| 2 | The Committee on Natural Resources recommends the following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Committee Substitute |
| 5 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 6 | A bill to be entitled |
| 7 | An act relating to recreational and fishing working |
| 8 | waterfronts; creating s. 342.07, F.S.; providing |
| 9 | legislative findings; providing definitions; requiring the |
| 10 | Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to conduct a |
| 11 | study of recreational and fishing working waterfronts and |
| 12 | provide a report to the Governor and Cabinet and the |
| 13 | Legislature; providing a source of funding for the study; |
| 14 | providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Section 342.07, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 19 | read: |
| 20 | 342.07 Recreational and fishing working waterfronts; |
| 21 | legislative findings; definitions.-- |
| 22 | (1) The Legislature recognizes that there is an important |
| 23 | state interest in boating access to the state's navigable |
| 24 | waters. This access is vital to recreational users and the |
| 25 | marine industry in the state, to maintaining or enhancing the |
| 26 | $14 billion economic impact of boating in the state, and to |
| 27 | insuring continued access to all residents and visitors to the |
| 28 | navigable waters of the state. The Legislature recognizes that |
| 29 | there is an important state interest in maintaining viable |
| 30 | water-dependent support facilities, such as boat hauling and |
| 31 | repairing and commercial fishing facilities, and in maintaining |
| 32 | the availability of public access to the navigable waters of the |
| 33 | state. The Legislature further recognizes that the waterways of |
| 34 | the state are important for engaging in commerce and the |
| 35 | transportation of goods and people upon such waterways and that |
| 36 | such commerce and transportation is not feasible unless there is |
| 37 | access to and from the navigable waters of the state through |
| 38 | recreational and fishing working waterfronts. |
| 39 | (2) For purposes of this section, the term "recreational |
| 40 | and fishing working waterfronts" means a parcel or parcels of |
| 41 | real property that provide access for water-dependent commercial |
| 42 | activities or provide access for the public to the navigable |
| 43 | waters of the state. Recreational and fishing working |
| 44 | waterfronts require direct access to or a location on, over, or |
| 45 | adjacent to a navigable body of water. The term "recreational |
| 46 | and fishing working waterfronts" includes water-dependent |
| 47 | facilities that are open to the public and offer public access |
| 48 | by vessels to the waters of the state or are support facilities |
| 49 | for recreational, commercial, research, or governmental vessels. |
| 50 | These facilities include docks, wharfs, lifts, wet and dry |
| 51 | marinas, public boat ramps, boat hauling and repair facilities, |
| 52 | commercial fishing facilities, boat construction facilities, and |
| 53 | other support structures over the water. For purposes of this |
| 54 | section, the term "vessel" is as defined in s. 327.02(37), |
| 55 | Florida Statutes. Seaports are excluded from such definition. |
| 56 | Section 2. Recreational and fishing working waterfronts |
| 57 | study.--The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall |
| 58 | undertake a comprehensive study pertaining to the future demand |
| 59 | for and economic impact of recreational and fishing working |
| 60 | waterfronts on all navigable waters of the state. The study |
| 61 | shall develop use profiles of current recreational and fishing |
| 62 | working waterfronts, project future trends, and determine the |
| 63 | types of facilities to be used. The study shall also estimate |
| 64 | capital costs necessary to meet the demands of future |
| 65 | recreational and fishing working waterfronts through public boat |
| 66 | ramps, governmentally owned marinas, and mooring fields and |
| 67 | shall determine funding sources. Working with stakeholders, a |
| 68 | prioritization strategy shall be developed for the replacement |
| 69 | of recreational and fishing working waterfronts or the |
| 70 | rebuilding of existing infrastructures. The study shall evaluate |
| 71 | the need for public access, as well as economic impact and |
| 72 | economic value considerations, as part of the rebuilding of |
| 73 | existing recreational and working waterfronts. The study shall |
| 74 | also evaluate potential incentives for continued use or |
| 75 | additional development of recreational and fishing working |
| 76 | waterfronts by the private sector to help avoid further loss of |
| 77 | public access through changes to other uses. This portion of the |
| 78 | study shall include, but is not limited to, the voluntary use of |
| 79 | both tax relief and the purchase of development rights. At a |
| 80 | minimum, the scope of work for the study shall provide the |
| 81 | details of all the components of the study on a county-by-county |
| 82 | basis and shall provide the request for qualifications and |
| 83 | request for proposal process to carry out the study. All state |
| 84 | agencies are directed to provide the Fish and Wildlife |
| 85 | Conservation Commission with staff assistance and information as |
| 86 | appropriate for the development of the study. The findings of |
| 87 | the study shall be furnished to the Governor and Cabinet, the |
| 88 | President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of |
| 89 | Representatives no later than November 30, 2007. The Fish and |
| 90 | Wildlife Conservation Commission shall use funds appropriated to |
| 91 | the Office of Boating and Waterways from the Marine Resources |
| 92 | Conservation Trust Fund for the purpose of funding the study. |
| 93 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |