---
type: "Bill"
title: "Anchoring Limitation Areas"
description: "Anchoring Limitation Areas; Restricts local regulation of vessels outside marked boundaries of mooring fields in certain counties; designates specified sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County as grandfathered-in anchoring limitation areas; increases prohibited anchoring & mooring distance of vessels & floating structures near public mooring fields."
jurisdiction: "us/states/fl"
legislature: "Florida Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 481"
citation: "Florida HB 481 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["vessels"]
status: "enacted"
chapter_law: "2025-39"
primary_sponsors: ["Lopez, V."]
version_count: 4
action_count: 46
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2025-02-07"
last_action: "2025-05-20"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/dcf278b4-e00f-4f54-b093-6298e06e953c"
source_url: "https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/481/ByCategory"
source_hash: "5f2ab3b0b91a5058e84d766443a80ad2642a1fd5caa8f8e5075810cc8ee23591"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-fl"]
---

# Florida HB 481 (2025) — Anchoring Limitation Areas

Anchoring Limitation Areas; Restricts local regulation of vessels outside marked boundaries of mooring fields in certain counties; designates specified sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County as grandfathered-in anchoring limitation areas; increases prohibited anchoring & mooring distance of vessels & floating structures near public mooring fields.

**Enacted** — Laws of Florida, Chapter 2025-39.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **H 481 Filed** (filed) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/481/BillText/Filed/PDF)
2. **H 481 c1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/481/BillText/c1/PDF)
3. **H 481 c2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/481/BillText/c2/PDF)
4. **H 481 er** (enrolled) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/481/BillText/er/PDF)

## Votes

- Passage, Third Reading — **115–0** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **29–8** (pass) · upper
- Favorable — **16–7** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Lopez, V. — primary (person)
- Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee — primary (organization)
- State Affairs Committee — primary (organization)
- Rizo — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-02-07** Filed `filing`
- **2025-02-19** Referred to Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-19** Referred to State Affairs Committee `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-19** Now in Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee
- **2025-03-04** 1st Reading (Original Filed Version) `filing, reading-1`
- **2025-03-07** Added to Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee agenda
- **2025-03-11** Favorable with CS by Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-12** Reported out of Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee
- **2025-03-12** Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a) `deferral`
- **2025-03-12** CS Filed `filing`
- **2025-03-12** 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1) `reading-1`
- **2025-03-13** Referred to State Affairs Committee `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-13** Now in State Affairs Committee
- **2025-03-18** Added to State Affairs Committee agenda
- **2025-03-31** Added to State Affairs Committee agenda
- **2025-04-02** Favorable with CS by State Affairs Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-02** Reported out of State Affairs Committee
- **2025-04-03** Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a) `deferral`
- **2025-04-03** CS Filed `filing`
- **2025-04-03** 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 2) `reading-1`
- **2025-04-04** Bill referred to House Calendar
- **2025-04-04** Added to Second Reading Calendar
- **2025-04-10** Bill added to Special Order Calendar (4/16/2025)
- **2025-04-16** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-04-16** Placed on 3rd reading `reading-3`
- **2025-04-16** Added to Third Reading Calendar
- **2025-04-16** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-04-16** CS passed; YEAS 115, NAYS 0 `passage`
- **2025-04-16** Immediately certified
- **2025-04-16** In Messages
- **2025-04-16** Referred to Rules `referral-committee`
- **2025-04-16** On Committee agenda-- Rules, 04/21/25, 2:00 pm, 412 Knott Building
- **2025-04-16** Received `enrolled`
- **2025-04-21** Favorable by- Rules; YEAS 16 NAYS 7 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-22** Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
- **2025-04-23** Placed on Special Order Calendar, 04/29/25
- **2025-04-29** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-04-29** Amendment(s) failed (134212)
- **2025-04-29** Placed on 3rd reading `reading-3`
- **2025-04-30** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-04-30** CS passed; YEAS 29 NAYS 8 `passage`
- **2025-04-30** In Messages
- **2025-04-30** Ordered enrolled `enrolled`
- **2025-05-16** Signed by Officers and presented to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-05-19** Approved by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2025-05-20** Chapter No. 2025-39

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/dcf278b4-e00f-4f54-b093-6298e06e953c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Florida legislature records).