Florida Senate - 2017 CS for SB 230
By the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation;
and Senator Artiles
592-01943-17 2017230c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to nonnative animals; creating s.
3 379.2311, F.S.; defining the terms “pet dealer” and
4 “priority invasive species”; requiring the Fish and
5 Wildlife Conservation Commission to establish a pilot
6 program for the eradication of priority invasive
7 species; providing legislative findings; providing
8 goals for the pilot program; authorizing the
9 commission to enter into specified contracts;
10 specifying parameters for the implementation of the
11 pilot program; specifying procedures for handling
12 captures and the disposal of the animals; requiring
13 the commission to submit a report to the Governor and
14 the Legislature by a specified date; requiring certain
15 nonnative species to be implanted with a passive
16 integrated transponder before sale, resale, or being
17 offered for sale by a pet dealer; requiring the
18 commission to adopt rules; providing appropriations;
19 providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Section 379.2311, Florida Statutes, is created
24 to read:
25 379.2311 Nonnative animal management.—
26 (1) As used in this section, the term:
27 (a) “Pet dealer” means any person who, in the ordinary
28 course of business, engages in the sale of more than 20 animals
29 per year to the public. This term includes breeders who sell
30 animals directly to consumers.
31 (b) “Priority invasive species” means the following
32 species:
33 1. Lizards of the genus Tupinambis, also known as tegu
34 lizards.
35 2. Species listed in s. 379.372(2)(a).
36 3. Pterois volitans, also known as red lionfish.
37 4. Pterois miles, also known as the common lionfish or
38 devil firefish.
39 (2) The commission shall establish a pilot program to
40 mitigate the impact of priority invasive species on the public
41 lands or waters of this state.
42 (a) The Legislature finds that priority invasive species
43 continue to expand their range and to decimate the fauna and
44 flora of the Everglades and other natural areas and ecosystems
45 in the southern and central parts of the state at an
46 accelerating rate.
47 (b) The goal of the pilot program is to examine the
48 benefits of using strategically deployed, trained private
49 contractors to slow the advance of these nonnative animals,
50 contain their populations, and eradicate them from this state.
51 (c) To implement the pilot program, the commission may
52 enter into contracts in accordance with chapter 287 with
53 entities or individuals to capture or destroy these nonnative
54 animals found on public lands or in the waters of the state. Any
55 private contracted work to be performed on public land or in the
56 waters of the state not owned or managed by the commission must
57 have the consent of the owner.
58 (d) The commission shall ensure that all captures and
59 disposals of these nonnative animals are documented and
60 photographed and that the geographic location of the take is
61 recorded for research purposes. The commission shall direct the
62 disposal of all animals captured and not destroyed in removal
63 efforts.
64 (e) The commission shall submit a report of findings and
65 recommendations regarding its implementation of the pilot
66 program to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
67 Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1, 2020.
68 (3) Before selling, reselling, or offering for sale any
69 nonnative animal specified by the commission pursuant to
70 paragraph (a), pet dealers must implant in the animal or have
71 the animal implanted with a passive integrated transponder (PIT)
72 tag as specified by the commission. The commission shall adopt
73 rules implementing this subsection, including:
74 (a) Identifying nonnative animals that threaten the state’s
75 wildlife habitats and therefore must be implanted with a PIT
76 tag; and
77 (b) Establishing a standard for the types of PIT tags which
78 must be used by pet dealers and the manner in which they must be
79 implanted.
80 Section 2. For the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 fiscal years,
81 the sum of $300,000 each year in nonrecurring funds is
82 appropriated from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to the Fish
83 and Wildlife Conservation Commission for the purpose of
84 implementing s. 379.2311.
85 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.
86