Florida Senate - 2017              PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
       Bill No. CS for SB 230
       
       
       
       
       
                               Ì897660:Î897660                          
       
       576-02635-17                                                    
       Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Appropriations
       (Appropriations Subcommittee on the Environment and Natural
       Resources)
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to nonnative animals; creating s.
    3         379.2311, F.S.; defining the terms “pet dealer” and
    4         “priority invasive species”; requiring the Fish and
    5         Wildlife Conservation Commission to establish a pilot
    6         program for the eradication of priority invasive
    7         species; providing legislative findings; providing
    8         goals for the pilot program; authorizing the
    9         commission to enter into specified contracts;
   10         specifying parameters for the implementation of the
   11         pilot program; specifying procedures for handling
   12         captures and the disposal of the animals; requiring
   13         the commission to submit a report to the Governor and
   14         the Legislature by a specified date; requiring certain
   15         nonnative species to be implanted with a passive
   16         integrated transponder before sale, resale, or being
   17         offered for sale by a pet dealer; requiring the
   18         commission to adopt rules; providing appropriations;
   19         providing an effective date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Section 379.2311, Florida Statutes, is created
   24  to read:
   25         379.2311 Nonnative animal management.—
   26         (1)As used in this section, the term:
   27         (a)Pet dealer” means any person who, in the ordinary
   28  course of business, engages in the sale of more than 20 animals
   29  per year to the public. This term includes breeders who sell
   30  animals directly to consumers.
   31         (b)“Priority invasive species” means the following
   32  species:
   33         1.Lizards known as tegu lizards, consisting of the genera
   34  Tupinambis and Salvator, and any taxonomic synonymies of such
   35  genera.
   36         2.Species listed in s. 379.372(2)(a).
   37         3.Pterois volitans, also known as red lionfish.
   38         4.Pterois miles, also known as the common lionfish or
   39  devil firefish.
   40         (2) The commission shall establish a pilot program to
   41  mitigate the impact of priority invasive species on the public
   42  lands or waters of this state.
   43         (a) The Legislature finds that priority invasive species
   44  continue to expand their range and to decimate the fauna and
   45  flora of the Everglades and other natural areas and ecosystems
   46  in the southern and central parts of the state at an
   47  accelerating rate.
   48         (b)The goal of the pilot program is to examine the
   49  benefits of using strategically deployed, trained private
   50  contractors to slow the advance of these nonnative animals,
   51  contain their populations, and eradicate them from this state.
   52         (c)To implement the pilot program, the commission may
   53  enter into contracts in accordance with chapter 287 with
   54  entities or individuals to capture or destroy these nonnative
   55  animals found on public lands or in the waters of the state. Any
   56  private contracted work to be performed on public land or in the
   57  waters of the state not owned or managed by the commission must
   58  have the consent of the owner.
   59         (d)The commission shall ensure that all captures and
   60  disposals of these nonnative animals are documented and that the
   61  geographic location of the take is recorded for research
   62  purposes. The commission shall direct the disposal of all
   63  animals captured and not destroyed in removal efforts.
   64         (e)The commission shall submit a report of findings and
   65  recommendations regarding its implementation of the pilot
   66  program to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
   67  Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1, 2020.
   68         (3)Before selling, reselling, or offering for sale any
   69  nonnative animal specified by the commission pursuant to
   70  paragraph (a), pet dealers must implant in the animal or have
   71  the animal implanted with a passive integrated transponder (PIT)
   72  tag as specified by the commission. The commission shall adopt
   73  rules implementing this subsection, including:
   74         (a)Identifying nonnative animals that threaten the state’s
   75  wildlife habitats and therefore must be implanted with a PIT
   76  tag; and
   77         (b)Establishing a standard for the types of PIT tags which
   78  must be used by pet dealers and the manner in which they must be
   79  implanted.
   80         Section 2. For the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 fiscal years,
   81  the sum of $300,000 each year in nonrecurring funds is
   82  appropriated from the State Game Trust Fund to the Fish and
   83  Wildlife Conservation Commission for the purpose of implementing
   84  s. 379.2311.
   85         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.