| 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; providing requirements for location and use |
| 10 | of replacement lands; requiring state agencies and water |
| 11 | management districts to allow certain lands to be used for |
| 12 | the purpose of hunting; providing an exemption for lands |
| 13 | within the state park system; authorizing the Department |
| 14 | of Environmental Protection to make certain determinations |
| 15 | relating to such lands; requiring annual reports to the |
| 16 | commission and Legislature; providing an effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | WHEREAS, section 372.002, Florida Statutes, protects the |
| 19 | right of citizens of this state to hunt, and |
| 20 | WHEREAS, access and availability of hunting lands is |
| 21 | essential to the exercise of that right, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Section 372.0025, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 26 | to read: |
| 27 | 372.0025 No net loss of hunting lands.-- |
| 28 | (1) As used in this section, the term: |
| 29 | (a) "Commission" means the Fish and Wildlife Conservation |
| 30 | Commission. |
| 31 | (b) "Commission-managed lands" means those lands owned by |
| 32 | the commission, those lands owned by the state over which the |
| 33 | commission holds management authority, or those privately owned |
| 34 | lands that are leased or managed by the commission. |
| 35 | (c) "Hunting" means the lawful pursuit, trapping, |
| 36 | shooting, capture, collection, or killing of wildlife or the |
| 37 | lawful attempt to pursue, trap, shoot, capture, collect, or kill |
| 38 | wildlife. |
| 39 | (2) Commission-managed lands shall be open to access and |
| 40 | use for hunting except as limited by the commission for reasons |
| 41 | of public safety, fish or wildlife management, or homeland |
| 42 | security or as otherwise limited by law. |
| 43 | (3) The commission, in exercising its authority under the |
| 44 | State Constitution and statutes, shall exercise its authority, |
| 45 | consistent with subsection (2), in a manner that supports, |
| 46 | promotes, and enhances hunting opportunities to the extent |
| 47 | authorized by state law. |
| 48 | (4) Commission land management decisions and actions, |
| 49 | including decisions made by private owners to close hunting land |
| 50 | managed by the commission, shall not result in any net loss of |
| 51 | habitat land acreage available for hunting opportunities on |
| 52 | commission-managed lands that exists on the effective date of |
| 53 | this act. The commission shall expeditiously find replacement |
| 54 | acreage for hunting to compensate for closures of any existing |
| 55 | hunting land. Replacement lands shall, to the greatest extent |
| 56 | possible, be located within the same administrative region of |
| 57 | the commission and shall be consistent with the hunting |
| 58 | discipline that the commission allowed on the closed land. |
| 59 | (5) Any state agency or water management district that |
| 60 | owns or manages lands shall assist and coordinate and cooperate |
| 61 | with the commission to allow hunting on such lands if such lands |
| 62 | are determined by the commission to be suitable for hunting. To |
| 63 | ensure no net loss of land acreage available for hunting, state |
| 64 | agencies and water management districts shall cooperate with the |
| 65 | commission to open new, additional hunting lands to replace lost |
| 66 | hunting acreage. However, lands officially designated as units |
| 67 | within the state park system may not be considered for |
| 68 | replacement hunting lands and may only be opened for hunting |
| 69 | when necessary as a wildlife control or management tool as |
| 70 | determined by the Division of Recreation and Parks in the |
| 71 | Department of Environmental Protection. |
| 72 | (6) By October 1 of each year, the executive director of |
| 73 | the commission shall submit to the Legislature a written report |
| 74 | describing: |
| 75 | (a) The acreage managed by the commission that was closed |
| 76 | to hunting during the previous fiscal year and the reasons for |
| 77 | the closures. |
| 78 | (b) The acreage managed by the commission that was opened |
| 79 | to hunting to compensate for closures of existing land pursuant |
| 80 | to subsection (4). |
| 81 | (7) By October 1 of each year, any state agency or water |
| 82 | management district that owns or manages lands shall submit a |
| 83 | written report to the commission and the Legislature that |
| 84 | includes: |
| 85 | (a) A list of properties that were open for hunting during |
| 86 | the previous fiscal year. |
| 87 | (b) A list of properties that were not open for hunting |
| 88 | during the previous fiscal year. |
| 89 | (c) The acreage for each property and the county where |
| 90 | each property is located, except for right-of-way lands and |
| 91 | parcels under 50 acres. |
| 92 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |