Florida Senate - 2023                                    SB 1298
       
       
        
       By Senator Jones
       
       
       
       
       
       34-00380-23                                           20231298__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to endangered and threatened species;
    3         amending s. 379.2291, F.S.; revising the legislative
    4         intent of the Florida Endangered and Threatened
    5         Species Act; revising definitions; directing the Fish
    6         and Wildlife Conservation Commission to protect
    7         certain endangered or threatened species, regardless
    8         of the status of their federal classification;
    9         prohibiting the commission from considering certain
   10         costs when designating a species as endangered or
   11         threatened; amending s. 581.185, F.S.; revising
   12         criteria for placement of species on the Regulated
   13         Plant Index by the Department of Agriculture and
   14         Consumer Services; directing the department, in
   15         consultation with the Endangered Plant Advisory
   16         Council, to protect certain endangered or threatened
   17         species, regardless of the status of their federal
   18         classification; prohibiting the department from
   19         considering certain costs when designating a species
   20         as endangered or threatened; reenacting ss. 379.1026
   21         and 379.4115(1), F.S., relating to site-specific
   22         location information for endangered and threatened
   23         species and prohibitions relating to the Florida
   24         panther, respectively, to incorporate the amendment
   25         made to s. 379.2291, F.S., in references thereto;
   26         providing an effective date.
   27          
   28  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   29  
   30         Section 1. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section
   31  379.2291, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   32         379.2291 Endangered and Threatened Species Act.—
   33         (2) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—The Legislature recognizes that
   34  the State of Florida harbors a wide diversity of fish and
   35  wildlife and that it is the policy of this state to conserve and
   36  wisely manage these resources, with particular attention to
   37  those species designated defined by the Fish and Wildlife
   38  Conservation Commission, the Department of Environmental
   39  Protection, or the United States Department of Interior, or
   40  successor agencies, as being endangered or threatened. As
   41  Florida has more endangered and threatened species than any
   42  other continental state, it is the intent of the Legislature to
   43  provide for research and management to conserve and protect
   44  these species as a natural resource.
   45         (3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
   46         (a) “Fish and wildlife” means any member of the animal
   47  kingdom, including, but not limited to, any mammal, fish, bird,
   48  amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, or other
   49  invertebrate.
   50         (b) “Endangered species” means any species of fish and
   51  wildlife naturally occurring in Florida, whose prospects of
   52  survival are in jeopardy due to modification or loss of habitat;
   53  overuse overutilization for commercial, sporting, scientific, or
   54  educational purposes; disease; predation; inadequacy of
   55  regulatory mechanisms; or other natural or manmade factors
   56  affecting its continued existence, including climate change.
   57         (c) “Threatened species” means any species of fish and
   58  wildlife naturally occurring in Florida which may not be in
   59  immediate danger of extinction, but which exists in such small
   60  populations as to become endangered if it is subjected to
   61  increased stress as a result of further modification of its
   62  environment, including climate change.
   63         (4) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—
   64         (a) The commission shall be responsible for research and
   65  management of freshwater and upland species and for research and
   66  management of marine species.
   67         (b) Recognizing that citizen awareness is a key element in
   68  the success of this plan, the commission and the Department of
   69  Education are encouraged to work together to develop a public
   70  education program with emphasis on, but not limited to, both
   71  public and private schools.
   72         (c) The commission, in consultation with the Department of
   73  Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Economic
   74  Opportunity, or the Department of Transportation, may establish
   75  reduced speed zones along roads, streets, and highways to
   76  protect endangered species or threatened species.
   77         (d)Notwithstanding declassification under the federal
   78  Endangered Species Act of 1973, the commission shall continue to
   79  protect species that meet the definition of endangered or
   80  threatened under subsection (3), as determined by the
   81  commission.
   82         (e)The commission may not consider the economic cost of
   83  protecting a species as a factor in designating the species as
   84  endangered or threatened.
   85         Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 581.185, Florida
   86  Statutes, is amended to read:
   87         581.185 Preservation of native flora of Florida.—
   88         (5) REVIEW.—
   89         (a) Beginning in 1984, and every 4 years thereafter, the
   90  department and the Endangered Plant Advisory Council shall
   91  conduct a comprehensive review of this section and of the
   92  Regulated Plant Index, as provided in rules of the department,
   93  shall be made by the department and the Endangered Plant
   94  Advisory Council at 4-year intervals.
   95         (b) The department shall consider any species of plant that
   96  should be placed on the Regulated Plant Index which is in danger
   97  of disappearing from its native habitat within the foreseeable
   98  future throughout all or a significant portion of the range of
   99  the species because of:
  100         1. Present or threatened destruction, modification, or
  101  curtailment of the range of the species.
  102         2. Overuse Overutilization of the species for commercial,
  103  scientific, or educational purposes.
  104         3. Disease or predation.
  105         4. Any other natural or manmade factor affecting the
  106  continued existence of the species, including climate change.
  107         (c) In carrying out reviews and arriving at recommendations
  108  under paragraphs (a) and (b), the department and the advisory
  109  council shall use the best scientific and commercial data
  110  available and shall consult with interested persons and
  111  organizations.
  112         (d)Notwithstanding declassification under the federal
  113  Endangered Species Act of 1973, the department shall continue to
  114  protect species that meet the definition of endangered or
  115  threatened under subsection (2), as determined by the department
  116  in consultation with the advisory council.
  117         (e)The department may not consider the economic cost of
  118  protecting a species as a factor in designating the species as
  119  endangered or threatened.
  120         Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  121  made by this act to section 379.2291, Florida Statutes, in a
  122  reference thereto, section 379.1026, Florida Statutes, is
  123  reenacted to read:
  124         379.1026 Site-specific location information for endangered
  125  and threatened species; public records exemption.—The site
  126  specific location information held by an agency as defined in s.
  127  119.011 concerning an endangered species as defined in s.
  128  379.2291(3)(b), a threatened species as defined in s.
  129  379.2291(3)(c), or a species listed by a federal agency as
  130  endangered or threatened, is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s.
  131  24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption does not
  132  apply to the site-specific location information of animals held
  133  in captivity. This section is subject to the Open Government
  134  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand
  135  repealed on October 2, 2025, unless reviewed and saved from
  136  repeal by the Legislature.
  137         Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  138  made by this act to section 379.2291, Florida Statutes, in a
  139  reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 379.4115, Florida
  140  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  141         379.4115 Florida or wild panther; killing prohibited;
  142  penalty.—
  143         (1) It is unlawful for a person to kill a member of the
  144  Florida “endangered species,” as defined in s. 379.2291(3),
  145  known as the Florida panther (Felis concolor coryi).
  146         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.