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Florida Lawmakers Float Boating Enforcement Changes
February 15, 2016
Law enforcement officers would need “reasonable suspicion” to stop and inspect boats sporting state safety stickers, under a measure that sailed through its final House committee.
The Economic Affairs Committee voted 12-3 to approve the proposal (HB 703), which would revise a state law about reckless and careless operations of vessels.
A key feature of the proposal would lessen the ability of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission law-enforcement officers, county deputies and municipal police officers to use the pretext of conducting safety inspections to stop and search boats if the vessels display commission safety-inspection decals.
“I just want to give safe boaters the opportunity to be pulled over less,” bill sponsor Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, said. “Not that they can’t be pulled over at all.”
The proposal wouldn’t prohibit officers from stopping boats when there is reasonable suspicion or probable cause that violations have occurred, such as over-harvesting lobster or fishing out of season.
Workman said he advanced the proposal because boaters from his community complain about being pulled over “almost every time they go out” by officers who say they are conducting safety inspections or say they have seen people not properly in the craft.
The commission’s Division of Law Enforcement-approved decal, available after a boat has undergone a safety inspection, would have to be posted within six inches of the vessel registration decal, according to the proposal.
On non-motorized boats, which are not required to be registered, the decal would have to be located just above the waterline on the forward half of the port side.
The commission already provides the decals, which don’t have an expiration date.
Workman said he doesn’t intend to impose new restrictions on the safety decals, such as requiring the color to be changed annually.
“My fear is that if I mandate a different something every year I have inadvertently created an annual inspection process, which I don’t want to do,” Workman said.
Workman’s proposal also would redefine a law about the noncriminal violation of careless operation of a vessel.
“It will no longer be, if this bill becomes law, ticketable to give a ticket to a boater that you think their kids may be sitting unsafely on the boat, otherwise bow-riding, or if your wife is sunbathing on the front of a boat,” Workman said. “You can still be pulled over for it and lectured, but not ticketed.”
The commission issued 7,770 citations for a variety of violations in 2014, including 3,146 involving safety equipment and regulations, and 802 for the negligent operation of vessels, according to agency records. A year earlier, 6,909 citations were issued by the state agency, with 3,157 involving safety equipment and regulations and 2,227 for negligent operations.
The Senate version of the proposal (SB 1454) has received unanimous support from the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee and must still get through Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee and the Fiscal Policy Committee.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Comments
15 Responses to “Florida Lawmakers Float Boating Enforcement Changes”
Gee… we’re all over the map here… I don’t go along with getting pulled over for nothing, but if someone called in a 20′ ProLine white with blue trip that didn’t throw back out of season fish, or were seen keeping 4 more fish than they could legally possess, go FWC. If I’m coming in from fishing and I’m running late, I don’t like the idea that an officer can just pull me over b/c I’m on a boat, and he’s the FWC. And then there are the stinkers that FWC already know… guys that got caught with too many fish, out of season or undersized fish the week before, should FWC let them cruise on by? Nope. Come let us reasonith together.
Personally I think FWC should run safety inspections on the same boat every 1/2 hour. They can legally so they should you know.
After all, the fire extinguisher could develop a leak in the past hour.
The boater could have lost a lifejacket overboard in the past hour.
A registration decal could have peeled off in the past hour.
Let’s put it this way then.
How would all of you like it if every single time you got on the highway in your automobile, you were pulled over by FHP for a safety check (ie; drivers license, seatbelt & turn signals working properly, you were sober, etc) ?
Using Bills logic, it would get a majority of drunks off the road. Think about this actually happening. It would aggravate you but hey, it’s for the greater good. And don’t get upset when, after years of the same guy stopping you knowing he never finds anything, he stops you twice in a day.
It wouldnt bother me so much if they were discretionary or it was really about the wildlife, but its not. Some of the laws seem like theres no other effect than on a persons wallet. Ever seen the show about parking authority up north ? They need to do a show about FWC. They are essentially the meter reader of the water.
I picked up a “Boat-Smart” safety guide (put out by FWC) at the nearby FWC office. I was reading in the section marked careless boating and it specifically talked about bow-riding. Mr. Workman doesn’t seem like he’s too intelligent.
As far as the safety stickers…
So let’s say a husband and wife get checked while they’re out boating in their pontoon and they got 2 life jackets, whistle, etc.. so they get a sticker. Then a month later, they go out again except there’s eight more people on their boat…and they only got 2 jackets, or maybe their fire extinguisher went bad since then. Sticker idea = bad idea
Don’t let your kids bow ride. Better to not get a pullover& ruin a good day than get pulled over & a ticket or get a bill from the funeral home after your kid hangs it’s feet over gets caught by water & flipped out & ran over. Don’t tell me it can’t happen because it most certainly can. Then your gonna want to send FWC the bill because you didn’t get warned & try to live out the rest of yours in guilt or by blaming it on someone else.
The “regulation state”….it happens every where but it seems to be done a lot more in Florida. There is a gradual erosion of freedom in these increasing regulations and oversight by “regulators”. If it is a “cruising building inspector”, a game warden, an over anxious police officer, or some agriculture official looking for boll weevils we seem to be more and more involved with the bureaucratic state.
This Workman guy sounds like a piece of work. Letting your kids bow-ride and becoming a crybaby when an officer stops you. Grow up and start serving the public like you were elected to do… Not sponsor crap like this and other nonsense (Google: Workman Florida midget tossing).
If this changes, wildlife/marine life will be pissed away and the number of BUI arrests will drop 90%. I don’t believe revenue has anything to do with it, most of the officers are writing warnings for violations unless it’s for illegal fish, expired boat registration or not enough life jackets. Besides, There’s a little bit more $$$ flowing in from FHP than FWC.
429 SCJ, you are rationalizing the violation of our constitutional rights based on what?
First off, this is as ignorant as it gets. If your kids are “bow riding” while you’re under way…you not only deserve the lecture but more importantly the ticket. If this happens, better enjoy your fishing while you can, because these rivers will be completely destroyed. Boating and fishing are highly regulated activities and from my years on the water and research I’ve done, the only people that would support this are the ones that don’t truly care for the resource OR they are too “almighty” to get stopped, esp when they don’t agree for getting a ticket for allowing little ones to hang legs off the front of the boat while being under way….Of course, this is my opinion but I think they are doing 100% correct if you care about conservation.
this won’t change a thing in how they operate. it will just relieve you off some money from your wallet. Probable cause to them means that you are on the water….period. They stop boats coming in the pass every day for no other reason than they are coming in from offshore. They harass you sitting at Ft. McRae just because you’re on the water and in their area of enforcement. This “safety sticker” is nothing short of another source of revenue for them. I’ve got more time on the toilet than some of these guys have on the water and MUCH more time on the water, but when they stop you it seems they try to show you who’s boss by flashing that shiny little badge. I love and respect LEO’s of all types but the FWC has gotten out of hand with the gestapo tactics and the more fishing regulations that keep getting shoved down our throats the worse they get…….
@Pensacola Pete, it is best to allow the FWC officers to feel that they are in control and not in physical danger.
Just have your gear stowed, your safety checklist and documentation in order, also It is most critical to maintain eye contact, smile and to be polite.
Animosity and the projection of bad vibes, will only arouse suspicion and unease in the FWC officers. Keep things lite and easy and remember that an observer with a good pair of binoculars can easily see what activity you are engaged in, while you are exposed.
The best thought to keep in the back of your mind is the fact of the law, and who can project the most force, for the greatest duration. Think of the long run. Cooperate!
It seems when I start to catching some fish they check all the safety gear and just stand there trying to think of something else to say. I usually tell them that they are starting to harass me and that they have already messed up catching a few fish. They are becoming a real pain and make me wonder why I try to go fishing and have a nice day when the FWC ruin it. They have never caught me in a violation, just love harassing me !!!
This is definitely a plus. Just because you’re in a boat isn’t probable cause for being pulled over, which is being detained (if you don’t agree, trying leaving before they release you). Being in a car doesn’t give the police the right to pull you over and search you without just cause so why doesn’t the Constitution apply to the water?
Somehow, fishermen and hunters don’t have the Constitutional protection from “unreasonable search an seizure” that everyone else enjoys. I appreciate everything our leos do for us but just try telling one of them “no” when they want to search your boat. Apparently, possession of a fishing rod is probable cause to believe a crime has been comitted and wearing camo during hunting season is akin to displaying gang colors. You WILL be stopped, you WILL be searched. They will be polite during the process but you do NOT have a choice in the matter.
“This is going to happen. The only question is whether you’re in handcuffs while I search!”
It’s a shame boaters, fishermen and hunters are exempt from the fourth amendment rights all other Americans can expect
Rant over, discuss.
It does not matter how many times you are pulled over, it is all about anticipation and preparedness.
I know that each time I get behind the wheel of my vehicle, or the stick on my skiff, that I face the possibility of being pulled over and interacting with law enforcement.
Better to let these matters be a waste of everyone’s time, rather than a pain in one’s wallet or personal liberty.
No one can foresee the unforeseen, but you can have an estimation of what may be coming down the line. Prepare accordingly.
This is AMAZING ! Never would have thought someone would bring some sense into law. Thank you Mr. Workman.
Not surprisingly, I don’t see FWC laying down while a huge source of revenue gets taken away.
Personally, I’d pay $100 per year for this law as FWC has gone ticket crazy with the same guy stopping me twice in a day with no fishing gear just riding.
To FWC, love you guys who get bad guys but for this, hopefully your free ride is over.