Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1502
By Senator Rodriguez
40-01732D-23 20231502__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to vessel owner and operation
3 requirements; amending s. 327.4108, F.S.; revising
4 anchoring limitation areas in certain sections of
5 Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County; revising the
6 timeframe during which a person may anchor a vessel in
7 an anchoring limitation area within which such
8 anchoring would otherwise be unlawful; amending s.
9 327.70, F.S.; requiring law enforcement officers to
10 conduct national criminal background checks for vessel
11 owners who are issued citations for specified
12 violations; providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Subsection (1) and paragraph (c) of subsection
17 (4) of section 327.4108, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
18 327.4108 Anchoring of vessels in anchoring limitation
19 areas.—
20 (1) The following densely populated urban areas, which have
21 narrow state waterways, residential docking facilities, and
22 significant recreational boating traffic, are designated as and
23 shall be considered to be grandfathered-in anchoring limitation
24 areas, within which, except as provided in subsections (4) and
25 (5), a person may not anchor a vessel at any time during the
26 period between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour
27 before sunrise and, at any other time, for more than 4 hours in
28 a single day except as provided in subsections (4) and (5):
29 (a) The section of Middle River lying between Northeast
30 21st Court and the Intracoastal Waterway in Broward County.
31 (b) Sunset Lake in Miami-Dade County.
32 (c) The sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County lying
33 between:
34 1. Rivo Alto Island and Di Lido Island.
35 2. Di Lido Island and San Marino Island.
36 3.2. San Marino Island and San Marco Island.
37 4.3. San Marco Island and Biscayne Island.
38 5. Star Island and MacArthur Causeway.
39 6. Palm Island and MacArthur Causeway.
40 7. Hibiscus Island and Palm Island.
41 8. Julia Tuttle Causeway and Kennedy Causeway.
42 9. The Sunset Islands.
43 10. Belle Isle and Rivo Alto Island.
44
45 For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “lying between”
46 includes, without limitation, all of the area 200 yards to the
47 west from the western shore of the Sunset Islands and Di Lido
48 Island, all of the area 200 yards to the north from the northern
49 shore of the Sunset Islands, and all of the area 200 yards to
50 the east from the eastern shore of Di Lido Island.
51 (4) Notwithstanding subsections (1), (2), and (3), a person
52 may anchor a vessel in an anchoring limitation area during a
53 time that would otherwise be unlawful:
54 (c) For the duration of During events described in s.
55 327.48 or other special events, including, but not limited to,
56 public music performances, local government waterfront
57 activities, or fireworks displays. A vessel may anchor for the
58 lesser of the duration of the special event or 3 days, whichever
59 is less.
60 Section 2. Present subsection (5) of section 327.70,
61 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (6), and a new
62 subsection (5) is added to that section, to read:
63 327.70 Enforcement of this chapter and chapter 328.—
64 (5) When a law enforcement officer issues a citation to a
65 vessel owner for a violation of this chapter, the law
66 enforcement officer must conduct a national criminal background
67 check on the vessel owner.
68 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.