| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to hunting lands; creating s. 372.0025, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing definitions; requiring certain lands |
| 4 | owned, managed, or leased by the Fish and Wildlife |
| 5 | Conservation Commission to be used for the purpose of |
| 6 | hunting; requiring the commission to support, promote, and |
| 7 | enhance hunting opportunities; requiring the commission to |
| 8 | provide comparable acreage for any loss of existing |
| 9 | hunting lands; requiring agencies and water management |
| 10 | districts to allow certain lands to be used for the |
| 11 | purpose of hunting; requiring annual reports to the |
| 12 | commission and Legislature; providing an effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | WHEREAS, section 372.002, Florida Statutes, protects the |
| 15 | right of citizens of this state to hunt, and |
| 16 | WHEREAS, access and availability of hunting lands is |
| 17 | essential to the exercise of that right, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Section 372.0025, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 22 | to read: |
| 23 | 372.0025 No net loss of hunting lands.-- |
| 24 | (1) As used in this section, the term: |
| 25 | (a) "Commission" means the Fish and Wildlife Conservation |
| 26 | Commission. |
| 27 | (b) "Commission-managed lands" means those lands owned by |
| 28 | the commission, those lands owned by the state over which the |
| 29 | commission holds management authority, or those privately owned |
| 30 | lands that are leased or managed by the commission. |
| 31 | (c) "Hunting" means the lawful pursuit, trapping, |
| 32 | shooting, capture, collection, or killing of wildlife or the |
| 33 | lawful attempt to pursue, trap, shoot, capture, collect, or kill |
| 34 | wildlife. |
| 35 | (2) Commission-managed lands shall be open to access and |
| 36 | use for hunting except as limited by the commission for reasons |
| 37 | of public safety, fish or wildlife management, or homeland |
| 38 | security or as otherwise limited by law. |
| 39 | (3) The commission, in exercising its authority under the |
| 40 | State Constitution and statutes, shall exercise its authority, |
| 41 | consistent with subsection (2), in a manner that supports, |
| 42 | promotes, and enhances hunting opportunities to the extent |
| 43 | authorized by state law. |
| 44 | (4) Commission land management decisions and actions, |
| 45 | including decisions made by private owners to close hunting land |
| 46 | managed by the commission, shall not result in any net loss of |
| 47 | habitat land acreage available for hunting opportunities on |
| 48 | commission-managed lands that exists on the effective date of |
| 49 | this act. The commission shall expeditiously find replacement |
| 50 | acreage for hunting to compensate for closures of any existing |
| 51 | hunting land. |
| 52 | (5) Any agency or water management district that owns or |
| 53 | manages state lands shall assist and coordinate and cooperate |
| 54 | with the commission to allow hunting on such lands if such lands |
| 55 | are determined by the commission to be suitable for hunting. To |
| 56 | ensure no net loss of land acreage available for hunting, |
| 57 | agencies and water management districts shall cooperate with the |
| 58 | commission to open new, additional hunting lands to replace lost |
| 59 | hunting acreage. |
| 60 | (6) By October 1 of each year, the executive director of |
| 61 | the commission shall submit to the Legislature a written report |
| 62 | describing: |
| 63 | (a) The acreage managed by the commission that was closed |
| 64 | to hunting during the previous fiscal year and the reasons for |
| 65 | the closures. |
| 66 | (b) The acreage managed by the commission that was opened |
| 67 | to hunting to compensate for closures of existing land pursuant |
| 68 | to subsection (4). |
| 69 | (7) By October 1 of each year, any agency or water |
| 70 | management district that owns or manages state lands shall |
| 71 | submit a written report to the commission and the Legislature |
| 72 | that includes: |
| 73 | (a) A list of properties that were open for hunting during |
| 74 | the previous fiscal year. |
| 75 | (b) A list of properties that were not open for hunting |
| 76 | during the previous fiscal year. |
| 77 | (c) The acreage for each property and the county where |
| 78 | each property is located. |
| 79 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |