February 2025 Legislative Updates

Earlier this week, we posted to our forum and social media outlets that we need members willing to attend legislative hearings in Tallahassee, which I understand is a tall order. But we also asked for members willing to email key legislators when needed, to which we hoped to have a big response. We received only four volunteers. Four!

I know we can do better.  We need to do better if we want to keep anchorages in Florida open to cruisers. To date, our membership’s lack of enthusiasm, both for contacting legislators and making contributions to our annual advocacy fundraising campaign, suggests we should not be undertaking this massive effort. But we’re already committed this year, and I suspect some of you are simply not getting our messages. Please read this article and take one of the actions at the bottom if you are at all interested in us continuing our advocacy efforts. We cannot do this without you.

Here is more information on the bills of concern in Florida put together by our coalition, the Boaters’ Rights Advocacy Coalition:

HB481/SB866 Anchoring Limitation Areas.  This bill restricts anchoring between additional islands in the Miami Beach area, extends the no-anchoring zone around marked mooring fields from 100 to 300 feet, and in counties with populations above 1.5 million people (currently Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough and Palm Beach), it prohibits anchoring for more than 4 hours during nighttime for more than 30 days in a six-month period. 

Analysis: This bill is likely supported by the City of Miami Beach. In prior years, the City tried to ban anchoring near their shoreline.  In the past, we didn’t oppose a bill eliminating anchoring between some of the islands in Biscayne Bay because the affected areas were not suitable for anchoring. However, this year’s bills seek to ban anchoring between other islands where it is feasible to anchor safely. Additionally, these bills extend no-anchoring zones around established mooring fields from 100 feet to 300 feet. This does not appear to significantly hinder cruisers anchoring in these areas. Lastly, the bill proposes 30-day limits for anchoring in the waters of the state’s most populous counties, which creates a patchwork of legislation that can be difficult to follow.

The sponsor of this bill states that the challenges of congestion, environmental damage and safety demand this bill.

Recommendations: The Boaters’ Rights Advocacy Coalition recommends opposing this bill for the following reasons:

• Existing state law allows counties to establish Anchoring Limitation Areas (ALA), which restrict anchoring to 45 days.  The populous counties listed in this bill have made no attempt to establish ALAs within their county limits as allowed by existing state law.  We recommend these counties establish ALAs before attempting to change the law.
• In Florida, the waterway bottomlands are held in the public trust, and historically, the state has not permitted municipalities to regulate the length of stay in waters within their jurisdiction.  We strongly recommend continuing that historical precedent.
• As of the date this bill was filed, the FWC database shows no derelict boats in the Miami Beach area.  
• Continued water quality monitoring by outside environmental groups in the areas impacted by this bill shows no concerns with boater discharged sewage in these areas.  
• Seagrass in the Miami Beach area is not growing back, though biologists report this is because the bottom was damaged when the area was dredged.  The islands in this area are formed from dredge spoils. No additional damage is being done to the seagrass by anchoring.
• Existing banned anchoring areas between the dredge spoil islands in Miami Beach are not harmful to cruising boat interests, but the additional banned areas in the present bill negatively impact anchoring there.
• We recognize that many landowners throughout Miami Beach are distressed to see unsightly boats in front of their houses.  We share their concern for derelict boats and boats at risk of becoming derelict.  But these landowners do not own the waters and bottomlands near their properties—those are held in the public trust, and available for the use of everyone.

HB795/SB594 No Anchoring or Mooring Zones.  This bill allows seaports in Florida to apply to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for a no-anchoring zone around the seaport.  The proposed no-anchoring zone may not exceed 5,000 feet (almost one statute mile) from seaport facilities.  FWC has approval authority of the no-anchoring zone following consultation with certain government entities.

Analysis: This bill appears to be focused on port security, and not specifically on banning anchoring for recreational boats. The 5,000-foot boundary impacts anchoring in Fernandina, Lake Worth, Miami and Key West, but there are no acceptable anchoring areas in the other seaports addressed in this bill.  Detailed maps of all affected seaport areas have already been provided to legislators through our lobbyist.  Our lobbyist reported that legislators are surprised by the size of the areas impacted by this bill.  This bill is overly vague and subject to local overreach.

Recommendations: We support the intent to improve port security if needed, but four common anchoring areas in Florida are negatively impacted by this bill. The Boaters’ Rights Advocacy Coalition recommends opposing this bill for the following reasons:

• Frequently used anchorages could be negatively affected by this bill. Fernandina, Lake Worth, Miami and Key West will lose some or all their anchoring areas. We recommend exempting these anchorage areas from this restriction pending rulemaking by FWC.
• A better solution would be to restrict anchoring in areas where depths support ship and barge traffic.

HB1149/SB164 Vessel Accountability.  This bill creates a requirement for permits for long-term anchoring throughout Florida, and seeks to hold boat owners accountable for derelict or abandoned boats. These permits required by this bill are free of charge. Long-term anchored boats are those which remain in the same location for more than 14 days. Permits are specific to the owner, vessel and anchored location.  This bill also specifies that vessels that have received three or more violations (over a 24-month period) per the Florida statute defining a vessel at risk of becoming derelict must be declared a public nuisance and be subject to forced removal from the waterways after following a specified hearing process.  

Analysis: This bill is 33 pages long, touches 12 existing statutes, and proposes a new statute (311.104) to create the long-term anchoring permits.  The permit application process is not specified in the bill, but discussion with the legislative staffer that wrote the bill indicates the intent is to have an automated on-line process administered by FWC, much like the existing fishing license process. We will be looking for amendments to the bill that specify the application process. Important factors here will be the ability to request the permit digitally and immediate issuance of the permit. Advantages of this bill include allowing FWC to collect contact information on long-term, stored vessels, track these long-term anchored boats, use of the anchoring data to identify locations where mooring fields may be needed, and to use the permit list to blast-notify boat owners with storm warning information.  No sticker is required to show compliance with this statute.  Disadvantages of the bill are that a new permit is required.

Recommendations: The Boaters’ Rights Advocacy Coalition recommends supporting this bill for the following reasons:

• This bill has definite benefits for FWC enforcement of derelict and at-risk boats.
• This bill supports data collection showing areas where new mooring fields may be needed and enables FWC to contact all boat owners in advance of storm arrival.
• While a new permit will be required, the process is expected to be quick and free of charge.
• The bill affects boats that are staying in one place without causing any additional regulations targeted at transiting boaters.

Committee hearings on these bills begin March 3rd and the process will continue through the legislative session. We need members to attend these meetings, which are often scheduled on short notice. If you are in the Tallahassee area and can spare a morning or afternoon, please consider attending with us.

We will also need members to email key legislators on short notice when a bill comes before a committee. 

Actions to take NOW to support our advocacy efforts

• Sign up to be on our email blast list for those willing to either join us in Tallahassee or send emails.
• Contribute to our advocacy fund 

Again, we cannot do this without you. Our lobbyist is warning us that this may be our toughest fight yet in Tallahassee. Please engage in this process!