04/01/2025
Emails and Call to Florida Legislators Needed by 4pm April 2nd!
We once again need your help. This will sound familiar, because we've asked you to email and call the same committee about the same bill two weeks ago. The bill was temporarily postponed during that committee meeting, but it is back on the agenda for Wednesday, April 2 at 4pm. If you've already called and emailed, your job will be easy. Simply do it once again! If you haven't, now is the time to step up and assist!
Here again are the details:
Florida’s House Bill 481, which would close more areas of Biscayne Bay to overnight anchoring and put time limits on anchoring in the most populous counties, is headed for its third and final committee stop. The House State Affairs Committee will hear the bill Wednesday, April 2 at 4:00 p.m. I will be there to testify, but we need as many members as possible to email or call the Representatives that sit on this committee and ask them to vote against the bill.
HB 481 proposes the following:
Restricts anchoring between additional islands in the Miami Beach area
Extends the no-anchoring zone around marked mooring fields from 100 to 300 feet.
In counties with populations above 1.5 million people it prohibits anchoring for more than 4 hours during nighttime for more than 30 days in a six-month period. The counties currently affected are Miami-Dade, Broward (Fort Lauderdale), Hillsborough (Tampa) and Palm Beach.
AGLCA strongly opposes #1. We don’t believe #2 impacts too many cruisers negatively. Regarding #3, we don’t oppose time limits on anchoring but believe those time limits should be codified in chapter 327.4108 where other anchoring limitations are listed. We are working on that idea with the lobbyist from Miami Beach.
The bill was moved forward by the first two committee that heard it, but we have made progress by providing additional information in a professional and consultative manner. We are continuing to work with the bill’s sponsor and the lobbyists supporting the bill to ensure an outcome that is not detrimental to cruisers. Our emails and testimony are working, but we now need to contact the members of this next committee that will hear HB 481.
An email and phone list for the Representatives we need you to contact is attached. Any communication should be courteous and professional in tone and should not question the legislators’ ethics or motivation. Simply share your personal experience, tell them why you oppose the bill in your own words, and ask them to vote against the bill. Some sample talking points are below:
The real issue here is the derelict, abandoned, and long-term stored vessels in the area. A bill targeting those would be a more effective solution. Enhancing the derelict vessel statutes would help Miami Beach with their very real problem while allowing law abiding, responsible boaters to continue to enjoy the safety and serenity of anchorages.
The bill creates a safety issue for boats heading to Government Cut. Government Cut is critical for boats going to or from the Bahamas. Without the ability to anchor near it, slower boats run the risk of having to travel in the dark.
The areas around these dredged islands where the bill would ban anchoring is the only water in this part of Biscayne Bay that is deep enough for typical Looper size boats to anchor. The reminder of the area is too shallow, and therefore, closing the area around the islands to overnight anchoring essentially eliminates anchoring in much of this part of the Bay.
Share how much money you spend when you anchor a night or two in that area (fuel, restaurants, provisions).
Please email or call the legislators on the attached list NOW. They must receive our input prior to the committee meeting on Wednesday, April 2nd at 4:00 p.m.
You are welcome to reach out to me if you have any questions. Please also let me know if you’ve contacted the legislators on this committee. It is helpful for us to have a count of how many have reached out.
General Guidelines on Contacting Legislators:
Email or phone are the best ways to reach a legislator. Letters are second best, but in our electronic world today everyone uses computers.
Timing is very important. Don’t delay your email until after the bill has been passed. HB 481 will be heard in committee onWednesday aftermoon.
Be polite and professional. Profanity will not help no matter how frustrated you may be.
Address the email/letter as ‘Dear Senator ###’ and ‘Dear Representative ###’.
Limit your message to 200 words or so. Long emails don’t get the point across. Three paragraphs are a reasonable limit for emails and letters.
In the first paragraph explain your qualifications for writing, and the reason you are contacting them.
In the second paragraph describe the importance of this bill. Be factual and avoid emotions.
In the third paragraph request the action you desire. Request, but do not demand. Thank the legislator for their consideration.
Cite the bill number specifically.
Include your name, address and telephone number. Identify if you are a constituent and/or a state resident.
If not a Florida resident, identify yourself as cruiser/tourist from ________ state. Emails from citizens of other states are also effective because a large segment of Florida’s economy is based on tourism.
Form letters are routinely ignored except they are simply tallied up. They represent the viewpoint of one individual, no matter how many times they are transmitted.
Please take the time to put the “talking points” we’ve provided into your own words.
Work very hard to avoid misspellings, grammatical errors and skipped words in your document. These are easy to spot, and may cause the reader to misunderstand what you are saying or skip reading your email entirely.
Again, we are making progress, but we still need your help. Thanks in advance!
-Kim
