Jesse Scheckner
Legislation to limit near-port anchoring is dead in the water after its sponsor opted to no longer pursue its passage this Session.
Rep. Chip LaMarca told Florida Politics he decided to halt consideration of the bill (HB 795) due to feedback he got from the state’s many water-faring residents.
He said the bill may return next year as local legislation from the Palm Beach County delegation “with more specific parameters to address port safety issues.”
“As a lifelong boater myself, as well as a local elected official in Broward, I am always looking to make this the best place for boaters,” said LaMarca, a Lighthouse Point Republican who in late 2023 was floated as the next Port Everglades Director.
“This bill was specifically written towards the safety of our Florida seaports. However, with the different makeup of each seaport layout, we were not able to effectively address the safety issue with this legislation as written. I would suggest that the Port of Palm Beach come back and work to address the safety issue without jeopardizing the safe boating public.”
HB 795 and its upper-chamber companion (SB 594) by Doral Republican Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez would establish new regulations for no-anchoring and no-mooring zones near state seaports.
The types of vessels and how stringent anchoring restrictions could differ between the two bills. HB 795 would apply to uninsured boats anchored for more than 45 days in port-adjacent waters and encompass a surrounding area of up to 1,750 feet from the navigational harbor.
SB 594, meanwhile, would apply to all anchoring vessels within 2,500 feet of a seaport entrance, pier or wharf adjacent to a harbor channel or turning basin.
Under both bills, each seaport would have to hold two public hearings and apply to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before establishing a no-mooring and no-anchoring zone.
Proponents of the legislation say more needs to be done to ensure safe, unimpeded operations in and around seaports while also protecting sensitive marine habitats. Its opponents argue the changes are unnecessary, conflict with federal laws like the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 — which, among other things, established certain no anchoring zones and empowered the U.S. Coast Guard to create others around vessels and port facilities — and leave long-term boat dwellers with little elsewhere to live at sea.
Wally Moran, a longtime boater, sailing writer and President of the Cruisers’ Rights Network, said these and other boat-focused bills lawmakers are considering would create a confusing patchwork of maritime rules even the most experienced captains would have trouble following.
“(This) appears to be less about maritime safety and more about eliminating inconvenience for Palm Beach’s elite,” he wrote March 20, adding that alternative locations for boaters moored near harbors in Palm Beach County “don’t exist.”
“Municipalities to the north and south of Palm Beach will face an influx of vessels, exacerbating their own anchorage issues,” he warned. “There are no available anchorages within 50 miles of Palm Beach that can accommodate this influx.”
SB 594 and HB 795 each cleared the first of two committees to which they were assigned.
Florida Politics contacted Rodriguez for comment but received no response by press time.
