STORAGE NAME: h1133a.NRD
DATE: 3/26/2025
1
FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BILL ANALYSIS
This bill analysis was prepared by nonpartisan committee staff and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
BILL #: CS/HB 1133
TITLE: Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
SPONSOR(S): Shoaf
COMPANION BILL: None
LINKED BILLS: None
RELATED BILLS: None
Committee References
Natural Resources & Disasters
16 Y, 0 N, As CS
Criminal Justice
State Affairs
SUMMARY
Effect of the Bill:
The bill creates the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Regional Representation Act (Act) and does the
following:
Creates residency requirements for members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
(Commission).
Creates term limits of three years for the members of the Commission.
Requires the Governor to ensure compliance with the Act when appointing members to the Commission.
Additionally, the bill requires the members of the Commission, the executive director, and law enforcement officers
to obtain a warrant prior to entering private land.
Fiscal or Economic Impact:
None.
JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
ANALYSIS
EFFECT OF THE BILL:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The bill creates the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Regional Representation Act (Act). (Section 1)
The bill establishes five regions and requires one member to reside full-time in each region. The regions are the
northwest region, north central region, northeast region, southwest region, and south region. The bill requires the
remaining two members to be at-large members, representing the whole state. The bill authorizes the Commission
to take all necessary actions to define the geographic boundaries of the five regions. The bill requires the Governor
to ensure compliance with the Act. (Section 2).
The bill requires each regional member to reside full-time within the boundaries of his or her respective region at
the time of appointment and throughout his or her term of service. The bill specifies that at-large members are not
subject to the regional residency requirement, but are required to be residents of the state. (Section 2)
The bill requires the members to serve staggered terms of three years and requires a vacancy that occurs during
the term of a member to be filled in the same manner as the original appointment and for the remainder of the
unexpired term. The bill prohibits a vacancy from being filled by a member who resides in the same region as a
sitting member. (Section 2)
Warrants
The bill prohibits members of the Commission, the executive director and his or her assistants, and law
enforcement officers from entering any private land unless a warrant has been obtained to go on that land. (Section
3) JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
2
Effective Date
The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2025. (Section 4)
RELEVANT INFORMATION
SUBJECT OVERVIEW:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (Commission), created by Art. IV, s. 9 of the Florida Constitution, is
responsible for regulating, managing, protecting, and conserving the state’s fish and wildlife resources.
1 The
Commission is headquartered in Tallahassee,
2 with five regional offices and 76 field offices and facilities
throughout the state.
3
As a result of the Commission’s constitutional authority, the Legislature is constitutionally prohibited from
adopting statutes in conflict with rules adopted by the Commission to execute such authority.
4 However, the
Constitution specifies that all licensing fees for taking wild animal life, freshwater aquatic life, and marine life as
well as the penalties for violating the Commission regulations must be prescribed by the Legislature.
5 In addition,
the Legislature must provide for the Commission’s exercise of executive powers in the area of planning, budgeting,
personnel management, and purchasing.
6 The Legislature may also enact laws to aid the Commission that are not
inconsistent with its constitutionally-conferred powers, except for special laws or general laws of local application
relating to hunting and fishing.
7
Members
Art. IV, s. 9 of the Florida Constitution requires the Commission to be composed of seven members who are
appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate, for staggered terms of five years.
8 The members
meet four times a year to hear staff reports, consider rule proposals, and conduct other business.
9 Each meeting is
held at a different location within the state.
10 Currently, there is no residency requirement for members. Members
do not receive compensation for their services but may be reimbursed for travel expenses.
11 Annually, the
members select one of the members to serve as the chair.
12 The chair may be removed at any time for sufficient
cause, by an affirmative vote of the majority of the members.
13
The executive director of the Commission is responsible for keeping meeting minutes for Commission meetings,
purchasing supplies and employing assistants, representing the Commission in its dealings with other state
departments and entities, appointing and establishing the salaries of other employees, and any other powers and
duties as prescribed by the Commission.
14 The Commission has authorized its executive director to perform certain
functions.
15
Law Enforcement Officers
1
Art. IV, s. 9, Fla. Const.
2
Section 379.10255, F.S.
3
Commission, FWC Overview, https://myfwc.com/about/overview/ (last visited Mar. 17, 2025).
4
Art. IV, s. 9, Fla. Const.
5
Id.
6
Id.
7
Id.
8
Id.; Additionally, these requirements have been codified in statute. Section 379.102(1), F.S.
9
Commission, Commission Meetings, https://myfwc.com/about/commission/commission-meetings/ (last visited Mar. 17,
2025).
10
Commission, The Commission, https://myfwc.com/about/commission/ (last visited Mar. 17, 2025). See Commission,
Commission Meetings, https://myfwc.com/about/commission/commission-meetings/ (last visited Mar. 17, 2025) for meeting
locations from 2012 through 2025.
11
Section 379.102(3), F.S.
12
Section 379.102(2), F.S.
13
Id.
14
Section 379.103, F.S.
15
Commission, Executive Orders, https://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/executive-orders/ (last visited Mar. 18, 2025). JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
3
The Commission, the executive director, and the assistants designated by her or him, and each Commission law
enforcement officer are considered peace officers with the power to make arrests for violations of laws when the
act is committed in the presence of the officer or on certain state managed or owned lands.
16 Entry onto any of
these lands is not considered trespassing.
17
Commission rules must be enforced by any certified law enforcement officer.
18 The Commission has its own
division of law enforcement to enforce all laws and rules relating to hunting, fishing, and wildlife.
19 Commission
law enforcement officers are authorized to do the following as part of their duties:
Enter lands, public or private;
Execute warrants and search warrants;
Serve subpoenas issued for the examination, investigation, and trial of all offenses that violate laws
governing fish and wildlife and Commission rules;
Carry firearms or other weapons, concealed or otherwise, in performance of their duties;
Arrest someone upon probable cause and without a warrant for violating laws governing fish and wildlife
or Commission rules;
Secure and execute search warrants; and
Seize and take possession of all fish and wildlife that have been taken or are possessed by any person who
has violated the law or Commission rules related to such species.
20
Warrants
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The
Florida Constitution requires Florida courts to construe Fourth Amendment issues in conformity with rulings of
the U.S. Supreme Court.
21 Fourth Amendment rights arise when the government interferes with any person's
reasonable expectation of privacy.
22
To protect against official abuses and unfettered police discretion, most searches of private property require a
warrant.
23 Courts will uphold the validity of a warrant that is based on probable cause and issued by a neutral
magistrate.
24 Searches conducted pursuant to a warrant may not extend beyond the items or localities described in
the warrant.
25 There are certain exceptions where a warrant may not be required to do a search, including:
A search that is incident to a lawful arrest.
26
Evidence or contraband is in plain view to a law enforcement officer who is lawfully on a property.
27
Consent is given by the owner or possessor of the property.
28
Exigent circumstances.
29
16
Section 379.3311(1), F.S.; The Commission and other state agencies may acquire conservation easements for certain
conservation objectives. Commission, Conservation Planning,
https://myfwc.com/conservation/value/fwcg/conservation/planning/ (last visited Mar. 19, 2025).
17
Id.
18
Section 379.33, F.S.; A law enforcement officer is any person elected, appointed, or employed full time by any municipality or
the state or any political subdivision thereof who is vested with the authority to bear arms and make arrests and whose
primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway
laws of the state. Section 943.10(1), F.S.
19
Section 379.3311, F.S.; Commission, Law Enforcement, https://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/le/ (last visited Mar. 19,
2025).
20
Section 379.3311(2), F.S.
21
Art. I, s. 12, Fla. Const.; State v. Jimeno, 588 So. 2d 233 (Fla. 1991).
22
Oliver v. U.S., 466 U.S. 170 (1984); Jones v. State, 648 So. 2d 669 (Fla. 1994).
23
See e.g., Minnesota v. Dickerson, 508 U.S. 366 (1993); Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321 (1987); Donovan v. Dewey, 452 U.S. 594
(1981); Marshall v. Barlow's, Inc., 436 U.S. 307 (1978).
24
U.S. v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102 (1965).
25
Marron v. U.S., 275 U.S. 192 (1927).
26
U.S. v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218 (1973); Gustafson v. Fla., 414 U.S. 260 (1973); Preston v. U.S., 376 U.S. 364 (1964). To meet
constitutional requirements, the search must be contemporaneous with the arrest and can extend to things under the
accused's immediate control and, depending on the circumstances of the case, to the place where he or she is arrested. Preston,
376 U.S. 364.
27
Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128 (1990); Hicks, 480 U.S. 321.
28
Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (1973). JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
4
BILL HISTORY
COMMITTEE REFERENCE ACTION DATE
STAFF
DIRECTOR/
POLICY CHIEF
ANALYSIS
PREPARED BY
Natural Resources & Disasters
Subcommittee
16 Y, 0 N, As CS 3/25/2025 Moore Gawin
THE CHANGES ADOPTED BY THE
COMMITTEE:
Removed the requirement that the executive director be the chair of
the Commission;
Changed the term limits for members from five years to three years;
Prohibited a vacancy from being filled by a member who resides in the
same region as a sitting member; and
Removed the specification that the bill does not apply to the current
composition of the Commission.
Criminal Justice Subcommittee
State Affairs Committee
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THIS BILL ANALYSIS HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCORPORATE ALL OF THE CHANGES DESCRIBED ABOVE.
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29
See Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753 (1979). The exception encompasses several common situations when a search warrant
is not feasible or advisable, including where there is danger of flight or escape; loss or destruction of evidence; risk of harm to
the public or the police; mobility of a vehicle; and hot pursuit. U.S. v. Holloway, 290 F.3d 1331 (11th Cir. 2002).