Title: Fish and Wildlife Activities

Summary: Prohibits certain harassment of hunters, trappers, & fishers in or on specified lands, areas, & waters; authorizes FWCC to designate additional free fishing days; prohibits certain possession of specified reptiles; designates green iguanas & tegu lizards as prohibited reptiles; authorizes certain persons & entities to exhibit, sell, or breed green iguanas & tegu lizards commercially under specified conditions.

Full Text:
An act relating to fish and wildlife activities; amending s. 379.105, F.S.; prohibiting certain harassment of hunters, trappers, and fishers within or on public lands or publicly or privately owned wildlife and fish management areas, or in or on public waters; amending s. 379.354, F.S.; authorizing the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to designate additional annual free freshwater and saltwater fishing days; amending s. 379.372, F.S.; prohibiting the keeping, possessing, importing, selling, bartering, trading, or breeding of certain reptiles except for educational, research, eradication, or control purposes; designating green iguanas and tegu lizards as prohibited reptiles; authorizing certain persons and entities to exhibit, sell, or breed green iguanas and tegu lizards commercially under specified conditions; requiring the commission to adopt rules; reenacting s. 379.2311(1), F.S., relating to the definition of the term "priority invasive species," to incorporate the amendment made to s. 379.372, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: CS/HB 2020 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 379.105, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 379.105 Harassment of hunters, trappers, or fishers.-(1) A person may not intentionally, within or on any public lands or a publicly or privately owned wildlife management and or fish manageme nt areas, area or in or on any public waters state-owned water body:(a) Interfere with or attempt to prevent the lawful taking of fish, game, or nongame animals by another within or on such lands or areas, or in or on such waters.(b) Attempt to distu rb fish, game, or nongame animals or attempt to affect their behavior with the intent to prevent their lawful taking by another within or on such lands or areas, or in or on such waters.Section 2. Subsection (15) of section 379.354, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 379.354 Recreational licenses, permits, and authorization numbers; fees established.-(15) FREE FISHING DAYS.-The commission may designate by rule no more than 4 consecutive or nonconsecutive days in each year as free freshwater fishing days and no more than 4 consecutive or nonconsecutive days in each year as free saltwater fishing days. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a any person may take freshwater fish for noncommercial purposes on a free freshwater fish ing day and may CS/HB 2020 take saltwater fish for noncommercial purposes on a free saltwater fishing day, without obtaining or possessing a license or permit or paying a license or permit fee as set forth prescribed in this section. A person who takes freshwater or saltwater fish on a free fishing day must comply with all laws, rules, and regulations governing the holders of a fishing license or permit and all other conditions and limitations regulating the taking of freshwater or saltwater fish as are imposed by law or rule. Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 379.372, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 379.372 Capturing, keeping, possessing, transporting, or exhibiting venomous reptiles, reptiles of concern, conditional reptiles, or prohib ited reptiles; license required.-(2)(a) A No person, party, firm, association, or corporation may not shall keep, possess, import into the state, sell, barter, trade, or breed the following species except for educational, research, eradication, or contr ol purposes personal use or for sale for personal use:1. Burmese or Indian python (Python molurus). 2. Reticulated python (Python reticulatus). 3. Northern African python (Python sebae). 4. Southern African python (Python natalensis). 5. Amethystine or scrub python (Morelia amethystinus). 6. Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus). CS/HB 2020 7. Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus). 8. Green iguana ( Iguana iguana ). 9. Tegu lizard (any species of the genera Salvator or Tupinambis ). 10.8. Any other rep tile designated as a conditional or prohibited species by the commission. (b)1. A person, party, firm, association, or corporation who had a documented inventory of green iguanas or tegu lizards on an application for a Class III captive wildlife exhibiti on or sale license in 2019 and held such license on January 1, 2020, may continue to exhibit, sell, or breed green iguanas and tegu lizards commercially for as long as the license remains active. Any inventory of green iguanas or tegu lizards must be sold outside the state and a licensee may not import such species into the state. The grandfather status under this paragraph is void upon transfer or lapse of such license. 2. The commission shall adopt rules for the following: a. Reporting requirements fo rthe possession, exhibition, and sale of green iguanas and tegu lizards; b. Biosecurity measures to prevent the escape of green iguanas or tegu lizards; and c. Any necessary grandfather provisions for a person who currently possesses a green iguana or tegu lizard but does not meet the criteria of subparagraph (b)1. Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment CS/HB 2020 made by this act to section 379.372, Florida Statutes, in a reference thereto, subsection ( 1) of section 379.2311, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 379.2311 Nonnative animal management.-(1) As used in this section, the term "priority invasive species" means the following: (a) Lizards of the genus Tupinambis,also known as tegu lizards; (b) Species identified in s. 379.372(2)(a); (c) Pterois volitans,also known as red lionfish; and (d) Pterois miles,also known as the common lionfish or devil firefish. Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.