Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a new law preventing Florida Fish and Wildlife officers from searching boaters without probable cause.
Calling it the "boater freedom act," the governor approved the legislation at a Panama City press conference Monday morning.
The DeSantis-backed legislation—proposed by the governor and carried by Republican lawmakers Rep. Griff Griffits and Sen. Jay Trumbull—loosens a slew of Florida's maritime laws by eliminating random police stops and banning local requirements on fuel and propulsion.
"If you're walking down the street, law enforcement can't just go up to you and stop you and search you if there's not a basis to do that. You got to have probable cause," DeSantis said, claiming FWC's ability to randomly frisk or board vehicles without legal suspicion has caused tension between boaters and law enforcement.
"It's unnecessarily created friction between the boating community and some folks in law enforcement," he said.
The sweeping SB 1388 also limits local governments from restricting the types of fuel or boat motors used on the water. DeSantis said this change will help families with affordability issues and strike back at municipalities' "draconian" restrictions.
"We know a lot of families opt for vessels, and of course, they're going to be gas-powered. People want to be able to afford this, and if you don't, if you impose these draconian restrictions, you're not going to be able to do it," he said.
But according to Gulf Coast News, environmental groups like the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation worry that the relaxed fuel and propulsion provisions could harm environmentally protected areas currently labeled "non-motorized" or "trolling zone only."
Gas-powered motors can't be driven through those areas.
"So this bill is being referred to as the Boater Freedom Act, and our question is, the freedom to do what?" SCCF's environmental policy director told Gulf Coast News.
The new law also creates a new safety inspection decal program, authorizes funding for new parking slots for boat-hauling vehicles, allows FWC to establish new springs protection zones, and bans FWC from issuing a fishing license to commercial fishing vessels owned by "any alien power."
It goes into effect on July 1.
