| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Oceans and Coastal Resources |
| 3 | Council; creating s. 161.59, F.S.; establishing the Oceans |
| 4 | and Coastal Resources Council; providing findings and |
| 5 | intent; providing for board composition, purpose, and |
| 6 | responsibilities; authorizing reimbursement for travel and |
| 7 | per diem; requiring the Department of Environmental |
| 8 | Protection to provide certain services to the council; |
| 9 | requiring the council to submit preliminary and annual |
| 10 | reports to the Governor and the Legislature; providing an |
| 11 | effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Section 161.59, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 16 | read: |
| 17 | 161.59 Oceans and Coastal Resources Council.-- |
| 18 | (1) FINDINGS; INTENT.--In spite of many years of efforts |
| 19 | to protect and conserve the resources of the state's coastal |
| 20 | zone, recent reports, including the September 2004 Final Report |
| 21 | of the United States Commission on Ocean Policy, have identified |
| 22 | troubling trends with regard to continuing degradation of the |
| 23 | state's coastal zone that will require major changes in the way |
| 24 | this area is managed. |
| 25 | (a) The Coastal Management Act was adopted in 1972 as a |
| 26 | means for complying with the federal Coastal Zone Management |
| 27 | Act. The coastal zone management plan approved by the Federal |
| 28 | Government for the state to comply with the Coastal Zone |
| 29 | Management Act is based on existing statutes and rules and is |
| 30 | coordinated through the Coastal Management Program in the |
| 31 | Department of Environmental Protection. It is now apparent that |
| 32 | the program has not been completely effective in achieving the |
| 33 | goal of protecting and conserving the resources of the state's |
| 34 | coastal zone, and new measures must be taken to achieve this |
| 35 | goal. |
| 36 | (b) The inability of the current coastal zone management |
| 37 | plan to achieve the goal of protecting and conserving the |
| 38 | resources of the state's coastal zone is due in large part to |
| 39 | inadequate information with regard to those resources and |
| 40 | inadequate management strategies to protect and conserve those |
| 41 | resources. |
| 42 | (c) It is the intent of the Legislature to create the |
| 43 | Oceans and Coastal Resources Council to assist the state in |
| 44 | determining what new management strategies should be implemented |
| 45 | to achieve the goal of maximizing the protection and |
| 46 | conservation of the resources of the state's coastal zone. |
| 47 | (2) COMPOSITION.--The Oceans and Coastal Resources Council |
| 48 | shall be composed of nine members. The Governor shall appoint |
| 49 | two members, the President of the Senate shall appoint two |
| 50 | members, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall |
| 51 | appoint two members, and the Board of Directors of the Florida |
| 52 | Oceans Alliance shall appoint three members. The Governor shall |
| 53 | appoint the chair, and the vice chair shall be elected, from |
| 54 | among the membership. All appointments shall be for 4-year |
| 55 | terms. The Governor may at any time fill a vacancy for an |
| 56 | unexpired term. The members of the council shall serve without |
| 57 | compensation but shall be paid travel and per diem as provided |
| 58 | in s. 112.061 while in the performance of their official duties. |
| 59 | Administrative, personnel, and other support services necessary |
| 60 | for the council shall be furnished by the Department of |
| 61 | Environmental Protection. |
| 62 | (3) PURPOSE.--The purpose of the council shall be to |
| 63 | determine those new management strategies that should be |
| 64 | implemented to achieve the goal of maximizing the protection and |
| 65 | conservation of the resources of the state's coastal zone |
| 66 | through the specific responsibilities listed in subsection (4). |
| 67 | (4) RESPONSIBILITIES.-- |
| 68 | (a) The initial responsibility of the council is to review |
| 69 | the September 2004 Final Report of the United States Commission |
| 70 | on Ocean Policy and other similar reports in order to identify |
| 71 | those specific issues of concern that apply to the state. |
| 72 | (b) The council shall then conduct a comprehensive |
| 73 | evaluation of the state's current coastal zone management plan |
| 74 | for the purpose of understanding how that plan is being |
| 75 | implemented and why it has not been effective in achieving the |
| 76 | goal of protecting and conserving the resources of the state's |
| 77 | coastal zone. |
| 78 | (c) The council shall identify specific, quantifiable |
| 79 | goals that can be achieved to meet the overall goal of |
| 80 | protecting and conserving the resources of the state's coastal |
| 81 | zone. |
| 82 | (d) The council shall create a research task force and a |
| 83 | management task force to assist in its work. |
| 84 | 1. The research task force shall be composed of |
| 85 | representatives from the state's marine science institutions and |
| 86 | shall be appointed by the council. The research task force shall |
| 87 | be responsible for identifying specific inadequacies in the |
| 88 | information and data that are essential to the implementation of |
| 89 | effective management strategies for achieving the identified |
| 90 | goals. The research task force shall make recommendations to the |
| 91 | council for specific research projects that can be conducted to |
| 92 | provide the needed information. |
| 93 | 2. The management task force shall be composed of |
| 94 | representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection, |
| 95 | the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, each of the five |
| 96 | water management districts, the South Atlantic Fisheries |
| 97 | Management Council, and the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management |
| 98 | Council. The management task force shall be responsible for |
| 99 | identifying specific inadequacies in the current management of |
| 100 | the state's coastal resources. The management task force shall |
| 101 | make recommendations to the council for specific changes to the |
| 102 | current management programs that can be implemented to address |
| 103 | those management inadequacies. |
| 104 | (e) The council shall have continuing responsibilities to |
| 105 | seek funding for research and propose legislation for new |
| 106 | management strategies and realignment of current management |
| 107 | responsibilities. |
| 108 | (5) REPORTING.--The council shall submit a preliminary |
| 109 | report of its work to the Governor, the President of the Senate, |
| 110 | and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by February 1, |
| 111 | 2006. In subsequent years, the council shall report annually by |
| 112 | December 31 to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and |
| 113 | the Speaker of the House of Representatives and shall include in |
| 114 | such report recommendations for research needs and management |
| 115 | strategies, recommendations for legislative appropriations, and |
| 116 | proposed legislation needed to implement any recommended changes |
| 117 | to management strategies. |
| 118 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |