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: 31 403.413Florida 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: 88 810.011Definitions.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: 124 403.4135Litter 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: 131 810.12Unauthorized 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.