Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2178
Barcode 310238
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 The Committee on Community Affairs (Hill) recommended the
12 following amendment:
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14 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
15 On page 5, lines 12-29, delete those lines
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17 and insert:
18 Section 2. Effective October 1, 2007, present
19 subsections (4), (5), (6), and (7) of section 253.04, Florida
20 Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5), (6), (7), and
21 (8), respectively, and a new subsection (4) is added to that
22 section, to read:
23 253.04 Duty of board to protect, etc., state lands;
24 state may join in any action brought.--
25 (4)(a) Any person operating a vessel outside a
26 lawfully marked channel in a careless manner that causes
27 propeller scarring within an acquatic preserve commits a civil
28 infraction, punishable as provided in s. 327.73. Each
29 violation is a separate offense. As used in this subsection,
30 the term:
31 1. "Propeller scarring" means damage caused by the
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2178
Barcode 310238
1 operation of a vessel in waters supporting seagrasses,
2 resulting in the destruction of roots, shoots, or stems of
3 seagrass plants, which causes denuding of vegetation in tracks
4 of sediment commonly referred to as prop-scars or propeller
5 scars.
6 2. "Seagrasses" means Cuban shoal grass (Halodule
7 wrightii), turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum), manatee grass
8 (Syringodium filiforme), star grass (Halophila engelmannii),
9 paddle grass (Halophila decipiens), Johnson's seagrass
10 (Halophila johnsonii), or widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima).
11 (b) Any violation of this subsection is a violation of
12 the boating laws of this state and shall be charged on a
13 uniform boating citation as provided in s. 327.74. Any person
14 who refuses to post a bond or accept and sign a uniform
15 boating citation commits a misdemeanor of the second degree as
16 provided in s. 327.73(3), punishable as provided in s. 775.082
17 or s. 775.083.
18 (c) All civil penalties imposed and collected pursuant
19 to this subsection shall be deposited into the Internal
20 Improvement Trust Fund and used solely to implement,
21 administer, and enforce this subsection; provide for seagrass
22 restoration; and conduct a program to educate vessel operators
23 about the need to protect seagrasses from damage caused by the
24 operation of vessels.
25 Section 3. Effective October 1, 2007, paragraph (x) is
26 added to subsection (1) of section 327.73, Florida Statutes,
27 and subsection (8) of that section is amended, to read:
28 327.73 Noncriminal infractions.--
29 (1) Violations of the following provisions of the
30 vessel laws of this state are noncriminal infractions:
31 (x) Section 253.04(4)(a), relating to carelessly
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2178
Barcode 310238
1 causing propeller scarring in an acquatic preserve, for which
2 the civil penalty is:
3 1. Fifty dollars upon conviction for a first offense;
4 2. Two hundred and fifty dollars upon conviction for a
5 second offense occurring within 12 months after a prior
6 conviction;
7 3. Five hundred dollars upon conviction for a third
8 offense occurring within 36 months after a prior conviction;
9 4. One thousand dollars upon conviction for a fourth
10 or subsequent offense.
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12 Any person cited for a violation of any such provision shall
13 be deemed to be charged with a noncriminal infraction, shall
14 be cited for such an infraction, and shall be cited to appear
15 before the county court. The civil penalty for any such
16 infraction is $50, except as otherwise provided in this
17 section. Any person who fails to appear or otherwise properly
18 respond to a uniform boating citation shall, in addition to
19 the charge relating to the violation of the boating laws of
20 this state, be charged with the offense of failing to respond
21 to such citation and, upon conviction, be guilty of a
22 misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
23 775.082 or s. 775.083. A written warning to this effect shall
24 be provided at the time such uniform boating citation is
25 issued.
26 (8) Except as otherwise provided in s. 253.04(4)(c),
27 all fees and civil penalties assessed and collected pursuant
28 to this section shall be remitted by the clerk of the court to
29 the Department of Revenue to be deposited into the Marine
30 Resources Conservation Trust Fund for boating safety education
31 purposes.
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2178
Barcode 310238
1 Section 4. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
2 Government Accountability shall evaluate the overall impact of
3 the recreational marine industry in this state and report its
4 findings to the Legislature by January 1, 2008. The evaluation
5 must:
6 (1) Include a review of the incentives that are
7 currently available to retain or expand businesses associated
8 with recreational marine industry in this state and a
9 comparison of such incentives to incentives available to
10 retain or expand such businesses in states having a notable
11 recreational marine-industry presence, including North
12 Carolina, Maryland, and Washington.
13 (2) Examine how many recreational marine-industry
14 businesses have left this state and relocated out of state and
15 identify potential policies to retain and expand recreational
16 marine businesses in this state.
17 (3) Examine the economic impact of the recreational
18 marine industry in total dollars and jobs and review efforts
19 related to workforce retention and attraction, slip shortages,
20 ramp accessibility and shortages, and the impacts of boaters
21 who are residents in comparison to boaters who are transients.
22 The impacts of each major segment of the recreational marine
23 industry, including manufacturing, repair, marinas, boatyards,
24 brokerage, charter, provisioning, and equipment supply, must
25 be examined.
26 Section 5. Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (1) of
27 section 403.1651, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (b) of
28 subsection (2) of that section is amended, to read:
29 403.1651 Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust
30 Fund.--
31 (1) There is created the Ecosystem Management and
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2178
Barcode 310238
1 Restoration Trust Fund to be administered by the Department of
2 Environmental Protection for the purposes of:
3 (f) Funding the expenditures authorized under section
4 1 of this act.
5 (2) The trust fund shall be used for the deposit of
6 all moneys recovered by the state:
7 (b) For injury to or destruction of coral reefs, sea
8 grass beds, or natural resources under section 1 of this act
9 and s. 380.0558, which moneys would otherwise be deposited
10 into the General Revenue Fund or the Internal Improvement
11 Trust Fund.
12 Section 6. Except as otherwise expressly provided in
13 this act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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17 And the title is amended as follows:
18 On page 1, lines 24-28, delete those lines
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20 and insert:
21 department; amending s. 253.04, F.S.; providing
22 that careless operation of a vessel outside a
23 marked channel which causes propeller scarring
24 in an acquatic preserve is a civil infraction;
25 defining the terms "propeller scarring" and
26 "seagrasses"; providing that refusal to post
27 bond or sign a boating citation is a
28 second-degree misdemeanor; requiring that civil
29 penalties collected for the careless operation
30 of a vessel be deposited into the Internal
31 Improvement Trust Fund and used for specified
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2178
Barcode 310238
1 purposes; amending s. 327.73, F.S.; providing
2 civil penalties; requiring the Office of
3 Program Policy Analysis and Government
4 Accountability to evaluate the recreational
5 marine industry and report to the Legislature;
6 amending s. 403.1651, F.S., relating to the
7 Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust
8 Fund; conforming provisions to changes made by
9 the act; providing effective dates.
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