Florida Municipalities Submit Bills to Limit Anchoring
Two bills have been filed in Florida that could substantially limit your ability to anchor in the state. To fight these effectively, we must retain a lobbyist in Florida. Our 2025 advocacy fundraising has collected just under $14,000 towards our $36,000 goal. These bills, and the potential for others like them, are why we need every member to contribute to our advocacy fund. If we don’t reach our goal, we can’t continue our efforts on your behalf.
House Bill 481 gives local authorities in some counties the ability to limit anchoring to 30 days in a 6-month period. It also adds more places in Biscayne Bay where overnight anchoring would be banned.
Senate Bill 594 would allow no anchoring zones covering 5,000 feet (that’s nearly a mile) from ports including 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.
Our coalition is working hard to defeat these bills, and our lobbyist is developing a strategy that encompasses meetings with the bill sponsors and other legislators as well as grass roots efforts. We will continue our respectful, consultative approach with the legislators to learn more about the problems they are trying to solve with this proposed legislation, and the driving forces behind these bills. As we work to fine-tune our messaging to address the issues behind the bills, please be on the lookout for alerts. We will need you to call and email key legislators to express your opinions about these bills.
The March issue of the Great Loop Link will cover these bills, and their ramifications, in more detail. In the meantime, Kim is available to answer your questions. Please contribute to our advocacy fund now so we can continue our efforts.
