By Barbara Wunder, FFVA communications manager

(Updated 5-17-2010)

“If there is one word to describe the 2010 Florida legislative session as a whole, it would be ‘drama’,” said Butch Calhoun, FFVA’s director of government relations.  

FFVA's Butch Calhoun with Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, sponsor of HB 981, which, in part, would reverse a bad Greenbelt court ruling.

FFVA began its work this session by focusing on three priority bills that it worked to help pass and several bills that it had targeted for defeat. One priority was passage of the Tomato Food Safety Bill (SB 350), which requires minimum food safety standards for producing, harvesting, packing and repacking of Florida-grown tomatoes. The bill passed on April 15 and later was signed by Gov. Charlie Crist.

The bill was the final piece of legislative action needed to complete the tomato food safety program, said Reggie Brown, head of the Florida Tomato Committee. “It will enable the state to inspect farms and require annual food safety training to ensure that we continue to produce the safest product we know how to produce,” Brown said. The measure had been included unsuccessfully in past sessions’ agriculture bills. “We ran it separately this year so that we could do our best to ensure passage,” said Brown.

Another priority was passage of the Agriculture Industry Bill (HB 7103). The bill sought to limit the growing number of local government regulations that duplicate state regulations for agricultural landowners. Although passed by the House, Gov. Crist vetoed the measure saying, "I have concerns about the restrictions placed on local governments that are contained in this bill. There is not an adequate justification for the state to interject its authority over local decision making." Crist's veto letter dated May 15 goes on to say that while state regulation is sometimes necessary to provide certainty, uniformity and stability on certain policy issues, it should be applied sparingly. "This bill attempt to apply a remedy without sufficiently identifying a problem," it concludes.

FFVA’s third priority, a clarification of the Florida greenbelt law (HB 981), also fell to the veto pen. The measure would have clarified the law after a circuit court case involving an agricultural landowner who continued to grow timber on property after listing it for sale. The property appraiser denied assessment on the parcel. The clarification states that “land classified as bona-fide agricultural land retains that classification when offered for sale if the land continues to be used primarily for bona-fide agricultural purposes.” In vetoing this bill, Gov. Crist said, "I have concerns about making it easier for developers to take advantage of  program intended to protect Florida farmers from facing financial pressures to sell their land. Rather than benefitting farmers as the greenbelt provisions are intended, this bill could cubsidize private real estate speculation at the expense of the taxpayer."

On the flip side, one of the bills FFVA opposed was legislation that would have deleted the requirement that water management district governing boards delegate their authority to approve permits to the executive director. Others FFVA worked to defeat would have exempted food producers, packagers or processors who sell directly to the consumer from food safety regulations, and two others dealt were immigration-related measures that would have negatively impacted farm operations.

Calhoun gives credit to the efforts of those in the agriculture industry. “Legislators heard from them that these issues were important,” he said. “Now it is as important that they show them how much they appreciate the legislators who supported our priorities. Calhoun encouraged FFVA members to write, e-mail or call their legislator to say thank you.

To learn more about individual bills, FFVA producer members may access this session’s government affairs bulletins in the publications section of ffva.com.  Bulletins were also mailed each Friday to all producer members during the session. If you missed any and would like to receive a hard copy, just send a request via e-mail or call Barbara Wunder at (321) 214-5207.