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2006 FLORIDA LEGISLATIVE SESSION HOW
DID AG FARE? Another legislative session is over in Florida and agriculture can look forward to some good things happening. The "General Ag Bill," HB7075, included a number of other bills together as amendments that cover a wide range of areas affecting the industry. Citrus canker and greening were also addressed. The Ag Economic Development bill, if it survives the veto pen, could increase the equity producers have in their land. Eminent domain issues were met head on, as was tort reform.One by one, here's what happened in the state capitol over the last few months that will likely affect the state's agriculture community, along with some thoughts from legislators who were a part of the process. THE GENERAL AG BILL The
General Agriculture Bill, HB 7075, became the agricultural "train" for
many of the industry's major issues. When it was finally passed on the next-to-the-last
day before the end of the session, it modified at least 10 separate chapters of
Florida law on a wide range of subjects. Among those subjects is a sales tax exemption
for electricity used directly and exclusively for production or processing of
agricultural products on the farm. Representative Dwight Stansel, vice-chair of
the House Agriculture Committee was pleased to see that amendment included. "It's
important. I think that will affect a lot of people, especially those who are
borderline profitable right now," he said. This
section of the bill was originally SB1646/HB743, sponsored by Senator Jeff Atwater
and Representative Marty Bowen, before being added to this bill as an amendment.
Another section of the General Ag Bill provides that agricultural equipment located
on agricultural property and no longer usable for its intended purpose shall be
assessed at its salvage value for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. It
was originally SB1074/HB357, sponsored by Senator Rod Smith and Representative
Ralph Poppell, but was added to the General Ag Bill as an amendment.
"It's a clarification as much as anything," said Poppell, who chaired the House Agriculture Committee. "A lot of times, people have virtually junk equipment sitting around, and there's never been any real clarification about what property appraisers can or should do with it. So if they tax it at all, they usually wind up taxing it at a much higher level than what the piece of equipment is actually worth. What this does is establish a just value of no greater than salvage," he said. HB 7075 also includes several clarifications to the state's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) law and provides a presumption of compliance with state water quality standards for research projects funded by Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), or a water management district if the project is designed to develop or demonstrate interim measures or Best Management Practices (farming methods designed to prevent pollution).
On the hurricane front, it revises the Agricultural Disaster Loan Program to allow funds to be used for debris removal and other purposes, revises the eligibility requirements, and increases the upper limit for loans. This section was originally SB2712/HB1475, sponsored by Senator Dave Aronberg and Representative Denise Grimsley, but was added to the General Ag Bill as an amendment. It's not ready to roll, however. "While we were successful in passing the substantive changes, we were not successful in funding the program," Representative Grimsley told FFVA. She said she has begun the process of requesting funding for the program next year. "I believe funding of this program is critical. We saw this during Hurricane Wilma in Southwest Florida in 2005," she said. Other
sections of the bill include the go-ahead for the FDACS to develop a "Farm
to Fuel Initiative" to promote the production and distribution of renewable
energy from Florida grown crops and agricultural wastes, and a provision that
the Florida Department of Citrus, FDACS or their successors may collect dues for
any not-for-profit corporation engaged in market news and grower education solely
for citrus growers, if the organization has at least 5,000 members who produce
citrus.
Sponsored by Senator J.D. Alexander and Representative Poppell, the "Citrus Disease Management" bill, SB994, passed the Legislature on May 3. The bill replaces the citrus canker eradication program with a program designed to manage and control all citrus pests and diseases. Governor Bush signed the bill into law May 31. SB994 specifies that agricultural lands taken out of production through an eradication or quarantine program or "successor program" will continue to be assessed as agricultural lands for the duration of such program. It also removes many references to "eradication of citrus canker" and directs FDACS to implement a comprehensive citrus health plan to minimize the impact of citrus pests and diseases and allow for marketing of fruit in other states and countries. The "Citrus Health Response Plan," known as CHRP, is still in the formative stages .
And it requires FDACS to adopt rules to specify the conditions under which citrus plants can be grown, moved, and planted in the state and also requires FDACS to establish "regulated areas" not to exceed a radius of one mile around commercial citrus nurseries that were established after April 1, 2006. AG ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HB1015,
"Agricultural Economic Development," sponsored by Representative Joe
Pickens and Senator Nancy Argenziano, passed the Legislature late on the last
day of the session. This is the third time that Representative Pickens and Senator
Argenziano have filed this bill. The bill had passed in 2004, but Governor Bush
vetoed it. In 2005, Senate President Tom Lee would not let the bill come up for
a final vote. The
bill defines an "agricultural enclave" as any parcel of land that has
been continuously used for agricultural production for at least 5 years, is surrounded
on at least 75 percent of its perimeter by existing or planned development, has
public services available or scheduled to be provided and does not exceed a certain
acreage. "The
bill provides land use flexibility to farmers when their property is surrounded
on three sides by development," said Representative Grimsley.The bill has
been toned down to appeal to environmental concerns and help encourage Governor
Bush to sign it into law, but is by no means guaranteed to survive. "Possibly
it might slide by, but I don't foresee that happening," said Stansel. TMDL
PUBLIC RECORDS
SB1212,
"TMDL Public Records," by Senator Rod Smith and Representative David
Rivera, passed the Legislature on May 3. The bill requires that individual agricultural
production records, turned over to FDACS under the TMDL program, are exempt from
the public records law. The bill also provides that these production records are
confidential and are not available to the public. EMINENT DOMAIN "Eminent
Domain/Property Rights," HB1567, sponsored by Representative Marco Rubio
and Senator Dan Webster, passed the Legislature on May 4, and was signed into
law by Governor Bush on May 11. HB1567 is designed to limit the power of local
governments to use eminent domain. It repeals the broader powers of eminent domain delegated to local governments, but allows for the taking of land by eminent domain for "traditional uses." Those include roads, public transportation, electricity and water. And if the local government decides it can't use the land after all, it must be offered back to the original owner for a price that does not exceed what it was sold for. "That's good stuff. We probably set the bar pretty high for the other 49 states," said Stansel. DAMAGE APPORTIONMENT/TORT REFORM HB145 "Damage Apportionment" by Representative Don Brown and Senator Dan Webster, passed the Legislature on March 30, 2006 and was signed into law by Governor Bush on April 26. This controversial bill was designed to create more fairness and equity in the process of awarding damages in civil action law suits. It deletes certain subsections of Florida tort reform law. Those subsections had spelled out some exceptions allowed in determining the amounts of damage apportionment, based on the doctrine of "joint and several liability." The deletions will create a more equitable system where guilty defendants will be held responsible for damages that are based on their percentage of fault rather than ability to pay. In lawsuits with multiple defendants, joint and several liability had allowed courts to assess a large portion of the damages to a defendant with a minor role in the incident, simply because they were financially capable of paying. FARM LABOR VEHICLES "Farm
Labor Vehicles," SB258, sponsored by Senator J.D. Alexander and Representative
Baxter Troutman, passed the Legislature on May 3. The bill makes several changes
to improve the safety of farm worker vehicles and to encourage them to use available
safety equipment. It
states that owners of farm labor vehicles must ensure that the vehicles conform
to all applicable federal and state safety standards, provides that farm labor
vehicles less than 10,000 pounds be equipped with seat belts at each passenger
position by January 1, 2008, and requires owners or operators of a farm labor
vehicle to prominently display signage instructing passengers to fasten their
seat belts. It does not say that failure to use a seat belt constitutes negligence and it cannot be used as evidence of negligence or be considered in mitigation of damages. Such failure can, however, be considered as evidence of comparative negligence in a civil action, but only if the vehicle is not in compliance with all other requirements. "It puts the burden not only on the provider of the van, but also on the worker. And that's the way it should be," said Poppell.
A CLASSIC YEAR "It was kind of a classic year, really, other than eminent domain, tort reform and insurance. Those were the three big kickers," said Stansel in summing up the session. "The session was a productive one," added House Agriculture Committee Member Representative Paige Kreegel, although he was disappointed that one important bill wasn't passed. "I sponsored a bill this session, HB 507, which sought to provide a tax exemption on low-volume irrigation equipment such as emitters and drip tubing. While the bill passed the House easily, it died in the Senate. This outcome is unfortunate because such a tax exemption encourages water conservation through the use of low-volume irrigation. In addition, this equipment is often destroyed in the harvesting process and must be repurchased each year," he said. Poppell believes it was one of the best years agriculture has had in a long time. "Barring anything being vetoed, I think ag will have had a good year. We've got some good bills out there and we're hoping that they make it and we can say it's a job well done to everyone that had a part in it. Calhoun agrees. "It is true that everything this session did not run smoothly," he said. "Nonetheless, the session was, for the most part, calm and orderly. We owe a debt of gratitude to the legislators who sponsored our bills and worked very hard to make sure that they made it through the process. Anytime you see any of our bill sponsors, please thank them for all of their hard work."
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©2008 Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association
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