Bill Text: FL S1360 | 2020 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Endangered and Threatened Species

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2020-03-14 - Died in Appropriations [S1360 Detail]

Download: Florida-2020-S1360-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2020                             CS for SB 1360
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
       Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       592-03420-20                                          20201360c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to endangered and threatened species;
    3         amending s. 379.2291, F.S.; revising legislative
    4         intent of the Florida Endangered and Threatened
    5         Species Act; revising definitions; directing the Fish
    6         and Wildlife Conservation Commission to protect
    7         certain declassified species; prohibiting the
    8         commission from considering certain costs when
    9         designating a species as endangered or threatened;
   10         amending s. 581.185, F.S.; revising criteria for
   11         placement of species on the Regulated Plant Index by
   12         the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;
   13         directing the department, in consultation with the
   14         Endangered Plant Advisory Council, to protect certain
   15         declassified species; prohibiting the department from
   16         considering certain costs when designating a species
   17         as endangered or threatened; providing an effective
   18         date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section
   23  379.2291, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   24         379.2291 Endangered and Threatened Species Act.—
   25         (2) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—The Legislature recognizes that
   26  the State of Florida harbors a wide diversity of fish and
   27  wildlife and that it is the policy of this state to conserve and
   28  wisely manage these resources, with particular attention to
   29  those species designated defined by the Fish and Wildlife
   30  Conservation Commission, the Department of Environmental
   31  Protection, or the United States Department of Interior, or
   32  successor agencies, as being endangered or threatened. As
   33  Florida has more endangered and threatened species than any
   34  other continental state, it is the intent of the Legislature to
   35  provide for research and management to conserve and protect
   36  these species as a natural resource.
   37         (3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
   38         (a) “Fish and wildlife” means any member of the animal
   39  kingdom, including, but not limited to, any mammal, fish, bird,
   40  amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, or other
   41  invertebrate.
   42         (b) “Endangered species” means any species of fish and
   43  wildlife naturally occurring in Florida, whose prospects of
   44  survival are in jeopardy due to modification or loss of habitat;
   45  overuse overutilization for commercial, sporting, scientific, or
   46  educational purposes; disease; predation; inadequacy of
   47  regulatory mechanisms; or other natural or manmade factors
   48  affecting its continued existence, including climate change.
   49         (c) “Threatened species” means any species of fish and
   50  wildlife naturally occurring in Florida which may not be in
   51  immediate danger of extinction, but which exists in such small
   52  populations as to become endangered if it is subjected to
   53  increased stress as a result of further modification of its
   54  environment, including climate change.
   55         (4) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—
   56         (a) The commission shall be responsible for research and
   57  management of freshwater and upland species and for research and
   58  management of marine species.
   59         (b) Recognizing that citizen awareness is a key element in
   60  the success of this plan, the commission and the Department of
   61  Education are encouraged to work together to develop a public
   62  education program with emphasis on, but not limited to, both
   63  public and private schools.
   64         (c) The commission, in consultation with the Department of
   65  Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Economic
   66  Opportunity, or the Department of Transportation, may establish
   67  reduced speed zones along roads, streets, and highways to
   68  protect endangered and threatened species or threatened species.
   69         (d) Notwithstanding declassification under the federal
   70  Endangered Species Act of 1973, the commission shall continue to
   71  protect species that meet the definition of endangered or
   72  threatened under subsection (3), as determined by the
   73  commission.
   74         (e) The commission may not consider the economic cost of
   75  protecting a species as a factor in designating the species as
   76  endangered or threatened.
   77         Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 581.185, Florida
   78  Statutes, is amended to read:
   79         581.185 Preservation of native flora of Florida.—
   80         (5) REVIEW.—
   81         (a) Beginning in 1984, and every 4 years thereafter, the
   82  department and the Endangered Plant Advisory Council shall
   83  conduct a comprehensive review of this section and of the
   84  Regulated Plant Index, as provided in rules of the department,
   85  shall be made by the department and the Endangered Plant
   86  Advisory Council at 4-year intervals.
   87         (b) The department shall consider any species of plant that
   88  should be placed on the Regulated Plant Index which is in danger
   89  of disappearing from its native habitat within the foreseeable
   90  future throughout all or a significant portion of the range of
   91  the species because of:
   92         1. Present or threatened destruction, modification, or
   93  curtailment of the range of the species.
   94         2. Overuse Overutilization of the species for commercial,
   95  scientific, or educational purposes.
   96         3. Disease or predation.
   97         4. Any other natural or manmade factor affecting the
   98  continued existence of the species, including climate change.
   99         (c) In carrying out reviews and arriving at recommendations
  100  under paragraphs (a) and (b), the department and the advisory
  101  council shall use the best scientific and commercial data
  102  available and shall consult with interested persons and
  103  organizations.
  104         (d) Notwithstanding declassification under the federal
  105  Endangered Species Act of 1973, the department shall continue to
  106  protect species that meet the definition of endangered or
  107  threatened under subsection (2), as determined by the department
  108  in consultation with the advisory council.
  109         (e) The department may not consider the economic cost of
  110  protecting a species as a factor in designating the species as
  111  endangered or threatened.
  112         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.