SANBIEL, Fla. — With all of Southwest Florida’s beautiful waterways, boating is a popular way to get around. But getting pulled over on a boat is very different than getting pulled over on land. Right now, law enforcement can just stop you for an inspection—but that could soon change.
Watch as Sanibel Community Correspondent, Anvar Ruziev, speaks to environmental experts and boaters on Sanibel about the new proposed bill:
On Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis spoke in Panama City in support of the Florida Boater Freedom Act.
"Prohibiting, the use of a safety inspection as probable cause to pull over a boater, you have to have real probable cause to pull over a boater and that's going to be the law in the state of Florida," said Governor DeSantis. But here on Sanibel, some are worried this could harm the environment. Matt DePaolis, Environmental Policy Director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF), says it could make it harder for officers to stop illegal activity like poaching.
"This is being referred to as the boater freedom bill, but it's the freedom to do what? It seems like it's the freedom to be more unsafe on the water, and encourage poaching action," said DePaolis. He explains that fish sizes and types are hard to see from far away, so without random stops, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) may struggle to enforce rules.
State Senator Trumbull, who's spearheading the bill, says it’s about protecting people’s constitutional rights.
"My next door neighbor was stopped three times for a safety inspection in one day," Trumbull said.
Meanwhile, boaters we spoke to on Sanibel say they’re rarely stopped.
"I don't get stopped very often at all actually, maybe twice a year." Said one boater.
"I'm not kidding, in 10 years I have not been bothered here, I used to live in Miami and went up and down in the keys, you get boarded almost weekly there. here I've never had an issue, but I slow down for the manatees."
The bill includes two more changes:
- It would create boater safety decals for law enforcement to spot from a distance.
- It would prevent local governments from banning boat sales or use based on fuel type, like gasoline or electric engines.
DePaolis says that last part could open up sensitive ecosystems to more damage.
"The way this bill is currently written is seems as though people would have to make a decision whether they remove the ability of access of electric engines or open up that whole area to gas engines."
If the bill passes, it would take effect July 1.
