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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
House Joint Resolution 1
A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 9 2
of Article IV of the State Constitution to revise 3
appointments to the Florida Fish and Wildlife 4
Conservation Commission. 5
6
Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 7
8
That the following amendment to Section 9 of Article IV of 9
the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to 10
the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next 11
general election or at an earlier special election specifically 12
authorized by law for that purpose: 13
ARTICLE IV 14
EXECUTIVE 15
16
SECTION 9. Fish and wildlife conservation commission. — 17
(a) There shall be a fish and wildlife conservation 18
commission, composed of nine seven members appointed by the 19
governor, subject to confirmation by the senate for staggered 20
terms of five years. The members shall be appointed as follows: 21
(1) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 22
shall appoint two members as follows: 23
a. A rancher or farmer who owns or manages a Florida ranch 24
or farm, on which at least two species of animals for which game 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
hunting is licensed under s. 379.354, Florida Statutes, are 26
frequently present. 27
b. A farmer who owns o r manages a Florida farm on which at 28
least one major crop has been grown each of the previous four 29
years. 30
(2) The Department of Environmental Protection shall 31
appoint two members as follows: 32
a. A hunter or angler who has held a Florida hunting or 33
fishing license each of the previous four years. 34
b. A conservationist who for the previous four years has 35
been an employee, member of the board, or member of an 36
established advisory committee of a nonprofit habitat or a 37
wildlife conservation organization, the primary focus of which 38
is not game species. 39
(3) The Department of Air and Water Pollution Control 40
shall appoint a scientist, who is not currently an elected 41
official, who holds at least a doctoral degree from an 42
accredited college or university in environmental science, 43
wildlife biology, conservation biology, fisheries science or 44
management, wildlife science or management, or a comparable 45
wildlife field. 46
(4) The Governor shall appoint four members as follows: 47
a. A local official representing an urban county with a 48
population over 250,000. 49
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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
b. A local official representing a rural county with a 50
population under 250,000. 51
c. A scientist, who is not currently an elected official, 52
who holds at least a doctoral degree from an accredited college 53
or university in forestry, silviculture, forest management, 54
forest engineering, forest biology, forest operations, 55
dendrology, forest sciences, or land management. 56
d. A scientist, who is not currently an elected official, 57
who holds at least a doctoral degree from an accredited college 58
or university in agriculture, animal science, food science, 59
horticulture, soil science, agricultural engineering, dairy 60
science, animal breeding, animal husbandry, or aquaculture. 61
(b) A person who has contributed, or whose spo use has 62
contributed, a major donation to any political party may not be 63
appointed to the commission. For purposes of this paragraph, 64
"major donation" means a donation in an amount of $1,000 or 65
more. 66
(c) Each commissioner must annually complete at least 4 67
hours of ethics training that addresses, at a minimum, s. 8, 68
Art. II of the State Constitution, the Code of Ethics for Public 69
Officers and Employees. 70
(d) The Commission on Ethics shall investigate and enforce 71
any code of ethics violations or any conflict s of interest. 72
(d) The commission shall exercise the regulatory and 73
executive powers of the state with respect to wild animal life 74
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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
and fresh water aquatic life, and shall also exercise regulatory 75
and executive powers of the state with respect to marine l ife, 76
except that all license fees for taking wild animal life, fresh 77
water aquatic life, and marine life and penalties for violating 78
regulations of the commission shall be prescribed by general 79
law. The commission shall establish procedures to ensure 80
adequate due process in the exercise of its regulatory and 81
executive functions. The legislature may enact laws in aid of 82
the commission, not inconsistent with this section, except that 83
there shall be no special law or general law of local 84
application pertaining to hunting or fishing. The commission's 85
exercise of executive powers in the area of planning, budgeting, 86
personnel management, and purchasing shall be as provided by 87
law. Revenue derived from license fees for the taking of wild 88
animal life and fresh water aquatic life shall be appropriated 89
to the commission by the legislature for the purposes of 90
management, protection, and conservation of wild animal life and 91
fresh water aquatic life. Revenue derived from license fees 92
relating to marine life shall be appro priated by the legislature 93
for the purposes of management, protection, and conservation of 94
marine life as provided by law. The commission shall not be a 95
unit of any other state agency and shall have its own staff, 96
which includes management, research, and e nforcement. Unless 97
provided by general law, the commission shall have no authority 98
to regulate matters relating to air and water pollution. 99
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be 101
placed on the ballot: 102
CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND MENT 103
ARTICLE 9, SECTION IV 104
REVISION OF APPOINTMENTS TO THE FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE 105
CONSERVATION COMMISSION .—Proposing an amendment to the State 106
Constitution to revise appointments to the Fish and Wildlife 107
Conservation Commission. 108