HB 843 2025
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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to Fish and Wildlife Conservation 2
Commission Trust Funds; amending s. 379.201, F.S.; 3
authorizing the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 4
Commission to invest and reinvest Administrative Trust 5
Fund moneys; requiring that certain funds be carried 6
forward; amending s. 379.205, F.S.; authorizing the 7
commission to spend money from the Florida Panther 8
Research and Management Trust Fund for certain 9
research, monitoring, and land acquisition; amending 10
s. 379.206, F.S.; removing a provision specifying the 11
type of agreement activities for which moneys from the 12
Grants and Donations Trust Fund may be used; amending 13
s. 379.209, F.S.; removing a requirement for the 14
administration of the Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund; 15
authorizing the use of trust fund proceeds for law 16
enforcement purposes; authorizing the commission to 17
enter into certain agreements with private landowners; 18
providing an effective date. 19
20
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21
22
Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 379.201, Florida 23
Statutes, is amended, and subsection (3) is added to that 24
section to read: 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
379.201 Administrative Trust Fund. — 26
(2) The fund is established for use as a depository for 27
funds to be used for management activities that are 28
commissionwide in nature and funded by indirect cost earnings or 29
assessments against trust funds. The commission may invest and 30
reinvest the funds and the interest thereof. Moneys to be 31
credited to the trust fund include indirect cost reimbursements 32
from grantors, administrative assessments against trust funds, 33
interest earnings, and other appropriate administrative fees. 34
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301 and 35
pursuant to s. 216.351, any balance in the trust fund at the end 36
of any fiscal year shall remain in the trust fund at the end of 37
the year and shall be available for carrying out the purposes of 38
the trust fund. 39
Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (2) of 40
section 379.205, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 41
379.205 Florida Panther R esearch and Management Trust 42
Fund.— 43
(2) The commission shall spend money from the fund and all 44
interest derived from its investments and reinvestments only for 45
the following purposes: 46
(a) To manage and protect existing Florida panther 47
populations by increasing panther food sources where food is a 48
limiting factor, determining conflicts between public use and 49
panther survival, maintaining sufficient genetic variability in 50
HB 843 2025
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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
existing populations, researching and monitoring feline 51
diseases, and undertaking management and enforcement activities 52
that protect panther habitat. 53
(c) To reestablish Florida panthers into areas of suitable 54
habitat, where feasible, by assessing the necessity of a captive 55
breeding program for purposes of reintroduction of the panthers 56
into the suitable habitat; selecting potential sites for 57
reintroduction and investigating associated human sociological 58
aspects; and assessing the potential for panther habitat 59
acquisition; and acquiring lands for panther habitat . 60
Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 379.206, Florida 61
Statutes, is amended to read: 62
379.206 Grants and Donations Trust Fund. — 63
(2) The fund is established for use as a depository for 64
funds to be used for allowable grant and donor agreement 65
activities funded by restricted co ntractual revenue. Moneys to 66
be credited to the trust fund shall consist of grants and 67
donations from private and public nonfederal sources, 68
development-of-regional-impact wildlife mitigation 69
contributions, interest earnings, and cash advances from other 70
trust funds. 71
Section 4. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 379.209, 72
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 73
379.209 Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund. — 74
(2)(a) There is established within the Fish and Wildlife 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
Conservation Commission the Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund. The 76
fund shall be credited with moneys collected pursuant to ss. 77
319.32(3) and 320.02(8). Additional funds may be provided from 78
legislative appropriations and by donations from interested 79
individuals and organizations. The commission may invest and 80
reinvest the funds and the interest thereof of the Nongame 81
Wildlife Trust Fund. The commission shall designate an 82
identifiable unit to administer the trust fund. 83
(b) Proceeds from the trust fund shall be used for the 84
following purposes: 85
1. Documentation of population trends of nongame wildlife 86
and assessment of wildlife habitat, in coordination with the 87
database of Florida natural areas inventory. 88
2. Establishment of effective conservation, management, 89
and regulatory programs for nongame wildlife of the state. 90
3. Public education programs. 91
4. Law enforcement. 92
(3) The commission may enter into cooperative agreements , 93
voluntary agreements, or memoranda of understanding with related 94
agencies and private landowners to coordinate nongame programs. 95
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 96