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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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An act relating to venomous reptiles; amending s. 2
379.305, F.S.; revising the penalty for certain 3
release or escape of nonnative venomous reptiles; 4
providing a penalty for specified activities involving 5
venomous reptiles without a special permit or license 6
issued by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 7
Commission; amending s. 379.4015, F.S.; conforming 8
provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 9
effective date. 10
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
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Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 379.305, Florida 14
Statutes, is amended, and subsections (3) and (4) are added to 15
that section, to read: 16
379.305 Rules and regulations ; penalties.— 17
(2) A person who knowingly releases a nonnative venomous 18
reptile or reptile of concern to the wild or who through gross 19
negligence allows a nonnative venomous reptile or reptile of 20
concern to escape commits a Level Three violation, punishab le as 21
provided in s. 379.4015. 22
(3) A person who knowingly releases a nonnative venomous 23
reptile or who through gross negligence allows a nonnative 24
venomous reptile to escape commits a Level Four violation, 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
punishable as provided in s. 379.4015. 26
(4) A person who knowingly purchases, sells, attempts to 27
sell, offers to sell, conspires to sell, barters, exchanges, 28
trades, or imports for sale or use, any venomous reptile species 29
without having first obtained a special permit or license from 30
the commission as provided in s. 379.372 commits a Level Four 31
violation, punishable as provided in s. 379.4015. 32
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2), paragraph (a) 33
of subsection (3), and subsection (4) of section 379.4015, 34
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 35
379.4015 Nonnative and captive wildlife penalties. — 36
(2) LEVEL TWO.—Unless otherwise provided by law, the 37
following classifications and penalties apply: 38
(a) A person commits a Level Two violation if he or she 39
violates any of the following provisions: 40
1. Unless otherwise stated in subsection (1), rules or 41
orders of the commission that require a person to pay a fee to 42
obtain a permit to possess captive wildlife or that require the 43
maintenance of records relating to captive wildlife. 44
2. Rules or orders of the commission relating to captive 45
wildlife not specified in subsection (1) , or subsection (3), or 46
subsection (4). 47
3. Rules or orders of the commission that require housing 48
of wildlife in a safe manner when a violation results in an 49
escape of wildlife other than Class I wildlife or venomous 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
reptiles. 51
4. Rules or orders of the commission relating to wild 52
animal life identified by commission rule as either conditional 53
species or prohibited species. 54
5. Section 379.372, relating to capturing, keeping, 55
possessing, transporting, or exhibiting venomous reptiles, 56
reptiles of concern, conditional reptiles, or prohibited 57
reptiles. 58
6. Section 379.373, relating to requiring a license or 59
permit for the captu ring, keeping, possessing, or exhibiting of 60
venomous reptiles or reptiles of concern. 61
7. Section 379.374, relating to bonding requirements for 62
public exhibits of venomous reptiles. 63
8. Section 379.305, relating to commission rules and 64
regulations to prevent the escape of venomous reptiles or 65
reptiles of concern. 66
9. Section 379.304, relating to exhibition or sale of 67
wildlife. 68
10. Section 379.3761, relating to exhibition or sale of 69
wildlife. 70
11. Section 379.3762, relating to personal possession of 71
wildlife. 72
(3) LEVEL THREE.—Unless otherwise provided by law, the 73
following classifications and penalties apply: 74
(a) A person commits a Level Three violation if he or she 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
violates any of the following provisions: 76
1. Rules or orders of the commission tha t require housing 77
of wildlife in a safe manner when a violation results in an 78
escape of Class I wildlife or venomous reptiles . 79
2. Rules or orders of the commission related to captive 80
wildlife when the violation results in serious bodily injury to 81
another person by captive wildlife that consists of a physical 82
condition that creates a substantial risk of death, serious 83
personal disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the 84
function of any bodily member or organ. 85
3. Rules or orders of the commissi on relating to the use 86
of gasoline or other chemical or gaseous substances on wildlife. 87
4. Rules or orders of the commission prohibiting the 88
release of wildlife for which only conditional possession is 89
allowed. 90
5. Rules or orders of the commission proh ibiting knowingly 91
entering false information on an application for a license or 92
permit when the license or permit is to possess wildlife in 93
captivity. 94
6. Rules or orders of the commission relating to the 95
illegal importation and possession of nonnative ma rine plants 96
and animals. 97
7. Rules or orders of the commission relating to the 98
importation, possession, or release of fish and wildlife for 99
which possession is prohibited. 100
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8. Section 379.231, relating to illegal importation or 101
release of nonnative wildl ife. 102
9. Section 379.305, relating to release or escape of 103
nonnative venomous reptiles or reptiles of concern. 104
(4) LEVEL FOUR.—Unless otherwise provided by law, the 105
following classifications and penalties apply: 106
(a) A person commits a Level Four viola tion if he or she 107
violates any Level Three provision after the permanent 108
revocation of a license or permit. 109
(b) A person who commits any offense classified as a Level 110
Four violation commits a felony of the third degree, punishable 111
as provided in s. 775.0 82 or s. 775.083. 112
(c) A person commits a Level Four violation if he or she 113
violates any of the following provisions: 114
1. Section 379.305(3), relating to release or escape of 115
nonnative venomous reptiles. 116
2. Section 379.305(4), relating to purchase, sal e, attempt 117
to sell, offer for sale, conspiracy to sell, barter, exchange, 118
trade, or import for sale or use of any species of venomous 119
reptile. 120
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 121