Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1502 By Senator Rodriguez 40-01732D-23 20231502__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to vessel owner and operation 3 requirements; amending s. 327.4108, F.S.; revising 4 anchoring limitation areas in certain sections of 5 Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County; revising the 6 timeframe during which a person may anchor a vessel in 7 an anchoring limitation area within which such 8 anchoring would otherwise be unlawful; amending s. 9 327.70, F.S.; requiring law enforcement officers to 10 conduct national criminal background checks for vessel 11 owners who are issued citations for specified 12 violations; providing an effective date. 13 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15 16 Section 1.Subsection (1) and paragraph (c) of subsection 17 (4) of section 327.4108, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 18 327.4108Anchoring of vessels in anchoring limitation 19 areas. 20 (1)The following densely populated urban areas, which have 21 narrow state waterways, residential docking facilities, and 22 significant recreational boating traffic, are designated as and 23 shall be considered to be grandfathered-in anchoring limitation 24 areas, within which, except as provided in subsections (4) and 25 (5), a person may not anchor a vessel at any time during the 26 period between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour 27 before sunrise and, at any other time, for more than 4 hours in 28 a single day except as provided in subsections (4) and (5): 29 (a)The section of Middle River lying between Northeast 30 21st Court and the Intracoastal Waterway in Broward County. 31 (b)Sunset Lake in Miami-Dade County. 32 (c)The sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County lying 33 between: 34 1.Rivo Alto Island and Di Lido Island. 35 2.Di Lido Island and San Marino Island. 36 3.2.San Marino Island and San Marco Island. 37 4.3.San Marco Island and Biscayne Island. 38 5.Star Island and MacArthur Causeway. 39 6.Palm Island and MacArthur Causeway. 40 7.Hibiscus Island and Palm Island. 41 8.Julia Tuttle Causeway and Kennedy Causeway. 42 9.The Sunset Islands. 43 10.Belle Isle and Rivo Alto Island. 44 45 For the purposes of this paragraph, the term lying between 46 includes, without limitation, all of the area 200 yards to the 47 west from the western shore of the Sunset Islands and Di Lido 48 Island, all of the area 200 yards to the north from the northern 49 shore of the Sunset Islands, and all of the area 200 yards to 50 the east from the eastern shore of Di Lido Island. 51 (4)Notwithstanding subsections (1), (2), and (3), a person 52 may anchor a vessel in an anchoring limitation area during a 53 time that would otherwise be unlawful: 54 (c)For the duration of During events described in s. 55 327.48 or other special events, including, but not limited to, 56 public music performances, local government waterfront 57 activities, or fireworks displays. A vessel may anchor for the 58 lesser of the duration of the special event or 3 days, whichever 59 is less. 60 Section 2.Present subsection (5) of section 327.70, 61 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (6), and a new 62 subsection (5) is added to that section, to read: 63 327.70Enforcement of this chapter and chapter 328. 64 (5)When a law enforcement officer issues a citation to a 65 vessel owner for a violation of this chapter, the law 66 enforcement officer must conduct a national criminal background 67 check on the vessel owner. 68 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.