Florida Senate - 2024 SB 784



By Senator Gruters





22-00111-24 2024784__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the installation of waterway
3 markers; amending s. 327.40, F.S.; revising the
4 application requirements for marking certain waters of
5 this state; requiring that all waterway markers be
6 affixed to certain structures or buoys beginning on a
7 specified date; requiring state and local governmental
8 entities to conform to such requirements by a
9 specified date; making technical changes; reenacting
10 ss. 327.4108(2)(a) and 403.813(1)(k), F.S., relating
11 to the anchoring of vessels in anchoring limitation
12 areas and to permits issued at district centers,
13 respectively, to incorporate the amendments made to s.
14 327.40, F.S., in references thereto; providing a
15 declaration of important state interest; providing an
16 effective date.
17
18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20 Section 1. Section 327.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to
21 read:
22 327.40 Uniform waterway markers; installation
23 requirements.—
24 (1) Waters of this state shall be marked only in conformity
25 with the United States Aids to Navigation System, 33 C.F.R. part
26 62.
27 (2)(a) Application for marking inland lakes and state
28 waters and any navigable waters under concurrent jurisdiction of
29 the Coast Guard and the division must shall be made to the
30 division, accompanied by a map locating the approximate
31 placement of markers, a list of the markers to be placed, a
32 statement of the specification of the markers and the structure
33 or buoy to which the markers will be attached, a statement of
34 the purpose of marking, and the names of persons responsible for
35 the placement and upkeep of such markers and structures. The
36 division shall do all of the following:
37 1. will Assist the applicant in securing to secure the
38 proper permission from the Coast Guard when where required, make
39 such investigations as needed, and issue a permit.
40 2. The division shall Furnish the applicant with the
41 information concerning the system adopted and the rules existing
42 for placing and maintaining the markers.
43 3. The division shall Keep records of all approvals given
44 and counsel with individuals, counties, municipalities,
45 motorboat clubs, or other groups desiring to mark waterways for
46 safety and navigation purposes in Florida.
47 (b)1. A No person or municipality, county, or other
48 governmental entity may not shall place any uniform waterway
49 marker in, on, or over the waters or shores of this the state
50 without a permit from the division.
51 2. The placement of information markers by counties,
52 municipalities, or other governmental entities on inland lakes
53 and their associated canals are exempt from permitting under
54 this section.
55 (3) All waterway markers, including waterway markers
56 permitted on or after July 1, 2024, pursuant to this section and
57 information markers placed by counties, municipalities, or other
58 governmental entities, must be affixed to a plastic breakaway
59 structure or a floating buoy. A state or local governmental
60 entity may not affix a waterway marker to a steel beam or wood
61 piling. Any state or local governmental entity waterway marker
62 affixed to a steel beam or wood piling before July 1, 2024, must
63 be replaced with a waterway marker affixed to a plastic
64 breakaway structure or floating buoy by January 1, 2025.
65 (4)(c) The commission is authorized to adopt rules pursuant
66 to chapter 120 to implement this section.
67 (5)(3) The placement under this section or s. 327.41 of any
68 uniform waterway marker on state submerged lands does not
69 subject such lands to the lease requirements of chapter 253.
70 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments
71 made by this act to section 327.40, Florida Statutes, in a
72 reference thereto, paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
73 327.4108, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
74 327.4108 Anchoring of vessels in anchoring limitation
75 areas.—
76 (2)(a) Notwithstanding s. 327.60(2)(f), a county, except
77 for Monroe County, may establish, in accordance with this
78 subsection, an anchoring limitation area adjacent to urban areas
79 that have residential docking facilities and significant
80 recreational boating traffic. The aggregate total of anchoring
81 limitation areas in a county may not exceed 10 percent of the
82 county’s delineated navigable-in-fact waterways. As used in this
83 subsection, the term “navigable-in-fact waterways” means
84 waterways that are navigable in their natural or unimproved
85 condition over which useful commerce or public recreation of a
86 substantial and permanent character is or may be conducted in
87 the customary mode of trade and travel on water. The term does
88 not include lakes or streams that are theoretically navigable;
89 have a potential for navigability; or are temporary, precarious,
90 and unprofitable, but the term does include lakes or streams
91 that have practical usefulness to the public as highways for
92 transportation. Each anchoring limitation area must meet all of
93 the following requirements:
94 1. Be less than 100 acres in size. For purposes of this
95 subsection, the calculated size of the anchoring limitation area
96 does not include any portion of the marked channel of the
97 Florida Intracoastal Waterway contiguous to the anchoring
98 limitation area;
99 2. Not include any mooring field or marina; and
100 3. Be clearly marked with all of the following:
101 a. Signs that provide reasonable notice to boaters
102 identifying the duration of time beyond which anchoring is
103 limited and identifying the county ordinance by which the
104 anchoring limitation area was created.
105 b. Buoys. The county that has created an anchoring
106 limitation area shall install and maintain buoys marking the
107 boundary of the anchoring limitation area.
108
109 The signs and buoys must be permitted and installed in
110 accordance with ss. 327.40 and 327.41 and commission rule.
111 Section 3.  For the purpose of incorporating the amendments
112 made by this act to section 327.40, Florida Statutes, in a
113 reference thereto, paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section
114 403.813, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
115 403.813 Permits issued at district centers; exceptions.—
116 (1) A permit is not required under this chapter, chapter
117 373, chapter 61-691, Laws of Florida, or chapter 25214 or
118 chapter 25270, 1949, Laws of Florida, and a local government may
119 not require a person claiming this exception to provide further
120 department verification, for activities associated with the
121 following types of projects; however, except as otherwise
122 provided in this subsection, this subsection does not relieve an
123 applicant from any requirement to obtain permission to use or
124 occupy lands owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal
125 Improvement Trust Fund or a water management district in its
126 governmental or proprietary capacity or from complying with
127 applicable local pollution control programs authorized under
128 this chapter or other requirements of county and municipal
129 governments:
130 (k) The installation of aids to navigation and buoys
131 associated with such aids, provided the devices are marked
132 pursuant to s. 327.40.
133 Section 4. The Legislature determines and declares that the
134 amendments made by this act to s. 327.40, Florida Statutes,
135 fulfill an important state interest.
136 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.

Statutes affected:
S 784 Filed: 327.40