The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
BILL: SB 1502
INTRODUCER: Senator Rodriguez
SUBJECT: Vessel Owner and Operation Requirements
DATE: March 24, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Carroll Rogers EN Favorable
2. AEG
3. FP
I. Summary:
SB 1502 prohibits a person from anchoring a vessel in certain listed anchoring limitation areas
for more than four hours per day. This is an expansion of current law, which limits anchoring in
these areas between one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour after sunset. The bill adds
sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County to the list of anchoring limitation areas.
The list of anchoring limitation areas are described as areas lying between certain islands or
landmarks and the bill defines “lying between” as including all of the area 200 yards to the west
from the western shore of the Sunset Islands and Di Lido Island, all of the area 200 yards to the
north from the northern shore of the Sunset Islands, and all of the area 200 yards to the east from
the eastern shore of Di Lido Island.
The bill deletes language that currently allows anchoring in an anchoring limitation area during
special events (not including regattas, tournaments, or marine parades or exhibitions) that include
public music performances, local government waterfront activities, or fireworks displays.
The bill requires a law enforcement officer who issues a citation to a vessel owner for a violation
of vessel safety laws to conduct a national criminal background check on the vessel owner.
BILL: SB 1502 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is governed by a board of seven
members who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate.1 The
Division of Law Enforcement Boating and Waterways Section of FWC oversees and coordinates
statewide regulatory waterway markers to ensure compliance with uniform markers and state
boating and resource protection zones for the benefit of all waterway users and fish and wildlife
resources in the state.2 The Boating and Waterways Section takes public input and provides
notice of proposed local boating-restricted areas.3
FWC’s boating laws are enforced by the Division of Law Enforcement and its officers, county
sheriffs and deputies, municipal police officers, and any other law enforcement officer.4 The
Division of Law Enforcement manages the state’s waterways to ensure boating safety for
residents of and visitors to the state.5 This includes enforcing boating rules and regulations,
coordinating boating safety campaigns and education, managing public waters and access to the
waters, conducting boating accident investigations, identifying and removing derelict vessels,
and investigating vessel theft and title fraud.6
Anchoring or Mooring
Anchoring or mooring refers to a boater’s practice of seeking and using a safe harbor on the
public waterway system for an undefined duration. Anchoring is accomplished using an anchor
carried on the vessel.7 Mooring is accomplished through the use of moorings permanently
affixed to the bottom of the waterbody. Anchorages are areas that boaters regularly use for
anchoring or mooring, whether designated or managed for that purpose or not. Mooring fields
are areas designated and used for a system of properly spaced moorings.8
1
FLA. CONST. art. IV, s. 9; see also s. 379.102(1), F.S.
2
FWC, Waterway Management, https://myfwc.com/boating/waterway/ (last visited Mar. 13, 2023).
3
Id.
4
Section 327.70(1), F.S.; see s. 943.10(1), F.S., which defines “law enforcement officer” as any person who is elected,
appointed, or employed full time by any municipality or the state or any political subdivision thereof; who is vested with
authority to bear arms and make arrests; and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the
enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway laws of the state. The definition also includes all certified supervisory
and command personnel whose duties include, in whole or in part, the supervision, training, guidance, and management
responsibilities of full-time law enforcement officers, part-time law enforcement officers, or auxiliary law enforcement
officers but does not include support personnel employed by the employing agency.
5
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Boating, https://myfwc.com/boating/ (last visited Mar. 13, 2023).
6
FWC, Law Enforcement, https://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/le/ (last visited Mar. 13, 2023). See s. 327.70(1) and (4), F.S.
7
Section 327.02, F.S., defines the term “vessel” to include every description of watercraft, barge, and airboat, other than a
seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.
8
Ankersen, Hamann, & Flagg, Anchoring Away: Government Regulation and the Rights of Navigation in Florida, 2
(Rev. May 2012), available at https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/36907.
BILL: SB 1502 Page 3
Anchoring Limitation Areas
State law designates certain densely populated urban areas as anchoring limitation areas.9 These
areas usually have narrow state waterways, residential docking facilities, and significant
recreational boating traffic. The listed anchoring limitation areas are:
 The section of Middle River lying between Northeast 21st Court and the Intracoastal
Waterway in Broward County;
 Sunset Lake in Miami-Dade County; and
 The sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County lying between:
o Rivo Alto Island and Di Lido Island,
o San Marino Island and San Marco Island, and
o San Marco Island and Biscayne Island.10
Exceptions to anchoring prohibitions in an anchoring limitation area include the following:
 When a vessel suffers a mechanical failure that poses an unreasonable risk of harm to the
vessel or the persons onboard unless the vessel anchors;
 If imminent or existing weather conditions in the vicinity of the vessel pose an unreasonable
risk of harm to the vessel or the persons onboard unless the vessel anchors; and
 During a regatta, tournament, or marine parade or exhibition or other special events,
including, but not limited to, public music performances, local government waterfront
activities, or fireworks displays.11
Vessels exempt from anchoring prohibitions in an anchoring limitation area include the
following:
 Vessels owned or operated by a government entity for law enforcement, firefighting,
military, or rescue purposes;
 Construction or dredging vessels on an active job site;
 Vessels actively engaged in commercial fishing; and
 Vessels engaged in recreational fishing if the persons onboard are actively tending hook and
line fishing gear or nets.12
Law enforcement officers or agencies may remove and impound, for up to 48 hours, vessels
from anchoring limitation areas when a vessel operator who was previously issued a citation:
 Continues to anchor the vessel in an anchoring limitation area within 12 hours of being
issued a citation; or
 Refuses to leave the anchoring limitation area after being directed to do so by a law
enforcement officer or agency.13
In addition to the civil penalty imposed by a citation, a vessel operator whose vessel has been
impounded must pay all of the applicable removal and storage fees before the vessel is
released.14
9
Section 327.4108(1), F.S.
10
Id. Counties may create more anchoring limitation areas under certain circumstances. Section 327.4108(2), F.S.
11
Section 327.4108 (4), F.S.
12
Section 327.4108(5), F.S.
13
Section 327.4108(6), F.S.
14
Id.
BILL: SB 1502 Page 4
An owner or operator of a vessel who anchors in an anchoring limitation area commits a
noncriminal infraction and is subject to a uniform boating citation and penalties. The civil
penalty provided is up to a maximum of:
 $100 for a first offense;
 $250 for a second offense; and
 $500 for a third or subsequent offense.15
Section 327.73(1) F.S., provides that any person who fails to appear or otherwise properly
respond to a uniform boating citation must, in addition to the charge relating to the violation of
the boating laws, be charged with a second degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by a
maximum fine of $500 and no more than a 60-day imprisonment.16
National Criminal Background Check
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement makes state and national criminal history
information available to governmental agencies for licensing and employment.17 A State of
Florida criminal history record check may currently be ordered online for a fee paid at the time
of request.18
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a 428-square mile estuary extending nearly the entire length of Miami-Dade
County.19 The Bay is home to over 500 species of fish and other marine organisms, and its
extensive areas of seagrasses are an important food source for the Florida manatee and as nursery
areas for many ecologically and commercially important estuarine species like shrimps, crabs,
lobster, and sponges.20 Miami-Dade County is one of Florida’s most populous counties, with
approximately 2.7 million residents.21 The county sees millions of visitors each year.22
15
Section 327.73(1)(z), F.S.
16
Sections 775.082 and 775.083, F.S.
17
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), State and National Criminal History Record Check,
https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Criminal-History-Records/National-Checks (last visited Mar. 13, 2023).
18
FDLE, State of Florida Criminal History Record Check, https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Criminal-History-Records/Florida-
Checks.aspx (last visited Mar. 20, 2023).
19
Miami-Dade County, About Biscayne Bay, https://www.miamidade.gov/global/economy/environment/about-biscayne-
bay.page (last visited Mar. 12, 2023).
20
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project, https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/BBCW/ (last
visited Mar. 12, 2023).
21
Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves, https://floridadep.gov/rcp/aquatic-
preserve/BiscayneBayAquaticPreserves (last visited Mar. 12, 2023).
22
Miami-Dade County, About Biscayne Bay.
BILL: SB 1502 Page 5
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 amends s. 327.4108, F.S., to prohibit a person from anchoring a vessel in certain listed
anchoring limitation areas for more than four hours per day. This is an expansion of current law,
which limits anchoring in these areas between one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour
after sunset.
The bill adds sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County to the listed anchoring limitation
areas that lie between:
 Di Lido Island and San Marino Island,
 Star Island and MacArthur Causeway,
BILL: SB 1502 Page 6
 Palm Island and MacArthur Causeway,
 Hibiscus Island and Palm Island,
 Julia Tuttle Causeway and Kennedy Causeway,
 The Sunset Islands, and
 Belle Isle and Rivo Alto Island.
The bill defines “lying between” as including, without limitation, all of the area 200 yards to the
west from the western shore of the Sunset Islands and Di Lido Island, all of the area 200 yards to
the north from the northern shore of the Sunset Islands, and all of the area 200 yards to the east
from the eastern shore of Di Lido Island.
The bill removes language allowing anchoring in an anchoring limitation area during special
events (not including regattas, tournaments, or marine parades or exhibitions) that include public
music performances, local government waterfront activities, or fireworks displays.
The bill makes technical changes.
Section 2 amends s. 327.70, F.S., to require a law enforcement officer who issues a citation to a
vessel owner for a violation of ch. 327, F.S., concerning vessel safety, to conduct a national
criminal background check on the vessel owner.
Section 3 provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
Art. III, s. 10 of the Florida Constitution prohibits the Legislature from enacting any
special law unless notice is first published or a referendum is conducted. A special law or
“local law” relates to or operates upon a particular person, thing, or part of the state; it
does not apply with geographic uniformity across the state and bears no reasonable
 BILL: SB 1502 Page 7
relationship to differences in population or other legitimate criteria.23 On the other hand,
a general law of local application relates to a class of persons or things or subdivisions of
the state, based upon distinctions or differences that are inherent or particular to the class
or location. The Legislature is granted wide discretion in making such classifications.24 If
a particular condition exists in only a portion of the state, enactments that reference the
limited geographic area may be general laws.25 “[I]f a law utilizes a classification that is
geographical in its terms but the purpose of the statue is one of statewide importance and
impact, and the classification is reasonably related to the law’s purpose, it is a valid
general law.”26
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
None.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), law enforcement
officers may conduct criminal background checks on vessel owners who have been issued a
citation, however a national criminal background check is more in-depth than what officers
typically conduct. FWC has suggested removing “national” from the requirement in Section 2 of
the bill.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends sections 327.4108 and 327.70 of the Florida Statutes.
23
See State ex rel. Landis v. Harris, 163 So. 237, 240 (Fla. 1934); and Lawnwood Medical Center, Inc. v. Seeger, 990 So.2d
503 (Fla. 2008).
24
Shelton v. Reeder, 121 So. 2d 145, 151 (Fla. 1960). But see also FLA. CONST. Art. X, s. 11s.
25
Schrader v. Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, 840 So.2d 1050, 1055 (Fla. 2003).
26
Id. at 1056.
BILL: SB 1502 Page 8
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.