The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Transportation
BILL: CS/SB 594
INTRODUCER: Transportation Committee and Senator Rodriguez
SUBJECT: Prohibition of Anchoring or Mooring by a Seaport
DATE: March 5, 2025
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Johnson Vickers TR Fav/CS
2. EN
3. FP
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 594 authorizes the governing body of a seaport to apply to the Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWC) to prohibit anchoring or mooring in certain areas for the
purposes of safety, security, and maintaining cargo flow. The boundaries of the prohibition of
anchoring or mooring may be up to 5,000 feet from a seaport entrance or a pier or wharf adjacent
to a seaport channel or turning basin.
Prior to applying to the FWC, the governing body of a seaport must hold two public hearings
displaying the boundaries of and hearing comments regarding the proposed zone. Once FWC
receives an application, it has 90 days to review the application and approve, or possibly modify
the prohibited area. The FWC may consult with federal and state agencies when considering a
seaport’s application.
After the FWC’s approval of a seaport’s application, the seaport must annually review its
boundaries at a public meeting and notify the FWC of the results of its review. If applicable, the
governing body of the seaport must submit a revised application to the FWC with any proposed
boundary modifications.
Each seaport must include any approved no anchoring or mooring zones that are in effect in its
seaport security plan and in its seaport strategic plan.
The bill gives the FWC rulemaking authority to implement provisions of the bill.
REVISED: BILL: CS/SB 594 Page 2
The bill provides for that a violation of these anchoring and mooring provision is a noncriminal
infraction, punishable as a boating violation.
The bill may have a minimal negative fiscal impact on seaports associated with establishing no
anchoring or mooring zones. The bill may also have a negative fiscal impact on the FWC in
approving these zones. The Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund may see a positive fiscal
impact associated with penalties for violations. See Section V. Fiscal Impact Statement.
This bill takes effect July 1, 2025.
II. Present Situation:
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is governed by a board of seven
members who are appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation.
1
The FWC’s
Division of Law Enforcement Boating and Waterways Section oversees and coordinates
statewide regulatory waterway markers to ensure compliance with uniform markers and state
boating and resource protection zones for the benefit of all waterway users and fish and wildlife
resources in the state.
2
The Boating and Waterways Section takes public input and provides
notice of proposed local boating-restricted areas.
3
The FWC’s boating laws are enforced by the Division of Law Enforcement and its officers,
county sheriffs and deputies, municipal police officers, and any other law enforcement officer.
4
The Division of Law Enforcement manages Florida’s waterways to ensure boating safety for
residents of and visitors to the state.
5
This includes enforcing boating rules and regulations,
coordinating boating safety campaigns and education, managing public waters and access to the
waters, conducting boating accident investigations, identifying and removing derelict vessels,
and investigating vessel theft and title fraud.
6
Anchoring and Mooring
Anchoring refers to a boater’s practice of seeking and using a safe harbor on the public waterway
system for an undefined duration. Anchoring is accomplished using an anchor carried on the
1
FLA. CONST. art. IV, s. 9; see also s. 379.102(1), F.S.
2
FWC, Waterway Management, https://myfwc.com/boating/waterway/ (last visited Feb. 21, 2025).
3
Id.
4
Section 327.70(1), F.S.; see s. 943.10(1), F.S., which defines “law enforcement officer” as any person who is elected,
appointed, or employed full time by any municipality or the state or any political subdivision thereof; who is vested with
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. The definition also includes all certified supervisory
and command personnel whose duties include, in whole or in part, the supervision, training, guidance, and management
responsibilities of full-time law enforcement officers, part-time law enforcement officers, or auxiliary law enforcement
officers but does not include support personnel employed by the employing agency.
5
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Boating, https://myfwc.com/boating/ (last visited Feb. 21, 2025).
6
FWC, Law Enforcement, https://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/le/ (last visited Feb. 21, 2025). See s. 327.70(1) and (4), F.S. BILL: CS/SB 594 Page 3
vessel.
7
Anchorages are areas that boaters regularly use for anchoring or mooring, whether
designated or managed for that purpose or not.
8
Mooring refers to the process of securing a boat or vessel in a fixed position using anchors,
chains, ropes, or other devices. It is a way to temporarily anchoring a boat to a specific location,
typically in a harbor, marina, or other designated mooring area.
9
Anchoring and Mooring Prohibitions
Section 327.60, F.S., providing statutory limitations on local regulations regarding vessels,
provides that it does not prohibit local governmental authorities from enacting or enforcing
regulations that prohibit or restrict the mooring or anchoring of floating structures, live-aboard
vessels, or commercial vessels, excluding commercial fishing vessels, within their jurisdictions
or of any vessels within the marked boundaries of mooring fields.
10
The owner or operator of a vessel or floating structure may not anchor or moor such that the
nearest approach of the anchored or moored vessel or floating structure is:
• Within 150 feet of any public or private marina, boat ramp, boatyard, or other public vessel
launching or loading facility;
• Within 500 feet of a superyacht repair facility;
11
or
• Within 100 feet outward from the marked boundary of a public mooring field or a lesser
distance if approved by the FWC upon request of a local government within which the
mooring field is located.
12
The above prohibitions do not apply to:
• A vessel owned or operated by a governmental entity.
• A construction or dredging vessel on an active job site.
• A commercial fishing vessel actively engaged in commercial fishing.
• A vessel actively engaged in recreational fishing if the persons onboard are actively tending
hook and line fishing gear or nets.
13
There are also exceptions related to mechanical failure of the vessel or weather-related
conditions.
14
7
Section 327.02, F.S., defines the term “vessel” to include every description of watercraft, barge, and airboat, other than a
seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.
8
Ankersen, Hamann, & Flagg, Anchoring Away: Government Regulation and the Rights of Navigation in Florida, 2
(Rev. May 2012), available at https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/36907. (last visited Feb 21, 2025)
9
What is mooring? https://www.davisinstruments.com/pages/what-is-
mooring#:~:text=Mooring%20refers%20to%20the%20process,or%20other%20designated%20mooring%20area. (last visited
February 25, 2025).
10
Section 327.60(3), F.S.
11
For this purpose, the term “superyacht repair facility” is defined to mean a facility that services or repairs a yacht with a
water line of 120 feet or more in length.
12
Section 327.4109(1)(a), F.S.
13
Section 327.4109(1)(b), F.S.
14
Section 327.4109(2), F.S. BILL: CS/SB 594 Page 4
A violation is a noncriminal infraction,
15
for which the penalty is:
• For a first offense, up to a maximum of $100.
• For a second offense, up to a maximum of $250.
• For a third or subsequent offense, up to a maximum of $500.
16
These penalties are paid into the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund for boating safety
education and law enforcement purposes.
17
Boating-Restricted Areas
Under Florida law, boating-restricted areas, including, but not limited to, restrictions of vessel
speeds and vessel traffic, may be established on the waters of this state for any purpose necessary
to protect the safety of the public if such restrictions are necessary based on boating accidents,
visibility, hazardous currents or water levels, vessel traffic congestion, or other navigational
hazards or to protect seagrasses on privately owned submerged lands.
18
The FWC may, by rule, establish boating-restricted areas.
19
Municipalities and counties may establish, by ordinance, boating-restricted areas including
within including speed and wake restrictions if certain conditions are met.
20
Municipalities and
counties may establish by ordinance additional boating-restricted areas for safety reasons and
vessel exclusion zones for certain purposes.
21
Any ordinances establishing boat-restricted areas for safety purposes not take effect until the
FWC has reviewed the ordinance and determined by substantial competent evidence that the
ordinance is necessary to protect public safety. The FWC must review and act on any application
within 90 days after receiving a completed application. Within 30 days after a municipality or
county submits an application, the FWC must advise the municipality or county as to what
information, if any, is needed to deem the application complete. An application is considered
complete upon receipt of all requested information and correction of any error or omission for
which the applicant was timely notified or when the time for such notification has expired. The
FWC’s action on the application is subject to review under the Administrative Procedures Act.
22
Each boating-restricted area must be developed in consultation and coordination with the
governing body of the county or municipality in which the boating-restricted area is located, and
when the proposed boating-restricted area is on the navigable waters of the United States, with
the United States Coast Guard and the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
23
15
Section 327.4109(5), F.S.
16
Section 327.73(1)(bb), F.S.
17
Section 327.78(8), F.S.
18
Section 327.46(1), F.S.
19
Section 327.46(1)(a), F.S. These areas are established in Rule 68D-24, F.A.C.
20
Section 327.46(1)(b), F.S.
21
Section 327.46(1)(c), F.S.
22
Section 327.46(1)(c), F.S.
23
Section 327.46(2), F.S. BILL: CS/SB 594 Page 5
Restrictions in a boating-restricted area do not apply in the case of an emergency or to a law
enforcement, firefighting, or rescue vessel owned or operated by a governmental entity.
24
Florida’s Seaports
The seaports listed in s. 311.09(1), F.S., include: Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Port Citrus, Fort
Pierce, Palm Beach, Port Everglades, Miami, Port Manatee, St. Petersburg, Putnam County,
Tampa, Port St. Joe, Panama City, Pensacola, Key West, and Fernandina.
Florida’s 16 seaports, through cargo and cruise activities, support 900,000 direct and indirect
jobs and contribute $117.6 billion in economic value, representing 13.3 percent of Florida’s
Gross Domestic Product.
25
Florida’s seaport governing bodies may be municipalities, counties, or special districts.
Seaport Security and Strategic Plans
Florida law requires each seaport to adopt, maintain, and periodically revise, a seaport-specific
security plan to provide for a secure seaport infrastructure to promote the safety and security of
state residents and visitors and the flow of legitimate trade and travel.
26
Florida law requires each seaport to develop a strategic plan with a 10-year horizon, which
includes information relating to economic development; infrastructure development and
improvement; port-related intermodal transportation facilities; physical, environmental, and
regulatory barriers to seaport faces; and intergovernmental coordination.
27
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill authorizes the governing body of a seaport to apply to the FWC to prohibit anchoring or
mooring in an area, not to exceed 5,000 feet from a seaport entrance or pier or wharf adjacent to
a seaport channel or turning basin, for any of the following purposes:
• Implementing port security measures.
• Ensuring freight and passenger commerce is not impeded.
• Promoting the safety and security of residents and visitors of this state.
• Maintaining and promoting the flow of legitimate trade and travel at all times.
Before applying to the FWC, the governing body of a seaport must hold at least two public
hearings displaying the boundaries of and hearing public comments regarding the area in which
the seaport proposes to limit anchoring or mooring. After the required public hearings, a seaport
24
Section 317.46(4), F .S.
25
Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council, 2023-2024 Seaport Mission Plan, p2, available at:
https://flaports.org/wp-content/uploads/Florida-SMP-2024-PRINT-V2.pdf (last visited February 27, 2025). The report cites
the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council’s December 2016 report on the Statewide Economic
Impact of Florida’s Seaports.
26
Section 311.12(1), F.S. Section 311.13, F.S., provides a public records exemption for seaport security plans.
27
Section 311.14(2), F.S. BILL: CS/SB 594 Page 6
may apply the FWC, pursuant to the Florida Vessel Safety Law,
28
to establish areas around the
seaport where anchoring or mooring is prohibited.
The FWC may consult with the United States Coast Guard, the United States Army Corps of
Engineers, and the Florida Department of Transportation when considering an application for,
and the boundaries of, areas around seaports where anchoring or mooring is prohibited.
When considering an application for a no anchoring or mooring zone, the FWCC may modify
the proposed boundaries of such prohibition and provide the reasons for such modification.
A prohibition of anchoring or mooring near a seaport may not take effect until FWC has
reviewed the proposed prohibition and determined by substantial competent evidence that the
prohibition is necessary for any of the reasons listed above. FWC must review and act upon an
application with 90 days after receiving a completed application. If, within 30 days after a
seaport submits an application, the FWC finds such application to be incomplete, the FWC must
notify the seaport as to what information is need to deem the application complete.
A seaport’s application is considered complete upon receipt of all requested information or
correction of any error or omission for which the applicant was timely notified. An application is
deemed complete if the FWC fails to notify and advise the seaport within 30 days after receiving
the application. The FWC’s action on the application is subject to review under the
Administrative Procedures Act.
29
After FWC’s approval of a prohibition on anchoring or mooring and the boundaries of such
prohibition, the governing body of the seaport must annually review such prohibitions at a public
meeting, After the review, the seaport must notify the FWC of its review, and, if applicable,
submit an application to the FWC with any proposed modifications to such boundaries.
The governing body of each seaport must include any FWC approved limitations on anchoring
and mooring in its security plan and in its strategic plan.
The bill authorizes the FWC to adopt rules
30
to implement provisions of the bill.
The bill amends s. 327.4109(1), F.S., incorporating the seaport authorization for a prohibition of
anchoring or mooring into existing prohibitions on anchoring or mooring.
The bill reenacts 327.73(1)(bb), F.S., incorporating violations related to these new prohibitions
on anchoring or mooring into the current penalty provision. A violation is a noncriminal
infraction, punishable as a boating violation, for which the penalty is:
• For a first offense, up to a maximum of $100.
• For a second offense, up to a maximum of $250.
• For a third or subsequent offense, up to a maximum of $500.
28
Chapter 427, F.S.
29
Chapter 120, F.S.
30
Rules are adopted pursuant to ss. 120.136(1) and 120.54, F.S. BILL: CS/SB 594 Page 7
These penalties are paid into the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund for boating safety
education and law enforcement purposes.
This bill takes effect July 1, 2025.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The bill will likely have an insignificant negative fiscal impact on seaports to establish
prohibitions on anchoring or mooring. The bill will also have an insignificant negative
fiscal impact on the FWC to implement the provisions of the bill.
The bill may have a positive fiscal impact Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund
associated for anchoring or mooring around seaports where such activity is prohibited.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None. BILL: CS/SB 594 Page 8
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill amends section 327.4109, F.S., of the Florida Statutes.
This bill creates section 311.104 of the Florida Statutes.
This bill reenacts section 327.70 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS by Transportation on March 4, 2025:
• Clarifies that the governing body of the seaport may apply to FWC to prohibit
anchoring and mooring around a seaport.
• Provides a 90 day time-frame for FWC to review and act on a seaport’s request.
• Requires the governing body of a seaport to notify the FWC of its annual review of its
anchoring and mooring prohibitions.
• Provides the FWC rulemaking authority to implement the bill.
• Provides for the enforcement of a prohibition on anchoring or mooring around
seaports as a boating violation.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.