Florida Statutes
Part II - Aquatic Preserves (Ss. 258.35-258.46)
258.43 - Rules.

(1) The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund has authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this act and specifically to provide regulation of human activity within the preserve in such a manner as not to unreasonably interfere with lawful and traditional public uses of the preserve, such as sport and commercial fishing, boating, and swimming.
(2) Other uses of the preserve, or human activity within the preserve, although not originally contemplated, may be permitted by the trustees, but only subsequent to a formal finding of compatibility with the purposes of this act.
(3) The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund may delegate to a local government, by agreement, the power and duty to administer and enforce the standards and criteria established in a resource inventory and management plan adopted by the board, if the board determines that such a delegation is in the public interest.
(a) Such delegation shall be made only if the board determines that the local government’s program for administering and enforcing the adopted standards and criteria:
1. Adopts, by ordinance, standards and criteria no less restrictive than those in the management plan approved by the board pursuant to the provisions of rule 18-20.013(2), Florida Administrative Code; provided, however nothing contained in this subsection shall expand the powers, jurisdiction, or authority granted pursuant to this chapter. When a local government’s program proposes to include standards and criteria that are more restrictive than those in the management plan approved by the board, such standards and criteria shall not be effective until they have been approved by the board as being consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
2. Provides for the enforcement of such requirements by appropriate administrative and judicial processes.
3. Provides for administrative organization, staff, and financial and other resources necessary to effectively and efficiently enforce such requirements.
4. Provides for improved management and enforcement of the standards and criteria in the resource inventory and management plans and of the rules adopted by the board pertaining to state-owned lands.

(b) Such delegation may not include the authority to grant approval for the sale, lease, easement, or other uses of state-owned sovereignty lands that require approval by the board as provided by the board’s rules on October 1, 1989. This provision shall not preclude agreements between the board and local governments that may provide that the local government shall process applications and present recommendations for final action to the board.
(c) The board shall give prior notice of its intention to enter into an agreement as described in this subsection, as provided by s. 253.115. The Division of State Lands of the Department of Environmental Protection shall update its rules annually to include a list of the management agreements adopted pursuant to this subsection. The list shall identify the parties to, and the date and location of, each agreement, and shall specify the nature of the authority delegated by the agreement.
(d) The board may designate the local government as its enforcement arm for purposes of s. 258.46, and the local government shall have the authority to directly enforce the provisions of that section or to rely on the enforcement provisions of the local ordinance implementing the management plan. The governing body of the local government shall seek approval from the Division of State Lands before seeking the elevated penalties associated with direct enforcement of s. 258.46 in lieu of penalties associated with violation of its ordinance. Nothing in this subsection shall affect the authority of the division to enforce the provisions of this act.
(e) Each year on the anniversary of any delegation pursuant to this subsection, the staff of the department shall present to the board an evaluation of decisions made by the local governments during the previous year. The board shall, upon reviewing this evaluation, either act to renew the delegation, act to retract the delegation, or act to renew the delegation with specific directives to the local government to take corrective action concerning any deficiencies in its processing or application of the standards and criteria in the rules approved by the board or a management plan adopted for the preserves.
(f) Nothing contained in this subsection shall affect the powers, duties, or procedures set forth in chapter 403.

History.—s. 1, ch. 75-172; s. 6, ch. 89-25; ss. 100, 497, ch. 94-356; s. 85, ch. 95-143; s. 49, ch. 98-200.