HB 759

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the placement of vessels in state
3waters to form artificial reefs; amending s. 370.25, F.S.,
4relating to the state's artificial reef program; providing
5legislative findings; authorizing the planning development
6of a statewide matching grant program to secure and place
7United States Maritime Administration and United States
8Navy decommissioned vessels in Florida waters as
9artificial reefs; authorizing the planning and development
10of a pilot program for the preparation and deployment of a
11specified decommissioned vessel in Key West to serve as a
12model for the development of procedures for the placement
13of such vessels in Florida waters; providing for
14administration of the programs by the Florida Commission
15on Tourism; providing for implementation of the programs
16subject to appropriations; providing objectives of the
17programs; creating s. 370.255, F.S.; providing for the
18establishment of the Florida Decommissioned Vessel
19Placement Program and matching grant program by the
20Florida Commission on Tourism; providing purposes of the
21program; providing a limitation on the total annual
22allocation of funds for the grant program; providing a
23limitation on individual grants awarded under the program;
24specifying the percentage of the state matching grant;
25providing procedures and requirements with respect to the
26programs; authorizing the Department of Environmental
27Protection to adopt rules; providing for the establishment
28of a pilot program to fund the preparation and deployment
29of a specified vessel in state waters; providing for
30reports; providing requirements with respect to funds
31provided under the pilot program; providing procedures and
32requirements with respect to the pilot program; providing
33for a report; providing an appropriation; providing for
34carryover of funds; providing an effective date.
35
36WHEREAS, in the past, the United States Navy has used
37unneeded ships as targets for military exercises known as
38sinking exercises, and
39     WHEREAS, now the Navy has devised an alternative means of
40disposing of obsolete Navy vessels that allows the vessels to
41serve in a productive capacity for hundreds of years past their
42intended use, and
43     WHEREAS, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
44Year 2004 allows appropriate decommissioned ships to be donated
45for use as artificial reefing, and
46     WHEREAS, the process of using obsolete vessels as man-made
47artificial reefs not only promotes marine life and fishing but
48relieves pressures on natural coral reefs, and
49     WHEREAS, the measure allows the Navy to accomplish the
50overall process for the cost-effective donation and transfer of
51available naval vessels, and
52     WHEREAS, the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD)
53will coordinate the federal agency solicitation and application
54for obtaining the vessels for use as artificial reefs, and
55     WHEREAS, the donation and transfer application for all
56United States Navy and MARAD ships available for use as
57artificial reefs may be submitted only by states, commonwealths,
58and territories and possessions of the United States, or
59municipal corporations or political subdivisions thereof, and
60     WHEREAS, the placement in Florida waters of the U.S.S.
61Spiegel Grove in 2002 and the U.S.S. Oriskany in 2006 has
62already provided a substantial economic benefit to the state and
63to communities and businesses in the proximity of the
64placements, and
65     WHEREAS, the U.S.S. General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a 520-foot
66military vessel, is being sought as the next decommissioned
67vessel to be deployed as an artificial reef at a currently
68permitted site off the coast of Key West, contingent upon funds
69being made fully available for the preparation and sinking of
70the vessel, and
71     WHEREAS, Florida already has the Florida Maritime Heritage
72Trail, a collection of locations that are open to the public in
73Florida and which currently include six themes, those themes
74being Coastal Communities, Coastal Environments, Coastal Forts,
75Lighthouses, Historic Ports, and Historic Shipwrecks, and
76     WHEREAS, this act would add a new, seventh theme to the
77Maritime Heritage Trail, a United States Navy vessel theme, and
78     WHEREAS, the program provides a practical option for
79disposing of inactive naval vessels in a cost-effective and
80environmentally sound manner that can continue to promote
81ecotourism associated with recreational diving and fishing in
82Florida, NOW, THEREFORE,
83
84Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
85
86     Section 1.  Subsection (8) is added to section 370.25,
87Florida Statutes, to read:
88     370.25  Artificial reef program; grants and financial and
89technical assistance to local governments.--
90     (8)  The Legislature finds that a statewide matching grant
91program to secure and place United States Maritime
92Administration (MARAD) and United States Navy decommissioned
93vessels in Florida waters as artificial reefs would be of great
94benefit to Floridians in promoting ecotourism associated with
95recreational diving and fishing in Florida. The Legislature
96further finds that a pilot program for the preparation and
97deployment of the U.S.S. General Hoyt S. Vandenberg in Key West
98would assist in the appropriate development of procedures for
99the placement of decommissioned vessels in Florida waters.
100Therefore, the Legislature hereby authorizes the planning and
101development of a statewide matching grant program and a pilot
102program as described in this subsection to be administered by
103the commission. The programs will be implemented subject to
104appropriations. The objectives in establishing the programs
105shall be to:
106     (a)  Assist in reducing the pressures on natural coral
107reefs in Florida waters and increasing the opportunities for
108recreational diving and fishing.
109     (b)  Provide a mechanism through which local counties and
110municipalities that are permitted to place vessels in Florida
111waters as artificial reefs can apply for and receive state
112matching grants for the placement of decommissioned MARAD and
113United States Navy vessels. Funds may be used for cleaning,
114preparing, towing, and sinking of such decommissioned vessels.
115     (c)  Provide state funds that would be matched with local
116funds, federal funds, and funds from local businesses.
117     (d)  Establish criteria to determine eligibility for such
118state matching funds.
119     (e)  Assist local counties and municipalities with the
120donation and transfer application for United States Navy and
121MARAD decommissioned vessels available for use as artificial
122reefs in accordance with MARAD application evaluation criteria.
123     (f)  Develop a master plan for the purposes of maximizing
124the number and type of vessels to be placed in Florida waters
125that provides for the location of vessels in the most
126geographically effective and beneficial manner.
127     (g)  Establish and promote standards for the placement of
128MARAD and United States Navy decommissioned vessels in Florida
129waters, consistent with current environmental standards and the
130mandate of Section 3516 of the National Defense Authorization
131Act for Fiscal Year 2004 and the 2006 publication, "National
132Guidance: Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels
133Intended to Create Artificial Reefs," published jointly by the
134United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United
135States Maritime Administration, which emphasized minimization of
136the release of harmful substances into the environment while
137decommissioned vessels are at anchorage and are undergoing
138disposal processes.
139     (h)  Provide for and receive interagency comments from the
140agencies responsible for the permitting of artificial reefs and
141the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, allowing for
142a review period consistent with MARAD and United States Navy
143application deadlines.
144     (i)  Establish a United States Navy vessel component as a
145seventh theme for Florida's Maritime Heritage Trail, consistent
146with the responsibilities of the Florida Commission on Tourism
147and the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development under
148s. 288.1224(11) with respect to nature-based tourism and
149heritage tourism.
150     (j)  Provide for title of decommissioned vessels to be
151transferred to the state.
152     Section 2.  Section 370.255, Florida Statutes, is created
153to read:
154     370.255  Florida Decommissioned Vessel Placement Program;
155matching grant program.--
156     (1)  The commission is authorized to establish the Florida
157Decommissioned Vessel Placement Program, a matching grant
158program for the securing and placement of United States Maritime
159Administration (MARAD) and United States Navy decommissioned
160vessels in Florida waters to serve as artificial reefs and,
161pursuant thereto, to make expenditures and enter into contracts
162with local governments and nonprofit corporations for the
163purpose of securing and placing MARAD and United States Navy
164decommissioned vessels as artificial reefs in Florida waters
165pursuant to s. 370.25(8). The commission shall have final
166approval of grants awarded through this program.
167     (2)  The total annual allocation of funds for the grant
168program may not exceed $12 million. Each grant awarded under the
169program shall be limited to no more than $3 million and shall be
170matched by nonstate dollars. The limit for a state matching
171grant shall be 33 percent of total cost securing and placing the
172vessel.
173     (3)  The commission may:
174     (a)  Receive submissions of requests for matching funds and
175documentation relating to those requests;
176     (b)  Approve requests for matching funds; and
177     (c)  Allocate matching funds to local governments or
178nonprofit corporations.
179     (4)  To demonstrate that a local government or nonprofit
180corporation meets the required criteria, the local government or
181nonprofit corporation must submit formal agreements, written
182pledges, memorandums of understanding, financing arrangements,
183or other documents demonstrating that nonstate matching funds
184are available for securing and placing the vessel prior to
185submission of an application. Matching grant funds shall be
186released only upon documentation that the applicant meets all
187established criteria.
188     (5)  The department is authorized to adopt rules pursuant
189to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to address procedures necessary to
190administer the matching grants provided in this section.
191     (6)  In accordance with the findings stated in s.
192370.25(8), the commission shall establish a pilot program to
193fund the preparation and deployment of the U.S.S. General Hoyt
194S. Vandenberg in the waters off Key West and shall, by January
1951, 2008, and each year thereafter, provide to the Governor, the
196President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
197Representatives an annual report on the success and outcomes
198achieved by the pilot program, with a recommendation as to
199whether the pilot program should be continued, terminated, or
200expanded. The commission shall also report on the procedures
201developed and used for the proper preparation and deployment of
202the U.S.S. General Hoyt S. Vandenberg consistent with the
203objectives stated in s. 370.25(8).
204     (7)  To the extent that funding is made available, the
205pilot program shall provide funds in the amount of $2 million to
206pay for a portion of the cost of the preparation and deployment
207of the U.S.S. General Hoyt S. Vandenberg in the waters off Key
208West. Such funds are in addition to any other funds appropriated
209for this purpose. The commission shall develop procedures for
210conducting the pilot program, including, but not limited to,
211procedures for determining eligibility, providing payment,
212ensuring that payment is limited solely to the costs of
213preparing and deploying the vessel, and ensuring that payments
214are made to eligible persons or local governments in the order
215in which each is determined eligible until the funds are
216exhausted. The commission shall examine and use, to the extent
217possible, other available options for funding the cost of the
218preparation and deployment of the U.S.S. General Hoyt S.
219Vandenberg, including the use of funds raised by private
220agencies or persons.
221     (8)  No later than January 1, 2008, and each January 1
222thereafter, the commission shall submit a report to the
223Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
224House of Representatives detailing the expenditure of the funds
225appropriated to it for the purposes of carrying out the
226provisions of this section.
227     Section 3.  The sum of $10 million is appropriated for the
2282007-2008 fiscal year from nonrecurring general revenue to the
229Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund. Any unexpended and
230unencumbered funds remaining at the end of the 2007-2008 fiscal
231year shall not revert to the General Revenue Fund but shall be
232carried over and remain available to the Florida Commission on
233Tourism for the uses and purposes set forth in this act.
234     Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.