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 Rules
BILL: CS/SB 1082
INTRODUCER: Rules Committee and Senator DiCeglie
SUBJECT: Floating Vessel Platforms
DATE: April 20, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Barriero Rogers EN Favorable
2. Hunter Ryon CA Favorable
3. Barriero Twogood RC Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1082 removes the provision within s. 403.813, F.S., that authorizes a local government to
require a permit for certain floating vessel platforms (i.e., those not attached to a bulkhead).
The bill provides that a local government may only require a one-time registration of such
platforms where the platform owner self-certifies compliance with the exemption criteria. Local
governments may require this self-certification to ensure, among other things, compliance with
ordinances, codes, state-delegated or state mandated plans or programs, or regulations relating to
building or zoning, which may not be applied more stringently than, or inconsistent with, the
exemption criteria and address subjects other than subjects addressed by the exemption criteria.
The bill also allows local governments to establish by ordinance minimum wake boating-
restricted areas within 500 feet of certain sewage pumpout facilities at a public or private
nonresidential marina.
II. Present Situation:
Environmental Resource Permitting
The Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Environmental Resource Permitting
(ERP) program regulates activities involving the alteration of surface water flows.1 The ERP
1
Chapter 373, p. IV, F.S.; Fla. Admin. Code Ch. 62-330.
BILL: CS/SB 1082 Page 2
program governs the construction, alteration, operation, maintenance, repair, abandonment, and
removal of stormwater management systems, dams, impoundments, reservoirs, appurtenant
works, and works (including docks, piers, structures, dredging, and filling located in, on, or over
wetlands or other surface waters).2
For a number of low impact activities and projects that are narrow in scope, an ERP permit is not
required under state law.3 Engaging in these activities and projects requires compliance with
applicable local requirements, but generally requires no notice to DEP.4 A broad array of
activities are expressly exempted from the ERP program, including, but are not limited to: the
installation of overhead transmission lines; installation and maintenance of boat ramps; work on
seawalls and mooring pilings, swales, and foot bridges; the removal of aquatic plants;
construction and operation of floating vessel platforms; and work on county roads and bridges.5
Although permitting is not required for these activities, there may be a requirement to obtain
permission to use or occupy lands owned by the Board of Trustees or a water management
district in its governmental or proprietary capacity.6
Permits for Floating Vessel Platforms or Floating Boat Lifts
Generally, an ERP permit is required to construct, alter, operate, maintain, or remove floating
vessel platforms or floating boat lifts.7 Local governments may require either permitting or one-
time registration of floating vessel platforms to be attached to a bulkhead on a parcel of land
where there is no other docking structure as necessary to ensure compliance with local
ordinances, codes, or regulations.8 Local governments may also require permitting or one-time
registration of all other floating vessel platforms (i.e., those not attached to a bulkhead) as
necessary to ensure compliance with the exemption criteria under s. 403.813, F.S., and to ensure
compliance with local ordinances, codes, or regulations relating to building or zoning, which are
no more stringent than the exemption criteria under s. 403.813, F.S., or address subjects other
than subjects addressed by the exemption criteria in this statute.9
However, a permit is not required for the construction, installation, operation, or maintenance of
floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts, provided that such structures:10
Float at all times in the water for the sole purpose of supporting a vessel so that the vessel is
out of the water when not in use;
Are wholly contained within a boat slip previously permitted under state law, or do not
exceed a combined total of 500 square feet, or 200 square feet in an Outstanding Florida
Water, when associated with a dock that is exempt under this subsection or associated with a
2
Fla. Admin. Code R. 62-330.010(1)-(3). The responsibilities for implementing the statewide ERP program are partially
delegated by DEP to the water management districts and certain local governments.
3
Section 403.813, F.S.
4
Fla. Admin. Code Rules 62-330.050(1) and 62-330.051(2).
5
Section 403.813(1), F.S.; Fla. Admin. Code R. 62-330.051.
6
Section 403.813(1), F.S.; but see s. 403.813(1)(s), F.S. (specifically relieving qualifying floating structures from any
requirement to obtain permission to use or occupy lands owned by the Board of Trustees).
7
Fla. Admin. Code R. 62-330.428.
8
Section 403.813(1)(s), F.S.
9
Id.
10
Section 403.813(1)(s), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1082 Page 3
permitted dock with no defined boat slip or attached to a bulkhead on a parcel of land where
there is no other docking structure;
Are not used for any commercial purpose or for mooring vessels that remain in the water
when not in use, and do not substantially impede the flow of water, create a navigational
hazard, or unreasonably infringe upon the riparian rights of adjacent property owners, as
defined in state law;
Are constructed and used so as to minimize adverse impacts to submerged lands, wetlands,
shellfish areas, aquatic plant and animal species, and other biological communities, including
locating such structures in areas where seagrasses are least dense adjacent to the dock or
bulkhead; and
Are not constructed in areas specifically prohibited for boat mooring under conditions of a
permit issued in accordance with state law, or other form of authorization issued by a local
government.11
Boating-Restricted Areas
Boating-restricted areas, which may restrict the speed and operation of vessels, may be
established on the waters of the state for any purpose necessary to protect the safety of the
public, taking into account boating accidents, visibility, hazardous currents or water levels,
vessel traffic congestion, or other navigational hazards, as well as seagrass protection on
privately-owned submerged lands.12
Local governments have the authority to establish certain boating-restricted areas by ordinance,
including within the portion of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway within their jurisdiction.13
These areas include:
Idle-speed, no wake boating-restricted areas, if the area is:
o Within 500 feet of any boat ramp, hoist, marine railway, or other launching or landing
facility available for use by the general boating public on waterways not exceeding 300
feet in width;
o Within 500 feet of fuel pumps or dispensers at any marine fueling facility that sells motor
fuel to the general boating public on waterways more than 300 feet in width;
o Within 300 feet of the fuel pumps or dispensers at any licensed terminal facility that sells
motor fuel to the general boating public on waterways not exceeding 300 feet in width; or
o Inside or within 300 feet of any lock structure;
Slow speed, minimum wake boating-restricted areas if the area is:
o Within 300 feet of any bridge fender system;
o Within 300 feet of any bridge span presenting a vertical clearance of less than 25 feet or a
horizontal clearance of less than 100 feet;
o On a creek, stream, canal, or similar linear waterway if the waterway is less than 75 feet
in width from shoreline or shoreline;
o On a lake or pond of less than 10 acres in total surface area; or
11
Section 403.813(1)(s)1.-5., F.S.
12
Section 327.46(1), F.S.
13
Section 327.46(1), F.S. Apart from this authorization, local governments are generally prohibited from regulating any
vessel upon the Florida Intracoastal Waterway. Section 327.60(2)(c), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1082 Page 4
o Within the boundaries of a permitted public mooring field and a buffer around the
mooring field of up to 100 feet; and
Vessel-exclusion zones if the area is:
o Designated as a public bathing beach or swim area, except that such areas may not be
created on waters that include any portion of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway or that
are within 100 feet of the marked channel of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway; or
o Within 300 feet of a dam, spillway, or flood control structure.14
Local governments also have the authority to establish by ordinance the following other boating-
restricted areas:
An idle speed, no wake boating-restricted area, if the area is within 300 feet of a confluence
of water bodies presenting a blind corner, a bend in a narrow channel or fairway, or such
other area if an intervening obstruction to visibility may obscure other vessels or other users
of the waterway;
A slow speed, minimum wake, or numerical speed limit boating-restricted area if the area is:
o Within 300 feet of a confluence of waterbodies presenting a blind corner, a bend in a
narrow channel or fairway, or such other area if an intervening obstruction to visibility
may obscure other vessels or other users of the waterway;
o Subject to unsafe levels of vessel traffic congestion;
o Subject to hazardous water levels or currents, or containing other navigational hazards; or
o An area that accident reports, uniform boating citations, vessel traffic studies, or other
creditable data demonstrate to present a significant risk of collision or a significant threat
to boating safety; and
A vessel-exclusion zone if the area is reserved exclusively:
o As a canoe trail or otherwise limited to vessels under oars or under sail; or
o For a particular activity and user group separation must be imposed to protect the safety
of the participants.15
Marina Pumpout
Florida law prohibits the discharge of raw sewage from any vessel or any floating structure in
Florida waters.16 An operator of any vessel which is plumbed so that a toilet may be flushed into
the water or so that a holding tank may be emptied into the water must take certain measures to
prevent direct discharge of sewage while the vessel is on waters of the state.17 All waste from
Type III marine sanitation devices18 must be disposed of in an approved sewage pump-out
facility.19 A violation of the marine sanitation laws is a noncriminal infraction.20
14
Id.
15
Id.
16
Section 327.53(4), F.S.
17
Id.
18
Type III marine sanitation devices are typically a holding tank where sewage is stored until it can be discharged shore-side
or at sea (beyond three miles from shore). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Marine Sanitation Devices (MSDs),
https://www.epa.gov/vessels-marinas-and-ports/marine-sanitation-devices-msds (last visited Apr. 19, 2023).
19
Section 327.53(4), F.S.
20
Section 327.53(6)(a), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1082 Page 5
Florida Intracoastal Waterway
The Florida Intracoastal Waterway consists of the following waterways: the Atlantic Intracoastal
Waterway, the Georgia state line north of Fernandina to Miami; the Port Canaveral lock and
canal to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway; the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Miami to Key
West; the Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart to Fort Myers; the St. Johns River, Jacksonville to
Sanford; the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Anclote to Fort Myers; the Gulf Intracoastal
Waterway, Carrabelle to Tampa Bay; Carrabelle to Anclote open bay section, using the Gulf of
Mexico; the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to the Alabama state line west of Pensacola;
and the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint rivers in Florida.21 The map below shows the
Florida Intracoastal Waterway.22
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 amends s. 327.46, F.S., to include areas within 500 feet of a sewage pumpout facility
at a public or private nonresidential marina to the list of slow speed, minimum wake boating-
restricted areas that municipalities and counties may establish by ordinance. The pumpout
facility must be within 100 feet of the marked portion of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway.
21
Section 327.02(15), F.S.
22
Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Waterways System Plan, Figure 1-2 on p. 1-12 (2015), available at
https://www.fdot.gov/docs/default-source/seaport/pdfs/2015-Florida-Waterways-System-Plan_Final.pdf (last visited Apr. 19,
2023).
BILL: CS/SB 1082 Page 6
Section 2 reenacts s. 327.41(2), F.S., for the purpose of incorporating the amendment made by
this bill to the law governing boating restricted areas in a reference thereto.
Section 3 amends s. 403.813, F.S., which provides exemptions to Environmental Resource
Permitting (ERP) requirements. The bill removes the provision that authorizes a local
government to require a permit for certain floating vessel platforms (i.e., those not attached to a
bulkhead). The bill provides that a local government may only require a one-time registration of
such platforms where the platform owner self-certifies compliance with the exemption criteria
established under this section. Local governments may require this self-certification to ensure,
among other things, compliance with ordinances, codes, state-delegated or state mandated plans
or programs, or regulations relating to building or zoning, which may not be applied more
stringently than, or inconsistent with, the exemption criteria and address subjects other than
subjects addressed by the exemption criteria.
Section 4 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:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
BILL: CS/SB 1082 Page 7
C. Government Sector Impact:
None.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends sections 327.46 and 403.813 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS by Rules on April 19, 2023:
The amendment authorizes local governments to establish by ordinance minimum wake
boating-restricted areas within 500 feet of a public or private nonresidential marina
pumpout facility that is within 100 feet of the marked portion of the Florida Intracoastal
Waterway.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.
Statutes affected: S 1082 Filed: 403.813
S 1082 c1: 327.46, 403.813