Florida Senate - 2023                             CS for SB 1368
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Wright
       
       
       
       
       
       578-03261-23                                          20231368c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to unlawful dumping; amending s.
    3         403.413, F.S.; revising the definitions of the terms
    4         “dump” and “litter”; defining the term “water control
    5         district”; specifying that it is unlawful to dump
    6         litter in or on any water control district property or
    7         canal right-of-way without specified consent;
    8         providing that when litter is thrown or discarded from
    9         a boat, the operator or owner, or both, are in
   10         violation of certain provisions; requiring a water
   11         control district board of directors member or district
   12         manager to report an unlawful dumping to the
   13         appropriate law enforcement agencies; authorizing law
   14         enforcement officers to enter water control district
   15         property under certain circumstances; amending s.
   16         810.011, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
   17         “posted land” to include land owned by a water control
   18         district which has no trespassing signs placed at
   19         specified points; reenacting ss. 403.4135(1) and
   20         810.12(6), F.S., relating to litter receptacles and
   21         prima facie evidence of trespass, respectively, to
   22         incorporate the amendment made to s. 403.413, F.S., in
   23         references thereto; providing an effective date.
   24          
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Paragraphs (d) and (f) of subsection (2),
   28  subsection (4), and paragraph (i) of subsection (6) of section
   29  403.413, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (j) is
   30  added to subsection (2) of that section, to read:
   31         403.413 Florida Litter Law.—
   32         (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
   33         (d) “Dump” means to dump, throw, discard, place, deposit,
   34  drain, discharge, or dispose of.
   35         (f) “Litter” means any personal property; garbage; rubbish;
   36  trash; refuse; can; bottle; box; container; paper; tobacco
   37  product; pharmaceutical of any kind; tire; household item; shed;
   38  appliance; mechanical equipment or part; building or
   39  construction material; tool; machinery; wood; motor vehicle or
   40  motor vehicle part, including a truck, trailer, or motor home;
   41  vessel; aircraft; farm machinery or equipment; sludge from a
   42  waste treatment facility, water supply treatment plant, or air
   43  pollution control facility; or substance in any form resulting
   44  from domestic, industrial, commercial, mining, agricultural, or
   45  governmental operations, excluding the permitted, regulated, or
   46  authorized drainage, pumping, or runoff of surface water or
   47  stormwater.
   48         (j)“Water control district” means a water control district
   49  that exists pursuant to chapter 298 or was created by special
   50  act of the Legislature.
   51         (4) DUMPING LITTER PROHIBITED.—Unless otherwise authorized
   52  by law or permit, it is unlawful for any person to dump litter
   53  in any manner or amount in or on any of the following areas:
   54         (a) In or on Any public highway, road, street, alley, or
   55  thoroughfare, including any portion of the right-of-way thereof,
   56  or any other public lands, except in containers or areas
   57  lawfully provided therefor. When any litter is thrown or
   58  discarded from a motor vehicle, the operator or owner of the
   59  motor vehicle, or both, are shall be deemed in violation of this
   60  section.;
   61         (b) In or on Any freshwater lake, river, canal, or stream
   62  or tidal or coastal water of the state, including canals. When
   63  any litter is thrown or discarded from a boat, the operator or
   64  owner of the boat, or both, are shall be deemed in violation of
   65  this section.; or
   66         (c) Any water control district property or canal right-of
   67  way, unless the district board of directors or the district
   68  manager or his or her designee has given prior consent. When any
   69  litter is thrown or discarded from a boat, the operator or owner
   70  of the boat, or both, are in violation of this section.
   71         (d)In or on Any private property, unless the owner has
   72  given prior consent of the owner has been given and unless the
   73  dumping of such litter by such person will not cause a public
   74  nuisance or otherwise be in violation of any other state or
   75  local law, rule, or regulation.
   76         (6) PENALTIES; ENFORCEMENT.—
   77         (i) It is shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers
   78  to enforce the provisions of this section. If a member of a
   79  water control district board of directors or a district manager
   80  discovers that a person has committed unlawful dumping in
   81  violation of paragraph (4)(c), he or she must report the
   82  incident to the appropriate law enforcement agency with
   83  jurisdiction over the district. A law enforcement officer may
   84  enter any district canal right-of-way, property, or facility to
   85  respond to such an incident.
   86         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
   87  810.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   88         810.011 Definitions.—As used in this chapter:
   89         (5)(a) “Posted land” is that land upon which any of the
   90  following are placed:
   91         1. Signs are placed not more than 500 feet apart along, and
   92  at each corner of, the boundaries of the land or, for land owned
   93  by a water control district that exists pursuant to chapter 298
   94  or was created by special act of the Legislature, signs placed
   95  at or near the intersection of any district canal right-of-way
   96  and a road right-of-way, which, upon which signs there appears
   97  prominently display, in letters of not less than 2 inches in
   98  height, the words “no trespassing” and in addition thereto the
   99  name of the owner, lessee, or occupant of the said land. The
  100  Said signs must shall be placed along the boundary line of
  101  posted land in a manner and in such position as to be clearly
  102  noticeable from outside the boundary line; or
  103         2.a. Conspicuous no trespassing notice is painted on trees
  104  or posts on the property, provided that the notice is:
  105         (I) Painted in an international orange color and displaying
  106  the stenciled words “No Trespassing” in letters no less than 2
  107  inches high and 1 inch wide either vertically or horizontally;
  108         (II) Placed so that the bottom of the painted notice is not
  109  less than 3 feet from the ground or more than 5 feet from the
  110  ground; and
  111         (III) Placed at locations that are readily visible to any
  112  person approaching the property and no more than 500 feet apart
  113  on agricultural land.
  114         b. When a landowner uses the painted no trespassing posting
  115  to identify a no trespassing “no trespassing” area, those
  116  painted notices must shall be accompanied by signs complying
  117  with subparagraph 1. and must be placed conspicuously at all
  118  places where entry to the property is normally expected or known
  119  to occur.
  120         Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  121  made by this act to section 403.413, Florida Statutes, in a
  122  reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 403.4135, Florida
  123  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  124         403.4135 Litter receptacles.—
  125         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section “litter” and
  126  “vessel” have the same meanings as provided in s. 403.413.
  127         Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  128  made by this act to section 403.413, Florida Statutes, in
  129  references thereto, subsection (6) of section 810.12, Florida
  130  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  131         810.12 Unauthorized entry on land; prima facie evidence of
  132  trespass.—
  133         (6) The unlawful dumping by any person of any litter in
  134  violation of s. 403.413(4) is prima facie evidence of the
  135  intention of such person to commit an act of trespass. If any
  136  waste that is dumped in violation of s. 403.413(4) is discovered
  137  to contain any article, including, but not limited to, a letter,
  138  bill, publication, or other writing that displays the name of a
  139  person thereon, addressed to such person or in any other manner
  140  indicating that the article last belonged to such person, that
  141  discovery raises a mere inference that the person so identified
  142  has violated this section. If the court finds that the discovery
  143  of the location of the article is corroborated by the existence
  144  of an independent fact or circumstance which, standing alone,
  145  would constitute evidence sufficient to prove a violation of s.
  146  403.413(4), such person is rebuttably presumed to have violated
  147  that section.
  148         Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2023.