subsection (1) must maintain and
10 report such statistical data as required by, and in a manner
11 set forth in, the rules of the commission department.
12 (3) A saltwater fishing license is not required for:
13 (a) Any person under 16 years of age.
14 (b) Any Florida resident fishing in salt water from
15 land or from a structure fixed to the land.
16 (c) Any person fishing from a vessel the operator of
17 which is licensed pursuant to subsection (1).
18 (d) Any person who holds a valid saltwater products
19 license issued pursuant to s. 370.06(2).
20 (e) Any resident 65 years of age or older.
21 (f) Any resident who is a member of the Armed Forces
22 of the United States, who is not stationed in this state, when
23 fishing while home on leave for 30 days or less, upon
24 submission of orders.
25 (g) Any person who has been accepted by the Department
26 of Health and Rehabilitative Services for developmental
27 services or any licensed provider of services to the State of
28 Florida through contract with the Department of Health and
29 Rehabilitative Services, where such service involves the need,
30 normally, for possession of a saltwater fishing license and
31 such service is provided as part of a court-decided
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1 rehabilitation program involving training in Florida's aquatic
2 resources.
3 (h) Any person fishing from a pier licensed pursuant
4 to subparagraph (2)(b)4.
5 (i) Any person fishing from a vessel which is licensed
6 pursuant to subparagraph (2)(b)5.
7 (j) Any Florida resident who is fishing for mullet in
8 fresh water and has a valid Florida freshwater fishing
9 license.
10 (k) Any Florida resident fishing for a saltwater
11 species in fresh water from land or from a structure fixed to
12 the land.
13 (4) A saltwater fishing license must be issued,
14 without license fee, to any resident who is certified to be
15 totally and permanently disabled by the verified written
16 statement which is based upon the criteria for permanent total
17 disability in chapter 440 of a physician licensed in this
18 state, by any branch of the United States Armed Services, by
19 the Social Security Administration, or by the United States
20 Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor or who holds
21 a valid identification card issued by the Department of
22 Veterans' Affairs pursuant to s. 295.17. A Disability Award
23 Notice issued by the United States Social Security
24 Administration is not sufficient certification for obtaining a
25 permanent fishing license under this section unless the notice
26 certifies a resident is totally and permanently disabled. Any
27 license issued after January 1, 1997, expires after 5 years
28 and must be reissued, upon request, every 5 years thereafter.
29 (5) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
30 Freshwater Fish Commission may issue temporary fishing
31 licenses, upon request, to governmental or nonprofit
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1 organizations that sponsor 1-day special events in fishing
2 management areas for individuals with physical, mental, or
3 emotional disabilities, or for the economically disadvantaged.
4 There shall be no fee for such temporary license. The
5 temporary license shall be valid for 1 day and shall designate
6 the date and maximum number of individuals.
7 (6)(a) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
8 Freshwater Fish Commission, all county tax collectors, or any
9 appointed subagent may sell licenses and permits and collect
10 fees pursuant to this section.
11 (b) The commission is the issuing department for the
12 purpose of issuing licenses and permits and collecting fees
13 pursuant to this section.
14 (c) In addition to the license and permit fee
15 collected, the sum of $1.50 shall be charged for each license.
16 Such charge shall be for the purpose of, and the source from
17 which is subtracted, all administrative costs of issuance,
18 including, but not limited to, printing, distribution, and
19 credit card fees. Tax collectors may retain $1.50 for each
20 license sold.
21 (d)1. Each county tax collector shall maintain records
22 of all such licenses, permits, and stamps that are sold,
23 voided, stolen, or lost. Licenses and permits must be issued
24 and reported, and fees must be remitted, in accordance with
25 the procedures established in chapter 372.
26 2. Not later than August 15 of each year, each county
27 tax collector shall submit to the Fish and Wildlife
28 Conservation Game and Freshwater Fish Commission all unissued
29 stamps for the previous fiscal year along with a written audit
30 report, on forms prescribed or approved by the Fish and
31
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1 Wildlife Conservation Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, as
2 to the numbers of the unissued stamps.
3 (e) A license or permit to replace a lost or destroyed
4 license or permit may be obtained by submitting an application
5 for replacement. The fee is $10 for each application for
6 replacement of a lifetime license and $2 for each application
7 for replacement for any other license or permit. Such fees
8 shall be for the purpose of, and the source from which is
9 subtracted, all administrative costs of issuing the license or
10 permit, including, but not limited to, printing, distribution,
11 and credit card fees. Tax collectors may retain $1 for each
12 application for a replacement license or permit processed.
13 (7)(a) Each county tax collector, as issuing agent for
14 the department, shall submit to the department by January 31,
15 1997, a report of the sale of, and payment for, all licenses
16 and permits sold between June 1, 1996, and December 31, 1996.
17 (b) By March 15, 1997, each county tax collector shall
18 provide the department with a written report, on forms
19 provided by the department, of the audit numbers of all
20 unissued licenses and permits for the period of June 1, 1996,
21 to December 31, 1996. Within 30 days after the submission of
22 the annual audit report, each county tax collector shall
23 provide the department with a written audit report of
24 unissued, sold, and voided licenses, permits, and stamps,
25 together with a certified reconciliation statement prepared by
26 a certified public accountant. Concurrent with the submission
27 of the certification, the county tax collector shall remit to
28 the department the monetary value of all licenses, permits,
29 and stamps that are unaccounted for. Each tax collector is
30 also responsible for fees for all licenses, permits, and
31
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1 stamps distributed by him or her to subagents, sold by him or
2 her, or reported by him or her as lost.
3 (7)(a) Each county tax collector, as issuing agent for
4 the department, shall submit to the department by January 31,
5 1997, a report of the sale of, and payment for, all licenses
6 and permits sold between June 1, 1996, and December 31, 1996.
7 (b) By March 15, 1997, each county tax collector shall
8 provide the department with a written report, on forms
9 provided by the department, of the audit numbers of all
10 unissued licenses and permits for the period of June 1, 1996,
11 to December 31, 1996. Within 30 days after the submission of
12 the annual audit report, each county tax collector shall
13 provide the department with a written audit report of
14 unissued, sold, and voided licenses, permits, and stamps,
15 together with a certified reconciliation statement prepared by
16 a certified public accountant. Concurrent with the submission
17 of the certification, the county tax collector shall remit to
18 the department the monetary value of all licenses, permits,
19 and stamps that are unaccounted for. Each tax collector is
20 also responsible for fees for all licenses, permits, and
21 stamps distributed by him or her to subagents, sold by him or
22 her, or reported by him or her as lost.
23 (7)(8) A person may not alter or change in any manner,
24 or loan or transfer to another, any license issued pursuant to
25 this section, nor may any person other than the person to whom
26 it is issued use the license.
27 (8)(9) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly and
28 willfully enter false information on, or allow or cause false
29 information to be entered on or shown upon, any license issued
30 pursuant to this section in order to avoid prosecution or to
31
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1 assist another to avoid prosecution or for any other wrongful
2 purpose.
3 (9)(10) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation department,
4 the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, or any other law
5 enforcement agency may make any investigation necessary to
6 secure information required to carry out and enforce this
7 section.
8 (10)(11) It is unlawful for any person to make, forge,
9 counterfeit, or reproduce a saltwater fishing license unless
10 authorized by the commission department. It is unlawful for
11 any person knowingly to have in his or her possession a
12 forged, counterfeit, or imitation of such license, unless
13 possession by such person has been fully authorized by the
14 commission department. Any person who violates this
15 subsection is guilty of a felony of the third degree,
16 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
17 775.084.
18 (11)(12)(a) Any person cited for a violation of the
19 license requirements of subsection (1) or the stamp
20 requirements of s. 370.1111(1)(a) or s. 370.14(11)(a) is
21 guilty of a noncriminal infraction, shall be cited for such an
22 infraction, and shall be cited to appear before the county
23 court. The civil penalty for any such infraction is $50, in
24 addition to the cost of the amount of the annual license fee
25 or stamp involved in the infraction, except as otherwise
26 provided in this section. The civil penalty for any other
27 noncriminal infraction shall be $50, except as otherwise
28 provided in this section.
29 (b) Any person cited for an infraction under this
30 section may:
31
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1 1. Post a bond, which shall be equal in amount to the
2 applicable civil penalty; or
3 2. Sign and accept a citation indicating a promise to
4 appear before the county court.
5
6 The officer may indicate on the citation the time and location
7 of the scheduled hearing and shall indicate the applicable
8 civil penalty.
9 (c) Any person who willfully refuses to post a bond or
10 accept and sign a citation is guilty of a misdemeanor of the
11 second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
12 775.083.
13 (d) Any person charged with a noncriminal infraction
14 under this section may:
15 1. Pay the civil penalty, either by mail or in person,
16 within 30 days after the date of receiving the citation; or
17 2. If the person has posted bond, forfeit bond by not
18 appearing at the designated time and location.
19
20 If the person cited follows either procedure prescribed in
21 this paragraph, he or she has admitted the infraction and
22 waives his or her right to a hearing on the issue of
23 commission of the infraction. Such admission may not be used
24 as evidence in any other proceedings.
25 (e) Any person who elects to appear before the county
26 court or who is required so to appear waives the limitations
27 of the civil penalty specified in paragraph (a). The court,
28 after a hearing, shall make a determination as to whether an
29 infraction has been committed. If the commission of an
30 infraction is proved, the court may impose a civil penalty not
31 to exceed $500.
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1 (f) At a hearing under this subsection, the commission
2 of a charged infraction must be proved beyond a reasonable
3 doubt.
4 (g) If a person is found by the hearing official to
5 have committed an infraction, he or she may appeal that
6 finding to the circuit court.
7 (h) Effective October 1, 1991, any person who fails to
8 pay the civil penalty specified in paragraph (a) within 30
9 days or who fails to appear before the court is guilty of a
10 misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
11 775.082 or s. 775.083.
12 (12)(13) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation department
13 or the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission may designate by
14 rule no more than 2 consecutive or nonconsecutive days in each
15 year as "Disabled Angler Fishing Days." Notwithstanding any
16 other provision of this chapter, any disabled person may take
17 marine fish for noncommercial purposes on a Disabled Angler
18 Fishing Day without obtaining or possessing a license or
19 paying a license fee as prescribed in this section. A
20 disabled person who takes marine fish on a Disabled Angler
21 Fishing Day without obtaining a license or paying a fee must
22 comply with all laws and regulations governing holders of a
23 license and all other conditions and limitations regulating
24 the taking of marine fish as are imposed by law or rule.
25 Section 74. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and
26 subsections (3) and (8) of section 370.0615, Florida Statutes,
27 are amended to read:
28 370.0615 Lifetime licenses.--
29 (1) A resident lifetime saltwater fishing license
30 authorizes the holder to engage in the following noncommercial
31 activities:
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1 (a) To take or attempt to take or possess marine fish
2 consistent with state and federal regulations and rules of the
3 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Department of Environmental
4 Protection or the Marine Fisheries Commission.
5 (3) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
6 Water Fish Commission shall be the issuing agent for all
7 lifetime licenses and all replacement lifetime licenses, and
8 is authorized to collect the fees therefor.
9 (8) License moneys collected for lifetime licenses and
10 replacement lifetime licenses, along with a report of funds
11 collected and other required documentation, shall be remitted
12 to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water
13 Fish Commission within 10 days after the moneys are collected.
14 Section 75. Section 370.062, Florida Statutes, 1998
15 Supplement, is amended to read:
16 370.062 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
17 Department of Environmental Protection license program for
18 tarpon; fees; penalties.--
19 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
20 Department of Environmental Protection shall establish a
21 license program for the purpose of issuing tags to individuals
22 desiring to harvest tarpon (megalops atlantica) from the
23 waters of the State of Florida. The tags shall be
24 nontransferable, except that the Marine Fisheries commission
25 may allow for a limited number of tags to be purchased by
26 professional fishing guides for transfer to individuals, and
27 issued by the commission department in order of receipt of a
28 properly completed application for a nonrefundable fee of $50
29 per tag. The Game and Fresh Water Fish commission and any tax
30 collector may sell the tags and collect the fees therefor.
31 Tarpon tags are valid from July 1 through June 30. Before
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1 August 5 of each year, each tax collector shall submit to the
2 Game and Fresh Water Fish commission all unissued tags for the
3 previous calendar year along with a written audit report, on
4 forms prescribed or approved by the Game and Fresh Water Fish
5 commission, as to the numbers of the unissued tags. To defray
6 the cost of issuing any tag, the issuing tax collector shall
7 collect and retain as his or her costs, in addition to the tag
8 fee collected, the amount allowed under s. 372.561(4) for the
9 issuance of licenses.
10 (2) The number of tags to be issued shall be
11 determined by rule of the Marine Fisheries commission. The
12 commission shall in no way allow the issuance of tarpon tags
13 to adversely affect the tarpon population.
14 (3) Proceeds from the sale of tarpon tags shall be
15 deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund and
16 shall be used to gather information directly applicable to
17 tarpon management.
18 (4) No individual shall take, kill, or possess any
19 fish of the species megalops atlantica, commonly known as
20 tarpon, unless such individual has purchased a tarpon tag and
21 securely attached it through the lower jaw of the fish. Said
22 individual shall within 5 days after the landing of the fish
23 submit a form to the commission department which indicates the
24 length, weight, and physical condition of the tarpon when
25 caught; the date and location of where the fish was caught;
26 and any other pertinent information which may be required by
27 the commission department. The commission department may
28 refuse to issue new tags to individuals or guides who fail to
29 provide the required information.
30 (5) Any individual including a taxidermist who
31 possesses a tarpon which does not have a tag securely attached
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1 as required by this section shall be subject to penalties as
2 prescribed in s. 370.021. Provided, however, a taxidermist may
3 remove the tag during the process of mounting a tarpon. The
4 removed tag shall remain with the fish during any subsequent
5 storage or shipment.
6 (6) Purchase of a tarpon tag shall not accord the
7 purchaser any right to harvest or possess tarpon in
8 contravention of rules adopted by the Marine Fisheries
9 commission. No individual may sell, offer for sale, barter,
10 exchange for merchandise, transport for sale, either within or
11 without the state, offer to purchase, or purchase any species
12 of fish known as tarpon.
13 (7) The commission department shall prescribe and
14 provide suitable forms and tags necessary to carry out the
15 provisions of this section.
16 (8) The provisions of this section shall not apply to
17 anyone who immediately returns a tarpon uninjured to the water
18 at the place where the fish was caught.
19 (9) All tag fees collected by the Game and Fresh Water
20 Fish commission shall be transferred to the Marine Resources
21 Conservation Trust Fund within 7 days following the last
22 business day of the week in which the fees were received by
23 the Game and Fresh Water Fish commission.
24 Section 76. Section 370.063, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 370.063 Special recreational crawfish license.--There
27 is created a special recreational crawfish license, to be
28 issued to qualified persons as provided by this section for
29 the recreational harvest of crawfish (spiny lobster) beginning
30 August 5, 1994.
31
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1 (1) The special recreational crawfish license shall be
2 available to any individual crawfish trap number holder who
3 also possesses a saltwater products license during the
4 1993-1994 license year. For the 1994-1995 license year and
5 for each license year thereafter, a person issued a special
6 recreational crawfish license may not also possess a trap
7 number.
8 (2) Beginning August 5, 1994, the special recreational
9 crawfish license is required in order to harvest crawfish from
10 state territorial waters in quantities in excess of the
11 regular recreational bag limit but not in excess of a special
12 bag limit to be established by the Marine Fisheries Commission
13 for these harvesters before the 1994-1995 license year. Such
14 special bag limit does not apply during the 2-day sport season
15 established by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
16 commission.
17 (3) The holder of a special recreational crawfish
18 license must also possess the recreational crawfish stamp
19 required by s. 370.14(11) and the license required by s.
20 370.0605.
21 (4) As a condition precedent to the issuance of a
22 special recreational crawfish license, the applicant must
23 agree to file quarterly reports with the Division of Marine
24 Resources of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
25 Department of Environmental Protection, in such form as the
26 division requires, detailing the amount of the licenseholder's
27 crawfish (spiny lobster) harvest in the previous quarter,
28 including the harvest of other recreational harvesters aboard
29 the licenseholder's vessel.
30 (5) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
31 Department of Environmental Protection shall issue special
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1 recreational crawfish licenses beginning in 1994 for the
2 1994-1995 license year. The fee for each such license is $100
3 per year. Each license issued in any 1994 for the 1994-1995
4 license year must be renewed by June 30 of each subsequent
5 year by the initial individual holder thereof. Noncompliance
6 with the reporting requirement in subsection (4) or with the
7 special recreational bag limit established under subsection
8 (6) constitutes grounds for which the commission department
9 may refuse to renew the license for a subsequent license year.
10 The number of such licenses outstanding in any one license
11 year may not exceed the number issued for the 1994-1995
12 license year. A license is not transferable by any method.
13 Licenses that are not renewed expire and may be reissued by
14 the commission in the subsequent department beginning in the
15 1995-1996 license year to new applicants otherwise qualified
16 under this section.
17 (6) To promote conservation of the spiny lobster
18 (crawfish) resource, consistent with equitable distribution
19 and availability of the resource, the Marine Fisheries
20 commission shall establish a spiny lobster management plan
21 incorporating the special recreational crawfish license,
22 including, but not limited to, the establishment of a special
23 recreational bag limit for the holders of such license as
24 required by subsection (2). Such special recreational bag
25 limit must not be less than twice the higher of the daily
26 recreational bag limits.
27 (7) The proceeds of the fees collected under this
28 section must be deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation
29 Trust Fund and used as follows:
30
31
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1 (a) Thirty-five percent for research and the
2 development of reliable recreational catch statistics for the
3 crawfish (spiny lobster) fishery.
4 (b) Sixty-five Forty-five percent to be used by the
5 Department of Environmental Protection for administration and
6 enforcement of this section.
7 (c) Twenty percent to be used by the Marine Fisheries
8 Commission for the purposes of this section.
9 (8) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
10 Department of Environmental Protection may adopt rules to
11 carry out the purpose and intent of the special recreational
12 lobster license program.
13 Section 77. Subsection (2) of section 370.0805,
14 Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
15 370.0805 Net ban assistance program.--
16 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.--The
17 Department of Labor and Employment Security shall determine
18 the eligibility of applicants for economic assistance under
19 this section.
20 (a) Any person who has been convicted of more than two
21 violations of any rule of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
22 Marine Fisheries Commission or of any provision of this
23 chapter in any single license year since 1991, or of more than
24 four such violations from the period of 1991 through 1995,
25 inclusive, shall not be eligible for economic assistance under
26 this section.
27 (b) Only a person who was a resident of this state on
28 November 8, 1994, is eligible to receive, or designate another
29 resident to receive, economic assistance under this section.
30
31
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1 Section 78. Subsection (3) and paragraphs (e) and (h)
2 of subsection (4) of section 370.081, Florida Statutes, 1998
3 Supplement, is amended to read:
4 370.081 Illegal importation or possession of
5 nonindigenous marine plants and animals; rules and
6 regulations.--
7 (3) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
8 department is authorized to adopt, pursuant to chapter 120,
9 rules and regulations to include any additional marine plant
10 or marine animal which may endanger or infect the marine
11 resources of the state or pose a human health hazard.
12 (4) A zoological park and aquarium may import sea
13 snakes of the family Hydrophiidae for exhibition purposes,
14 only under the following conditions:
15 (e) Each zoological park and aquarium possessing sea
16 snakes shall post with the commission department a $1 million
17 letter of credit. The letter of credit shall be in favor of
18 the State of Florida, Fish and Wildlife Conservation
19 Commission Department of Environmental Protection, for use by
20 the commission department to remove any sea snake accidentally
21 or intentionally introduced into waters of the state. The
22 letter of credit shall be written in the form determined by
23 the commission department. The letter of credit shall provide
24 that the zoological park and aquarium is responsible for the
25 sea snakes within that facility and shall be in effect at all
26 times that the zoological park and aquarium possesses sea
27 snakes.
28 (h) A zoological park and aquarium possessing sea
29 snakes shall abide by all statutory and regulatory
30 requirements of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
31 Fresh Water Fish Commission with respect to venomous reptiles.
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1 Section 79. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section
2 370.092, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to
3 read:
4 370.092 Carriage of proscribed nets across Florida
5 waters.--
6 (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), unless
7 authorized by rule of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
8 Marine Fisheries Commission, it is a major violation under
9 this section, punishable as provided in subsection (4), for
10 any person, firm, or corporation to possess any gill or
11 entangling net, or any seine net larger than 500 square feet
12 in mesh area, on any airboat or on any other vessel less than
13 22 feet in length and on any vessel less than 25 feet if
14 primary power of the vessel is mounted forward of the vessel
15 center point. Gill or entangling nets shall be as defined in
16 s. 16, Art. X of the State Constitution, s. 370.093(2)(b), or
17 in a rule of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine
18 Fisheries Commission implementing s. 16, Art. X of the State
19 Constitution. Vessel length shall be determined in accordance
20 with current United States Coast Guard regulations specified
21 in the Code of Federal Regulations or as titled by the State
22 of Florida. The Marine Fisheries Commission is directed to
23 initiate by July 1, 1998, rulemaking to adjust by rule the use
24 of gear on vessels longer than 22 feet where the primary power
25 of the vessel is mounted forward of the vessel center point in
26 order to prevent the illegal use of gill and entangling nets
27 in state waters and to provide reasonable opportunities for
28 the use of legal net gear in adjacent federal waters.
29 (4) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine
30 Fisheries Commission shall adopt rules to prohibit the
31 possession and sale of mullet taken in illegal gill or
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1 entangling nets. Violations of such rules shall be punishable
2 as provided in subsection (4).
3 (5) The commission department has authority to adopt
4 rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the
5 provisions of this section.
6 Section 80. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and
7 subsection (6) of section 370.093, Florida Statutes, 1998
8 Supplement, are amended to read:
9 370.093 Illegal use of nets.--
10 (2)(a) Beginning July 1, 1998, it is also unlawful to
11 take or harvest, or to attempt to take or harvest, any marine
12 life in Florida waters with any net, as defined in subsection
13 (3) and any attachments to such net, that combined are larger
14 than 500 square feet and have not been expressly authorized
15 for such use by rule of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
16 Marine Fisheries Commission under s. 370.027. The use of
17 currently legal shrimp trawls and purse seines outside
18 nearshore and inshore Florida waters shall continue to be
19 legal until the commission implements rules regulating those
20 types of gear.
21 (6) The Marine Fisheries Commission is granted
22 authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 370.025 and 370.027
23 implementing this section and the prohibitions and
24 restrictions of s. 16, Art. X of the State Constitution.
25 Section 81. Section 370.1107, Florida Statutes, is
26 amended to read:
27 370.1107 Definition; possession of certain licensed
28 traps prohibited; penalties; exceptions; consent.--
29 (1) As used in this section, the term "licensed
30 saltwater fisheries trap" means any trap required to be
31 licensed by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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1 Department of Environmental Protection and authorized pursuant
2 to this chapter or by the Florida Marine Fisheries commission
3 for the taking of saltwater products.
4 (2) It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation,
5 or association to be in actual or constructive possession of a
6 licensed saltwater fisheries trap registered with the Fish and
7 Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of Environmental
8 Protection in another person's, firm's, corporation's, or
9 association's name.
10 (a) Unlawful possession of less than three licensed
11 saltwater fisheries traps is a misdemeanor of the first
12 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
13 (b) Unlawful possession of three or more licensed
14 saltwater fisheries traps is a felony of the third degree,
15 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
16 (c) Upon the arrest and conviction for violation of
17 this section, any licenseholder shall show just cause why his
18 or her license shall not be suspended or permanently revoked.
19 (3) This section shall not apply to the agents or
20 employees of the registered owner of the licensed saltwater
21 fisheries trap or to a person, firm, corporation or
22 association who has the written consent from the owner of the
23 licensed saltwater fisheries trap, to possess such licensed
24 saltwater fisheries trap, or to agents or employees of the
25 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
26 Environmental Protection who are engaged in the removal of
27 traps during the closed season.
28 (4) The registered owner of the licensed saltwater
29 fisheries trap shall provide the Fish and Wildlife
30 Conservation Commission Department of Environmental Protection
31 with the names of any agents, employees, or any other person,
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1 firm, company, or association to whom the registered owner has
2 given consent to possess said licensed saltwater fisheries
3 trap.
4 Section 82. Section 370.1111, Florida Statutes, is
5 amended to read:
6 370.1111 Snook; regulation.--
7 (1)(a) In addition to licenses required by s.
8 370.0605, any person who takes and possesses any snook from
9 any waters of the state must have a snook permit. The permit
10 remains valid for 12 months after the date of issuance. The
11 cost of each snook permit is $2. Each snook permit issued
12 pursuant to this section is valid only during the times
13 established by law for the taking of snook. The Fish and
14 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission,
15 any tax collector, or any appointed subagent may sell the
16 permit and collect the fees therefor.
17 (b) The intent of paragraph (a) is to expand research
18 and management to increase snook populations in the state
19 without detracting from other programs. Moneys generated from
20 snook permits shall be used exclusively for programs to
21 benefit snook populations.
22 (c) All permit fees collected by the Fish and Wildlife
23 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall be
24 transferred to the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund
25 within 7 days following the last business day of the week in
26 which the fees were received by the Fish and Wildlife
27 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
28 (2) The commission department may periodically conduct
29 competitions to select a designer of the snook stamp. Also,
30 the commission department may enhance revenues from the sale
31
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1 of snook stamps by issuing special editions for stamp
2 collectors and other such special purposes.
3 Section 83. Section 370.12, Florida Statutes, 1998
4 Supplement, is amended to read:
5 370.12 Marine animals; regulation.--
6 (1) PROTECTION OF MARINE TURTLES.--
7 (a) This subsection may be cited as the "Marine Turtle
8 Protection Act."
9 (b) The Legislature intends, pursuant to the
10 provisions of this subsection, to ensure that the Fish and
11 Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of Environmental
12 Protection has the appropriate authority and resources to
13 implement its responsibilities under the recovery plans of the
14 United States Fish and Wildlife Service for the following
15 species of marine turtle:
16 1. Atlantic loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta
17 caretta).
18 2. Atlantic green turtle (Chelonis mydas mydas).
19 3. Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea).
20 4. Atlantic hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata
21 imbricata).
22 5. Atlantic ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempi).
23 (c)1. Unless otherwise provided by the federal
24 Endangered Species Act or its implementing regulations, no
25 person may take, possess, disturb, mutilate, destroy, cause to
26 be destroyed, sell, offer for sale, transfer, molest, or
27 harass any marine turtle or its nest or eggs at any time. For
28 purposes of this subsection, "take" means an act which
29 actually kills or injures marine turtles, and includes
30 significant habitat modification or degradation that kills or
31
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1 injures marine turtles by significantly impairing essential
2 behavioral patterns, such as breeding, feeding, or sheltering.
3 2. Unless otherwise provided by the federal Endangered
4 Species Act or its implementing regulations, no person, firm,
5 or corporation may take, kill, disturb, mutilate, molest,
6 harass, or destroy any marine turtle.
7 3. No person, firm, or corporation may possess any
8 marine turtle, their nests, eggs, hatchlings, or parts thereof
9 unless it is in possession of a special permit or loan
10 agreement from the commission department enabling the holder
11 to possess a marine turtle or parts thereof for scientific,
12 educational, or exhibitional purposes, or for conservation
13 activities such as relocating nests, eggs, or animals away
14 from construction sites. Notwithstanding any other provisions
15 of general or special law to the contrary, the commission
16 department may issue such authorization to any properly
17 accredited person for the purpose of marine turtle
18 conservation upon such terms, conditions, and restrictions as
19 it may prescribe by rule. The commission department shall have
20 the authority to adopt rules to permit the possession of
21 marine turtles pursuant to this paragraph. For the purposes of
22 this subsection, a "properly accredited person" is defined as:
23 a. Students of colleges or universities whose studies
24 with saltwater animals are under the direction of their
25 teacher or professor;
26 b. Scientific or technical faculty of public or
27 private colleges or universities;
28 c. Scientific or technical employees of private
29 research institutions and consulting firms;
30 d. Scientific or technical employees of city, county,
31 state, or federal research or regulatory agencies;
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1 e. Members in good standing or recognized and properly
2 chartered conservation organizations, the Audubon Society, or
3 the Sierra Club;
4 f. Persons affiliated with aquarium facilities or
5 museums, or contracted as an agent therefor, which are open to
6 the public with or without an admission fee; or
7 g. Persons without specific affiliations listed above,
8 but who are recognized by the commission department for their
9 contributions to marine conservation such as scientific or
10 technical publications, or through a history of cooperation
11 with the commission department in conservation programs such
12 as turtle nesting surveys, or through advanced educational
13 programs such as high school marine science centers.
14 (d) Any application for a Department of Environmental
15 Protection department permit or other type of approval for an
16 activity that affects marine turtles or their nests or habitat
17 shall be subject to conditions and requirements for marine
18 turtle protection as part of the permitting or approval
19 process.
20 (e) The Department of Environmental Protection may
21 condition the nature, timing, and sequence of construction of
22 permitted activities to provide protection to nesting marine
23 turtles and hatchlings and their habitat pursuant to the
24 provisions of s. 161.053(5). When the department is
25 considering a permit for a beach restoration, beach
26 renourishment, or inlet sand transfer project and the
27 applicant has had an active marine turtle nest relocation
28 program or the applicant has agreed to and has the ability to
29 administer a program, the department must not restrict the
30 timing of the project. Where appropriate, the department, in
31 accordance with the applicable rules of the Fish and Wildlife
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1 Conservation Commission, shall require as a condition of the
2 permit that the applicant relocate and monitor all turtle
3 nests that would be affected by the beach restoration, beach
4 renourishment, or sand transfer activities. Such relocation
5 and monitoring activities shall be conducted in a manner that
6 ensures successful hatching. This limitation on the
7 department's authority applies only on the Atlantic coast of
8 Florida.
9 (f) The Department of Environmental Protection shall
10 recommend denial of a permit application if the activity would
11 result in a "take" as defined in this subsection, unless, as
12 provided for in the federal Endangered Species Act and its
13 implementing regulations, such taking is incidental to, and
14 not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful
15 activity.
16 (g) The Department of Environmental Protection shall
17 give special consideration to beach preservation and beach
18 nourishment projects that restore habitat of endangered marine
19 turtle species. Nest relocation shall be considered for all
20 such projects in urbanized areas. When an applicant for a
21 beach restoration, beach renourishment, or inlet sand transfer
22 project has had an active marine turtle nest relocation
23 program or the applicant has agreed to have and has the
24 ability to administer a program, the department in issuing a
25 permit for a project must not restrict the timing of the
26 project. Where appropriate, the department, in accordance
27 with the applicable rules of the Fish and Wildlife
28 Conservation Commission, shall require as a condition of the
29 permit that the applicant relocate and monitor all turtle
30 nests that would be affected by the beach restoration, beach
31 renourishment, or sand transfer activities. Such relocation
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1 and monitoring activities shall be conducted in a manner that
2 ensures successful hatching. This limitation on the
3 department's authority applies only on the Atlantic coast of
4 Florida.
5 (h) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
6 department shall provide grants to coastal local governments,
7 educational institutions, and Florida-based nonprofit
8 organizations to conduct marine turtle research, conservation,
9 and education activities within the state. The commission
10 department shall adopt by rule procedures for submitting grant
11 applications and criteria for allocating available funds. The
12 criteria must include the scope of the proposed activity, the
13 relevance of the proposed activity to the recovery plans for
14 marine turtles, the demand and public support for the proposed
15 activity, the duration of the proposed activity, the
16 availability of alternative funding, and the estimated cost of
17 the activity. The executive director secretary of the
18 commission department shall appoint a committee of at least
19 five members, including at least two nongovernmental
20 representatives, to consider and choose grant recipients from
21 proposals submitted by eligible entities. Committee members
22 shall not receive any compensation from the commission
23 department.
24 (2) PROTECTION OF MANATEES OR SEA COWS.--
25 (a) This subsection shall be known and may be cited as
26 the "Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act."
27 (b) The State of Florida is hereby declared to be a
28 refuge and sanctuary for the manatee, the "Florida state
29 marine mammal."
30 (c) Whenever the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
31 Commission department is satisfied that the interest of
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1 science will be subserved, and that the application for a
2 permit to possess a manatee or sea cow (Trichechus manatus) is
3 for a scientific or propagational purpose and should be
4 granted, and after concurrence by the United States Department
5 of the Interior, the Division of Marine Resources of the Fish
6 and Wildlife Conservation Commission may grant to any person
7 making such application a special permit to possess a manatee
8 or sea cow, which permit shall specify the exact number which
9 shall be maintained in captivity.
10 (d) Except as may be authorized by the terms of a
11 valid state permit issued pursuant to paragraph (c) or by the
12 terms of a valid federal permit, it is unlawful for any person
13 at any time, by any means, or in any manner intentionally or
14 negligently to annoy, molest, harass, or disturb or attempt to
15 molest, harass, or disturb any manatee; injure or harm or
16 attempt to injure or harm any manatee; capture or collect or
17 attempt to capture or collect any manatee; pursue, hunt,
18 wound, or kill or attempt to pursue, hunt, wound, or kill any
19 manatee; or possess, literally or constructively, any manatee
20 or any part of any manatee.
21 (e) Any gun, net, trap, spear, harpoon, boat of any
22 kind, aircraft, automobile of any kind, other motorized
23 vehicle, chemical, explosive, electrical equipment, scuba or
24 other subaquatic gear, or other instrument, device, or
25 apparatus of any kind or description used in violation of any
26 provision of paragraph (d) may be forfeited upon conviction.
27 The foregoing provisions relating to seizure and forfeiture of
28 vehicles, vessels, equipment, or supplies do not apply when
29 such vehicles, vessels, equipment, or supplies are owned by,
30 or titled in the name of, innocent parties; and such
31 provisions shall not vitiate any valid lien, retain title
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1 contract, or chattel mortgage on such vehicles, vessels,
2 equipment, or supplies if such lien, retain title contract, or
3 chattel mortgage is property of public record at the time of
4 the seizure.
5 (f) In order to protect manatees or sea cows from
6 harmful collisions with motorboats or from harassment, the
7 Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt rules under
8 chapter 120 regarding the expansion of existing, or
9 construction of new, marine facilities and mooring or docking
10 slips, by the addition or construction of five or more
11 powerboat slips, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
12 Commission shall adopt rules under chapter 120 regulating the
13 operation and speed of motorboat traffic, only where manatee
14 sightings are frequent and it can be generally assumed, based
15 on available scientific information, that they inhabit these
16 areas on a regular or continuous basis:
17 1. In Lee County: the entire Orange River, including
18 the Tice Florida Power and Light Corporation discharge canal
19 and adjoining waters of the Caloosahatchee River within 1 mile
20 of the confluence of the Orange and Caloosahatchee Rivers.
21 2. In Brevard County: those portions of the Indian
22 River within three-fourths of a mile of the Orlando Utilities
23 Commission Delespine power plant effluent and the Florida
24 Power and Light Frontenac power plant effluents.
25 3. In Indian River County: the discharge canals of the
26 Vero Beach Municipal Power Plant and connecting waters within
27 1 1/4 miles thereof.
28 4. In St. Lucie County: the discharge of the Henry D.
29 King Municipal Electric Station and connecting waters within 1
30 mile thereof.
31
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1 5. In Palm Beach County: the discharges of the Florida
2 Power and Light Riviera Beach power plant and connecting
3 waters within 1 1/2 miles thereof.
4 6. In Broward County: the discharge canal of the
5 Florida Power and Light Port Everglades power plant and
6 connecting waters within 1 1/2 miles thereof and the
7 discharge canal of the Florida Power and Light Fort Lauderdale
8 power plant and connecting waters within 2 miles thereof. For
9 purposes of ensuring the physical safety of boaters in a
10 sometimes turbulent area, the area from the easternmost edge
11 of the authorized navigation project of the intracoastal
12 waterway east through the Port Everglades Inlet is excluded
13 from this regulatory zone.
14 7. In Citrus County: headwaters of the Crystal River,
15 commonly referred to as King's Bay, and the Homosassa River.
16 8. In Volusia County: Blue Springs Run and connecting
17 waters of the St. Johns River within 1 mile of the confluence
18 of Blue Springs and the St. Johns River; and Thompson Creek,
19 Strickland Creek, Dodson Creek, and the Tomoka River.
20 9. In Hillsborough County: that portion of the Alafia
21 River from the main shipping channel in Tampa Bay to U.S.
22 Highway 41.
23 10. In Sarasota County: the Venice Inlet and
24 connecting waters within 1 mile thereof, including Lyons Bay,
25 Donna Bay, Roberts Bay, and Hatchett Creek, excluding the
26 waters of the intracoastal waterway and the right-of-way
27 bordering the centerline of the intracoastal waterway.
28 11. In Collier County: within the Port of Islands,
29 within section 9, township 52 south, range 28 east, and
30 certain unsurveyed lands, all east-west canals and the
31 north-south canals to the southerly extent of the intersecting
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1 east-west canals which lie southerly of the centerline of U.S.
2 Highway 41.
3 12. In Manatee County: that portion of the Manatee
4 River east of the west line of section 17, range 19 east,
5 township 34 south; the Braden River south of the north line
6 and east of the west line of section 29, range 18 east,
7 township 34 south; Terra Ceia Bay and River, east of the west
8 line of sections 26 and 35 of range 17 east, township 33
9 south, and east of the west line of section 2, range 17 east,
10 township 34 south; and Bishop Harbor east of the west line of
11 section 13, range 17 east, township 33 south.
12 13. In Dade County: those portions of Black Creek
13 lying south and east of the water control dam, including all
14 boat basins and connecting canals within 1 mile of the dam.
15 (g) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
16 Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt rules
17 regulating the operation and speed of motorboat traffic only
18 where manatee sightings are frequent and it can be generally
19 assumed that they inhabit these areas on a regular or
20 continuous basis within that portion of the Indian River
21 between the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County and the Jupiter
22 Inlet in Palm Beach County. In addition, the commission
23 department shall adopt rules regulating the operation and
24 speed of motorboat traffic only where manatee sightings are
25 frequent and it can be generally assumed that they inhabit
26 these areas on a regular or continuous basis within the
27 Loxahatchee River in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, including
28 the north and southwest forks thereof. A limited lane or
29 corridor providing for reasonable motorboat speeds may be
30 identified and designated within this area.
31
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1 (h) The commission department shall adopt rules
2 regulating the operation and speed of motorboat traffic only
3 where manatee sightings are frequent and it can be generally
4 assumed that they inhabit these areas on a regular or
5 continuous basis within the Withlacoochee River and its
6 tributaries in Citrus and Levy Counties. The specific areas
7 to be regulated include the Withlacoochee River and the U.S.
8 19 bridge westward to a line between U.S. Coast Guard markers
9 number 33 and number 34 at the mouth of the river, including
10 all side channels and coves along that portion of the river;
11 Bennets' Creek from its beginning to its confluence with the
12 Withlacoochee River; Bird's Creek from its beginning to its
13 confluence with the Withlacoochee River; and the two dredged
14 canal systems on the north side of the Withlacoochee River
15 southwest of Yankeetown. A limited lane or corridor providing
16 for reasonable motorboat speeds may be identified and
17 designated within this area.
18 (i) If any new power plant is constructed or other
19 source of warm water discharge is discovered within the state
20 which attracts a concentration of manatees or sea cows, the
21 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
22 Environmental Protection is directed to adopt rules regulating
23 the operation and speed of motorboat traffic within the area
24 of such discharge. Such rules shall designate a zone which is
25 sufficient in size, and which shall remain in effect for a
26 sufficient period of time, to protect the manatees or sea
27 cows.
28 (j) It is the intent of the Legislature through
29 adoption of this paragraph to allow the Fish and Wildlife
30 Conservation Commission Department of Environmental Protection
31 to post and regulate boat speeds only where manatee sightings
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1 are frequent and it can be generally assumed that they inhabit
2 these areas on a regular or continuous basis. It is not the
3 intent of the Legislature to permit the commission department
4 to post and regulate boat speeds generally in the
5 above-described inlets, bays, rivers, creeks, thereby unduly
6 interfering with the rights of fishers, boaters, and water
7 skiers using the areas for recreational and commercial
8 purposes. Limited lanes or corridors providing for reasonable
9 motorboat speeds may be identified and designated within these
10 areas.
11 (k) The commission department shall adopt rules
12 regulating the operation and speed of motorboat traffic all
13 year around within Turkey Creek and its tributaries and within
14 Manatee Cove in Brevard County. The specific areas to be
15 regulated consist of:
16 1. A body of water which starts at Melbourne-Tillman
17 Drainage District structure MS-1, section 35, township 28
18 south, range 37 east, running east to include all natural
19 waters and tributaries of Turkey Creek, section 26, township
20 28 south, range 37 east, to the confluence of Turkey Creek and
21 the Indian River, section 24, township 28 south, range 37
22 east, including all lagoon waters of the Indian River bordered
23 on the west by Palm Bay Point, the north by Castaway Point,
24 the east by the four immediate spoil islands, and the south by
25 Cape Malabar, thence northward along the shoreline of the
26 Indian River to Palm Bay Point.
27 2. A triangle-shaped body of water forming a cove
28 (commonly referred to as Manatee Cove) on the east side of the
29 Banana River, with northern boundaries beginning and running
30 parallel to the east-west cement bulkhead located 870 feet
31 south of SR 520 Relief Bridge in Cocoa Beach and with western
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1 boundaries running in line with the City of Cocoa Beach
2 channel markers 121 and 127 and all waters east of these
3 boundaries in section 34, township 24 south, range 37 east;
4 the center coordinates of this cove are 28°20'14" north,
5 80°35'17" west.
6 (l) The Legislature recognizes that, while the manatee
7 or sea cow is designated a marine mammal by federal law, many
8 of the warm water wintering areas are in freshwater springs
9 and rivers which are under the primary state law enforcement
10 jurisdiction of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
11 Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. The law
12 enforcement provisions of this section shall be carried out
13 jointly by the department and the commission, with the
14 department serving as the lead agency. The specific areas of
15 jurisdictional responsibility are to be established between
16 the department and the commission by interagency agreement.
17 (m) The commission department shall promulgate
18 regulations relating to the operation and speed of motor boat
19 traffic in port waters with due regard to the safety
20 requirements of such traffic and the navigational hazards
21 related to the movement of commercial vessels.
22 (n) The commission department may designate by rule
23 other portions of state waters where manatees are frequently
24 sighted and it can be assumed that manatees inhabit such
25 waters periodically or continuously. Upon designation of such
26 waters, the commission department shall adopt rules to
27 regulate motorboat speed and operation which are necessary to
28 protect manatees from harmful collisions with motorboats and
29 from harassment. The commission department may adopt rules to
30 protect manatee habitat, such as seagrass beds, within such
31 waters from destruction by boats or other human activity.
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1 Such rules shall not protect noxious aquatic plants subject to
2 control under s. 369.20.
3 (o) The commission department may designate, by rule,
4 limited areas as a safe haven for manatees to rest, feed,
5 reproduce, give birth, or nurse undisturbed by human activity.
6 Access by motor boat to private residences, boat houses, and
7 boat docks through these areas by residents, and their
8 authorized guests, who must cross one of these areas to have
9 water access to their property is permitted when the motorboat
10 is operated at idle speed, no wake.
11 (p) Except in the marked navigation channel of the
12 Florida Intracoastal Waterway as defined in s. 327.02 and the
13 area within 100 feet of such channel, a local government may
14 regulate, by ordinance, motorboat speed and operation on
15 waters within its jurisdiction where manatees are frequently
16 sighted and can be generally assumed to inhabit periodically
17 or continuously. However, such an ordinance may not take
18 effect until it has been reviewed and approved by the
19 commission department. If the commission department and a
20 local government disagree on the provisions of an ordinance, a
21 local manatee protection committee must be formed to review
22 the technical data of the commission department and the United
23 States Fish and Wildlife Service, and to resolve conflicts
24 regarding the ordinance. The manatee protection committee must
25 be comprised of:
26 1. A representative of the commission department;
27 2. A representative of the county;
28 3. A representative of the United States Fish and
29 Wildlife Service;
30 4. A representative of a local marine-related
31 business;
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1 5. A representative of the Save the Manatee Club;
2 6. A local fisher; and
3 7. An affected property owner.; and
4 8. A representative of the Florida Marine Patrol.
5
6 If local and state regulations are established for the same
7 area, the more restrictive regulation shall prevail.
8 (q) The commission department shall evaluate the need
9 for use of fenders to prevent crushing of manatees between
10 vessels (100' or larger) and bulkheads or wharves in counties
11 where manatees have been crushed by such vessels. For areas
12 in counties where evidence indicates that manatees have been
13 crushed between vessels and bulkheads or wharves, the
14 commission department shall:
15 1. Adopt rules requiring use of fenders for
16 construction of future bulkheads or wharves; and
17 2. Implement a plan and time schedule to require
18 retrofitting of existing bulkheads or wharves consistent with
19 port bulkhead or wharf repair or replacement schedules.
20
21 The fenders shall provide sufficient standoff from the
22 bulkhead or wharf under maximum operational compression to
23 ensure that manatees cannot be crushed between the vessel and
24 the bulkhead or wharf.
25 (r) Any violation of a restricted area established by
26 this subsection, or established by rule or ordinance pursuant
27 to this subsection, shall be considered a violation of the
28 boating laws of this state and shall be charged on a uniform
29 boating citation as provided in s. 327.74, except as otherwise
30 provided in paragraph (s). Any person who refuses to post a
31 bond or accept and sign a uniform boating citation shall, as
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1 provided in s. 327.73(3), be guilty of a misdemeanor of the
2 second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
3 775.083.
4 (s) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph,
5 any person violating the provisions of this subsection or any
6 rule or ordinance adopted pursuant to this subsection shall be
7 guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable as provided in s.
8 370.021(1)(a) or (b) s. 370.021(2)(a) or (b).
9 1. Any person operating a vessel in excess of a posted
10 speed limit shall be guilty of a civil infraction, punishable
11 as provided in s. 327.73, except as provided in subparagraph
12 2.
13 2. This paragraph does not apply to persons violating
14 restrictions governing "No Entry" zones or "Motorboat
15 Prohibited" zones, who, if convicted, shall be guilty of a
16 misdemeanor, punishable as provided in s. 370.021(1)(a) or (b)
17 s. 370.021(2)(a) or (b), or, if such violation demonstrates
18 blatant or willful action, may be found guilty of harassment
19 as described in paragraph (d).
20 (3) PROTECTION OF MAMMALIAN DOLPHINS (PORPOISES).--It
21 is unlawful to catch, attempt to catch, molest, injure, kill,
22 or annoy, or otherwise interfere with the normal activity and
23 well-being of, mammalian dolphins (porpoises), except as may
24 be authorized as a federal permit.
25 (4) ANNUAL FUNDING OF PROGRAMS FOR MARINE ANIMALS.--
26 (a) Each fiscal year the Save the Manatee Trust Fund
27 shall be available to fund an impartial scientific benchmark
28 census of the manatee population in the state. Weather
29 permitting, the study shall be conducted annually by the Fish
30 and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
31 Environmental Protection and the results shall be made
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1 available to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
2 House of Representatives, and the Governor and Cabinet for use
3 in the evaluation and development of manatee protection
4 measures. In addition, the Save the Manatee Trust Fund shall
5 be available for annual funding of activities of public and
6 private organizations and those of the commission department
7 intended to provide manatee and marine mammal protection and
8 recovery effort; manufacture and erection of informational and
9 regulatory signs; production, publication, and distribution of
10 educational materials; participation in manatee and marine
11 mammal research programs, including carcass salvage and other
12 programs; programs intended to assist the recovery of the
13 manatee as an endangered species, assist the recovery of the
14 endangered or threatened marine mammals, and prevent the
15 endangerment of other species of marine mammals; and other
16 similar programs intended to protect and enhance the recovery
17 of the manatee and other species of marine mammals. The
18 commission department shall annually solicit advisory
19 recommendations from the Save the Manatee Committee affiliated
20 with the Save the Manatee Club, as identified and recognized
21 in Executive Order 85-19, on the use of funds from the Save
22 the Manatee Trust Fund.
23 (b) Each fiscal year moneys in the Save the Manatee
24 Trust Fund shall also be used, pursuant to s. 327.28(1)(b), to
25 reimburse the cost of activities related to manatee
26 rehabilitation by facilities that rescue, rehabilitate, and
27 release manatees as authorized pursuant to the Fish and
28 Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the
29 Interior. Such facilities must be involved in the actual
30 rescue and full-time acute care veterinarian-based
31 rehabilitation of manatees. The cost of activities includes,
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1 but is not limited to, costs associated with expansion,
2 capital outlay, repair, maintenance, and operations related to
3 the rescue, treatment, stabilization, maintenance, release,
4 and monitoring of manatees. Moneys distributed through
5 contractual agreement to each facility for manatee
6 rehabilitation shall be proportionate to the number of
7 manatees under acute care rehabilitation and those released
8 during the previous fiscal year. However, the reimbursement
9 may not exceed the total amount available pursuant to ss.
10 327.25(7) and 327.28(1)(b) for the purposes provided in this
11 paragraph. Prior to receiving reimbursement for the expenses
12 of rescue, rehabilitation, and release, a facility that
13 qualifies under state and federal regulations shall submit a
14 plan to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
15 Department of Environmental Protection for assisting the
16 commission department and the Department of Highway Safety and
17 Motor Vehicles in marketing the manatee specialty license
18 plates. At a minimum, the plan shall include provisions for
19 graphics, dissemination of brochures, recorded oral and visual
20 presentation, and maintenance of a marketing exhibit. The plan
21 shall be updated annually and the Fish and Wildlife
22 Conservation Commission Department of Environmental Protection
23 shall inspect each marketing exhibit at least once each year
24 to ensure the quality of the exhibit and promotional material.
25 Each facility that receives funds for manatee rehabilitation
26 shall annually provide the commission department a written
27 report, within 30 days after the close of the state fiscal
28 year, documenting the efforts and effectiveness of the
29 facility's promotional activities.
30 (c) By December 1 each year, the Fish and Wildlife
31 Conservation Commission Department of Environmental Protection
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1 shall provide the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
2 the House of Representatives a written report, enumerating the
3 amounts and purposes for which all proceeds in the Save the
4 Manatee Trust Fund for the previous fiscal year are expended,
5 in a manner consistent with those recovery tasks enumerated
6 within the manatee recovery plan as required by the Endangered
7 Species Act.
8 (d) When the federal and state governments remove the
9 manatee from status as an endangered or threatened species,
10 the annual allocation may be reduced.
11 Section 84. Subsection (1) of section 370.13, Florida
12 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
13 370.13 Stone crab; regulation.--
14 (1)(a) It is unlawful for any person, firm, or
15 corporation to catch or have in his or her possession,
16 regardless of where taken, for his or her own use or to sell
17 or offer for sale, any stone crab, or parts thereof, of any
18 size between May 15 and October 15 of each year, except for
19 stone crabs, or parts thereof, placed in inventory prior to
20 May 15 of each year.
21 (b) "Stone crab" means the species Menippe mercenaria
22 or any other species of the family Xanthidae as the Fish and
23 Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission may define
24 by rule.
25 Section 85. Section 370.14, Florida Statutes, 1998
26 Supplement, is amended to read:
27 370.14 Crawfish; regulation.--
28 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to maintain
29 the crawfish industry for the economy of the state and to
30 conserve the stocks supplying this industry. The provisions
31 of this act regulating the taking of saltwater crawfish are
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1 for the purposes of ensuring and maintaining the highest
2 possible production of saltwater crawfish.
3 (2)(a) Each trap used for taking or attempting to take
4 crawfish must have a trap number permanently attached to the
5 trap and the buoy. This trap number may be issued by the Fish
6 and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Law
7 Enforcement upon the receipt of application by the owner of
8 the traps and accompanied by the payment of a fee of $100. The
9 design of the applications and of the trap number shall be
10 determined by the commission division. However, effective July
11 1, 1988, and until July 1, 1992, no crawfish trap numbers
12 issued pursuant to this section except those numbers that were
13 active during the 1990-1991 fiscal year shall be renewed or
14 reissued. No new trap numbers shall be issued during this
15 period. Until July 1, 1992, trap number holders or members of
16 their immediate family or a person to whom the trap number was
17 transferred in writing must request renewal of the number
18 prior to June 30 of each year. If a person holding an active
19 trap number or a member of the person's immediate family or a
20 person to whom the trap number was transferred in writing does
21 not request renewal of the number before the applicable date
22 as specified above, the commission department may reissue the
23 number to another applicant in the order of the receipt of the
24 application for a trap number. Any trap or device used in
25 taking or attempting to take crawfish, other than a trap with
26 the trap number attached as prescribed in this paragraph,
27 shall be seized and destroyed by the commission division. The
28 proceeds of the fees imposed by this paragraph shall be
29 deposited and used as provided in paragraph (b). The
30 commission Department of Environmental Protection is
31
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1 authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out
2 the intent of this section.
3 (b) Fees collected pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be
4 deposited as follows:
5 1. Fifty percent of the fees collected shall be
6 deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund for
7 use in enforcing the provisions of paragraph (a) through
8 aerial and other surveillance and trap retrieval.
9 2. Fifty percent of the fees collected shall be
10 deposited as provided in s. 370.142(5).
11 (3) The crawfish license must be on board the boat,
12 and both the license and the harvested crawfish shall be
13 subject to inspection at all times. Only one license shall be
14 issued for each boat. The crawfish license number must be
15 prominently displayed above the topmost portion of the boat so
16 as to be easily and readily identified.
17 (4) It is a felony of the third degree, punishable as
18 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any person willfully
19 to molest any crawfish traps, lines, or buoys belonging to
20 another without permission of the licenseholder.
21 (5) Any crawfish licenseholder, upon selling licensed
22 crawfish traps, shall furnish the commission division notice
23 of such sale of all or part of his or her interest within 15
24 days thereof. Any holder of said license shall also notify
25 the commission division within 15 days if his or her address
26 no longer conforms to the address appearing on the license and
27 shall, as a part of such notification, furnish the commission
28 division with his or her new address.
29 (6) A person who takes more crawfish per boat or per
30 person than that number set therefor by rule of the Fish and
31 Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission for
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1 recreational harvesters within any 24-hour period by any
2 method other than with traps or similar devices must also pay
3 a fee of $100 and obtain a trap number to be displayed on his
4 or her boat.
5 (7)(a) By a special permit granted by the commission
6 Division of Law Enforcement, a Florida-licensed seafood dealer
7 may lawfully import, process, and package saltwater crawfish
8 or uncooked tails of the species Panulirus argus during the
9 closed season. However, crawfish landed under special permit
10 shall not be sold in the state.
11 (b) The licensed seafood dealer importing any such
12 crawfish under the permit shall, 12 hours prior to the time
13 the seagoing vessel or airplane delivering such imported
14 crawfish enters the state, notify the commission Division of
15 Law Enforcement as to the seagoing vessel's name or the
16 airplane's registration number and its captain, location, and
17 point of destination.
18 (c) At the time the crawfish cargo is delivered to the
19 permitholder's place of business, the crawfish cargo shall be
20 weighed and shall be available for inspection by the
21 commission Department of Environmental Protection. A signed
22 receipt of such quantity in pounds shall be forwarded to the
23 commission Division of Law Enforcement's local Florida Marine
24 Patrol office within 48 hours after shipment weigh-in
25 completion. If requested by the commission department, the
26 weigh-in process will be delayed up to 4 hours to allow for a
27 commission department representative to be present during the
28 process.
29 (d) Within 48 hours after shipment weigh-in
30 completion, the permitholder shall submit to the commission
31 Division of Law Enforcement, on forms provided by the
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1 commission division, a sworn report of the quantity in pounds
2 of the saltwater crawfish received, which report shall include
3 the location of said crawfish and a sworn statement that said
4 crawfish were taken at least 50 miles from Florida's
5 shoreline. The landing of crawfish or crawfish tails from
6 which the eggs, swimmerettes, or pleopods have been removed;
7 the falsification of information as to area from which
8 crawfish were obtained; or the failure to file the report
9 called for in this section shall be grounds to revoke the
10 permit.
11 (e) Each permitholder shall keep throughout the period
12 of the closed season copies of the bill of sale or invoices
13 covering each transaction involving crawfish imported under
14 this permit. Such invoices and bills shall be kept available
15 at all times for inspection by the commission division.
16 (8)(a) A Florida-licensed seafood dealer may obtain a
17 special permit to import, process, and package uncooked tails
18 of saltwater crawfish upon the payment of the sum of $100 to
19 the commission Division of Law Enforcement.
20 (b) A special permit must be obtained by any airplane
21 or seagoing vessel other than a common carrier used to
22 transport saltwater crawfish or crawfish tails for purchase by
23 licensed seafood dealers for purposes as provided herein upon
24 the payment of $50.
25 (c) All special permits issued under this subsection
26 are nontransferable.
27 (9) No common carrier or employee of said carrier may
28 carry, knowingly receive for carriage, or permit the carriage
29 of any crawfish of the species Panulirus argus, regardless of
30 where taken, during the closed season, except of the species
31 Panulirus argus lawfully imported from a foreign country for
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1 reshipment outside of the territorial limits of the state
2 under United States Customs bond or in accordance with (7)(a)
3 paragraph (8)(a).
4 (10)(a) In addition to licenses required by s.
5 370.0605, any person who takes and possesses any crawfish for
6 recreational purposes from any waters of the state must have a
7 crawfish permit. The permit remains valid for 12 months after
8 the date of issuance. The cost of each crawfish permit shall
9 be $2. Each crawfish permit issued pursuant to this section
10 shall be valid only during the times established by law for
11 the taking of crawfish. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation
12 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, any tax collector, or
13 any subagent may sell the permit and collect the fees
14 therefor.
15 (b) The intent of paragraph (a) is to expand research
16 and management to increase crawfish populations in the state
17 without detracting from other programs. Moneys generated from
18 crawfish permits shall be used exclusively for programs to
19 benefit crawfish populations.
20 (c) All permit fees collected by the Fish and Wildlife
21 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall be
22 transferred to the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund
23 within 7 days following the last business day of the week in
24 which the fees were received by the Fish and Wildlife
25 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
26 (11) The commission department may conduct
27 competitions to periodically select a designer of the crawfish
28 stamp. Also, the commission department may enhance revenues
29 from the sale of crawfish stamps by issuing special editions
30 for stamp collectors and other such special purposes.
31
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1 (12) The 2-day sport season for harvesters of spiny
2 lobster created by the Marine Fisheries Commission pursuant to
3 rule 46-24.005, Florida Administrative Code, is named the "Bob
4 Hector Sport Fishermen's Crawfish Season."
5 Section 86. Subsection (2) of section 370.1405,
6 Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
7 370.1405 Crawfish reports by dealers during closed
8 season required.--
9 (2) Failure to submit a report as described in
10 subsection (1) or reporting a greater or lesser amount of
11 whole crawfish, crawfish tails, or crawfish meat than is
12 actually in the dealer's possession or name is a major
13 violation of this chapter, punishable as provided in s.
14 370.021(1) s. 370.021(2), s. 370.07(6)(b), or both. The
15 commission department shall seize the entire supply of
16 unreported or falsely reported whole crawfish, crawfish tails,
17 or crawfish meat, and shall carry the same before the court
18 for disposal. The dealer shall post a cash bond in the amount
19 of the fair value of the entire quantity of unreported or
20 falsely reported crawfish as determined by the judge. After
21 posting the cash bond, the dealer shall have 24 hours to
22 transport said products outside the limits of Florida for sale
23 as provided by s. 370.061. Otherwise, the product shall be
24 declared a nuisance and disposed of by the commission
25 department according to law.
26 Section 87. Section 370.142, Florida Statutes, 1998
27 Supplement, is amended to read:
28 370.142 Spiny lobster trap certificate program.--
29 (1) INTENT.--Due to rapid growth, the spiny lobster
30 fishery is experiencing increased congestion and conflict on
31 the water, excessive mortality of undersized lobsters, a
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1 declining yield per trap, and public concern over petroleum
2 and debris pollution from existing traps. In an effort to
3 solve these and related problems, the Legislature intends to
4 develop pursuant to the provisions of this section a spiny
5 lobster trap certificate program, the principal goal of which
6 is to stabilize the fishery by reducing the total number of
7 traps, which should increase the yield per trap and therefore
8 maintain or increase overall catch levels. The Legislature
9 seeks to preserve as much flexibility in the program as
10 possible for the fishery's various constituents and ensure
11 that any reduction in total trap numbers will be proportioned
12 equally on a percentage basis among all users of traps in the
13 fishery.
14 (2) TRANSFERABLE TRAP CERTIFICATES; TRAP TAGS; FEES;
15 PENALTIES.--The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
16 Department of Environmental Protection shall establish a trap
17 certificate program for the spiny lobster fishery of this
18 state and shall be responsible for its administration and
19 enforcement as follows:
20 (a) Transferable trap certificates.--Each holder of a
21 saltwater products license who uses traps for taking or
22 attempting to take spiny lobsters shall be required to have a
23 certificate on record for each trap possessed or used
24 therefor, except as otherwise provided in this section.
25 1. The Department of Environmental Protection shall
26 initially allot such certificates to each licenseholder with a
27 current crawfish trap number who uses traps. The number of
28 such certificates allotted to each such licenseholder shall be
29 based on the trap/catch coefficient established pursuant to
30 trip ticket records generated under the provisions of s.
31 370.06(2)(a) over a 3-year base period ending June 30, 1991.
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1 The trap/catch coefficient shall be calculated by dividing the
2 sum of the highest reported single license-year landings up to
3 a maximum of 30,000 pounds for each such licenseholder during
4 the base period by 700,000. Each such licenseholder shall then
5 be allotted the number of certificates derived by dividing his
6 or her highest reported single license-year landings up to a
7 maximum of 30,000 pounds during the base period by the
8 trap/catch coefficient. Nevertheless, no licenseholder with a
9 current crawfish trap number shall be allotted fewer than 10
10 certificates. However, certificates may only be issued to
11 individuals; therefore, all licenseholders other than
12 individual licenseholders shall designate the individual or
13 individuals to whom their certificates will be allotted and
14 the number thereof to each, if more than one. After initial
15 issuance, trap certificates are transferable on a market basis
16 and may be transferred from one licenseholder to another for a
17 fair market value agreed upon between the transferor and
18 transferee. Each such transfer shall, within 72 hours thereof,
19 be recorded on a notarized form provided for that purpose by
20 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission department and
21 hand delivered or sent by certified mail, return receipt
22 requested, to the commission department for recordkeeping
23 purposes. In addition, in order to cover the added
24 administrative costs of the program and to recover an
25 equitable natural resource rent for the people of the state, a
26 transfer fee of $2 per certificate transferred shall be
27 assessed against the purchasing licenseholder and sent by
28 money order or cashier's check with the certificate transfer
29 form. Also, in addition to the transfer fee, a surcharge of $5
30 per certificate transferred or 25 percent of the actual market
31 value, whichever is greater, given to the transferor shall be
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1 assessed the first time a certificate is transferred outside
2 the original transferor's immediate family. No transfer of a
3 certificate shall be effective until the commission department
4 receives the notarized transfer form and the transfer fee,
5 including any surcharge, is paid. The commission department
6 may establish by rule an amount of equitable rent per trap
7 certificate that shall be recovered as partial compensation to
8 the state for the enhanced access to its natural resources. In
9 determining whether to establish such a rent and, if so, the
10 amount thereof, the commission department shall consider the
11 amount of revenues annually generated by certificate fees,
12 transfer fees, surcharges, trap license fees, and sales taxes,
13 the demonstrated fair market value of transferred
14 certificates, and the continued economic viability of the
15 commercial lobster industry. The proceeds of equitable rent
16 recovered shall be deposited in the Marine Resources
17 Conservation Trust Fund and used by the commission department
18 for research, management, and protection of the spiny lobster
19 fishery and habitat.
20 2. No person, firm, corporation, or other business
21 entity may control, directly or indirectly, more than 1.5
22 percent of the total available certificates in any license
23 year.
24 3. The commission department shall maintain records of
25 all certificates and their transfers and shall annually
26 provide each licenseholder with a statement of certificates
27 held.
28 4. The number of trap tags issued annually to each
29 licenseholder shall not exceed the number of certificates held
30 by the licenseholder at the time of issuance, and such tags
31
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1 and a statement of certificates held shall be issued
2 simultaneously.
3 5. Beginning July 1, 2003, and applicable to the
4 2003-2004 lobster season and thereafter, it is unlawful for
5 any person to lease lobster trap tags or certificates.
6 (b) Trap tags.--Each trap used to take or attempt to
7 take spiny lobsters in state waters or adjacent federal waters
8 shall, in addition to the crawfish trap number required by s.
9 370.14(2), have affixed thereto an annual trap tag issued by
10 the commission department. Each such tag shall be made of
11 durable plastic or similar material and shall, beginning with
12 those tags issued for the 1993-1994 season based on the number
13 of certificates held, have stamped thereon the owner's license
14 number. To facilitate enforcement and recordkeeping, such tags
15 shall be issued each year in a color different from that of
16 each of the previous 3 years. A fee of 50 cents per tag issued
17 other than on the basis of a certificate held shall be
18 assessed through March 31, 1993. Until 1995, an annual fee of
19 50 cents per certificate shall be assessed, and thereafter,
20 until 1998, an annual fee of 75 cents per certificate shall be
21 assessed upon issuance in order to recover administrative
22 costs of the tags and the certificate program. Beginning in
23 1998, the annual certificate fee shall be $1 per certificate.
24 Replacement tags for lost or damaged tags may be obtained as
25 provided by rule of the commission department.
26 (c) Prohibitions; penalties.--
27 1. It is unlawful for a person to possess or use a
28 spiny lobster trap in or on state waters or adjacent federal
29 waters without having affixed thereto the trap tag required by
30 this section. It is unlawful for a person to possess or use
31 any other gear or device designed to attract and enclose or
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1 otherwise aid in the taking of spiny lobster by trapping that
2 is not a trap as defined in rule 46-24.006(2), Florida
3 Administrative Code.
4 2. It is unlawful for a person to possess or use spiny
5 lobster trap tags without having the necessary number of
6 certificates on record as required by this section.
7 3. In addition to any other penalties provided in s.
8 370.021, a commercial harvester, as defined by rule
9 46-24.002(1), Florida Administrative Code, who violates the
10 provisions of this section, or the provisions relating to
11 traps of chapter 46-24, Florida Administrative Code, shall be
12 punished as follows:
13 a. If the first violation is for violation of
14 subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2., the commission department
15 shall assess an additional civil penalty of up to $1,000 and
16 the crawfish trap number issued pursuant to s. 370.14(2) or
17 (7) may be suspended for the remainder of the current license
18 year. For all other first violations, the commission
19 department shall assess an additional civil penalty of up to
20 $500.
21 b. For a second violation of subparagraph 1. or
22 subparagraph 2. which occurs within 24 months of any previous
23 such violation, the commission department shall assess an
24 additional civil penalty of up to $2,000 and the crawfish trap
25 number issued pursuant to s. 370.14(2) or (6) (7) may be
26 suspended for the remainder of the current license year.
27 c. For a third or subsequent violation of subparagraph
28 1. or subparagraph 2. which occurs within 36 months of any
29 previous two such violations, the commission department shall
30 assess an additional civil penalty of up to $5,000 and may
31 suspend the crawfish trap number issued pursuant to s.
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1 370.14(2) or (6) (7) for a period of up to 24 months or may
2 revoke the crawfish trap number and, if revoking the crawfish
3 trap number, may also proceed against the licenseholder's
4 saltwater products license in accordance with the provisions
5 of s. 370.021(2)(i) s. 370.021(2)(e).
6 d. Any person assessed an additional civil penalty
7 pursuant to this section shall within 30 calendar days after
8 notification:
9 (I) Pay the civil penalty to the commission
10 department; or
11 (II) Request an administrative hearing pursuant to the
12 provisions of s. 120.60.
13 e. The commission department shall suspend the
14 crawfish trap number issued pursuant to s. 370.14(2) or (6)
15 (7) for any person failing to comply with the provisions of
16 sub-subparagraph d.
17 4.a. It is unlawful for any person to make, alter,
18 forge, counterfeit, or reproduce a spiny lobster trap tag or
19 certificate.
20 b. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly have in
21 his or her possession a forged, counterfeit, or imitation
22 spiny lobster trap tag or certificate.
23 c. It is unlawful for any person to barter, trade,
24 sell, supply, agree to supply, aid in supplying, or give away
25 a spiny lobster trap tag or certificate or to conspire to
26 barter, trade, sell, supply, aid in supplying, or give away a
27 spiny lobster trap tag or certificate unless such action is
28 duly authorized by the commission department as provided in
29 this chapter or in the rules of the commission department.
30 5.a. Any person who violates the provisions of
31 subparagraph 4., or any person who engages in the commercial
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1 harvest, trapping, or possession of spiny lobster without a
2 crawfish trap number as required by s. 370.14(2) or (6) (7) or
3 during any period while such crawfish trap number is under
4 suspension or revocation, commits a felony of the third
5 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or
6 s. 775.084.
7 b. In addition to any penalty imposed pursuant to
8 sub-subparagraph a., the commission department shall levy a
9 fine of up to twice the amount of the appropriate surcharge to
10 be paid on the fair market value of the transferred
11 certificates, as provided in subparagraph (a)1., on any person
12 who violates the provisions of sub-subparagraph 4.c.
13 6. Any certificates for which the annual certificate
14 fee is not paid for a period of 3 years shall be considered
15 abandoned and shall revert to the commission department.
16 During any period of trap reduction, any certificates
17 reverting to the commission department shall become
18 permanently unavailable and be considered in that amount to be
19 reduced during the next license-year period. Otherwise, any
20 certificates that revert to the commission department are to
21 be reallotted in such manner as provided by the commission
22 department.
23 7. The proceeds of all civil penalties collected
24 pursuant to subparagraph 3. and all fines collected pursuant
25 to sub-subparagraph 5.b. shall be deposited into the Marine
26 Resources Conservation Trust Fund.
27 8. All traps shall be removed from the water during
28 any period of suspension or revocation.
29 (d) No vested rights.--The trap certificate program
30 shall not create vested rights in licenseholders whatsoever
31 and may be altered or terminated as necessary to protect the
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1 spiny lobster resource, the participants in the fishery, or
2 the public interest.
3 (3) TRAP REDUCTION.--The objective of the overall trap
4 certificate program is to reduce the number of traps used in
5 the spiny lobster fishery to the lowest number that will
6 maintain or increase overall catch levels, promote economic
7 efficiency in the fishery, and conserve natural resources.
8 Therefore, the Marine Fisheries Commission shall set an
9 overall trap reduction goal based on maintaining or maximizing
10 a sustained harvest from the spiny lobster fishery. To reach
11 that goal, the Marine Fisheries Commission shall, by July 1,
12 1992, set an annual trap reduction schedule, not to exceed 10
13 percent per year, applicable to all certificateholders until
14 the overall trap reduction goal is reached. All
15 certificateholders shall have their certificate holdings
16 reduced by the same percentage of certificates each year
17 according to the trap reduction schedule. Until July 1, 1999,
18 the Department of Environmental Protection department shall
19 then issue the number of trap tags authorized by the Marine
20 Fisheries Commission commission, as requested, and a revised
21 statement of certificates held. Beginning July 1, 1999, the
22 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall annually issue
23 the number of trap tags authorized by the commission's
24 schedule, as requested, and a revised statement of
25 certificates held. Certificateholders may maintain or increase
26 their total number of certificates held by purchasing
27 available certificates from within the authorized total. The
28 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall provide for an
29 annual evaluation of the trap reduction process and shall
30 suspend the annual percentage reductions for any period deemed
31 necessary by the commission in order to assess the impact of
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1 the trap reduction schedule on the fishery. The Fish and
2 Wildlife Conservation Commission commission may then, by rule,
3 resume, terminate, or reverse the schedule as it deems
4 necessary to protect the spiny lobster resource and the
5 participants in the fishery.
6 (4) TRAP CERTIFICATE TECHNICAL ADVISORY AND APPEALS
7 BOARD.--There is hereby established the Trap Certificate
8 Technical Advisory and Appeals Board. Such board shall
9 consider and advise the commission department on disputes and
10 other problems arising from the implementation of the spiny
11 lobster trap certificate program. The board may also provide
12 information to the commission department on the operation of
13 the trap certificate program.
14 (a)1. The board shall consist of the executive
15 director secretary of the commission department or designee
16 and nine other members appointed by the executive director
17 secretary, after determination of the initial certificate
18 allotments by the department, according to the following
19 criteria, except as otherwise provided in subparagraph 2.:
20 1.a. All appointed members shall be
21 certificateholders, but two shall be holders of fewer than 100
22 certificates, two shall be holders of at least 100 but no more
23 than 750 certificates, three shall be holders of more than 750
24 but not more than 2,000 certificates, and two shall be holders
25 of more than 2,000 certificates.
26 2.b. At least one member each shall come from Broward,
27 Dade, and Palm Beach Counties; and five members shall come
28 from the various regions of the Florida Keys.
29 3.c. At least one appointed member shall be a person
30 of Hispanic origin capable of speaking English and Spanish.
31
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1 2. The secretary of the department may fill any
2 position on the initial board with a member who does not
3 fulfill the requirements of subparagraph 1. if there are not
4 enough qualified individuals available to meet those
5 requirements. However, as soon as enough qualified individuals
6 are available to meet those requirements, the secretary must
7 replace all nonqualified appointees with qualified appointees.
8 (b) The term of each appointed member shall be for 4
9 years, and any vacancy shall be filled for the balance of the
10 unexpired term with a person of the qualifications necessary
11 to maintain the requirements of paragraph (a) subparagraph
12 (a)1. However, of the initial appointees, three shall serve
13 for terms of 4 years, two shall serve for terms of 3 years,
14 two shall serve for terms of 2 years, and two shall serve for
15 terms of 1 year. There shall be no limitation on successive
16 appointments to the board.
17 (c) The executive director secretary of the commission
18 department or designee shall serve as a member and shall call
19 the organizational meeting of the board. The board shall
20 annually elect a chair and a vice chair. There shall be no
21 limitation on successive terms that may be served by a chair
22 or vice chair. The board shall meet at the call of its chair,
23 at the request of a majority of its membership, at the request
24 of the commission department, or at such times as may be
25 prescribed by its rules. A majority of the board shall
26 constitute a quorum, and official action of the board shall
27 require a majority vote of the total membership of the board
28 present at the meeting.
29 (d) The procedural rules adopted by the board shall
30 conform to the requirements of chapter 120.
31
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1 (e) Members of the board shall be reimbursed for per
2 diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061.
3 (f) Upon reaching a decision on any dispute or problem
4 brought before it, including any decision involving the
5 allotment of certificates under paragraph (g), the board shall
6 submit such decision to the executive director secretary of
7 the commission department for final approval. The executive
8 director secretary of the commission department may alter or
9 disapprove any decision of the board, with notice thereof
10 given in writing to the board and to each party in the dispute
11 explaining the reasons for the disapproval. The action of the
12 executive director secretary of the commission department
13 constitutes final agency action.
14 (g) In addition to those certificates allotted
15 pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (2)(a)1., up to
16 125,000 certificates may be allotted by the board to settle
17 disputes or other problems arising from implementation of the
18 trap certificate program during the 1992-1993 and 1993-1994
19 license years. Any certificates not allotted by March 31,
20 1994, shall become permanently unavailable and shall be
21 considered as part of the 1994-1995 reduction schedule. All
22 appeals for additional certificates or other disputes must be
23 filed with the board before October 1, 1993.
24 (h) Any trap certificates issued by the Department of
25 Environmental Protection as a result of the appeals process
26 must be added to the existing number of trap certificates for
27 the purposes of determining the total number of certificates
28 from which the subsequent season's trap reduction is
29 calculated.
30 (i) On and after July 1, 1994, the board shall no
31 longer consider and advise the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
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1 Commission department on disputes and other problems arising
2 from implementation of the trap certificate program nor allot
3 any certificates with respect thereto.
4 (5) DISPOSITION OF FEES AND SURCHARGES.--Transfer fees
5 and surcharges, annual trap certificate fees, and recreational
6 tag fees collected pursuant to paragraphs (2)(a) and (b) shall
7 be deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund
8 and used for administration of the trap certificate program,
9 research and monitoring of the spiny lobster fishery, and
10 enforcement and public education activities in support of the
11 purposes of this section and shall also be for the use of the
12 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission in
13 evaluating the impact of the trap reduction schedule on the
14 spiny lobster fishery; however, at least 15 percent of the
15 fees and surcharges collected shall be provided to the
16 commission for such evaluation.
17 (6) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.--The Fish and Wildlife
18 Conservation Commission Department of Environmental Protection
19 may adopt rules to implement the provisions of this section.
20 Section 88. Subsection (1), (2), and (6) of section
21 370.1535, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
22 370.1535 Regulation of shrimp fishing in Tampa Bay;
23 licensing requirements.--
24 (1) No person shall operate as a dead shrimp producer
25 in any waters of Tampa Bay unless such person has procured
26 from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department
27 of Environmental Protection a dead shrimp production permit.
28 (2) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
29 Department of Environmental Protection is authorized to issue
30 a dead shrimp production permit to persons qualified pursuant
31 to the following criteria:
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1 (a) The person has submitted an application designed
2 by the commission department for such permit.
3 (b) One permit is required for each vessel used for
4 dead shrimp production in the waters of Tampa Bay. A permit
5 shall only be issued to an individual who is the principal
6 owner of the vessel or of the business entity owning the
7 vessel and utilizing the permit. No more than three permits
8 shall be issued to any individual.
9 (c) Each application for a permit shall be accompanied
10 by a fee of $250 for each resident of the state and $1,000 for
11 each nonresident of the state. The proceeds of the fees
12 collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited into
13 the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund to be used by the
14 commission department for the purpose of enforcement of marine
15 resource laws.
16 (d) No person shall be issued a permit or be allowed
17 to renew a permit if such person is registered for
18 noncommercial trawling pursuant to s. 370.15(6) or if such
19 person holds a live bait shrimping license issued pursuant to
20 s. 370.15(8).
21 (e) Each applicant shall make application prior to
22 June 30, 1992, and shall hold any other license or
23 registration required to operate a commercial fishing vessel
24 in Tampa Bay on the date of application.
25 (6) Each person harvesting shrimp in Tampa Bay
26 pursuant to the permit required by this section shall comply
27 with all rules of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine
28 Fisheries Commission regulating such harvest.
29 Section 89. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 370.17,
30 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
31 370.17 Sponges; regulation.--
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1 (4) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION DEPARTMENT.--The
2 commission said department is authorized and empowered to
3 make, promulgate, and put into effect all rules and
4 regulations which the commission department may consider and
5 decide to be necessary to accomplish the purpose of this
6 chapter for the taking and cultivation of sponges, including
7 the power and authority to determine and fix, in its
8 discretion, the seasons and period of time within which public
9 state grounds may be closed to the taking, possessing, buying,
10 selling, or transporting of sponges from the sponge
11 cultivation districts herein provided for and to regulate and
12 prescribe the means and methods to be employed in the
13 harvesting thereof; however, notice of all rules, regulations,
14 and orders, and all revisions and amendments thereto,
15 prescribing closed seasons or prescribing the means and
16 methods of harvesting sponges adopted by the commission
17 department shall be published in a newspaper of general
18 circulation in the conservation district affected within 10
19 days from the adoption thereof, in addition to any notice
20 required by chapter 120.
21 (5) COOPERATION WITH UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE
22 SERVICE.--The commission department shall cooperate with the
23 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, under existing
24 federal laws, rules and regulations, and is authorized to
25 accept donations, grants and matching funds from said federal
26 government under such conditions as are reasonable and proper,
27 for the purposes of carrying out this chapter, and the
28 commission said department is further authorized to accept any
29 and all donations including funds and loan of vessels.
30 Section 90. Section 370.31, Florida Statutes, is
31 amended to read:
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1 370.31 Commercial production of sturgeon.--
2 (1) INTENT.--The Legislature finds and declares that
3 there is a need to encourage the continuation and advancement
4 of work being done on aquaculture sturgeon production in
5 keeping with the state's legislative public policy regarding
6 aquaculture provided in chapter 597. It also finds that it is
7 in the state's economic interest to promote the commercial
8 production and stock enhancement of sturgeon. It is therefore
9 the intent of the Legislature to hereby create a Sturgeon
10 Production Working Group.
11 (2) CREATION.--The Sturgeon Production Working Group
12 is created within the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
13 Commission Department of Environmental Protection and shall be
14 composed of six members as follows:
15 (a) The head of the sturgeon research program or
16 designee from the University of Florida, Institute of Food and
17 Agricultural Sciences. Such member shall be appointed by the
18 University of Florida's Vice President for Agricultural
19 Affairs.
20 (b) One representative from the Department of
21 Environmental Protection to be appointed by the Secretary of
22 Environmental Protection.
23 (c) One representative from the Fish and Wildlife
24 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to be
25 appointed by the executive director of the Game and Fresh
26 Water Fish commission.
27 (d) One representative from the Department of
28 Agriculture and Consumer Services to be appointed by the
29 Commissioner of Agriculture.
30 (e) Two representatives from the aquaculture industry
31 to be appointed by the Aquaculture Review Council.
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1 (3) MEETINGS; PROCEDURES; RECORDS.--The working group
2 shall meet at least twice a year and elect, by a quorum, a
3 chair, vice chair, and secretary. However, the working group
4 shall call its first meeting within 1 month after October 1,
5 1996.
6 (a) The chair of the working group shall preside at
7 all meetings and shall call a meeting as often as necessary to
8 carry out the provisions of this section. To call a meeting,
9 the chair shall solicit an agreement to meet from at least two
10 other working group members and then notify any remaining
11 members of the meeting.
12 (b) The secretary shall keep a complete record of the
13 proceedings of each meeting, which includes the names of the
14 members present at each meeting and the actions taken. Such
15 records shall be kept on file with the Fish and Wildlife
16 Conservation Commission Department of Environmental Protection
17 with copies filed with the Department of Fisheries and
18 Aquatics at the University of Florida. The records shall be
19 public records pursuant to chapter 119.
20 (c) A quorum shall consist of one representative from
21 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Department of
22 Environmental Protection, one representative from the
23 Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and at least two
24 other members.
25 (4) PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITIES.--The purpose of the
26 Sturgeon Production Working Group is to establish a state
27 sturgeon aquaculture program to promote the commercial
28 production and stock enhancement of sturgeon in Florida. In
29 carrying out this purpose, the working group shall:
30 (a) Establish a state sturgeon aquaculture program to
31 inform public or private interested parties of how to
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1 aquaculturally produce sturgeon for commercial purposes and
2 for stock enhancement. The program shall:
3 1. Determine how sturgeon can be produced commercially
4 for its meat and roe in the state.
5 2. Determine how sturgeon can be used for stock
6 enhancement in areas designated by the Fish and Wildlife
7 Conservation Commission Department of Environmental Protection
8 in consultation with the Sturgeon Production Working Group.
9 (b) Seek federal help and cooperation in obtaining the
10 appropriate permits to establish the state sturgeon
11 aquaculture program.
12 (c) Prepare a state sturgeon production and stock
13 enhancement plan to implement the state sturgeon aquaculture
14 program. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the
15 following:
16 1. Research needed to support the commercial
17 production of sturgeon for meat and roe and stock enhancement
18 in the state.
19 2. Studies needed to determine the economic impact on
20 the state and the best marketing strategies for producing
21 sturgeon for its meat and roe.
22 3. Permits and other requirements currently needed to
23 commercially produce sturgeon and enhance sturgeon stock in
24 the state and a strategy for obtaining such permits or
25 requirements.
26 4. The timetable for implementation and completion of
27 the plan's components.
28 5. The implementation date for the state sturgeon
29 aquaculture program.
30 (d) Prepare a report to be submitted within 1 year
31 after October 1, 1996, to the Governor, the President of the
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1 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
2 chairs of the legislative ways and means, appropriations, and
3 agriculture committees. This report shall include, but not be
4 limited to:
5 1. The status of the state sturgeon aquaculture
6 program.
7 2. The status of the state sturgeon production and
8 stock enhancement plan.
9 3. Other Florida public or private agencies, if any,
10 doing research on sturgeon production.
11 4. Any recommendations necessary to carry out the
12 purpose of this section.
13 Section 91. Subsections (9), (15), (16), and (17) of
14 section 372.001, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
15 372.001 Definitions.--In construing these statutes,
16 when applied to saltwater and freshwater fish, shellfish,
17 crustacea, sponges, wild birds, and wild animals, where the
18 context permits, the word, phrase, or term:
19 (9) "Fresh water," except where otherwise provided by
20 law, includes all lakes, rivers, canals, and other waterways
21 of Florida, to such point or points where the fresh and salt
22 waters commingle to such an extent as to become unpalatable
23 and unfit for human consumption, because of the saline
24 content, or to such point or points as may be fixed by the
25 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
26 Commission, by and with the consent of the board of county
27 commissioners of the county or counties to be affected by such
28 order. The Steinhatchee River shall be considered fresh water
29 from its source to mouth.
30 (15) "Fish management area" is a pond, lake, or other
31 water within a county or within several counties designated to
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1 improve fishing for public use and established and
2 specifically circumscribed for authorized management by the
3 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
4 Commission and the board of county commissioners of the county
5 in which such waters lie under agreement between the
6 commission and an owner with approval by the board of county
7 commissioners or under agreement with the board of county
8 commissioners for use of public waters in the county in which
9 such waters lie.
10 (16) "Commission" means the Fish and Wildlife
11 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
12 (17) "Authorization" means a number issued by the Fish
13 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
14 Commission, or its authorized agent, which serves in lieu of a
15 license or permit and affords the privilege purchased for a
16 specified period of time.
17 Section 92. Section 372.01, Florida Statutes, is
18 amended to read:
19 372.01 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
20 Water Fish Commission.--
21 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
22 Water Fish Commission shall consist of seven five members who
23 shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by
24 the Senate, for staggered terms of 5 years.
25 (2) Members so appointed shall annually select one of
26 their members as chair. Such chair may be removed at any time
27 for sufficient cause, by the affirmative vote of the majority
28 of the members of the commission. In case the said office of
29 chair becomes vacant by removal or otherwise, the same may be
30 filled for the unexpired term at any time by the commission
31 from its members.
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1 (3) Commission members shall receive no compensation
2 for their services as such, but shall be reimbursed for travel
3 expenses as provided in s. 112.061.
4 Section 93. Subsections (1) and (2) of section
5 372.0215, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
6 372.0215 Citizen support organizations; use of state
7 property; audit.--
8 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
9 Water Fish Commission may authorize the establishment of
10 citizen support organizations to provide assistance, funding,
11 and promotional support for the programs of the commission.
12 For purposes of this section, the term "citizen support
13 organization" means an organization which:
14 (a) Is a corporation not for profit incorporated
15 pursuant to the provisions of chapter 617 and approved by the
16 Department of State;
17 (b) Is organized and operated to conduct programs and
18 activities; raise funds; request and receive grants, gifts,
19 and bequests of money; acquire, receive, hold, invest, and
20 administer in its own name securities, funds, or real or
21 personal property; and make expenditures for the benefit of
22 the commission or an individual program unit of the
23 commission; except that such organization may not receive
24 funds from the commission or the Florida Marine Research
25 Institute by grant, gift, or contract unless specifically
26 authorized by the Legislature.
27 (c) The commission has determined acts in a manner
28 that is consistent with the goals of the commission and the
29 best interests of the state.
30 (d) Is approved in writing by the commission to
31 operate for the benefit of the commission. Such approval must
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1 be stated in a letter of agreement from the executive director
2 of the commission.
3 (2)(a) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
4 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission may permit a citizen
5 support organization to use commission property, facilities,
6 and personnel free of charge. A citizen support organization
7 may use commission property, facilities, and personnel if such
8 use is consistent with the approved purpose of that citizen
9 support organization and if such use does not unreasonably
10 interfere with the general public's use of commission
11 property, facilities, and personnel for established purposes.
12 (b) The commission may prescribe conditions upon the
13 use by a citizen support organization of commission property,
14 facilities, or personnel.
15 (c) The commission may not permit the use of any
16 property, facilities, or personnel of the state by a citizen
17 support organization that does not provide equal membership
18 and employment opportunities to all persons regardless of
19 race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or age.
20 Section 94. Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of section
21 372.0222, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
22 372.0222 Private publication agreements; advertising;
23 costs of production.--
24 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
25 Water Fish Commission may enter into agreements to secure the
26 private publication of public information brochures,
27 pamphlets, audiotapes, videotapes, and related materials for
28 distribution without charge to the public and, in furtherance
29 thereof, is authorized to:
30 (a) Enter into agreements with private vendors for the
31 publication or production of such public information
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1 materials, whereby the costs of publication or production will
2 be borne in whole or in part by the vendor or the vendor shall
3 provide additional compensation in return for the right of the
4 vendor to select, sell, and place advertising which publicizes
5 products or services related to and harmonious with the
6 subject matter of the publication.
7 (b) Retain the right, by agreement, to approve all
8 elements of any advertising placed in such public information
9 materials, including the form and content thereof.
10 (2) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
11 Water Fish Commission may sell advertising in the Florida
12 Wildlife Magazine to offset the cost of publication and
13 distribution of the magazine.
14 (4) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
15 Water Fish Commission may enter into agreements with private
16 vendors for vendor advertisement for the purpose of offsetting
17 expenses relating to license issuance, and, in furtherance
18 thereof, is authorized to:
19 (a) Retain the right, by agreement, to approve all
20 elements of such advertising, including the form or content.
21 (b) Require that any advertising of any kind
22 contracted pursuant to this section shall include a statement
23 providing that the advertising does not constitute an
24 endorsement by the state or commission of the products or
25 services to be so advertised.
26 Section 95. Section 372.0225, Florida Statutes, 1998
27 Supplement, is amended to read:
28 372.0225 Freshwater organisms.--
29 (1) The Division of Freshwater Fisheries of the Fish
30 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
31 Commission, in order to manage the promotion, marketing, and
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1 quality control of all freshwater organisms produced in
2 Florida and utilized commercially so that such organisms shall
3 be used to produce the optimum sustained yield consistent with
4 the protection of the breeding stock, is directed and charged
5 with the responsibility of:
6 (a) Providing for the regulation of the promotion,
7 marketing, and quality control of freshwater organisms
8 produced in Florida and utilized commercially.
9 (b) Regulating the processing of commercial freshwater
10 organisms on the water or on the shore.
11 (c) Providing documentation standards and statistical
12 record requirements with respect to commercial freshwater
13 organism catches.
14 (d) Conducting scientific, economic, and other studies
15 and research on all freshwater organisms produced in the state
16 and used commercially.
17 (2) The responsibility with which the Division of
18 Freshwater Fisheries is charged under subsection (1) shall in
19 no way supersede or duplicate the responsibilities of the
20 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under chapter
21 500, the Florida Food Safety Act, and the rules adopted under
22 that chapter.
23 Section 96. Subsections (1) and (3) of section
24 372.023, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
25 372.023 J. W. Corbett and Cecil M. Webb Wildlife
26 Management Areas.--
27 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
28 Water Fish Commission of this state is neither authorized nor
29 empowered to do the following as to the J. W. Corbett Wildlife
30 Management Area in Palm Beach County or the Cecil M. Webb
31 Wildlife Management Area without the approval of the Board of
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1 Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund that such
2 action is in the best interest of orderly and economical
3 development of said area, viz.:
4 (a) To trade, barter, lease, or exchange lands therein
5 for lands of greater acreage contiguous to said wildlife
6 management areas.
7 (b) To grant easements for construction and
8 maintenance of roads, railroads, canals, ditches, dikes and
9 utilities, including but not limited to telephone, telegraph,
10 oil, gas, electric power, water and sewers.
11 (c) To convey or release all rights in and to the
12 phosphate, minerals, metals and petroleum that is or may be
13 in, on or under any lands traded, bartered, leased or
14 exchanged pursuant to paragraph (a).
15 (3) Moneys received from the sale of lands within
16 either wildlife management area, less reasonable expenses
17 incident to the sale, shall be used by the Fish and Wildlife
18 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to acquire
19 acreage contiguous to the wildlife management area or lands of
20 equal wildlife value. The sale shall be made directly to the
21 state, notwithstanding the procedures of ss. 270.08 and 270.09
22 to the contrary.
23 Section 97. Subsections (2) and (3) of section
24 372.025, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
25 372.025 Everglades recreational sites; definitions.--
26 (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section:
27 (a) "Commission" means the Fish and Wildlife
28 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
29 (b) "Flood control district" means the Central and
30 Southern Florida Flood Control District Board.
31
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1 (c) "Indian reservations" means lands as designated by
2 chapter 285.
3 (d) "Buffer zone" means an area located between
4 developed and wilderness areas where some restrictions on the
5 type of future development shall be imposed.
6 (e) "Development of recreational sites" means any
7 improvements to existing facilities or sites and also such new
8 selection and improvements as are needed for the various
9 recreational activities as herein provided.
10 (3) RECREATIONAL SITES.--The Fish and Wildlife
11 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission is directed
12 to develop, manage, and enforce laws on certain recreational
13 sites in the water conservation areas of the Everglades from
14 funds to be appropriated by the Legislature.
15 Section 98. Section 372.03, Florida Statutes, is
16 amended to read:
17 372.03 Headquarters of commission.--The Fish and
18 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission is
19 located at the state capital, and, when suitable adequate
20 office space cannot be provided in the State Capitol Building,
21 or other buildings owned by the state, the commission may rent
22 or lease suitable office space in Tallahassee. Said commission
23 may also rent or lease suitable and adequate space in other
24 cities and towns of the state for branch or division offices
25 and headquarters and storerooms for equipment and supplies, as
26 the business of the commission may require or necessitate,
27 payment for said rented or leased premises to be made from the
28 State Game Trust Fund.
29 Section 99. Section 372.051, Florida Statutes, is
30 amended to read:
31
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1 372.051 Seal of commission; certificate as
2 evidence.--The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
3 Water Fish Commission shall adopt and use a common seal, and a
4 certificate under the seal of the commission, signed by its
5 chair and attested by its director shall constitute sufficient
6 evidence of the action of the commission; and copies of the
7 minutes of the commission, or any part thereof, or of any
8 record or paper of said commission, or any part thereof, or of
9 any rule, regulation, or order of the commission, or any part
10 thereof, or of any code of rules, regulations or orders of the
11 commission, or any part thereof, certified by the director of
12 the commission under its seal, shall be admissible in evidence
13 in all cases and proceedings in all courts, boards, and
14 commissions of this state without further authentication.
15 Section 100. Section 372.06, Florida Statutes, is
16 amended to read:
17 372.06 Meetings of the commission.--At least four
18 meetings of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
19 Water Fish Commission shall be held at the state capital no
20 less frequently than once every 3 months, which meetings shall
21 be known as the quarterly meetings of the commission; other
22 meetings may be held at such times and places as may be
23 decided upon or as provided by rules of the commission, such
24 meetings to be called by the executive secretary on not less
25 than 1 week's notice to all members of the commission; or
26 meetings may be held upon the request in writing of three
27 members of the commission, at a time and place to be
28 designated in the request, and notice of such meetings shall
29 be given at least 1 week in advance thereof to all members of
30 the commission by the executive secretary. A majority of
31 Three members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the
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1 commission. No action shall be binding when taken up by the
2 commission, except at a regular or call meeting and duly
3 recorded in the minutes of said meeting.
4 Section 101. Section 372.07, Florida Statutes, is
5 amended to read:
6 372.07 Police powers of commission and its agents.--
7 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
8 Water Fish Commission, the director and the director's
9 assistants designated by her or him, and each wildlife officer
10 are constituted peace officers with the power to make arrests
11 for violations of the laws of this state when committed in the
12 presence of the officer or when committed on lands under the
13 supervision and management of the commission. The general
14 laws applicable to arrests by peace officers of this state
15 shall also be applicable to said director, assistants, and
16 wildlife officers. Such persons may enter upon any land or
17 waters of the state for performance of their lawful duties and
18 may take with them any necessary equipment, and such entry
19 shall not constitute a trespass.
20 (2) Said officers shall have power and authority to
21 enforce throughout the state all laws relating to game,
22 nongame birds, freshwater fish, and fur-bearing animals and
23 all rules and regulations of the Fish and Wildlife
24 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission relating to
25 wild animal life and freshwater aquatic life, and in
26 connection with said laws, rules, and regulations, in the
27 enforcement thereof and in the performance of their duties
28 thereunder, to:
29 (a) Go upon all premises, posted or otherwise;
30 (b) Execute warrants and search warrants for the
31 violation of said laws;
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1 (c) Serve subpoenas issued for the examination,
2 investigation, and trial of all offenses against said laws;
3 (d) Carry firearms or other weapons, concealed or
4 otherwise, in the performance of their duties;
5 (e) Arrest upon probable cause without warrant any
6 person found in the act of violating any of the provisions of
7 said laws or, in pursuit immediately following such
8 violations, to examine any person, boat, conveyance, vehicle,
9 game bag, game coat, or other receptacle for wild animal life
10 or freshwater aquatic life, or any camp, tent, cabin, or
11 roster, in the presence of any person stopping at or belonging
12 to such camp, tent, cabin, or roster, when said officer has
13 reason to believe, and has exhibited her or his authority and
14 stated to the suspected person in charge the officer's reason
15 for believing, that any of the aforesaid laws have been
16 violated at such camp;
17 (f) Secure and execute search warrants and in
18 pursuance thereof to enter any building, enclosure, or car and
19 to break open, when found necessary, any apartment, chest,
20 locker, box, trunk, crate, basket, bag, package, or container
21 and examine the contents thereof;
22 (g) Seize and take possession of all wild animal life
23 or freshwater aquatic life taken or in possession or under
24 control of, or shipped or about to be shipped by, any person
25 at any time in any manner contrary to said laws.
26 (3) It is unlawful for any person to resist an arrest
27 authorized by this section or in any manner to interfere,
28 either by abetting, assisting such resistance, or otherwise
29 interfering with said director, assistants, or wildlife
30 officers while engaged in the performance of the duties
31
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1 imposed upon them by law or regulation of the Fish and
2 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
3 Section 102. Section 372.071, Florida Statutes, is
4 amended to read:
5 372.071 Powers of arrest by agents of Department of
6 Environmental Protection or Fish and Wildlife Conservation
7 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.--Any certified law
8 enforcement officer of the Department of Environmental
9 Protection or the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
10 Fresh Water Fish Commission, upon receiving information,
11 relayed to her or him from any law enforcement officer
12 stationed on the ground, on the water, or in the air, that a
13 driver, operator, or occupant of any vehicle, boat, or airboat
14 has violated any section of chapter 327, chapter 328, chapter
15 370, or this chapter, may arrest the driver, operator, or
16 occupant for violation of said laws when reasonable and proper
17 identification of the vehicle, boat, or airboat and reasonable
18 and probable grounds to believe that the driver, operator, or
19 occupant has committed or is committing any such offense have
20 been communicated to the arresting officer by the other
21 officer stationed on the ground, on the water, or in the air.
22 Section 103. Section 372.072, Florida Statutes, is
23 amended to read:
24 372.072 Endangered and Threatened Species Act.--
25 (1) SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the
26 "Florida Endangered and Threatened Species Act of 1977."
27 (2) DECLARATION OF POLICY.--The Legislature recognizes
28 that the State of Florida harbors a wide diversity of fish and
29 wildlife and that it is the policy of this state to conserve
30 and wisely manage these resources, with particular attention
31 to those species defined by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
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1 Commission Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the
2 Department of Environmental Protection, or the United States
3 Department of Interior, or successor agencies, as being
4 endangered or threatened. As Florida has more endangered and
5 threatened species than any other continental state, it is the
6 intent of the Legislature to provide for research and
7 management to conserve and protect these species as a natural
8 resource.
9 (3) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section:
10 (a) "Fish and wildlife" means any member of the animal
11 kingdom, including, but not limited to, any mammal, fish,
12 bird, amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, or
13 other invertebrate.
14 (b) "Endangered species" means any species of fish and
15 wildlife naturally occurring in Florida, whose prospects of
16 survival are in jeopardy due to modification or loss of
17 habitat; overutilization for commercial, sporting, scientific,
18 or educational purposes; disease; predation; inadequacy of
19 regulatory mechanisms; or other natural or manmade factors
20 affecting its continued existence.
21 (c) "Threatened species" means any species of fish and
22 wildlife naturally occurring in Florida which may not be in
23 immediate danger of extinction, but which exists in such small
24 populations as to become endangered if it is subjected to
25 increased stress as a result of further modification of its
26 environment.
27 (4) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.--
28 (a)1. The Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall
29 be responsible for research and management of freshwater and
30 upland species.
31
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1 2. The Department of Environmental Protection shall be
2 responsible for research and management of marine species.
3 (a)(b) Recognizing that citizen awareness is a key
4 element in the success of this plan, the Fish and Wildlife
5 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the
6 Department of Environmental Protection, and the Office of
7 Environmental Education of the Department of Education are
8 encouraged to work together to develop a public education
9 program with emphasis on, but not limited to, both public and
10 private schools.
11 (b)(c) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Department
12 of Environmental Protection, the Marine Fisheries Commission,
13 or the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, in consultation
14 with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the
15 Department of Commerce, the Department of Community Affairs,
16 or the Department of Transportation, may establish reduced
17 speed zones along roads, streets, and highways to protect
18 endangered species or threatened species.
19 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.--The Executive Director of the Fish
20 and Wildlife Conservation Commission Director of the Game and
21 Fresh Water Fish Commission, in consultation with the
22 Secretary of Environmental Protection, shall, at least 30 days
23 prior to each annual session of the Legislature, transmit to
24 the Governor and Cabinet, the President of the Senate, the
25 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs of the
26 appropriate Senate and House committees, a revised and updated
27 plan for management and conservation of endangered and
28 threatened species, including criteria for research and
29 management priorities; a description of the educational
30 program; statewide policies pertaining to protection of
31 endangered and threatened species; additional legislation
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1 which may be required; and the recommended level of funding
2 for the following year, along with a progress report and
3 budget request.
4 Section 104. Section 372.0725, Florida Statutes, is
5 amended to read:
6 372.0725 Killing or wounding of any species designated
7 as endangered, threatened, or of special concern; criminal
8 penalties.--It is unlawful for a person to intentionally kill
9 or wound any fish or wildlife of a species designated by the
10 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
11 Commission as endangered, threatened, or of special concern,
12 or to intentionally destroy the eggs or nest of any such fish
13 or wildlife, except as provided for in the rules of the Fish
14 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
15 Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, or the
16 Marine Fisheries Commission. Any person who violates this
17 provision with regard to an endangered or threatened species
18 is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as
19 provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
20 Section 105. Subsection (1) of section 372.073,
21 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
22 372.073 Endangered and Threatened Species Reward
23 Program.--
24 (1) There is established within the Fish and Wildlife
25 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission the
26 Endangered and Threatened Species Reward Program, to be funded
27 from the Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund. The commission may post
28 rewards to persons responsible for providing information
29 leading to the arrest and conviction of persons illegally
30 killing or wounding or wrongfully possessing any of the
31 endangered and threatened species listed on the official
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1 Florida list of such species maintained by the commission or
2 the arrest and conviction of persons who violate s. 372.667 or
3 s. 372.671. Additional funds may be provided by donations from
4 interested individuals and organizations. The reward program
5 is to be administered by the commission. The commission shall
6 establish a schedule of rewards.
7 Section 106. Subsection (1) of section 372.074,
8 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
9 372.074 Fish and Wildlife Habitat Program.--
10 (1)(a) There is established within the Fish and
11 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission the
12 Fish and Wildlife Habitat Program for the purpose of
13 acquiring, assisting other agencies or local governments in
14 acquiring, or managing lands important to the conservation of
15 fish and wildlife.
16 (b) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
17 Water Fish Commission or its designee shall manage such lands
18 for the primary purpose of maintaining and enhancing their
19 habitat value for fish and wildlife. Other uses may be allowed
20 that are not contrary to this purpose.
21 (c) Where acquisition pursuant to this section will
22 result in state ownership of land, title shall be vested in
23 the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund
24 as required in chapter 253. Land acquisition pursuant to this
25 section shall be voluntary, negotiated acquisition and, where
26 title is to be vested in the Board of Trustees of the Internal
27 Improvement Trust Fund, is subject to the acquisition
28 procedures of s. 253.025.
29 (d) Acquisition costs shall include purchase prices
30 and costs and fees associated with title work, surveys, and
31 appraisals required to complete an acquisition.
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1 Section 107. Subsection (1), paragraph (c) of
2 subsection (3), and subsection (4) of section 372.105, Florida
3 Statutes, are amended to read:
4 372.105 Lifetime Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund.--
5 (1) There is established within the Fish and Wildlife
6 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission the Lifetime
7 Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund to be used for the purpose of
8 supporting fish and wildlife conservation programs of the
9 state in accordance with this section.
10 (3) The fund is declared to constitute a special trust
11 derived from a contractual relationship between the state and
12 the members of the public whose investments contribute to the
13 fund. In recognition of such special trust, the following
14 limitations and restrictions are placed on expenditures from
15 the funds:
16 (c) No expenditures or disbursements from the interest
17 income derived from the sale of lifetime licenses shall be
18 made for any purpose until the respective holders of such
19 licenses attain the age of 16 years. The Fish and Wildlife
20 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission as
21 administrator of the fund shall determine actuarially on an
22 annual basis the amounts of interest income within the fund
23 which may be disbursed pursuant to this paragraph. The
24 director shall cause deposits of proceeds from the sale of
25 lifetime licenses to be identifiable by the ages of the
26 license recipients.
27 (4) In the event of a future dissolution or
28 reorganization of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
29 Fresh Water Fish Commission, any state agency which succeeds
30 the commission or assumes its constitutional or statutory
31 responsibilities shall, through its agency head acting ex
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1 officio, assume the trusteeship of the fund and shall be bound
2 by all the limitations and restrictions placed by this section
3 on expenditures from the fund. No repeal or modification of
4 this chapter or s. 9, Art. IV of the State Constitution shall
5 alter the fundamental purposes to which the fund may be
6 applied. No dissolution or reorganization of the Fish and
7 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
8 shall invalidate any lifetime license issued in accordance
9 with this section.
10 Section 108. Subsection (1) of section 372.106,
11 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
12 372.106 Dedicated License Trust Fund.--
13 (1) There is established within the Fish and Wildlife
14 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission the
15 Dedicated License Trust Fund. The fund shall be credited with
16 moneys collected pursuant to ss. 370.0605 and 372.57 for
17 5-year licenses and replacement 5-year licenses.
18 Section 109. Section 372.12, Florida Statutes, is
19 amended to read:
20 372.12 Acquisition of state game lands.--The Fish and
21 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission,
22 with the approval of the Governor, may acquire, in the name of
23 the state, lands and waters suitable for the protection and
24 propagation of game, fish, nongame birds or fur-bearing
25 animals, or for hunting purposes, game farms, by purchase,
26 lease, gift or otherwise to be known as state game lands. The
27 said commission may erect such buildings and fences as may be
28 deemed necessary to properly maintain and protect such lands,
29 or for propagation of game, nongame birds, freshwater fish or
30 fur-bearing animals. The title of land acquired by purchase,
31 lease, gift or otherwise, shall be approved by the Department
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1 of Legal Affairs. The deed to such lands shall be deposited
2 as are deeds to other state lands. No such lands shall be
3 purchased at a price to exceed $10 per acre. No property
4 acquired under this section shall be exempt from state, county
5 or district taxation.
6 Section 110. Subsection (1) of section 372.121,
7 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
8 372.121 Control and management of state game lands.--
9 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
10 Water Fish Commission is authorized to make, adopt,
11 promulgate, amend, repeal, and enforce all reasonable rules
12 and regulations necessary for the protection, control,
13 operation, management, or development of lands or waters owned
14 by, leased by, or otherwise assigned to, the commission for
15 fish or wildlife management purposes, including but not being
16 limited to the right of ingress and egress. Before any such
17 rule or regulation is adopted, other than one relating to wild
18 animal life or freshwater aquatic life, the commission shall
19 obtain the consent and agreement, in writing, of the owner, in
20 the case of privately owned lands or waters, or the owner or
21 primary custodian, in the case of public lands or waters.
22 Section 111. Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of section
23 372.16, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
24 372.16 Private game preserves and farms; penalty.--
25 (1) Any person owning land in this state may, after
26 having secured a license therefor from the Fish and Wildlife
27 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, establish,
28 maintain, and operate within the boundaries thereof, a private
29 preserve and farm, not exceeding an area of 640 acres, for the
30 protection, preservation, propagation, rearing, and production
31 of game birds and animals for private and commercial purposes,
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1 provided that no two game preserves shall join each other or
2 be connected.
3 (2) All private game preserves or farms established
4 under the provisions of this section shall be fenced in such
5 manner that domestic game thereon may not escape and wild game
6 on surrounding lands may not enter and shall be subject at any
7 time to inspection by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game
8 and Fresh Water Fish Commission, or its conservation officers.
9 Such private preserve or farm shall be equipped and operated
10 in such manner as to provide sufficient food and humane
11 treatment for the game kept thereon. Game reared or produced
12 on private game preserves and farms shall be considered
13 domestic game and private property and may be sold or disposed
14 of as such and shall be the subject of larceny. Live game may
15 be purchased, sold, shipped, and transported for propagation
16 and restocking purposes only at any time. Such game may be
17 sold for food purposes only during the open season provided by
18 law for such game. All game killed must be killed on the
19 premises of such private game preserve or farm and must be
20 killed by means other than shooting, except during the open
21 season. All domestic game sold for food purposes must be
22 marked or tagged in a manner prescribed by the Fish and
23 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission;
24 and the owner or operator of such private game preserve or
25 farm shall report to the said commission, on blanks to be
26 furnished by it, each sale or shipment of domestic game, such
27 reports showing the quantity and kind of game shipped or sold
28 and to whom sold. Such report shall be made not later than 5
29 days following such sale or shipment. Game reared or produced
30 as aforesaid may be served as such by hotels, restaurants, or
31 other public eating places during the open season provided by
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1 law on such particular species of game, under such regulations
2 as the commission may prescribe.
3 (4) Any person violating the provisions of this
4 section shall for the first offense be guilty of a misdemeanor
5 of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or
6 s. 775.083, and for a second or subsequent offense shall be
7 guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
8 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Any person convicted of
9 violating the provisions of this section shall forfeit, to the
10 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
11 Commission, any license or permit issued under the provisions
12 hereof; and no further license or permit shall be issued to
13 such person for a period of 1 year following such conviction.
14 Before any private game preserve or farm is established, the
15 owner or operator shall secure a license from the Fish and
16 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission,
17 the fee for which shall be $5 per year.
18 Section 112. Subsection (1) of section 372.26, Florida
19 Statutes, is amended to read:
20 372.26 Imported fish.--
21 (1) No person shall import into the state or place in
22 any of the fresh waters of the state any freshwater fish of
23 any species without having first obtained a permit from the
24 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
25 Commission. The commission is authorized to issue or deny such
26 a permit upon the completion of studies of the species made by
27 it to determine any detrimental effect the species might have
28 on the ecology of the state.
29 Section 113. Subsections (1) and (2) of section
30 372.265, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
31 372.265 Regulation of foreign animals.--
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1 (1) It is unlawful to import for sale or use, or to
2 release within this state, any species of the animal kingdom
3 not indigenous to Florida without having obtained a permit to
4 do so from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
5 Water Fish Commission.
6 (2) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
7 Water Fish Commission is authorized to issue or deny such a
8 permit upon the completion of studies of the species made by
9 it to determine any detrimental effect the species might have
10 on the ecology of the state.
11 Section 114. Section 372.27, Florida Statutes, is
12 amended to read:
13 372.27 Silver Springs and Rainbow Springs, etc.,
14 closed to all fishing.--It is unlawful for any person to take
15 any fish within Marion County, from the waters of Rainbow
16 Springs and Rainbow River (formerly known as Blue Springs and
17 Blue Springs River) within a radius of 1 mile from the head of
18 said spring or from the waters of Silver Springs or Silver
19 Springs Run from the head of said spring to its junction with
20 the Oklawaha River; provided, that the Fish and Wildlife
21 Conservation Commission of Game and Fresh Water Fish may
22 remove or cause to be removed any gar, mud fish or other
23 predatory fish when in its judgment their removal is
24 desirable.
25 Section 115. Section 372.31, Florida Statutes, is
26 amended to read:
27 372.31 Disposition of illegal fishing devices.--
28 (1) In all cases of arrest and conviction for use of
29 illegal nets or traps or fishing devices, as provided in this
30 chapter, such illegal net, trap, or fishing device is declared
31 to be a nuisance and shall be seized and carried before the
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1 court having jurisdiction of such offense and said court shall
2 order such illegal trap, net or fishing device forfeited to
3 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
4 Commission immediately after trial and conviction of the
5 person in whose possession they were found. When any illegal
6 net, trap or fishing device is found in the fresh waters of
7 the state, and the owner of same shall not be known to the
8 officer finding the same, such officer shall immediately
9 procure from the county court judge an order forfeiting said
10 illegal net, trap or fishing device to the Fish and Wildlife
11 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. The Fish
12 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
13 may destroy such illegal net, trap or fishing device, if in
14 its judgment said net, trap or fishing device is not of value
15 in the work of the department.
16 (2) When any nets, traps, or fishing devices are found
17 being used illegally as provided in this chapter, the same
18 shall be seized and forfeited to the Fish and Wildlife
19 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission as provided
20 in this chapter.
21 Section 116. Subsection (7) of section 372.57, Florida
22 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
23 372.57 Licenses and permits; exemptions; fees.--No
24 person, except as provided herein, shall take game, freshwater
25 fish, or fur-bearing animals within this state without having
26 first obtained a license, permit, or authorization and paid
27 the fees hereinafter set forth, unless such license is issued
28 without fee as provided in s. 372.561. Such license, permit,
29 or authorization shall authorize the person to whom it is
30 issued to take game, freshwater fish, or fur-bearing animals
31 in accordance with law and commission rules. Such license,
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1 permit, or authorization is not transferable. Each license or
2 permit must bear on its face in indelible ink the name of the
3 person to whom it is issued and other information requested by
4 the commission. Such license, permit, or authorization issued
5 by the commission or any agent must be in the personal
6 possession of the person to whom issued while taking game,
7 freshwater fish, or fur-bearing animals. The failure of such
8 person to exhibit such license, permit, or authorization to
9 the commission or its wildlife officers, when such person is
10 found taking game, freshwater fish, or fur-bearing animals, is
11 a violation of law. A positive form of identification is
12 required when using an authorization, a lifetime license, a
13 5-year license, or when otherwise required by the license or
14 permit. The lifetime licenses and 5-year licenses provided
15 herein shall be embossed with the name, date of birth, the
16 date of issuance, and other pertinent information as deemed
17 necessary by the commission. A certified copy of the
18 applicant's birth certificate shall accompany all applications
19 for a lifetime license for residents 12 years of age and
20 younger. Each applicant for a license, permit, or
21 authorization shall provide the applicant's social security
22 number on the application form. Disclosure of social security
23 numbers obtained through this requirement shall be limited to
24 the purpose of administration of the Title IV-D child support
25 enforcement program and use by the commission, and as
26 otherwise provided by law.
27 (7) A resident lifetime sportsman's license authorizes
28 the holder to engage in the following noncommercial
29 activities:
30 (a) To take or attempt to take or possess freshwater
31 fish, marine fish, and game, consistent with state and federal
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1 regulations and rules of the commission and the Department of
2 Environmental Protection in effect at the time of taking.
3 (b) All activities authorized by a management area
4 permit, a muzzle-loading gun permit, a turkey permit, an
5 archery permit, a Florida waterfowl permit, a snook permit,
6 and a crawfish permit.
7 Section 117. Subsection (2) of section 372.5714,
8 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
9 372.5714 Waterfowl Advisory Council.--
10 (2) The council shall meet at least once a year either
11 in person or by a telephone conference call, shall elect a
12 chair annually to preside over its meetings and perform any
13 other duties directed by the council, and shall maintain
14 minutes of each meeting. All records of council activities
15 shall be kept on file with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
16 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and shall be made
17 available to any interested person. The Fish and Wildlife
18 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall
19 provide such staff support as is necessary to the council to
20 carry out its duties. Members of the council shall serve
21 without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for per diem and
22 travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061 when carrying out
23 the official business of the council.
24 Section 118. Subsection (3) of section 372.5717,
25 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
26 372.5717 Hunter safety course; requirements;
27 penalty.--
28 (3) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
29 Water Fish Commission shall institute and coordinate a
30 statewide hunter safety course which must be offered in every
31 county and consist of not less than 12 hours nor more than 16
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1 hours of instruction including, but not limited to,
2 instruction in the competent and safe handling of firearms,
3 conservation, and hunting ethics.
4 Section 119. Section 372.5718, Florida Statutes, is
5 amended to read:
6 372.5718 Hunter safety course for juveniles.--The Fish
7 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
8 shall develop a hunter safety course for juveniles who are at
9 least 5 years of age but less than 16 years of age. The course
10 must include, but is not limited to, instruction in the
11 competent and safe handling of firearms, conservation, and
12 hunting ethics. The course must be appropriate for the ages of
13 the students. The course is voluntary and must be offered in
14 each county in the state at least annually. The course is in
15 addition to, and not in lieu of, the hunter safety course
16 prescribed in s. 372.5717.
17 Section 120. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of
18 section 372.574, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended
19 to read:
20 372.574 Appointment of subagents for the sale of
21 hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and permits.--
22 (2) If a tax collector elects not to appoint
23 subagents, the commission may appoint subagents within that
24 county. Subagents shall serve at the pleasure of the
25 commission. The commission may establish, by rule, procedures
26 for selection of subagents. The following are requirements
27 for subagents so appointed:
28 (e) A subagent may charge and receive as his or her
29 compensation 50 cents for each license or permit sold. This
30 charge is in addition to the sum required by law to be
31 collected for the sale and issuance of each license or permit.
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1 In addition, no later than July 1, 1997, a subagent fee for
2 the sale of licenses over the telephone by credit card shall
3 be established by competitive bid procedures which are
4 overseen by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
5 Water Fish Commission.
6 Section 121. Section 372.651, Florida Statutes, is
7 amended to read:
8 372.651 Haul seine and trawl permits; freshwater lakes
9 in excess of 500 square miles; fees.--
10 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
11 Water Fish Commission is authorized to issue permits for each
12 haul seine or trawl used in freshwater lakes in the state
13 having an area in excess of 500 square miles.
14 (2) The commission may charge an annual fee for the
15 issuance of such permits which shall not exceed:
16 (a) For a resident trawl permit, $50.
17 (b) For a resident haul seine permit, $100.
18 (c) For a nonresident or alien trawl or haul seine
19 permit, $500.
20 Section 122. Subsection (1) of section 372.653,
21 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
22 372.653 Required tagging of fish; lakes in excess of
23 500 square miles; tag fee; game fish taken in lakes of 500
24 square miles or less.--
25 (1)(a) No game fish taken from, or caught in, a lake
26 in this state the area of which is in excess of 500 square
27 miles shall be sold for consumption in this state unless it is
28 tagged in the manner required by the Fish and Wildlife
29 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. Bass or
30 pickerel taken by any method other than hook and line shall be
31 returned immediately to the water. Trawls and haul seines
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1 shall not be operated within 1 mile of rooted aquatic
2 vegetation.
3 (b) In order that such program of tagging be
4 self-sufficient, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
5 Fresh Water Fish Commission is authorized to assess a fee of
6 not more than 5 cents per tag, payable at the time of delivery
7 of the tag.
8 Section 123. Subsections (5) and (6) of section
9 372.66, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
10 372.66 License required for fur and hide dealers.--
11 (5) All agents' licenses shall be applied for by, and
12 issued to, a resident state dealer or nonresident dealer and
13 shall show name and residence of such agent and shall be in
14 possession of such agent at all times when engaged in buying
15 furs or hides. Application for such licenses shall be made to
16 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
17 Commission on blanks furnished by it.
18 (6) All dealers and buyers shall forward to the Fish
19 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
20 each 2 weeks during open season a report showing number and
21 kind of hides bought and name of trapper from whom bought and
22 the trapper's license number, or if trapper is exempt from
23 license under any of the provisions of this chapter, such
24 report shall show the nature of such exemption. No common
25 carrier shall knowingly ship or transport or receive for
26 transportation any hides or furs unless such shipments have
27 marked thereon name of shipper and the number of her or his
28 fur-animal license or fur dealer's license.
29 Section 124. Subsection (1) of section 372.661,
30 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
31
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1 372.661 Private hunting preserve, license;
2 exception.--
3 (1) Any person who operates a private hunting preserve
4 commercially or otherwise shall be required to pay a license
5 fee of $25 for each such preserve; provided, however, that
6 during the open season established for wild game of any
7 species a private individual may take artificially propagated
8 game of such species up to the bag limit prescribed for the
9 particular species without being required to pay the license
10 fee required by this section; provided further that if any
11 such individual shall charge a fee for taking such game she or
12 he shall be required to pay the license fee required by this
13 section and to comply with the rules and regulations of the
14 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
15 Commission relative to the operation of private hunting
16 preserves.
17 Section 125. Section 372.662, Florida Statutes, is
18 amended to read:
19 372.662 Unlawful sale, possession, or transporting of
20 alligators or alligator skins.--Whenever the sale, possession,
21 or transporting of alligators or alligator skins is prohibited
22 by any law of this state, or by the rules, regulations, or
23 orders of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
24 Water Fish Commission adopted pursuant to s. 9, Art. IV of the
25 State Constitution, the sale, possession, or transporting of
26 alligators or alligator skins is a misdemeanor of the first
27 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
28 Section 126. Subsection (1) of section 372.663,
29 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
30
31
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1 372.663 Illegal killing, possessing, or capturing of
2 alligators or other crocodilia or eggs; confiscation of
3 equipment.--
4 (1) It is unlawful to intentionally kill, injure,
5 possess, or capture, or attempt to kill, injure, possess, or
6 capture, an alligator or other crocodilian, or the eggs of an
7 alligator or other crocodilian, unless authorized by the rules
8 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water
9 Fish Commission. Any person who violates this section is
10 guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided
11 in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, in addition to such
12 other punishment as may be provided by law. Any equipment,
13 including but not limited to weapons, vehicles, boats, and
14 lines, used by a person in the commission of a violation of
15 any law, rule, regulation, or order relating to alligators or
16 other crocodilia or the eggs of alligators or other crocodilia
17 shall, upon conviction of such person, be confiscated by the
18 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
19 Commission and disposed of according to rules and regulations
20 of the commission. The arresting officer shall promptly make
21 a return of the seizure, describing in detail the property
22 seized and the facts and circumstances under which it was
23 seized, including the names of all persons known to the
24 officer who have an interest in the property.
25 Section 127. Section 372.664, Florida Statutes, is
26 amended to read:
27 372.664 Prima facie evidence of intent to violate laws
28 protecting alligators.--Except as otherwise provided by rule
29 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water
30 Fish Commission for the purpose of the limited collection of
31 alligators in designated areas, the display or use of a light
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1 in a place where alligators might be known to inhabit in a
2 manner capable of disclosing the presence of alligators,
3 together with the possession of firearms, spear guns, gigs,
4 and harpoons customarily used for the taking of alligators,
5 during the period between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour
6 before sunrise shall be prima facie evidence of an intent to
7 violate the provisions of law regarding the protection of
8 alligators.
9 Section 128. Subsection (2) of section 372.6645,
10 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
11 372.6645 Unlawful to sell alligator products;
12 penalty.--
13 (2) No person shall sell any alligator product
14 manufactured from a species which has been declared to be
15 endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or
16 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
17 Commission.
18 Section 129. Subsections (1) and (2) of section
19 372.667, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
20 372.667 Feeding or enticement of alligators or
21 crocodiles unlawful; penalty.--
22 (1) No person shall intentionally feed, or entice with
23 feed, any wild American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
24 or American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus). However, the
25 provisions of this section shall not apply to:
26 (a) Those persons feeding alligators or crocodiles
27 maintained in protected captivity for educational, scientific,
28 commercial, or recreational purposes.
29 (b) Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
30 Water Fish Commission personnel, persons licensed or otherwise
31 authorized by the commission, or county or municipal animal
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1 control personnel when relocating alligators or crocodiles by
2 baiting or enticement.
3 (2) For the purposes of this section, the term
4 "maintained in protected captivity" means held in captivity
5 under a permit issued by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
6 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission pursuant to s. 372.921 or
7 s. 372.922.
8 Section 130. Subsection (1) of section 372.6672,
9 Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
10 372.6672 Alligator management and trapping program
11 implementation; commission authority.--
12 (1) In any alligator management and trapping program
13 that the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water
14 Fish Commission shall establish, the commission shall have the
15 authority to adopt all rules necessary for full and complete
16 implementation of such alligator management and trapping
17 program, and, in order to ensure its lawful, safe, and
18 efficient operation in accordance therewith, may:
19 (a) Regulate the marketing and sale of alligators,
20 their hides, eggs, meat, and byproducts, including the
21 development and maintenance of a state-sanctioned sale.
22 (b) Regulate the handling and processing of
23 alligators, their eggs, hides, meat, and byproducts, for the
24 lawful, safe, and sanitary handling and processing of same.
25 (c) Regulate commercial alligator farming facilities
26 and operations for the captive propagation and rearing of
27 alligators and their eggs.
28 (d) Provide hide-grading services by two or more
29 individuals pursuant to state-sanctioned sales if rules are
30 first promulgated by the commission governing:
31
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1 1. All grading-related services to be provided
2 pursuant to this section;
3 2. Criteria for qualifications of persons to serve as
4 hide-graders for grading services to be provided pursuant to
5 this section; and
6 3. The certification process by which hide-graders
7 providing services pursuant to this section will be certified.
8 (e) Provide sales-related services by contract
9 pursuant to state-sanctioned sales if rules governing such
10 services are first promulgated by the commission.
11 Section 131. Subsections (1) and (3) of section
12 372.672, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to
13 read:
14 372.672 Florida Panther Research and Management Trust
15 Fund.--
16 (1) There is established within the Fish and Wildlife
17 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission the Florida
18 Panther Research and Management Trust Fund to be used
19 exclusively for the purposes of this section.
20 (3) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
21 Water Fish Commission is authorized to receive donations for
22 deposit into the Florida Panther Research and Management Trust
23 Fund.
24 Section 132. Section 372.673, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 372.673 Florida Panther Technical Advisory Council.--
27 (1) The Florida Panther Technical Advisory Council is
28 established within the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
29 Fresh Water Fish Commission. The council shall be appointed
30 by the Governor and shall consist of seven members with
31
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1 technical knowledge and expertise in the research and
2 management of large mammals.
3 (a) Two members shall represent state or federal
4 agencies responsible for management of endangered species; two
5 members, who must have specific experience in the research and
6 management of large felines or large mammals, shall be
7 appointed from universities, colleges, or associated
8 institutions; and three members, with similar expertise, shall
9 be appointed from the public at large.
10 (b) As soon as practicable after July 1, 1983, one
11 member representing a state or federal agency and one member
12 appointed from a university, college, or associated
13 institution shall be appointed for terms ending August 1,
14 1985, and the remaining members shall be appointed for terms
15 ending August 1, 1987. Thereafter, all appointments shall be
16 for 4-year terms. If a vacancy occurs, a member shall be
17 appointed for the remainder of the unexpired term. A member
18 whose term has expired shall continue sitting on the council
19 with full rights until a replacement has been appointed.
20 (c) Council members shall be reimbursed pursuant to s.
21 112.061 but shall receive no additional compensation or
22 honorarium.
23 (2) The purposes of the council are:
24 (a) To serve in an advisory capacity to the Fish and
25 Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish
26 Commission on technical matters of relevance to the Florida
27 panther recovery program, and to recommend specific actions
28 that should be taken to accomplish the purposes of this act.
29 (b) To review and comment on research and management
30 programs and practices to identify potential harm to the
31 Florida panther population.
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1 (c) To provide a forum for technical review and
2 discussion of the status and development of the Florida
3 panther recovery program.
4 Section 133. Subsections (1), (2), and (7) of section
5 372.674, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to
6 read:
7 372.674 Environmental education.--
8 (1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
9 Water Fish Commission may establish programs and activities to
10 develop and distribute environmental education materials that
11 will assist the public in understanding and appreciating
12 Florida's environment and problems and issues facing our
13 state's unique and fragile ecological systems. Such programs
14 shall assist school teachers, state administrators, and others
15 in the essential mission to preserve the capability to sustain
16 the functions of our lands, water, wildlife habitats, and
17 other natural resources in the most healthful, enjoyable, and
18 productive manner.
19 (2) There is created within the Fish and Wildlife
20 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission the Advisory
21 Council on Environmental Education. The council is to have up
22 to 10 members appointed by the commission and is to be chaired
23 by the commission's executive director or his or her designee.
24 At a minimum, the council must include a representative of the
25 Department of Education and a representative of the Department
26 of Environmental Protection.
27 (7) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
28 Water Fish Commission shall review the recommended list of
29 projects to be funded from the Florida Panther Research and
30 Management Trust Fund and the Save the Manatee Trust Fund by
31 August of each year and make a final determination of projects
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1 to receive grants from available appropriations by the
2 Legislature. The commission shall act upon the recommended
3 list within 45 days after receipt of the list.
4 Section 134. Section 372.70, Florida Statutes, is
5 amended to read:
6 372.70 Prosecutions.--The prosecuting officers of the
7 several courts of criminal jurisdiction of this state shall
8 investigate and prosecute all violations of the laws relating
9 to game, freshwater fish, nongame birds and fur-bearing
10 animals which may be brought to their attention by the Fish
11 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
12 or its conservation officers, or which may otherwise come to
13 their knowledge.
14 Section 135. Subsection (1) of section 372.701,
15 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
16 372.701 Arrest by officers of the Fish and Wildlife
17 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission;
18 recognizance; cash bond; citation.--
19 (1) In all cases of arrest by officers of the Fish and
20 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and
21 the Department of Environmental Protection, the person
22 arrested shall be delivered forthwith by said officer to the
23 sheriff of the county, or shall obtain from such person
24 arrested a recognizance or, if deemed necessary, a cash bond
25 or other sufficient security conditioned for her or his
26 appearance before the proper tribunal of such county to answer
27 the charge for which the person has been arrested.
28 Section 136. Section 372.7015, Florida Statutes, is
29 amended to read:
30 372.7015 Illegal killing, taking, possessing, or
31 selling wildlife or game; fines; disposition of fines.--In
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1 addition to any other penalty provided by law, any person who
2 violates the criminal provisions of this chapter and rules
3 adopted pursuant to this chapter by illegally killing, taking,
4 possessing, or selling game or fur-bearing animals as defined
5 in s. 372.001(3) or (4) in or out of season while violating
6 chapter 810 shall pay a fine of $250 for each such violation,
7 plus court costs and any restitution ordered by the court. All
8 fines collected under this section shall be deposited into the
9 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
10 Commission's State Game Trust Fund.
11 Section 137. Subsection (1) of section 372.7016,
12 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
13 372.7016 Voluntary Authorized Hunter Identification
14 Program.--
15 (1) There is created the "Voluntary Authorized Hunter
16 Identification Program" to assist landowners and law
17 enforcement officials in better controlling trespass and
18 illegal or unauthorized hunting. Landowners wishing to
19 participate in the program shall:
20 (a) Annually notify the sheriff's office in the county
21 in which the land is situated and the respective area
22 supervisor of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
23 Fresh Water Fish Commission by letter of their desire to
24 participate in the program, and provide a description of their
25 property which they wish to have in the program by township,
26 range, section, partial section, or other geographical
27 description.
28 (b) Provide a means of identifying authorized hunters
29 as provided in subsection (2).
30 Section 138. Section 372.72, Florida Statutes, is
31 amended to read:
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1 372.72 Disposition of fines, penalties, and
2 forfeitures.--
3 (2) All moneys collected from fines, penalties, or
4 forfeitures of bail of persons convicted of violations of
5 rules, regulations, or orders of the Fish and Wildlife
6 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission concerning
7 endangered or threatened species or of violation of s.
8 372.662, s. 372.663, s. 372.667, or s. 372.671 shall be
9 deposited in the Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund.
10 Section 139. Section 372.73, Florida Statutes, is
11 amended to read:
12 372.73 Confiscation and disposition of illegally taken
13 game.--All game and freshwater fish seized under the authority
14 of this chapter shall, upon conviction of the offender or
15 sooner if the court so orders, be forfeited and given to some
16 hospital or charitable institution and receipt therefor sent
17 to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water
18 Fish Commission. All furs or hides or fur-bearing animals
19 seized under the authority of this chapter shall, upon
20 conviction of the offender, be forfeited and sent to the
21 commission, which shall sell the same and deposit the proceeds
22 of such sale to the credit of the State Game Trust Fund or
23 into the commission's Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund as
24 provided in s. 372.107, as applicable. If any such hides or
25 furs are seized and the offender is unknown, the court shall
26 order such hides or furs sent to the Fish and Wildlife
27 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, which shall
28 sell such hides and furs and deposit the proceeds of such sale
29 to the credit of the State Game Trust Fund or into the
30 commission's Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund as provided in
31 s. 372.107, as applicable.
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1 Section 140. Section 372.74, Florida Statutes, is
2 amended to read:
3 372.74 Cooperative agreements with U. S. Forest
4 Service; penalty.--The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
5 Fresh Water Fish Commission is authorized and empowered:
6 (1) To enter into cooperative agreements with the
7 United States Forest Service for the development of game,
8 bird, fish, reptile or fur-bearing animal management and
9 demonstration projects on and in the Osceola National Forest
10 in Columbia and Baker Counties, and in the Ocala National
11 Forest in Marion, Lake, and Putnam Counties and in the
12 Apalachicola National Forest in Liberty County. Provided,
13 however, that no such cooperative agreements shall become
14 effective in any county concerned until confirmed by the board
15 of county commissioners of such county expressed through
16 appropriate resolution.
17 (2) In cooperation with the United States Forest
18 Service, to make, adopt, promulgate, amend and repeal rules
19 and regulations, consistent with law, for the further or
20 better control of hunting, fishing, and control of wildlife in
21 the above National Forests or parts thereof; to shorten
22 seasons and reduce bag limits, or shorten or close seasons on
23 any species of game, bird, fish, reptile, or fur-bearing
24 animal within the limits prescribed by the Florida law, in the
25 above enumerated National Forests or parts thereof, when it
26 shall find after investigation that such action is necessary
27 to assure the maintenance of an adequate supply of wildlife.
28 (3) To fix a charge not to exceed $5, for persons 18
29 years of age and over, and not to exceed $2 for persons under
30 the age of 18 years, over and above the license fee for
31 hunting now required by law. This additional fee is to apply
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1 only on areas covered by above cooperative agreements. The
2 proceeds from this additional license fee shall be used in the
3 development, propagation of wildlife and protection of the
4 areas covered by the cooperative agreements as the commission
5 and the United States Forest Service may deem proper. Nothing
6 in this section shall be construed as authorizing the
7 commission to change any penalty prescribed by law or to
8 change the amount of general license fees or the general
9 authority conferred by licenses prescribed by law.
10 (4) In addition to the requirements of chapter 120,
11 notice of the making, adoption, and promulgation of the above
12 rules and regulations shall be given by posting said notices,
13 or copies of the rules and regulations, in the offices of the
14 county judges and in the post offices within the area to be
15 affected and within 10 miles thereof. In addition to the
16 posting of said notices, as aforesaid, copies of said notices
17 or of said rules and regulations shall also be published in
18 newspapers published at the county seats of Baker, Columbia,
19 Marion, Lake, Putnam, and Liberty Counties, or so many thereof
20 as have newspapers, once not more than 35 nor less than 28
21 days and once not more than 21 nor less than 14 days prior to
22 the opening of the state hunting season in said areas. Any
23 person violating any rules or regulations promulgated by the
24 commission to cover these areas under cooperative agreements
25 between the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission State
26 Commission of Game and Fresh Water Fish and the United States
27 Forest Service, none of which shall be in conflict with the
28 laws of Florida, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the
29 second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
30 775.083.
31
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1 Section 141. Section 372.76, Florida Statutes, is
2 amended to read:
3 372.76 Search and seizure authorized and limited.--The
4 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
5 Commission and its conservation officers shall have authority
6 when they have reasonable and probable cause to believe that
7 the provisions of this chapter have been violated, to board
8 any vessel, boat, or vehicle or to enter any fishhouse or
9 warehouse or other building, exclusive of residence, in which
10 game, hides, fur-bearing animals, fish, or fish nets are kept
11 and to search for and seize any such game, hides, fur-bearing
12 animals, fish, or fish nets had or held therein in violation
13 of law. Provided, however, that no search without warrant
14 shall be made under any of the provisions of this chapter,
15 unless the officer making such search has such information
16 from a reliable source as would lead a prudent and cautious
17 person to believe that some provision of this chapter is being
18 violated.
19 Section 142. Subsection (1) of section 372.761,
20 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
21 372.761 Issuance of warrant for search of private
22 dwelling.--
23 (1) A search warrant may be issued on application by a
24 commissioned officer of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
25 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to search any private
26 dwelling occupied as such when it is being used for the
27 unlawful sale or purchase of wildlife or freshwater fish being
28 unlawfully kept therein. The term "private dwelling" shall be
29 construed to include the room or rooms used and occupied, not
30 transiently but solely as a residence, in an apartment house,
31 hotel, boardinghouse, or lodginghouse. No warrant for the
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1 search of any private dwelling shall be issued except upon
2 probable cause supported by sworn affidavit of some creditable
3 witness that she or he has reason to believe that the said
4 conditions exist, which affidavit shall set forth the facts on
5 which such reason for belief is based.
6 Section 143. Subsections (1) and (2) of section
7 372.77, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
8 372.77 Assent to provisions of Act of Congress of
9 September 2, 1937.--
10 (1) The state hereby assents to the provisions of the
11 Act of Congress entitled "An Act to provide that the United
12 States shall aid the States in Wildlife Restoration Projects,
13 and for other purposes," approved September 2, 1937 (Pub. L.
14 No. 415, 75th Congress), and the Fish and Wildlife
15 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission is hereby
16 authorized, empowered, and directed to perform such acts as
17 may be necessary to the conduct and establishment of
18 cooperative wildlife restoration projects, as defined in said
19 Act of Congress, in compliance with said act and rules and
20 regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Agriculture
21 thereunder.
22 (2) From and after the passage of this section it
23 shall be unlawful to divert any funds accruing to the state
24 from license fees paid by hunters for any purpose other than
25 the administration of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game
26 and Fresh Water Fish Commission of the state.
27 Section 144. Section 372.7701, Florida Statutes, is
28 amended to read:
29 372.7701 Assent to federal acts.--
30 (1) The state hereby assents to the provisions of the
31 Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act of August 9, 1950, as
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1 amended. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Department of
2 Environmental Protection and the Game and Fresh Water Fish
3 Commission shall work cooperatively and perform such
4 activities as are necessary to conduct wildlife and sportfish
5 restoration projects, as defined in such Act of Congress and
6 in compliance with the act and rules adopted thereunder by the
7 United States Department of the Interior. Furthermore, the
8 commission Department of Environmental Protection shall
9 develop and implement programs to manage, protect, restore and
10 conserve marine mammals and the marine fishery, and the Game
11 and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall develop and implement
12 similar programs for wild animal life and freshwater aquatic
13 life.
14 (2) Revenues from fees paid by hunters and sport
15 fishers may not be diverted to purposes other than the
16 administration of fish and wildlife programs by the Fish and
17 Wildlife Conservation Department of Environmental Protection
18 and the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. Administration
19 of the state fish and wildlife programs includes only those
20 functions of fish and wildlife management as are the
21 responsibility of and under the authority of the Fish and
22 Wildlife Conservation Department of Environmental Protection
23 and the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
24 (3) This section shall be construed in harmony with s.
25 372.77.
26 Section 145. Subsection (2) of section 372.771,
27 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
28 372.771 Federal conservation of fish and wildlife;
29 limited jurisdiction.--
30 (2) The United States may exercise concurrent
31 jurisdiction over lands so acquired and carry out the intent
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1 and purpose of the authority except that the existing laws of
2 Florida relating to the Department of Environmental Protection
3 or the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water
4 Fish Commission shall prevail relating to any area under their
5 supervision.
6 Section 146. Subsection (1) of section 372.85, Florida
7 Statutes, is amended to read:
8 372.85 Contaminating fresh waters.--
9 (1) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons,
10 firm or corporation to cause any dyestuff, coal tar, oil,
11 sawdust, poison or deleterious substances to be thrown, run or
12 drained into any of the fresh running waters of this state in
13 quantities sufficient to injure, stupefy, or kill fish which
14 may inhabit the same at or below the point where any such
15 substances are discharged, or caused to flow or be thrown into
16 such waters; provided, that it shall not be a violation of
17 this section for any person, firm or corporation engaged in
18 any mining industry to cause any water handled or used in any
19 branch of such industry to be discharged on the surface of
20 land where such industry or branch thereof is being carried on
21 under such precautionary measures as shall be approved by the
22 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
23 Commission.
24 Section 147. Section 372.86, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 372.86 Possessing, exhibiting poisonous or venomous
27 reptile; license required.--No person, firm, or corporation
28 shall keep, possess or exhibit any poisonous or venomous
29 reptile without first having obtained a special permit or
30 license therefor from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
31
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1 Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission as herein
2 provided.
3 Section 148. Section 372.87, Florida Statutes, is
4 amended to read:
5 372.87 License fee; renewal, revocation.--The Fish and
6 Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish
7 Commission is hereby authorized and empowered to issue a
8 license or permit for the keeping, possessing or exhibiting of
9 poisonous or venomous reptiles, upon payment of an annual fee
10 of $5 and upon assurance that all of the provisions of ss.
11 372.86-372.91 and such other reasonable rules and regulations
12 as said commission may prescribe will be fully complied with
13 in all respects. Such permit may be revoked by the Fish and
14 Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish
15 Commission upon violation of any of the provisions of ss.
16 372.86-372.91 or upon violation of any of the rules and
17 regulations prescribed by said commission relating to the
18 keeping, possessing and exhibiting of any poisonous and
19 venomous reptiles. Such permits or licenses shall be for an
20 annual period to be prescribed by the said commission and
21 shall be renewable from year to year upon the payment of said
22 $5 fee and shall be subject to the same conditions,
23 limitations and restrictions as herein set forth.
24 Section 149. Section 372.88, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 372.88 Bond required, amount.--No person, party, firm,
27 or corporation shall exhibit to the public either with or
28 without charge, or admission fee any poisonous or venomous
29 reptile without having first posted a good and sufficient bond
30 in writing in the penal sum of $1,000 payable to the Governor
31 of the state, and the Governor's successors in office,
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1 conditioned that such exhibitor will indemnify and save
2 harmless all persons from injury or damage from such poisonous
3 or venomous reptiles so exhibited and shall fully comply with
4 all laws of the state and all rules and regulations of the
5 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water
6 Fish Commission governing the keeping, possessing, or
7 exhibiting of poisonous or venomous reptiles; provided,
8 however, that the aggregate liability of the surety for all
9 such injuries or damages shall, in no event, exceed the penal
10 sum of said bond. The surety for said bond must be a surety
11 company authorized to do business under the laws of the state
12 or in lieu of such a surety, cash in the sum of $1,000 may be
13 posted with the said commission to ensure compliance with the
14 conditions of said bond.
15 Section 150. Section 372.89, Florida Statutes, is
16 amended to read:
17 372.89 Safe housing required.--All persons, firms, or
18 corporations licensed under this law to keep, possess or
19 exhibit poisonous or venomous reptiles shall provide safe,
20 secure and proper housing for said reptiles in cases, cages,
21 pits or enclosures. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm
22 or corporation, whether licensed hereunder or not, to keep,
23 possess or exhibit any poisonous or venomous reptiles in any
24 manner not approved as safe, secure and proper by the Fish and
25 Wildlife Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish
26 Commission.
27 Section 151. Section 372.901, Florida Statutes, is
28 amended to read:
29 372.901 Inspection.--Poisonous or venomous reptiles,
30 held in captivity, shall be subject to inspection by an
31 inspecting officer from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
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1 Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. The inspecting
2 officer shall determine whether the said reptiles are
3 securely, properly and safely penned. In the event that the
4 reptiles are not safely penned, the inspecting officer shall
5 report the situation in writing to the person or firm owning
6 the said reptiles. Failure of the owner or exhibitor to
7 correct the situation within 30 days after such written notice
8 shall be grounds for revocation of the license or permit of
9 said owner or exhibitor.
10 Section 152. Section 372.911, Florida Statutes, is
11 amended to read:
12 372.911 Rewards.--The Fish and Wildlife Conservation
13 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission is authorized to offer
14 rewards in amounts of up to $500 to any person furnishing
15 information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person
16 who has inflicted or attempted to inflict bodily injury upon
17 any wildlife officer engaged in the enforcement of the
18 provisions of this chapter or the rules and regulations of the
19 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
20 Commission.
21 Section 153. Subsection (3) of section 372.912,
22 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
23 372.912 Organized poisonous reptile hunts.--
24 (3) All organized poisonous reptile hunts in the state
25 shall be registered with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
26 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and be subject to
27 reasonable rules and regulations promulgated by said
28 commission.
29 Section 154. Section 372.92, Florida Statutes, is
30 amended to read:
31
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1 372.92 Rules and regulations.--The Fish and Wildlife
2 Conservation Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission may
3 prescribe such other rules and regulations as it may deem
4 necessary to prevent the escape of poisonous and venomous
5 reptiles, either in connection of construction of such cages
6 or otherwise to carry out the intent of ss. 372.86-372.91.
7 Section 155. Subsections (1), (2), (3), and (4) of
8 section 372.921, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are
9 amended to read:
10 372.921 Exhibition of wildlife.--
11 (1) In order to provide humane treatment and sanitary
12 surroundings for wild animals kept in captivity, no person,
13 firm, corporation, or association shall have, or be in
14 possession of, in captivity for the purpose of public display
15 with or without charge or for public sale any wildlife,
16 specifically birds, mammals, and reptiles, whether indigenous
17 to Florida or not, without having first secured a permit from
18 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
19 Commission authorizing such person, firm, or corporation to
20 have in its possession in captivity the species and number of
21 wildlife specified within such permit; however, this section
22 does not apply to any wildlife not protected by law and the
23 regulations of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
24 Fresh Water Fish Commission.
25 (2) The fees to be paid for the issuance of permits
26 required by subsection (1) shall be as follows:
27 (a) For not more than 10 individual specimens in the
28 aggregate of all species, the sum of $5 per annum.
29 (b) For over 10 individual specimens in the aggregate
30 of all species, the sum of $25 per annum.
31
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1 The fees prescribed by this section shall be submitted to the
2 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
3 Commission with the application for permit required by
4 subsection (1) and shall be deposited in the State Game Fund.
5 (3) An applicant for a permit shall be required to
6 include in her or his application a statement showing the
7 place, number, and species of wildlife to be held in captivity
8 by the applicant and shall be required upon request by the
9 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
10 Commission to show when, where, and in what manner she or he
11 came into possession of any wildlife acquired subsequent to
12 the effective date of this act. The source of acquisition of
13 such wildlife shall not be divulged by the commission except
14 in connection with a violation of this section or a regulation
15 of the commission in which information as to source of
16 wildlife is required as evidence in the prosecution of such
17 violation.
18 (4) Permits issued pursuant to this section and places
19 where wildlife is kept or held in captivity shall be subject
20 to inspection by officers of the Fish and Wildlife
21 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission at all
22 times. The commission shall have the power to release or
23 confiscate any specimens of any wildlife, specifically birds,
24 mammals, or reptiles, whether indigenous to the state or not,
25 when it is found that conditions under which they are being
26 confined are unsanitary, or unsafe to the public in any
27 manner, or that the species of wildlife are being maltreated,
28 mistreated, or neglected or kept in any manner contrary to the
29 provisions of chapter 828, any such permit to the contrary
30 notwithstanding. Before any such wildlife is confiscated or
31 released under the authority of this section, the owner
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1 thereof shall have been advised in writing of the existence of
2 such unsatisfactory conditions; the owner shall have been
3 given 30 days in which to correct such conditions; the owner
4 shall have failed to correct such conditions; the owner shall
5 have had an opportunity for a proceeding pursuant to chapter
6 120; and the commission shall have ordered such confiscation
7 or release after careful consideration of all evidence in the
8 particular case in question. The final order of the
9 commission shall constitute final agency action.
10 Section 156. Subsection (1) of section 372.922,
11 Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
12 372.922 Personal possession of wildlife.--
13 (1) It is unlawful for any person or persons to
14 possess any wildlife as defined in this act, whether
15 indigenous to Florida or not, until she or he has obtained a
16 permit as provided by this section from the Fish and Wildlife
17 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
18 Section 157. Section 372.97, Florida Statutes, is
19 amended to read:
20 372.97 Jim Woodruff Dam; reciprocity agreements.--The
21 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
22 Commission of the state is hereby authorized to enter into an
23 agreement of the reciprocity with the game and fish
24 commissioners or the appropriate officials or departments of
25 the State of Georgia and the State of Alabama relative to the
26 taking of game and freshwater fish from the waters of the lake
27 created by the Jim Woodruff Dam by permitting reciprocal
28 license privileges.
29 Section 158. Section 372.971, Florida Statutes, is
30 amended to read:
31
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1 372.971 St. Mary's River; reciprocity agreements.--The
2 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
3 Commission of the state is hereby authorized to enter into an
4 agreement of reciprocity with the game and fish commissioner
5 or the appropriate officials or departments of the State of
6 Georgia relative to the taking of game and freshwater fish
7 from the waters of the St. Mary's River by permitting
8 reciprocal agreement license privileges.
9 Section 159. Section 372.98, Florida Statutes, is
10 amended to read:
11 372.98 Possession of nutria; license; inspection;
12 penalty for violation.--
13 (1) No person shall release, permit to be released, or
14 be responsible for the release of, within the state, any
15 animal of the species myocastor coypu and known commonly in
16 Florida and referred to herein as nutria.
17 (2) No person shall have in her or his possession for
18 sale or otherwise any nutria until such person has obtained a
19 license as provided herein. The fee for such license shall be
20 $25 per year. Application for such license shall be made with
21 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
22 Commission on forms providing therefor.
23 (3) All persons licensed under this law to keep,
24 possess or exhibit nutria shall provide safe, secure and
25 proper housing for said nutria which will adequately safeguard
26 against the escape of any nutria. Requirements for the
27 construction of such pens or housing shall be as prescribed by
28 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
29 Commission.
30 (4) All premises upon which nutria are kept shall be
31 subject to inspection by authorized representatives of the
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1 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
2 Commission. Such officers shall determine whether the said
3 nutria are securely, properly and safely housed. In the event
4 the said nutria are not securely, properly and safely housed,
5 the inspecting officer shall so advise in writing the person
6 owning said nutria. Failure of the owner to provide within 30
7 days after such written notice secure, proper, and safe
8 housing as prescribed by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
9 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission shall be grounds for
10 revocation of the license herein provided and confiscation and
11 disposal of the said nutria as a public nuisance.
12 (5) Any person violating any provision of this section
13 or any rule and regulation of the Fish and Wildlife
14 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission pursuant
15 hereto shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree,
16 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
17 Section 160. Section 372.981, Florida Statutes, is
18 amended to read:
19 372.981 Regulation of importation of caiman.--The Fish
20 and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
21 shall promulgate regulations to control the importation of
22 caiman.
23 Section 161. Subsections (1), (3), and (4) of section
24 372.99, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
25 372.99 Illegal taking and possession of deer and wild
26 turkey; evidence; penalty.--
27 (1) Whoever takes or kills any deer or wild turkey, or
28 possesses a freshly killed deer or wild turkey, during the
29 closed season prescribed by law or by the rules and
30 regulations of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and
31 Fresh Water Fish Commission, or whoever takes or attempts to
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1 take any deer or wild turkey by the use of gun and light in or
2 out of closed season, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first
3 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083,
4 and shall forfeit any license or permit issued to her or him
5 under the provisions of this chapter. No license shall be
6 issued to such person for a period of 3 years following any
7 such violation on the first offense. Any person guilty of a
8 second or subsequent violation shall be permanently ineligible
9 for issuance of a license or permit thereafter.
10 (3) Whoever takes or kills any doe deer; fawn or baby
11 deer; or deer, whether male or female, which does not have one
12 or more antlers at least 5 inches in length, except as
13 provided by law or the rules of the Fish and Wildlife
14 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, during the
15 open season prescribed by the rules of the commission, is
16 guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
17 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, and may be required to
18 forfeit any license or permit issued to such person for a
19 period of 3 years following any such violation on the first
20 offense. Any person guilty of a second or subsequent
21 violation shall be permanently ineligible for issuance of a
22 license or permit thereafter.
23 (4) Any person who cultivates agricultural crops may
24 apply to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
25 Water Fish Commission for a permit to take or kill deer on
26 land which that person is currently cultivating. When said
27 person can show, to the satisfaction of the Fish and Wildlife
28 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, that such
29 taking or killing of deer is justified because of damage to
30 the person's crops caused by deer, the Fish and Wildlife
31 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission may issue a
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1 limited permit to the applicant to take or kill deer without
2 being in violation of subsection (1) or subsection (3).
3 Section 162. Subsections (1) and (3) of section
4 372.9901, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to
5 read:
6 372.9901 Seizure of illegal devices; disposition;
7 appraisal; forfeiture.--
8 (1) Any vehicle, vessel, animal, gun, light, or other
9 hunting device used in the commission of an offense prohibited
10 by s. 372.99, shall be seized by the arresting officer, who
11 shall promptly make return of the seizure and deliver the
12 property to the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
13 Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. The return shall
14 describe the property seized and recite in detail the facts
15 and circumstances under which it was seized, together with the
16 reason that the property was subject to seizure. The return
17 shall also contain the names of all persons known to the
18 officer to be interested in the property.
19 (3) Upon conviction of the violator, the property, if
20 owned by the person convicted, shall be forfeited to the state
21 under the procedure set forth in ss. 372.312 through 372.318,
22 where not inconsistent with this section. All amounts received
23 from the sale or other disposition of the property shall be
24 paid into the State Game Trust Fund or into the commission's
25 Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund as provided in s. 372.107,
26 as applicable. If the property is not sold or converted, it
27 shall be delivered to the director of the Fish and Wildlife
28 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
29 Section 163. Subsection (1) of section 372.9903,
30 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
31
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1 372.9903 Illegal possession or transportation of
2 freshwater game fish in commercial quantities; penalty.--
3 (1) Whoever possesses, moves, or transports any black
4 bass, bream, speckled perch, or other freshwater game fish in
5 commercial quantities in violation of law or the rules of the
6 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
7 Commission shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first
8 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
9 Section 164. Subsections (1) and (3) of section
10 372.9904, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to
11 read:
12 372.9904 Seizure of illegal devices; disposition;
13 appraisal; forfeiture.--
14 (1) Any vehicle, vessel, or other transportation
15 device used in the commission of the offense prohibited by s.
16 372.9903, except a vehicle, vessel, or other transportation
17 device duly registered as a common carrier and operated in
18 lawful transaction of business as such carrier, shall be
19 seized by the arresting officer, who shall promptly make
20 return of the seizure and deliver the property to the director
21 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water
22 Fish Commission. The return shall describe the property
23 seized and recite in detail the facts and circumstances under
24 which it was seized, together with the reason that the
25 property was subject to seizure. The return shall also
26 contain the names of all persons known to the officer to be
27 interested in the property.
28 (3) Upon conviction of the violator, the property, if
29 owned by the person convicted, shall be forfeited to the state
30 under the procedure set forth in ss. 372.312-372.318, when not
31 inconsistent with this section. All amounts received from the
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1 sale or other disposition of the property shall be paid into
2 the State Game Trust Fund or into the commission's Federal Law
3 Enforcement Trust Fund as provided in s. 372.107, as
4 applicable. If the property is not sold or converted, it
5 shall be delivered to the director of the Fish and Wildlife
6 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
7 Section 165. Section 372.9906, Florida Statutes, is
8 amended to read:
9 372.9906 Wildlife Law Enforcement Program; creation;
10 purposes.--There is established within the Fish and Wildlife
11 Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission the Wildlife
12 Law Enforcement Program. The commission may establish and
13 operate law enforcement programs that relate to the
14 conservation, enhancement, and regulation of wildlife and
15 freshwater aquatic resources of the state and to conduct
16 programs to educate the public about the enforcement of laws
17 and regulations relating to the wildlife and freshwater
18 aquatic resources of the state. Moneys that accrue to the
19 program by law and moneys donated to the program must be
20 deposited into the State Game Trust Fund.
21 Section 166. Subsection (2) of section 372.991,
22 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
23 372.991 Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund.--
24 (2)(a) There is established within the Fish and
25 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission the
26 Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund. The fund shall be credited with
27 moneys collected pursuant to ss. 319.32(3) and 320.02(8).
28 Additional funds may be provided from legislative
29 appropriations and by donations from interested individuals
30 and organizations. The commission shall designate an
31 identifiable unit to administer the trust fund.
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1 (b) Proceeds from the trust fund shall be used for the
2 following purposes:
3 1. Documentation of population trends of nongame
4 wildlife and assessment of wildlife habitat, in coordination
5 with the database of Florida natural areas inventory.
6 2. Establishment of effective conservation,
7 management, and regulatory programs for nongame wildlife of
8 the state.
9 3. Public education programs.
10 Section 167. Subsection (1) of section 372.992,
11 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
12 372.992 Nongame Wildlife Advisory Council.--
13 (1) There is created the Nongame Wildlife Advisory
14 Council, which shall consist of the following 11 members
15 appointed by the Governor: one representative each from the
16 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
17 Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, and
18 the United States Fish and Wildlife Services; the director of
19 the Florida Museum of Natural History or her or his designee;
20 one representative from a professional wildlife organization;
21 one representative from a private wildlife institution; one
22 representative from a Florida university or college who has
23 expertise in nongame biology; one representative of business
24 interests from a private consulting firm who has expertise in
25 nongame biology; one representative of a statewide
26 organization of landowner interests; and two members from
27 conservation organizations. All appointments shall be for
28 4-year terms. Members shall be eligible for reappointment.
29 Section 168. Subsection (2) of section 372.995,
30 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
31 372.995 Release of balloons.--
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1 (2) It is unlawful for any person, firm, or
2 corporation to intentionally release, organize the release, or
3 intentionally cause to be released within a 24-hour period 10
4 or more balloons inflated with a gas that is lighter than air
5 except for:
6 (a) Balloons released by a person on behalf of a
7 governmental agency or pursuant to a governmental contract for
8 scientific or meteorological purposes;
9 (b) Hot air balloons that are recovered after
10 launching;
11 (c) Balloons released indoors; or
12 (d) Balloons that are either biodegradable or
13 photodegradable, as determined by rule of the Fish and
14 Wildlife Conservation Marine Fisheries Commission, and which
15 are closed by a hand-tied knot in the stem of the balloon
16 without string, ribbon, or other attachments. In the event
17 that any balloons are released pursuant to the exemption
18 established in this paragraph, the party responsible for the
19 release shall make available to any law enforcement officer
20 evidence of the biodegradability or photodegradability of said
21 balloons in the form of a certificate executed by the
22 manufacturer. Failure to provide said evidence shall be prima
23 facie evidence of a violation of this act.
24 Section 169. Subsections (1), (2), and (5) of section
25 373.453, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
26 373.453 Surface water improvement and management plans
27 and programs.--
28 (1)(a) Each water management district, in cooperation
29 with the department, the Department of Agriculture and
30 Consumer Services, the Department of Community Affairs, the
31 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish
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1 Commission, and local governments shall prepare and maintain a
2 list which shall prioritize water bodies of regional or
3 statewide significance within each water management district.
4 The list shall be reviewed and updated every 3 years. The list
5 shall be based on criteria adopted by rule of the department
6 and shall assign priorities to the water bodies based on their
7 need for protection and restoration.
8 (b) Criteria developed by the department shall
9 include, but need not be limited to, consideration of
10 violations of water quality standards occurring in the water
11 body, the amounts of nutrients entering the water body and the
12 water body's trophic state, the existence of or need for a
13 continuous aquatic weed control program in the water body, the
14 biological condition of the water body, reduced fish and
15 wildlife values, and threats to agricultural and urban water
16 supplies and public recreational opportunities.
17 (c) In developing their respective priority lists,
18 water management districts shall give consideration to the
19 following priority areas:
20 1. The South Florida Water Management District shall
21 give priority to the restoration needs of Lake Okeechobee,
22 Biscayne Bay, and the Indian River Lagoon system and their
23 tributaries.
24 2. The Southwest Florida Water Management District
25 shall give priority to the restoration needs of Tampa Bay and
26 its tributaries.
27 3. The St. Johns River Water Management District shall
28 give priority to the restoration needs of Lake Apopka, the
29 Lower St. Johns River, and the Indian River Lagoon system and
30 their tributaries.
31
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1 (2) Once the priority lists are approved by the
2 department, the water management districts, in cooperation
3 with the department, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game
4 and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the Department of Community
5 Affairs, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,
6 and local governments, shall develop surface water improvement
7 and management plans for the water bodies based on the
8 priority lists. The department shall establish a uniform
9 format for such plans and a schedule for reviewing and
10 updating the plans. These plans shall include, but not be
11 limited to:
12 (a) A description of the water body system, its
13 historical and current uses, its hydrology, and a history of
14 the conditions which have led to the need for restoration or
15 protection;
16 (b) An identification of all governmental units that
17 have jurisdiction over the water body and its drainage basin
18 within the approved surface water improvement and management
19 plan area, including local, regional, state, and federal
20 units;
21 (c) A description of land uses within the drainage
22 basin within the approved surface water improvement and
23 management plan area and those of important tributaries, point
24 and nonpoint sources of pollution, and permitted discharge
25 activities;
26 (d) A list of the owners of point and nonpoint sources
27 of water pollution that are discharged into each water body
28 and tributary thereto and that adversely affect the public
29 interest, including separate lists of those sources that are:
30 1. Operating without a permit;
31 2. Operating with a temporary operating permit; and
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1 3. Presently violating effluent limits or water
2 quality standards.
3
4 The plan shall also include recommendations and schedules for
5 bringing all sources into compliance with state standards when
6 not contrary to the public interest. This paragraph does not
7 authorize any existing or future violation of any applicable
8 statute, regulation, or permit requirement, and does not
9 diminish the authority of the department or the water
10 management district;
11 (e) A description of strategies and potential
12 strategies for restoring or protecting the water body to Class
13 III or better;
14 (f) A listing of studies that are being or have been
15 prepared for the water body;
16 (g) A description of the research and feasibility
17 studies which will be performed to determine the particular
18 strategy or strategies to restore or protect the water body;
19 (h) A description of the measures needed to manage and
20 maintain the water body once it has been restored and to
21 prevent future degradation;
22 (i) A schedule for restoration and protection of the
23 water body; and
24 (j) An estimate of the funding needed to carry out the
25 restoration or protection strategies.
26 (5) The governing board of each water management
27 district is encouraged to appoint advisory committees as
28 necessary to assist in formulating and evaluating strategies
29 for water body protection and restoration activities and to
30 increase public awareness and intergovernmental cooperation.
31 Such committees should include representatives of the Fish and
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1 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission,
2 the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,
3 appropriate local governments, federal agencies, existing
4 advisory councils for the subject water body, and
5 representatives of the public who use the water body.
6 Section 170. Subsections (1) and (3) of section
7 373.455, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
8 373.455 Review of surface water improvement and
9 management plans.--
10 (1) At least 60 days prior to consideration by the
11 governing board pursuant to s. 373.456(1) of its surface water
12 improvement and management plan, a water management district
13 shall transmit its proposed plan to the department, the
14 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Fish and
15 Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission,
16 the Department of Community Affairs, and local governments.
17 (3) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Game and Fresh
18 Water Fish Commission shall review each proposed surface water
19 improvement and management plan to determine the effects of
20 the plan on wild animal life and fresh water aquatic life and
21 their habitats. If the commission determines that the plan
22 has adverse effects on these resources and that such adverse
23 effects exceed the beneficial effects on these resources, the
24 commission shall recommend modifications of or additions to
25 the plan to the district governing board at the time it
26 considers the plan pursuant to s. 373.456(1), or any
27 modifications or additions which would result in additional
28 beneficial effects on wild animal life or fresh water aquatic
29 life or their habitats.
30 Section 171. Subsection (2) of section 373.4595,
31 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
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1 373.4595 Lake Okeechobee improvement and management.--
2 (2) DIVERSIONS; LAKE OKEECHOBEE TECHNICAL ADVISORY
3 COUNCIL.--
4 (a) The Legislature finds that efforts to reduce
5 nutrient levels in Lake Okeechobee have resulted in diversions
6 of nutrient-laden waters to other environmentally sensitive
7 areas, which diversions have resulted in adverse environmental
8 effects. The Legislature also finds that both the agriculture
9 industry and the environmental community are committed to
10 protecting Lake Okeechobee and these environmentally sensitive
11 areas from further harm and that this crisis must be addressed
12 immediately. Therefore:
13 1. The South Florida Water Management District shall
14 not divert waters to the Indian River estuary, the
15 Caloosahatchee River or its estuary, or the Everglades
16 National Park, in such a way that the state water quality
17 standards are violated, that the nutrients in such diverted
18 waters adversely affect indigenous vegetation communities or
19 wildlife, or that fresh waters diverted to the Caloosahatchee
20 or Indian River estuaries adversely affect the estuarine
21 vegetation or wildlife, unless the receiving waters will
22 biologically benefit by the diversion. However, diversion is
23 permitted when an emergency is declared by the water
24 management district, if the Secretary of Environmental
25 Protection concurs.
26 2. The South Florida Water Management district may
27 divert waters to other areas, including Lake Hicpochee, unless
28 otherwise provided by law. However, the district shall monitor
29 the effects of such diversions to determine the extent of
30 adverse or positive environmental effects on indigenous
31 vegetation and wildlife. The results of the monitoring shall
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1 be reported to the Lake Okeechobee Technical Advisory Council.
2 If the monitoring of such diversions reveals continuing
3 adverse environmental effects, the district shall make
4 recommendations to the Legislature by July 1, 1988, on how to
5 cease the diversions.
6 (b)1. There is hereby created a Lake Okeechobee
7 Technical Advisory Council. Council members shall be experts
8 in the fields of botany, wildlife biology, aquatic biology,
9 water quality chemistry, or hydrology and shall consist of:
10 a. Three members appointed by the Governor;
11 b. Three members appointed by the Speaker of the House
12 of Representatives;
13 c. Three members appointed by the President of the
14 Senate;
15 d. One member from the Institute of Food and
16 Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, appointed by the
17 President of the University of Florida; and
18 e. One member from the College of Natural Sciences,
19 University of South Florida, appointed by the President of the
20 University of South Florida.
21
22 Members shall be appointed not later than July 15, 1987.
23 2. The purpose of the council shall be to investigate
24 the adverse effects of past diversions of water and potential
25 effects of future diversions on indigenous wildlife and
26 vegetation and to report to the Legislature, no later than
27 March 1, 1988, with findings and recommendations proposing
28 permanent solutions to eliminate such adverse effects.
29 3. The South Florida Water Management District shall
30 provide staff and assistance to the council. The Department of
31 Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
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1