HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 437 Anchoring Limitation Areas
SPONSOR(S): Infrastructure Strategies Committee, Agriculture, Conservation & Resiliency Subcommittee,
Porras and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 192
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Agriculture, Conservation & Resiliency 14 Y, 0 N, As CS Mamontoff Moore
Subcommittee
2) Infrastructure Strategies Committee 19 Y, 1 N, As CS Mamontoff Harrington
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), created by Article IV, section 9, of the Florida
Constitution, is responsible for regulating, managing, protecting, and conserving the state’s fish and wildlife
resources. Pursuant to its constitutional authority, FWC exercises the regulatory and executive powers of the
state with respect to wild animal life, fresh water aquatic life, and marine life. Through its Division of Law
Enforcement, FWC manages the state’s waterways to ensure boating safety for residents and visitors to the
state.
Anchoring 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. Anchorages are
areas that boaters regularly use for anchoring, whether designated or managed for that purpose or not.
Current law designates certain densely populated urban areas that have narrow state waterways, residential
docking facilities, and significant recreational boating traffic as anchoring limitation areas. The following areas
are designated in statute as anchoring limitation areas:
The section of Middle River lying between Northeast 21st Court and the Intracoastal Waterway in
Broward County.
Sunset Lake in Miami-Dade County.
The section of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County lying between Rivo Alto Island and Di Lido Island,
San Marino Island and San Marco Island, and San Marco Island and Biscayne Island.
In these anchoring limitation areas, a person is prohibited from anchoring a vessel at any time during the
period between one half-hour after sunset and one half-hour before sunrise.
The bill revises the portions of Biscayne Bay that are designated as anchoring limitation areas. Specifically, the
bill designates the sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County that are within 200 yards of any part of the
shore of the City of Miami Beach lying between State Road A1A and State Road 112 as anchoring limitation
areas.
The bill revises the types of evidence a vessel owner or operator may provide to a law enforcement officer or
an agency upon inquiry.
The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact on the state or local governments.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), created by Article IV, section 9, of the Florida
Constitution, is responsible for regulating, managing, protecting, and conserving the state’s fish and
wildlife resources. FWC is governed by a board of seven members who are appointed by the Governor
and confirmed by the Senate.1 Pursuant to its constitutional authority, FWC exercises the regulatory
and executive powers of the state with respect to wild animal life, fresh water aquatic life, and marine
life.
FWC is also the agency responsible for regulating boating safety in the state. Through its Divis ion of
Law Enforcement, FWC manages the state’s waterways to ensure boating safety for residents and
visitors to the state.2 This responsibility includes enforcing boating rules and regulations, coordinating
boating safety campaigns and education, managing public water and access to the waters, conducting
boating accident investigations, identifying and removing derelict vessels, and investigating vessel theft
and title fraud.3
Anchoring
Anchoring 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. 4
Anchorages are areas that boaters regularly use for anchoring, whether designated or managed for
that purpose or not.5
State Regulation of the Anchoring of Vessels
The Legislature has delegated the responsibility of managing sovereign submerged lands to the
Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (Board).
Pursuant to this responsibility, the Board is authorized to adopt rules governing anchoring, mooring, or
otherwise attaching vessels, floating homes, or any other watercraft to the bottom of sovereign
submerged lands.6 The Board has not exercised its authority to adopt rules regulating anchoring.
Florida law prohibits a person from anchoring a vessel, except in case of emergency, in a manner that
unreasonably or unnecessarily constitutes a navigational hazard or interferes with another vessel. 7
Anchoring under bridges or in or adjacent to heavily traveled channels constitutes interference, if
unreasonable under the prevailing circumstances.8 Interference with navigation is a noncriminal
infraction and punishable by a fine of $50.9
With certain exceptions, the owner or operator of a vessel or floating structure may not anchor such
that the nearest approach of the anchored or moored vessel or floating structure is:
Within 150 feet of any marina, boat ramp, boatyard, or vessel launching or loading facility;
Within 300 feet of a superyacht repair facility; or
1 Article IV, s. 9, FLA. CONST.
2 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Boating, https://myfwc.com/boating/ (last visited Dec. 1, 2023).
3 FWC, Law Enforcement, https://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/le/ (last visited Dec. 1, 2023). See s. 327.70(1) and (4), F.S
4 Ankersen, Hamann, & Flagg, Anchoring Away: Government Regulation and the Rights of Navigation in Florida, (March
2011), https://repository.library.noaa.gov/ view/noaa/36905 (last visited Dec. 1, 2023).
5 Id.
6 Section 253.03(7), F.S
7 Section 327.44(2), F.S.
8 Id.
9 Section 327.73(1)(j), F.S.
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Within 100 feet outward from the marked boundary of a public mooring field or a lesser distance
if approved by the local government within which the mooring field is located. 10
Local Regulation of the Anchoring of Vessels
Local governments are authorized to enact and enforce ordinances that prohibit or restrict the
anchoring of floating structures 11 or live-aboard vessels 12 within their jurisdictions and vessels that are
within the marked boundaries of permitted mooring fields.13 However, they are prohibited from
enacting, continuing in effect, or enforcing any ordinance or local regulation that regulates the
anchoring of vessels, other than live-aboard vessels, outside the marked boundaries of permitted
mooring fields.14
Anchoring Limitation Areas
Current law designates certain densely populated urban areas that have narrow state waterways,
residential docking facilities, and significant recreational boating traffic as anchoring limitation areas. 15
The following areas are designated in statute as anchoring limitation areas:
The section of Middle River lying between Northeast 21st Court and the Intracoastal Waterway
in Broward County.
Sunset Lake in Miami-Dade County.
The section of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County lying between Rivo Alto Island and Di Lido
Island, San Marino Island and San Marco Island, and San Marco Island and Biscayne Island. 16
In these anchoring limitation areas, a person is prohibited from anchoring a vessel at any time during
the period between one half-hour after sunset and one half-hour before sunrise.17 However, a person
may anchor in these anchoring limitation areas if:
The vessel suffers a mechanical failure that poses an unreasonable risk of harm to the vessel or
the people onboard unless the vessel anchors;
Imminent or existing weather conditions in the vicinity pose an unreasonable risk of harm to the
vessel or the people onboard unless the vessel anchors; or
The vessel is attending a regatta, race, marine parade, tournament, exhibition, 18 or other special
event, including, but not limited to, public music performances, local government waterfront
activities, or a fireworks display.19
Current law also authorizes a county20 to establish an anchoring limitation area adjacent to urban areas
that have residential docking facilities and significant recreational boating traffic. 21 The aggregate total
of anchoring limitation areas in a county may not exceed 10 percent of the county’s delineated
navigable-in-fact waterways.22 Each county anchoring limitation area must:
10 Section 327.4109(1), F.S.
11 Section 327.02(14), F.S., defines “floating structure” as a floating entity, with or without accommodations built thereon,
which is not primarily used as a means of transportation on water but which serves purposes or provides services typically
associated with a structure or other improvement to real property. The term includes an entity used as a residence, place
of business, or office with public access; a hotel or motel; a restaurant or lounge; a clubhouse; a meeting facility; a storage
or parking facility; or a mining platform, dredge, dragline, or similar facility or entity represented as such.
12 Section 327.02(22), F.S., defines “live-aboard vessel” as a vessel used solely as a residence and not for navigation; a
vessel represented as a place of business or a professional or other commercial enterprise; or a vessel for which a
declaration of domicile has been filed. The definition expressly excludes commercial fishing boats.
13 Section 327.60(2)(f), F.S.
14 Section 327.60(3), F.S.
15 Section 327.4108, F.S.
16 Section 327.4108(1), F.S.
17 Section 327.4108(2), F.S.
18 Section 327.48, F.S.
19 Section 327.4108(3), F.S.
20 Except for Monroe County.
21 Section 327.4108(2)(a), F.S.
22 “Navigable-in-fact waterways” means waterways that are navigable in their natural or unimproved condition over which
useful commerce or public recreation of a substantial and permanent character is or may be conducted in the customary
mode of trade and travel on water. The term does not include lakes or streams that are theoretically navigable; have a
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Be less than 100 acres in size;23
Not include any mooring field or marina; and
Be clearly marked with signs 24 and buoys.25
A person may not anchor a vessel for more than 45 consecutive days in any six-month period in a
county-established anchoring limitation area.26
The Division of Law Enforcement of FWC and its officers, county sheriffs and deputies, and municipal
police officers typically enforce anchoring limitation areas. 27 Such law enforcement officers are
authorized to remove and impound a vessel that, after being issued a citation for violation of the
anchoring limitation area, anchors the vessel in the anchoring limitation area within 12 hours after being
issued the citation or refuses to leave the anchoring limitation area after being directed to do so by law
enforcement.28
The owner or operator of a vessel in an anchoring limitation area must be given an opportunity by a law
enforcement officer or agency to provide proof that the vessel has not exceeded the limitations. 29 Such
proof may include any of the following:
Documentation showing that the vessel was in another location at least one mile away within a
period of less than 45 days prior to the inquiry by a law enforcement officer or agency.
Electronic evidence, including, but not limited to, navigational devices or tracking devices
showing that the vessel was in another location at least one mile away within a period of less
than 45 days before the inquiry.
Anchoring limitation areas do not apply to vessels owned or operated by a governmental entity for law
enforcement, firefighting, military, or rescue purposes; construction or dredging vessels on an active job
site; vessels actively engaged in commercial fishing; or vessels engaged in recreational fishing if the
individuals on board are actively tending hook and line fishing gears or nets. 30
Effect of the Bill
The bill revises the portions of Biscayne Bay that are designated as anchoring limitation areas.
Specifically, the bill designates the sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County that are within 200
yards of any part of the shore of the City of Miami Beach lying between State Road A1A and State
Road 112 as anchoring limitation areas.
The bill specifies that when providing proof to a law enforcement officer or agency that a vessel has not
exceeded the limits of an anchoring limitation area, the vessel owner or operator may provide
documentation or evidence that the vessel was in another location at least one nautical mile 31 away,
rather than one mile. The bill also specifies that a vessel owner may provide electronic evidence that
potential for navigability; or are temporary, precarious, and unprofitable, but the term does include lakes or streams that
have practical usefulness to the public as highways for transportation. Section 327.4108(2)(a), F.S.
23 For purposes of this subsection, the calculated size of the anchoring limitation area does not include any portion of the
marked channel of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway contiguous to the anchoring limitation area. Section
327.4108(2)(a)1., F.S.
24 Signs must provide reasonable notice to boaters identifying the duration of time beyond which anchoring is limited and
identifying the county ordinance by which the anchoring limitation area was created. Section 327.4108(2)(a)3. a., F.S.
25 The county that has created an anchoring limitation area must install and maintain buoys marking the boundary of the
anchoring limitation area. Section 327.4108(2)(a)3.b., F.S.
26 Section 327.4108(2)(b), F.S.
27 Section 327.70(1), F.S.
28 Section 327.4108(5)(b), F.S.
29 Section 327.4108 (6)(b), F.S.
30 Section 327.4108(4), F.S.
31 A nautical mile is slightly longer than a mile on land, equaling 1.1508 land-measured miles. Nautical miles are used to
measure the distance traveled through water. NOAA, What is the difference between a nautical mile and a k not?,
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ facts/nautical-mile-
knot.html#:~:text=Nautical%20Miles&text=A%20nautical%20mile%20is%20slightly,measurement%20system%20for% 20
marine%20navigation% 3F (last visited Jan. 16, 2024).
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includes, but is not limited to, navigational devices or tracking devices permanently affixed to the
vessel.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1. Amends s. 327.4108, F.S., relating to anchoring of vessels in anchoring limitation areas.
Section 2. Provides an effective date of July 1, 2024.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not applicable. This bill does not appear to require counties or municipalities to spend funds or take
action requiring the expenditure of funds; reduce authority that counties or municipalities have to
raise revenues in the aggregate; or reduce the percentage of state tax shared with counties or
municipalities.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
None.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
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IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
On December 12, 2023, the Agriculture, Conservation & Resiliency Subcommittee adopted an amendment
and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. The amendment revised the portions of Biscayne
Bay that are designated as anchoring limitation areas.
On January 16, 2024, the Infrastructure Strategies Committee adopted an amendment and reported the bill
favorably as a committee substitute. The amendment revised the type of evidence a vessel owner or
operator may provide to a law enforcement officer or an agency upon inquiry.
This analysis is drafted to the committee substitute as approved