Proposed anchoring legislation for Florida

[Sailing Ohm]

So Florida is trying to have local authorities ban small boaters but when local authorities try to limit cruise ships they don’t let them.
What hypocrites...

[Sailing Ohm]

Anyone have an info about when/how we can go and fight against this? I can’t find much online...

I’m all for removing derelict boats, in fact I’ve had a few removed from the anchorage I am in, but making a boater move every 90 days is just ridiculous.

[Davy J]

Originally Posted by Sailing Ohm

Anyone have an info about when/how we can go and fight against this? I can’t find much online...

Here is how it works:

A bill is introduced in the Florida house or the senate. The bill then gets sent to committee, usually three committee's in either branch. The committee's will be made up of select legislators,.....

Most of which will have their minds made up one way or the other, based on what the "donors" want. They will then have public hearings so the public can express their opinions, all the while not being swayed by any of that testimony.

Then a "companion bill" will be filed in the other branch of government. It will also go to "committee". More hearings will be scheduled. Once again, the "lawmakers" will have their "opinion". Once the bill passes both houses it goes to the full congress for vote.

What can you do........

You can drive to Tallahassee, then you can voice your opinion at any of the hearings, if they let you. Won't really matter. You can then write/call/email your local legislator and tell them how you think they should vote.

Maybe, and only, if enough people, contact their local rep, might things change.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Davy J

Maybe, and only, if enough people, contact their local rep, might things change.

Yep. That's the only thing that will make a difference. The legislators need to hear from enough constituents that they fear losing their seat if they listen to the lobbyists and donors instead. Otherwise they will ALWAYS listen to the lobbyists and donors.

[dwedeking2]

This is being pushed by a local hotel owner here in the keys. One of the anchorages can be seen from his hotel and he's already illegally fenced out an area that locals used to dinghy into land. It has zero to do with or derelicts (they don't clean up the beached vessels that aren't in a view) but 100% in hiding the poors from being scene.



If implemented it will also hurt of local businesses who are already starving for workers due to the relocations caused by the covid restrictions. Those workers anchored out will need to relocate to another location as local housing on land is a losing battle.



I'm hoping to finish off siphoning off enough money from the local economy to leave the keys. Wonderful land / water / nature experience but all the relocated yankees / karens make it suck.

[Sailing Ohm]

Originally Posted by Davy J

Here is how it works:



A bill is introduced in the Florida house or the senate. The bill then gets sent to committee, usually three committee's in either branch. The committee's will be made up of select legislators,.....



Most of which will have their minds made up one way or the other, based on what the "donors" want. They will then have public hearings so the public can express their opinions, all the while not being swayed by any of that testimony.



Then a "companion bill" will be filed in the other branch of government. It will also go to "committee". More hearings will be scheduled. Once again, the "lawmakers" will have their "opinion". Once the bill passes both houses it goes to the full congress for vote.



What can you do........



You can drive to Tallahassee, then you can voice your opinion at any of the hearings, if they let you. Won't really matter. You can then write/call/email your local legislator and tell them how you think they should vote.



Maybe, and only, if enough people, contact their local rep, might things change.

I get the generalities of how a bill becomes law but I was wondering if anyone has specific details about things like dates of public forums, the actual sponsors of the bill, and who is in these ‘committees’.
I can find the bill pdf on Flsenate.gov but that is pretty much all that loads for me.

And I do have to disagree about the usefulness of public forums. If enough people show up and are adamantly against a piece of legislation that gets noticed. But people have to have specific policy examples they take exception to and not just general complaining.

I am S Fl born, raised and grew up on the water. I am 34 years old so these rules will possibly affect me the rest of my, hopefully long, life. (Like many from the area I can’t see myself living anywhere else in the continental us). I was raised being on the water and I am taking a keen interest in protecting my future boating rights as well as keeping our environment and waterways pristine, healthy and accessible.
That being said I do agree with some of the recent legislation around derelict boats and their removal but I am keenly aware that derelict boats are only part of the problem facing Florida’s waters. I’d personally like to see more legislation focused more at fisherman (esp charter fisherman) and the weekend warriors in their center consoles or sport fishers (these guys seem to care very little about keeping our waters pristine and healthy).

I am also amazed and angry at how Monroe county (specifically key west) can notice huge improvements in overall water quality since covid has canceled the cruise ships and tries to limit their activity yet the state of Florida overrides their local legislation and blames small sailboaters while letting big corporations get away.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by facciatosta

Folks living in million dollars houses on those islands do not want to be entertained up all night by bums on the boats with blue neon lights. For that matter nobody does.

Yep, I don't live in a million dollar house and I sure would not want to live with hearing that s...t.

There are laws on the books already to handle noise complaints. There are multiple agencies, in at least some of the areas impacted by the bill, that could and should, answer noise complaints. Enforcing the laws on the books would solve many of these problems.

Later,
Dan

[motion30]

Originally Posted by dannc

Yep, I don't live in a million dollar house and I sure would not want to live with hearing that s...t.

There are laws on the books already to handle noise complaints. There are multiple agencies, in at least some of the areas impacted by the bill, that could and should, answer noise complaints. Enforcing the laws on the books would solve many of these problems.

Later,
Dan

. There'there are laws on the books to handle derelict vessels at well. They do enforce them sparsely in Key West in Broward not at all. I am curious too about the enforcement if this bill passes

[BillKny]

I am at anchor right now in SouthLake in Hollywood, FL. I have a great deal of sympathy for the homeowners here. One large motorboat (~60feet) has been anchored here for YEARS not more than 50 yards from people's backdoors. As far as I know it is immobile, certainly I have never seen it underway in the multiple visits I have made here. They run an on-deck portable generator constantly, and it is damn noisy out here on the water. You KNOW in the event of a hurricane boats like this would be crashing into the resident's docks and houses. You KNOW they are dumping sewage. There are several boats here of similar status. North Lake is WAY worse.

If I lived in one of the houses here, I'd want those boats GONE. So of course the government's answer is ban everybody. Use a sledge hammer to kill the fly.

I would 100% support a 90 day limit on anchoring in this and similar places. It seems a reasonable compromise. It is perfectly reasonable to me to require that a boat anchored in navigable waters actually be able to navigate, and requiring moving the boat once every three months seems a fair way of doing this.

[Woodland Hills]

The hierarchy of communication with elected representatives is, from the bottom and most easily ignored is:
1. Email, easy to do in large numbers, essentially free and thus easily ignored.

2. Telephone calls, a bit harder to do and of some interest to the Rep, but more of a nuisance to staff than a persuader

3. Old fashioned letters, hard to do, most expensive of the three, able to be counted and kept. Not very common anymore and thus the most influential, if people care about an issue enough to hand write a letter and pay for postage then they really must be exercised over that issue. 50 letters will always out weigh 150 phone calls and 5000 emails.

[motion30]

Originally Posted by dannc

Yep, I don't live in a million dollar house and I sure would not want to live with hearing that s...t.

There are laws on the books already to handle noise complaints. There are multiple agencies, in at least some of the areas impacted by the bill, that could and should, answer noise complaints. Enforcing the laws on the books would solve many of these problems.

Later,
Dan

Small world I am in Southlake as well. I'm the powerboat the last gringo. Which boat are you on?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Everyone knows which type of boat scum is at the heart of these things

Exactly. The boat bums have got to go if we want to preserve this pastime.

[motion30]

Originally Posted by BillKny

I am at anchor right now in SouthLake in Hollywood, FL. I have a great deal of sympathy for the homeowners here. One large motorboat (~60feet) has been anchored here for YEARS not more than 50 yards from people's backdoors. As far as I know it is immobile, certainly I have never seen it underway in the multiple visits I have made here. They run an on-deck portable generator constantly, and it is damn noisy out here on the water. You KNOW in the event of a hurricane boats like this would be crashing into the resident's docks and houses. You KNOW they are dumping sewage. There are several boats here of similar status. North Lake is WAY worse.

If I lived in one of the houses here, I'd want those boats GONE. So of course the government's answer is ban everybody. Use a sledge hammer to kill the fly.

I would 100% support a 90 day limit on anchoring in this and similar places. It seems a reasonable compromise. It is perfectly reasonable to me to require that a boat anchored in navigable waters actually be able to navigate, and requiring moving the boat once every three months seems a fair way of doing this.

You are right that boat has been in the lake at least 2 years,. It's a 65 ft Chris Craft and it does run as far as I know. He took a lightning strike this summer and that knocked out his generator. and of course that home Depot open frame generator is obnoxious. I did say something to him about it. And as you know northlake is much worse

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by BillKny

I am at anchor right now in SouthLake in Hollywood, FL. I have a great deal of sympathy for the homeowners here. One large motorboat (~60feet) has been anchored here for YEARS not more than 50 yards from people's backdoors. As far as I know it is immobile, certainly I have never seen it underway in the multiple visits I have made here. They run an on-deck portable generator constantly, and it is damn noisy out here on the water. You KNOW in the event of a hurricane boats like this would be crashing into the resident's docks and houses. You KNOW they are dumping sewage. There are several boats here of similar status. North Lake is WAY worse.

If I lived in one of the houses here, I'd want those boats GONE. So of course the government's answer is ban everybody. Use a sledge hammer to kill the fly.

I would 100% support a 90 day limit on anchoring in this and similar places. It seems a reasonable compromise. It is perfectly reasonable to me to require that a boat anchored in navigable waters actually be able to navigate, and requiring moving the boat once every three months seems a fair way of doing this.

Could not agree more

[landsend]

Originally Posted by Sailing Ohm

Anyone have an info about when/how we can go and fight against this? I can’t find much online...

I’m all for removing derelict boats, in fact I’ve had a few removed from the anchorage I am in, but making a boater move every 90 days is just ridiculous.

You mean 90 days in one spot is too short a time? Three months? A quarter of a year?

Seems like a reasonable time limit.