Senate Bill sb2586er

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    2003 Legislature                        SB 2586, 1st Engrossed



  1                                 

  2         An act relating to the Fish and Wildlife

  3         Conservation Commission; amending s. 370.12,

  4         F.S.; deleting a requirement that the

  5         commission solicit advisory recommendations

  6         from the Save the Manatee Committee; amending

  7         s. 20.331, F.S.; creating an Office of Boating

  8         and Waterways within the commission; providing

  9         powers and duties of the office; amending s.

10         206.606, F.S.; providing for the transfer of

11         moneys from the Fuel Tax Collection Trust Fund

12         to the Marine Resources Conservation Trust

13         Fund; amending s. 370.0603, F.S.; including

14         boating and boating-related activities,

15         programs, and law enforcement under purposes of

16         the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund;

17         providing for the uses of the funds transferred

18         from the Fuel Tax Collection Trust Fund;

19         creating s. 327.47, F.S.; providing for

20         competitive grant programs developed and

21         administered by the commission; authorizing the

22         commission to adopt rules; providing

23         appropriations; providing an effective date.

24  

25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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27         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section

28  370.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

29         370.12  Marine animals; regulation.--

30         (4)  ANNUAL FUNDING OF PROGRAMS FOR MARINE ANIMALS.--

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    2003 Legislature                        SB 2586, 1st Engrossed



 1         (a)  Each fiscal year the Save the Manatee Trust Fund

 2  shall be available to fund an impartial scientific benchmark

 3  census of the manatee population in the state. Weather

 4  permitting, the study shall be conducted annually by the Fish

 5  and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the results shall be

 6  made available to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of

 7  the House of Representatives, and the Governor and Cabinet for

 8  use in the evaluation and development of manatee protection

 9  measures. In addition, the Save the Manatee Trust Fund shall

10  be available for annual funding of activities of public and

11  private organizations and those of the commission intended to

12  provide manatee and marine mammal protection and recovery

13  effort; manufacture and erection of informational and

14  regulatory signs; production, publication, and distribution of

15  educational materials; participation in manatee and marine

16  mammal research programs, including carcass salvage and other

17  programs; programs intended to assist the recovery of the

18  manatee as an endangered species, assist the recovery of the

19  endangered or threatened marine mammals, and prevent the

20  endangerment of other species of marine mammals; and other

21  similar programs intended to protect and enhance the recovery

22  of the manatee and other species of marine mammals. The

23  commission shall annually solicit advisory recommendations

24  from the Save the Manatee Committee affiliated with the Save

25  the Manatee Club, as identified and recognized in Executive

26  Order 85-19, on the use of funds from the Save the Manatee

27  Trust Fund.

28         Section 2.  Subsection (3) of section 20.331, Florida

29  Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is added to subsection

30  (5) of that section, to read:

31         20.331  Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.--


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    2003 Legislature                        SB 2586, 1st Engrossed



 1         (3)  The following administrative units are established

 2  within the commission:

 3         (a)  Division of Administrative Services.

 4         (b)  Division of Law Enforcement.

 5         (c)  Division of Freshwater Fisheries.

 6         (d)  Division of Marine Fisheries.

 7         (e)  Division of Wildlife.

 8         (f)  Florida Marine Research Institute.

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10  The bureaus and offices of the Game and Fresh Water Fish

11  Commission existing on February 1, 1999, are established

12  within the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

13  Effective July 1, 2003, there is created within the commission

14  an Office of Boating and Waterways with duties and

15  responsibilities as provided in subsection (5).

16         (5)  In further exercise of its duties, the Fish and

17  Wildlife Conservation Commission:

18         (e)  Shall assign to the Office of Boating and

19  Waterways such powers, duties, responsibilities, and functions

20  as are necessary to manage and promote the use of state

21  waterways for safe and enjoyable boating. Duties and

22  responsibilities include, but are not limited to, oversight

23  and coordination of waterway markers on state waters,

24  providing boating education and boating safety programs,

25  improving boating access, coordinating the removal of derelict

26  vessels from state waters, economic development initiatives to

27  promote boating in the state, and coordinating the submission

28  of state comments on marine events.

29         Section 3.  Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (1) of

30  section 206.606, Florida Statutes, to read:

31         206.606  Distribution of certain proceeds.--


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    2003 Legislature                        SB 2586, 1st Engrossed



 1         (1)  Moneys collected pursuant to ss. 206.41(1)(g) and

 2  206.87(1)(e) shall be deposited in the Fuel Tax Collection

 3  Trust Fund.  Such moneys, after deducting the service charges

 4  imposed by s. 215.20, the refunds granted pursuant to s.

 5  206.41, and the administrative costs incurred by the

 6  department in collecting, administering, enforcing, and

 7  distributing the tax, which administrative costs may not

 8  exceed 2 percent of collections, shall be distributed monthly

 9  to the State Transportation Trust Fund, except that:

10         (d)  A portion of the moneys attributable to the sale

11  of motor and diesel fuel at marinas shall be transferred from

12  the Fuel Tax Collection Trust Fund to the Marine Resources

13  Conservation Trust Fund in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation

14  Commission as follows:

15         1.  $2.5 million in fiscal year 2003-2004;

16         2.  $5.0 million in fiscal year 2004-2005;

17         3.  $8.5 million in fiscal year 2005-2006;

18         4.  $10.9 million in fiscal year 2006-2007; and

19         5.  $13.4 million in fiscal year 2007-2008 and each

20  fiscal year thereafter.

21         Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 370.0603, Florida

22  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (4) is added to that

23  section, to read:

24         370.0603  Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund;

25  purposes.--

26         (1)  The Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund

27  within the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall

28  serve as a broad-based depository for funds from various

29  marine-related and boating-related activities and shall be

30  administered by the commission for the purposes of:

31         (a)  Funding for marine research.


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    2003 Legislature                        SB 2586, 1st Engrossed



 1         (b)  Funding for fishery enhancement, including, but

 2  not limited to, fishery statistics development, artificial

 3  reefs, and fish hatcheries.

 4         (c)  Funding for marine law enforcement.

 5         (d)  Funding for administration of licensing programs

 6  for recreational fishing, saltwater products sales, and

 7  related information and education activities.

 8         (e)  Funding for the operations of the Fish and

 9  Wildlife Conservation Commission.

10         (f)  Funding for titling and registration of vessels.

11         (g)  Funding for marine turtle protection, research,

12  and recovery activities from revenues that are specifically

13  credited to the trust fund for these purposes.

14         (h)  Funding activities for rehabilitation of oyster

15  harvesting areas from which special oyster surcharge fees are

16  collected, including relaying and transplanting live oysters.

17         (i)  Funding for boating research, boating-related

18  programs and activities, and for law enforcement on state

19  waters.

20         (4)  Funds transferred to the Marine Resources

21  Conservation Trust Fund from the Fuel Tax Collection Trust

22  Fund pursuant to s. 206.606 shall be used for the following

23  purposes:

24         (a)  To provide additional water-related law

25  enforcement positions within the Fish and Wildlife

26  Conservation Commission primarily for the purpose of enforcing

27  laws designed to protect manatee populations. Law enforcement

28  positions funded under this provision shall be assigned to

29  counties having the highest incidence of manatee deaths and

30  injuries.

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    2003 Legislature                        SB 2586, 1st Engrossed



 1         (b)  For the placement of uniform waterway markers on

 2  state waters.

 3         (c)  To provide funding for construction and

 4  maintenance of publicly owned boat ramps, piers, and docks,

 5  directly and through grants to counties and municipalities.

 6         (d)  To implement and administer programs related to

 7  boating safety and education, manatee technical avoidance

 8  technology, and economic development initiatives to promote

 9  boating in the state, including competitive grants programs as

10  provided in s. 327.47.

11         (e)  For other activities of the Office of Boating and

12  Waterways such as coordinating the submission of state

13  comments on boating-related events.

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15  Funds not used in one fiscal year must be carried over for use

16  in subsequent years.

17         Section 5.  Section 327.47, Florida Statutes, is

18  created to read:

19         327.47  Competitive grant program.--The commission

20  shall develop and administer competitive grant programs funded

21  with moneys transferred pursuant to s. 206.606(1)(d). Grants

22  may be awarded for the construction and maintenance of

23  publicly owned boat ramps, piers, and docks, boater education,

24  deployment of manatee technical avoidance technology, and

25  economic development initiatives that promote boating in the

26  state. The commission may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 120

27  to implement this section.

28         Section 6.  From the $2.5 million in marina fuel tax

29  revenue transferred to the Marine Resources Conservation Trust

30  Fund within the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

31  under the provisions of this bill, 10 additional sworn law


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    ENROLLED

    2003 Legislature                        SB 2586, 1st Engrossed



 1  enforcement FTEs are authorized and $1.8 million is

 2  appropriated to fund equipment, training, expense and 5 months

 3  of salaries and benefits beginning in fiscal year 2003-2004,

 4  and $700,000 is appropriated to fund the activities specified

 5  in section 370.0603(4), Florida Statutes.

 6         Section 7.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

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