Florida Senate - 2018                                    SB 1118
       
       
        
       By Senator Perry
       
       
       
       
       
       8-01583-18                                            20181118__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Florida LAKEWATCH Program;
    3         amending s. 1004.49, F.S.; specifying that the Florida
    4         LAKEWATCH Program resides within the School of Forest
    5         Resources and Conservation’s Fisheries and Aquatic
    6         Sciences Program at the University of Florida;
    7         revising the duties of the Fisheries and Aquatic
    8         Sciences Program; authorizing the Department of
    9         Environmental Protection to use program data under
   10         certain circumstances; providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 1004.49, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   15  read:
   16         1004.49 Florida LAKEWATCH Program.—The Florida LAKEWATCH
   17  Program is hereby created within the School of Forest Resources
   18  and Conservation’s Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program
   19  Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Institute of Food
   20  and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. The
   21  purpose of the program is to provide public education and
   22  training with respect to the water quality of Florida’s lakes.
   23  The Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program Department of
   24  Fisheries and Aquaculture may, in implementing the LAKEWATCH
   25  Program:
   26         (1) Train, supervise, and coordinate volunteers to collect
   27  water quality data from Florida’s lakes, streams, and estuaries.
   28         (2) Compile the data collected by volunteers.
   29         (3) Disseminate information to the public about the
   30  LAKEWATCH Program.
   31         (4) Provide or loan equipment to volunteers in the program.
   32         (5) Perform other functions as may be necessary or
   33  beneficial in coordinating the LAKEWATCH Program.
   34  
   35  Data collected and compiled shall be used to establish trends
   36  and provide general background information and may shall in no
   37  instance be used by the Department of Environmental Protection
   38  if the data collection methods meet sufficient quality assurance
   39  and quality control requirements in a regulatory proceeding.
   40         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.