Florida to criminalize metal detecting on public lands / beaches

Legislation is pending in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate that will criminalize metal detecting on Florida beaches.  Florida House Bill H591 and Senate Bill CS/SB 868 will effectively outlaw metal detecting on all public lands in Florida.  This attack on American freedoms is being quietly snuck past an unaware public with the support and urging of bureaucrats at Florida’s Division of Historical Resources. The legislation will empower Florida’s DHR to heavily fine anyone caught “relic hunting” without permits and seize their immediate assets (car, metal detector) and the infraction will be a felony under certain circumstances. This is simply an old fashioned shake down by DHR muggers.

Many current metal detectorists will unknowingly blunder into the law while vacationing in Florida and be exposed to loss of their detector as well as vehicles.  The only suggestion I have, should the legislation pass, is to discourage everyone from vacationing in the State of Florida.

Sincerely,

T. Craig Hyder
8052 Charmont Drive South
Jacksonville, FL 32277-0922
Mobile (904) 703-4303
tcraighyder@comcast.net


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The effects of SB 868 have been misunderstood.  This bill simply extends current law to areas in which the State currently does not have jurisdiction.  The extension is very small in scope in order to cover areas such as those depict.  These are pictures of land owned by Lake County Water Authority, a political subdivision/special taxing district created by the legislature within my district.  As current law is written, when this type of damage is done to the property, law enforcement’s hands are tied and they cannot take action to enforce preservation of the land or the artifacts recovered.  As you can see from the pictures, the bill is addressing unauthorized excavation and exploration on these types of lands.

 

This bill does not impact private lands, the ability of individuals to use a metal detector on our beaches, or any of the activities these hobby enthusiasts legally enjoy now.

 

My office has been in contact with staff from detectingrights.com. and clarified what the bill actually addresses.   Hopefully, if you belong to that organization, you will be receiving an email soon.  I would also encourage you to visit the updated post on their website at detectingrights.com and look at the tab which states items requiring immediate attention.

 

I understand where some of the confusion on this bill may have originated.  The original language of the bill had a drafting error that was caught and corrected during the first committee stop.  The bill originally read “any lands” when it should have read “any state owned lands”, so it was never my intent to prohibit anyone from doing anything on their own land.  It was never my intention to create overly burdensome regulations, and I do believe in keeping government small, but when I see in my own district where our shorelines are being washed away by someone with a “borrowed” garden hose, or holes are being dug deep enough for someone to stand in, and all this damage must be repaired, I need to take action.

 

I do appreciate the posts and your letting me know this concern was out there and that word was spreading regarding the potential impact of this bill.  Hopefully, I have been able to address your concerns and create a better understanding of what this legislation is all about. 

 

 

Staff Analysis for SB 868

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/Fc8PqfZE=PL=7glAi5D5WcObC2RU74=%7C11/Public/Bills/

0800-0899/0868/Analysis/2012s0868.pre.bta.PDF

News updates from Task Force For Metal Detecting Rights Foundation

 

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Posted on: February 29, 2012, 10:09:48 PM

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Alan hays facebook page

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!/notes/alan-hays/regarding-senate-bill-868/279612102111739

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Hope this is NOT true. We go see relatives there yearly and I love to hunt the beachs! (only reason I really go, lol)

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Is spain behind this also ?

Posted on: February 29, 2012, 11:13:41 PM

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Here is what it says when you go to the task force website.
Basically it pertains to those using backhoes / large equip to dig with.
not the md guy with a shovel or scoop.


Florida SB868 & HB591
The Task Force spoke with Pierce Schuessler (Legislative Affairs Director from the Florida Department of State)—apparently an older version of the bill was distributed within the metal detecting community where the words "all lands" were used. This error has been corrected.

The bottom line is the amendments to this bill are actually good. The problem they have is with people literally using heavy equipment removing dirt and sifting for Indian artifacts. Pierce was very clear that the updates to this law had nothing to do with metal detecting. It simply allows the laws that govern state land to now cover special tax areas or "sub divisions". If this bill does not pass, law enforcement can only ask people to leave and not prosecute them for tearing the land apart.

When you read this bill, it is important to understand that all text which is not underlined is the current law. Only the underlined text and crossed out text is the amended part of the bill. The current house version of the bill is dated 2/16/12 and its the same as the SB868.

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"Keep Digging Its Down There Somewhere" Treasure Hunting, Gold and Coins.