BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

Florida League of Cities

Vessels/Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (Watch)

CS/HB 323 (Sirois) and CS/CS/SB 494 (Hutson) revise laws administered by the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and other law enforcement bodies. Among other things, the bills specify that a vessel is at risk of becoming derelict if it is tied to an unlawful or unpermitted mooring or other structure; specify the circumstances in which law enforcement may destroy or dispose of a vessel; reorganize provisions authorizing FWC to establish a program to provide grants to local governments for removal, storage, destruction and disposal of derelict vessels; specify that a certificate of title may not be issued for a public nuisance vessel; add public nuisance vessels to the definition of abandoned property; and specify that a local government cannot create a public bathing beach or swim area in the marked channel of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway or within 100 feet of the marked channel. (O’Hara)