HB 1063 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Natural Resources recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
12	Commission; amending s. 372.001, F.S.; providing and
13	revising definitions; amending s. 372.0222, F.S.;
14	authorizing the commission to purchase certain promotional
15	items; amending s. 372.05, F.S.; authorizing the executive
16	director to establish additional positions; providing for
17	funding of said positions; amending s. 372.16, F.S.;
18	deleting an obsolete reference relating to private game
19	preserves and farms; amending s. 372.57, F.S.; revising
20	provisions specifying fees and requirements for
21	recreational licenses, permits, and authorization numbers;
22	increasing the cost of a 10-day nonresident game hunting
23	license; clarifying language relating to recreational
24	vessel licenses; increasing the cost of turkey permits for
25	nonresidents; authorizing the establishment of a
26	recreational sport season crawfish permit in Monroe County
27	and providing for a fee to be established by the county
28	commission; amending s. 372.6673, F.S.; revising
29	provisions relating to issuance and expiration dates of
30	alligator trapping licenses; amending s. 372.921, F.S.;
31	revising provisions relating to license requirements for
32	the sale and exhibition of wildlife; amending s. 372.99,
33	F.S.; requiring clerks of the court to notify the
34	commission within a specified time period of the
35	disposition of any citation issued under ch. 372, F.S.;
36	providing an effective date.
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38	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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40	Section 1. Present subsection (16) of section 372.001,
41	Florida Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (17) and amended,
42	present subsection (17) is renumbered as subsection (18), and a
43	new subsection (16) is added to said section, to read:
44	372.001 Definitions.--In construing these statutes, when
45	applied to saltwater and freshwater fish, shellfish, crustacea,
46	sponges, wild birds, and wild animals, where the context
47	permits, the word, phrase, or term:
48	(16) "Saltwater fish" means any saltwater species of
49	finfish of the classes Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, or Osteichthyes
50	and marine invertebrates that of the classes Gastropoda,
51	Bivalvia, or Crustacea, or of the phylum Echinodermata, but does
52	not include nonliving shells or echinoderms.
53	(17)(16)"Take" means taking, attempting to take,
54	pursuing, hunting, molesting, capturing, or killing any wildlife
55	or freshwater or saltwaterfish, or their nests or eggs, by any
56	means, whether or not such actions result in obtaining
57	possession of such wildlife or freshwater or saltwaterfish or
58	their nests or eggs.
59	Section 2. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (6) of
60	section 372.0222, Florida Statutes, to read:
61	372.0222 Private publication agreements; advertising;
62	costs of production.--
63	(6) The commission shall provide services and information
64	designed to inform Floridians and visitors about Florida's
65	unique and diverse fish, game, and wildlife, and make it
66	available by means of commonly used media. For the
67	accomplishment of those purposes, the commission may make
68	expenditures to:
69	(d) Purchase and distribute promotional items to increase
70	public awareness regarding boating safety and other programs
71	that promote public safety or resource conservation.
72	Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 372.05, Florida
73	Statutes, is amended to read:
74	372.05 Duties of executive director.--The executive
75	director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall:
76	(4) Appoint, fix salaries of, and at pleasure remove,
77	subject to the approval of the commission, assistants and other
78	employees who shall have such powers and duties as may be
79	assigned to them by the commission or executive director.
80	Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.262(1)(a), and pursuant
81	to s. 216.351, the executive director is authorized to establish
82	additional temporary full-time equivalent positions needed to
83	implement research contracts and grants, provided that all costs
84	for such positions are fully funded through those contracts and
85	grants and that no such position shall be established for longer
86	than the term of the contract or grant.
87	Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 372.16, Florida
88	Statutes, is amended to read:
89	372.16 Private game preserves and farms; penalty.--
90	(4) Any person violating this section for the first
91	offense commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable
92	as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, and for a second or
93	subsequent offense commits a misdemeanor of the first degree,
94	punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Any person
95	convicted of violating this section shall forfeit to the
96	commission any license or permitissued under this section; and
97	no further license or permitshall be issued to such person for
98	a period of 1 year following such conviction.
99	Section 5. Subsections (1) and (3), paragraph (f) of
100	subsection (5), paragraph (c) of subsection (7), and paragraphs
101	(b) and (d) of subsection (8) of section 372.57, Florida
102	Statutes, are amended to read:
103	372.57 Recreational licenses, permits, and authorization
104	numbers; fees established.--
105	(1) LICENSE, PERMIT, OR AUTHORIZATION NUMBER
106	REQUIRED.--Except as provided in s. 372.562, no person shall
107	hunt, fish, or take game, freshwater or saltwater fish, orfur-
108	bearing animals within this state without having first obtained
109	a license, permit, or authorization number and paid the fees set
110	forth in this chapter. Such license, permit, or authorization
111	number shall authorize the person to whom it is issued to hunt,
112	fish, take game, freshwater or saltwater fish, orfur-bearing
113	animals, and participate in outdoor recreational activities in
114	accordance with the laws of the state and rules of the
115	commission.
116	(3) PERSONAL POSSESSION REQUIRED.--Each license, permit,
117	or authorization number must be in the personal possession of
118	the person to whom it is issued while such person is hunting,
119	fishing, or taking, attempting to take, or possessing game,
120	freshwater or saltwater fish, or fur-bearing animals. Any person
121	hunting, fishing, or taking, attempting to take, or possessing
122	game, freshwater or saltwater fish, orfur-bearing animals who
123	fails to produce a license, permit, or authorization number at
124	the request of a commission law enforcement officer commits a
125	violation of the law.
126	(5) NONRESIDENT HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES.--The
127	licenses and fees for nonresidents participating in hunting and
128	fishing activities in the state are as follows:
129	(f) Hunting license to take game for 10 consecutive days,
130	$45$25.
131	(7) VESSEL LICENSES.---
132	(c)1. A license for any person who operates any vessel
133	licensed to carry no more than 10 customers, or for any person
134	licensed to operate any vessel carrying 6 or fewer customers,
135	wherein a fee is paid, either directly or indirectly, for the
136	purpose of taking or attempting to take saltwater fish, is $400
137	per year; provided that.
138	2.a license for any person licensed to operate any vessel
139	carrying 6 or fewer customers but who operates a vessel carrying
140	4 or fewer customers, wherein a fee is paid, either directly or
141	indirectly, for the purpose of taking or attempting to take
142	saltwater fish, is $200 per year. The license must be kept
143	aboard the vessel at all times.
144	2.3.A person who operates a vessel required to be
145	licensed pursuant to paragraph (b) or this paragraph may obtain
146	a license in her or his own name, and such license shall be
147	transferable and apply to any vessel operated by the purchaser,
148	provided that the purchaser has paid the appropriate license
149	fee.
150	(8) SPECIFIED HUNTING, FISHING, AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY
151	PERMITS.--In addition to any license required under this
152	chapter, the following permits and fees for specified hunting,
153	fishing, and recreational uses and activities are required:
154	(b) An annual Florida turkey permit for a resident or
155	nonresident to take wild turkeys within the state is $5 for a
156	resident or $100 for a nonresident.
157	(d)1.An annual crawfish permit for a resident or
158	nonresident to take or possess any crawfish for recreational
159	purposes from any waters of the state is $2. Revenue generated
160	from the sale of crawfish permits shall be used exclusively for
161	programs to benefit the crawfish population.
162	2. The commission is authorized to establish by rule a
163	Monroe County recreational sport season crawfish permit. The
164	commission shall set the fee for the permit at no more than $10.
165	The permit is in addition to the permit required by subparagraph
166	1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, there
167	are no exclusions, exceptions, or exemptions from this permit
168	fee for all persons taking or possessing crawfish during the
169	recreational sport season for the species in Monroe County as
170	established by the commission.
171	Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
172	372.6673, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
173	372.6673 Taking and possession of alligators; trapping
174	licenses; fees.--
175	(1)(a) No person shall take or possess any alligator or
176	the eggs thereof without having first obtained from the
177	commission a trapping license and paid the fee provided in this
178	section. Such license shall be dated when issued and remain
179	valid for 12 months after the date of issuancefrom June 1 to
180	June 30 of the following yearand shall authorize the person to
181	whom it is issued to take or possess alligators and their eggs,
182	and to sell, possess, and process alligators and their hides and
183	meat, in accordance with law and commission rules. Such license
184	shall not be transferable and shall not be valid unless it bears
185	on its face in indelible ink the name of the person to whom it
186	is issued. Such license shall be in the personal possession of
187	the licensee while such person is taking alligators or their
188	eggs or is selling, possessing, or processing alligators or
189	their eggs, hides, or meat. The failure of the licensee to
190	exhibit such license to the commission or its wildlife officers,
191	when such person is found taking alligators or their eggs or is
192	found selling, possessing, or processing alligators or their
193	eggs, hides, or meat, shall be a violation of law.
194	Section 7. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 372.921,
195	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
196	372.921 Exhibition of wildlife.--
197	(1) In order to provide humane treatment and sanitary
198	surroundings for wild animals kept in captivity, no person,
199	firm, corporation, or association shall have, or be in
200	possession of, in captivity for the purpose of public display
201	with or without charge or for public sale any wildlife,
202	specifically birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, whether
203	indigenous to Florida or not, without having first secured a
204	permit from the commission authorizing such person, firm, or
205	corporation to have in its possession in captivity the species
206	and number of wildlife specified within such permit; however,
207	this section does not apply to any wildlife not protected by law
208	and the rules of the commission.
209	(2) The fees to be paid for the issuance of permits for
210	the exhibition of wildliferequired by subsection (1) shall be
211	as follows:
212	(a) For not more than 10 Class I, Class II, or Class III
213	individual specimens in the aggregate of all species, the sum of
214	$5 per annum.
215	(b) For over 10 Class I, Class II, or Class III individual
216	specimens in the aggregate of all species, the sum of $25 per
217	annum.
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219	The fees prescribed by this subsection shall be submitted to the
220	commission with the application for permit required by
221	subsection (1) and shall be deposited in the State Game Trust
222	Fund.
223	Section 8. Section 372.99, Florida Statutes, is amended to
224	read:
225	372.99 Illegal taking and possession of deer and wild
226	turkey; evidence; penalty.--
227	(1) Whoever takes or kills any deer or wild turkey, or
228	possesses a freshly killed deer or wild turkey, during the
229	closed season prescribed by law or by the rules and regulations
230	of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or whoever
231	takes or attempts to take any deer or wild turkey by the use of
232	gun and light in or out of closed season, is guilty of a
233	misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
234	775.082 or s. 775.083, and shall forfeit any license or permit
235	issued to her or him under the provisions of this chapter. No
236	license shall be issued to such person for a period of 3 years
237	following any such violation on the first offense. Any person
238	guilty of a second or subsequent violation shall be permanently
239	ineligible for issuance of a license or permit thereafter.
240	(2) The display or use of a light in a place where deer
241	might be found and in a manner capable of disclosing the
242	presence of deer, together with the possession of firearms or
243	other weapons customarily used for the taking of deer, between 1
244	hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise, shall be prima
245	facie evidence of an intent to violate the provisions of
246	subsection (1). This subsection does not apply to an owner or
247	her or his employee when patrolling or inspecting the land of
248	the owner, provided the employee has satisfactory proof of
249	employment on her or his person.
250	(3) Whoever takes or kills any doe deer; fawn or baby
251	deer; or deer, whether male or female, which does not have one
252	or more antlers at least 5 inches in length, except as provided
253	by law or the rules of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
254	Commission, during the open season prescribed by the rules of
255	the commission, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree,
256	punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, and may be
257	required to forfeit any license or permit issued to such person
258	for a period of 3 years following any such violation on the
259	first offense. Any person guilty of a second or subsequent
260	violation shall be permanently ineligible for issuance of a
261	license or permit thereafter.
262	(4) Any person who cultivates agricultural crops may apply
263	to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for a permit to
264	take or kill deer on land which that person is currently
265	cultivating. When said person can show, to the satisfaction of
266	the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, that such taking
267	or killing of deer is justified because of damage to the
268	person's crops caused by deer, the Fish and Wildlife
269	Conservation Commission may issue a limited permit to the
270	applicant to take or kill deer without being in violation of
271	subsection (1) or subsection (3).
272	(5) Whoever possesses for sale or sells deer or wild
273	turkey taken in violation of this chapter or the rules and
274	regulations of the commission is guilty of a felony of the third
275	degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
276	775.084.
277	(6) Any person who enters upon private property and shines
278	lights upon such property, without the express permission of the
279	owner of the property and with the intent to take deer by
280	utilizing such shining lights, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
281	of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
282	775.083.
283	(7) Upon final disposition of any alleged offense for
284	which a citation for any violation of this chapter or the rules
285	of the commission has been issued, the court shall, within 10
286	days after the final disposition of the action, certify the
287	disposition to the commission.
288	Section 9. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
289