Legislation of Interest to the Legal Profession: The Florida Bar Governmental Affairs Office.

2006 REGULAR SESSION

Included in this report is a brief summary, by subject, of bills that passed the House and Senate during the 2006 Regular Session (March 7 - May 5, 2006) that may be of interest to Florida Bar members. During the 2006 Regular Session 2,480 bills were introduced. Of that total, 386 bills or approximately 16 percent of all bills passed. The Senate filed 1,429 bills, of which 118 passed both chambers. The House filed 1,051 bills, of which 268 passed both chambers.

This compilation reflects pending and final action by the governor, and references 2006 Laws of Florida as of June 1, 2006. Information for these summaries was extracted from those bills and from House and Senate "End of Session Reports." www.flsenate.gov/cgi-bin/View-Page.pl?File=index.html& Directory=Publications/2006/Senate/reports/summaries/&Tab=committees& Submenu=2

Again, these are partial summaries of selected bills. Lawyers looking for information in addition to that provided in this report may wish to contact the Florida Legislature's information service, toll-free, at (800) 342-1827.

Complete bill text--as filed and in final form, plus legislative history and other information--can be found through Online Sunshine via the Internet at the URL location www.leg.state.ft, us/.

You may also call The Florida Bar's Governmental Affairs Office at (850) 561-5662, or access bill text and other legislative information through links on The Florida Bar's Web sitefloridabar.org.

The Department of State will also have the new 2006 laws available online the day after they have been acted on by the governor. The laws can be found in the "general laws" section of the Department of State's Internet homepage, accessed via the URL location http://election.dos.state.ft.us/laws/.

Members desiring a copy of particular legislation in its final form may additionally contact: Session Law Chapter Numbers: Department of State, Elliott Building, 401 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee 32399-0250, (850) 488-8427. Senate Bills: Senate Documents, Room 303, The Capitol, Tallahassee 32399-1100, (850) 487-5285, House Bills: House Documents, Room 325, The Capitol, Tallahassee 32399-1300, (850) 488-7475.

The Florida Bar

Alan B. Bookman

President 2005-2006

Henry. M. Coxe III

President 2006-2007

Francisco R. Angones

President 2007-2008

John E Harkness, Jr.

Executive Director

Legislation Committee

2005-2006

Francisco R. Angones

Chair

Warren W. Lindsey

Chair-elect

Kimberly Bald

Ervin A. Gonzalez

Sharon Langer

Harold G. Melville

1. Lawrence Ringer

Clifford W. Sanborn

Lawrence E. Sellers

Chief Legislative Counsel

Stephen W. Metz

Tallahassee

Government Affairs

Staff

Paul E Hill

General Counsel

Dana M. Watson

Legislative Assistant

Administration Law

CS/CS/SB 262--Administrative Procedures

This bill amends statutory provisions relating to publication of the Florida Administrative Weekly, and revises and creates various duties of the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee. The bill revises some duties of the Department of State and the Administration Commission, and revises duties with respect to rulemaking for agencies. The bill revises provisions relating to the timing and substance of petitions for administrative review of agency actions. The bill also expands eligibility under the Florida Equal Access to Justice Act, through which small business parties may receive attorney's fees and costs when they prevail in certain adjudicatory or administrative proceedings, to include certain individuals whose net worth did not exceed $2 million at the time of the state agency action. It clarifies an agency's duty to report on changes made to proposed rules after a final public hearing; requires the Division of Administrative Hearings and agencies to recommend types of cases or disputes suitable for a statutory summary hearing process; and requires an agency's final order in certain cases involving disputed issues of material fact to explicitly rule on the exceptions that parties raise to the recommended order. Approved by the governor, these provisions take effect July 1. Chapter No. 2006-82 LOF.

Admiralty Law

HB 201--Non judicial Sale of Vessels

Current law provides a marina has a possessory lien against any vessel in the marina for storage fees, dockage fees, repairs, improvements, or other work related storage charges, and for expenses necessary for preservation of the vessel or expenses reasonably incurred in the sale or other disposition of the vessel. Current law also provides a mechanism for nonjudicial sale of a vessel when the owner does not pay the charges due. This bill adds a vessel abandoned at the marina may be subject to the possessory lien; suspends application of the lien provisions for 60 days when a vessel is damaged in a named storm; revises the notice requirements a marina with a lien must follow before the sale of a vessel; reduces the number of days, from 120 days to 60 days, which a vessel's owner has to pay the fees and costs owed to a marina before the marina may sell the vessel; gives the marina the option, in certain circumstances, of removing the vessel at the owner's expense instead of selling it; revises provisions relating to priority over other liens. Approved by the governor and take effect July 1. Chapter 2006-5, L.O.F.

HB 7175--Vessels

The bill amends [section]206.606 to direct funding for local projects regarding uniform waterway markers, boat ramps, boat lifts and hoists, marine railways, public boat launching facilities and derelict vessel removal. The bill amends [section]327.59 and authorizes marina personnel to take reasonable actions to further secure any vessel within the marina to minimize damage to the vessel, the marina property, private property and the environment, if the vessel is not removed once a tropical storm or hurricane watch has been issued. The marinas may charge reasonable fees for securing the vessel and will be held harmless for any damage occurring as a result of securing the vessel or from any damage incurred to a vessel from such storms or hurricanes. The bill provides no immunity is granted to the marina for any intentional acts or negligence causing damage to the vessel during the removal or storage under this act. The bill provides noticing criteria in the contractual agreement which may be utilized by the marina and the vessel owner relating to the removal of the vessel once a tropical storm or hurricane watch has been issued and provides for a time frame to be established for such vessel removal. The bill amends [section]327.60(2) to allow local regulation of anchoring within mooting fields. The bill amends [section]328.72(15) which provides for the distribution of vessel registration fees to counties. The bill provides for the distribution of such moneys to be returned to the counties for the express purposes of providing recreational channel marking and other uniform waterway markers, public boat ramps, lifts and hoists, marine railways, and other public boat launching facilities, derelict vessel removal and removal of vessels and floating structures deemed a hazard to public safety and health for failure to comply with marine sanitation. The bill amends [section]376.11 to allow derelict vessel removal grants to be awarded to all local governments as opposed to just coastal local governments. The bill amends [section]376.15 pertaining to derelict and abandoned vessels to conform the definition of derelict vessel in [section]823.11. The bill allows all law enforcement officers charged with enforcement of Florida's boating laws under [section]327.70 to enforce the provisions pertaining to derelict and abandoned vessels and allows their agencies to recover the costs associated with removing these vessels. The bill amends the definition of derelict vessel in [section]823.11 to mean any vessel, as defined in [section]327.02 left, stored, or abandoned: (a) In a wrecked, junked, or substantially dismantled condition upon any public waters of this state; or (b) At any port in this state without the consent of the agency having jurisdiction thereof; or (c) Docked or grounded at or beached upon the property of another without the consent of the owner of the property. The bill provides it is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to store, leave, or abandon any derelict vessel within this state. The bill specifies which officers may remove such vessels and provides for funding of such removal by certain grants. The bill directs FWCC to implement a plan to seek federal disaster funds relating to the removal of derelict vessels. The bill deletes a provision authorizing the FWCC to delegate authority for derelict vessel removal to local governments. The bill provides when a derelict vessel is docked or grounded at or beached upon the private property of another without the consent of the owner of the property, the owner of the property may remove the vessel at the vessel owner's expense 60 days after compliance with certain notice requirements. The bill specifies any person, firm, or corporation violating this act commits a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be punished as provided by law. The court having jurisdiction over the criminal offense is authorized to impose civil penalties in addition to any sentence imposed for the criminal offense. The bill amends [section]403.813(2)(s) to provide the exemption for floating vessel platforms includes those associated with a permitted dock with no defined boat slip or are attached to a bulkhead on a parcel of land where there is no other docking structure and which do not exceed a combined total of 500 square feet or 200 square feet in Outstanding Florida Water. The bill requires all floating vessel platforms to be located where sea grasses adjacent to the dock or bulkhead are least dense. The bill provides exempted floating vessel platforms are not subject to any permitting requirement, registration requirement, or other more stringent...