| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to agriculture; amending s. 205.064, F.S.; |
| 3 | authorizing a person selling certain agricultural products |
| 4 | who is not a natural person to qualify for an exemption |
| 5 | from obtaining a local business tax receipt; amending s. |
| 6 | 322.01, F.S.; revising the term "farm tractor" for |
| 7 | purposes of drivers' licenses; amending s. 500.03, F.S.; |
| 8 | revising the term "food establishment" to include tomato |
| 9 | repackers for purposes of the Florida Food Safety Act; |
| 10 | creating s. 500.70, F.S.; defining the terms "field |
| 11 | packing," "packing" or "repacking," and "producing"; |
| 12 | requiring the Department of Agriculture and Consumer |
| 13 | Services to adopt minimum food safety standards for the |
| 14 | producing, harvesting, packing, and repacking of tomatoes; |
| 15 | authorizing the department to inspect tomato farms, |
| 16 | greenhouses, and packinghouses or repackers for compliance |
| 17 | with the standards and certain provisions of the Florida |
| 18 | Food Safety Act; providing penalties; authorizing the |
| 19 | department to establish good agricultural practices and |
| 20 | best management practices for the state's tomato industry; |
| 21 | providing a presumption that tomatoes introduced into |
| 22 | commerce are safe for human consumption under certain |
| 23 | circumstances; authorizing the department to adopt rules; |
| 24 | amending s. 570.07, F.S.; authorizing the department to |
| 25 | adopt best management practices for agricultural |
| 26 | production and food safety; amending s. 570.48, F.S.; |
| 27 | revising duties of the Division of Fruit and Vegetables |
| 28 | for tomato food safety inspections; amending s. 604.15, |
| 29 | F.S.; revising the term "agricultural products" to make |
| 30 | tropical foliage exempt from regulation under provisions |
| 31 | relating to dealers in agricultural products; amending s. |
| 32 | 823.145, F.S.; expanding the materials used in |
| 33 | agricultural operations that may be disposed of by open |
| 34 | burning; providing certain limitations on open burning; |
| 35 | providing an effective date. |
| 36 |
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| 37 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 38 |
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| 39 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 205.064, Florida |
| 40 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 41 | 205.064 Farm, aquacultural, grove, horticultural, |
| 42 | floricultural, tropical piscicultural, and tropical fish farm |
| 43 | products; certain exemptions.-- |
| 44 | (1) A local business tax receipt is not required of any |
| 45 | natural person for the privilege of engaging in the selling of |
| 46 | farm, aquacultural, grove, horticultural, floricultural, |
| 47 | tropical piscicultural, or tropical fish farm products, or |
| 48 | products manufactured therefrom, except intoxicating liquors, |
| 49 | wine, or beer, when such products were grown or produced by such |
| 50 | natural person in the state. |
| 51 | Section 2. Subsection (20) of section 322.01, Florida |
| 52 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 53 | 322.01 Definitions.--As used in this chapter: |
| 54 | (20) "Farm tractor" means a motor vehicle that is: |
| 55 | (a) Operated principally on a farm, grove, or orchard in |
| 56 | agricultural or horticultural pursuits and that is operated on |
| 57 | the roads of this state only incidentally to transportation |
| 58 | between the owner's or operator's headquarters and the farm, |
| 59 | grove, or orchard or between one farm, grove, or orchard and |
| 60 | another; or |
| 61 | (b) Designed and used primarily as a farm implement for |
| 62 | drawing plows, mowing machines, and other implements of |
| 63 | husbandry. |
| 64 | Section 3. Paragraph (n) of subsection (1) of section |
| 65 | 500.03, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 66 | 500.03 Definitions; construction; applicability.-- |
| 67 | (1) For the purpose of this chapter, the term: |
| 68 | (n) "Food establishment" means any factory, food outlet, |
| 69 | or any other facility manufacturing, processing, packing, |
| 70 | holding, or preparing food, or selling food at wholesale or |
| 71 | retail. The term does not include any business or activity that |
| 72 | is regulated under chapter 509 or chapter 601. The term includes |
| 73 | tomato packinghouses and repackers but does not include any |
| 74 | other establishments that pack fruits and vegetables in their |
| 75 | raw or natural states, including those fruits or vegetables that |
| 76 | are washed, colored, or otherwise treated in their unpeeled, |
| 77 | natural form before they are marketed. |
| 78 | Section 4. Section 500.70, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 79 | read: |
| 80 | 500.70 Tomato food safety standards; inspections; |
| 81 | penalties; tomato good agricultural practices; tomato best |
| 82 | management practices.-- |
| 83 | (1) As used in this section, the term: |
| 84 | (a) "Field packing" means the packing of tomatoes on a |
| 85 | tomato farm or in a tomato greenhouse into containers for sale |
| 86 | for human consumption without transporting the tomatoes to a |
| 87 | packinghouse. |
| 88 | (b) "Packing" or "repacking" means the packing of tomatoes |
| 89 | into containers for sale for human consumption. The term |
| 90 | includes the sorting or separating of tomatoes into grades and |
| 91 | sizes. The term also includes field packing. |
| 92 | (c) "Producing" means the planting, growing, or |
| 93 | cultivating of tomatoes on a tomato farm or in a tomato |
| 94 | greenhouse for sale for human consumption. |
| 95 | (2) The department may adopt rules establishing food |
| 96 | safety standards to safeguard the public health and promote the |
| 97 | public welfare by protecting the consuming public from injury |
| 98 | caused by the adulteration or the microbiological, chemical, or |
| 99 | radiological contamination of tomatoes. The rules must be based |
| 100 | on federal requirements, available scientific research, |
| 101 | generally accepted industry practices, and recommendations of |
| 102 | food safety professionals. The rules shall apply to the |
| 103 | producing, harvesting, packing, and repacking of tomatoes for |
| 104 | sale for human consumption by a tomato farm, tomato greenhouse, |
| 105 | or tomato packinghouse or repacker in this state. The rules may |
| 106 | include, but are not limited to, standards for: |
| 107 | (a) Registration with the department of a person who |
| 108 | produces, harvests, packs, or repacks tomatoes in this state who |
| 109 | does not hold a food permit issued under s. 500.12. |
| 110 | (b) Proximity of domestic animals and livestock to the |
| 111 | production areas for tomatoes. |
| 112 | (c) Food safety related use of water for irrigation during |
| 113 | production and washing of tomatoes after harvest. |
| 114 | (d) Use of fertilizers. |
| 115 | (e) Cleaning and sanitation of containers, materials, |
| 116 | equipment, vehicles, and facilities, including storage and |
| 117 | ripening areas. |
| 118 | (f) Health, hygiene, and sanitation of employees who |
| 119 | handle tomatoes. |
| 120 | (g) Training and continuing education of a person who |
| 121 | produces, harvests, packs, or repacks tomatoes in this state, |
| 122 | and the person's employees who handle tomatoes. |
| 123 | (h) Labeling and recordkeeping, including standards for |
| 124 | identifying and tracing tomatoes for sale for human consumption. |
| 125 | (3)(a) The department may inspect tomato farms, tomato |
| 126 | greenhouses, tomato packinghouses, repacking locations, or any |
| 127 | vehicle being used to transport or hold tomatoes to ensure |
| 128 | compliance with the applicable provisions of this chapter, and |
| 129 | the rules adopted under this chapter. |
| 130 | (b) The department may impose an administrative fine not |
| 131 | to exceed $5,000 per violation, or issue a written notice or |
| 132 | warning under s. 500.179, against a person who violates any |
| 133 | applicable provision of this section, or any rule adopted under |
| 134 | this section. |
| 135 | (4)(a) The department may adopt rules establishing tomato |
| 136 | good agricultural practices and tomato best management practices |
| 137 | for the state's tomato industry based on applicable federal |
| 138 | requirements, available scientific research, generally accepted |
| 139 | industry practices, and recommendations of food safety |
| 140 | professionals. |
| 141 | (b) A person who documents compliance with the |
| 142 | department's rules, tomato good agricultural practices, and |
| 143 | tomato best management practices is presumed to introduce |
| 144 | tomatoes into the stream of commerce that are safe for human |
| 145 | consumption, unless the department identifies noncompliance |
| 146 | through inspections. |
| 147 | (5) The department may adopt rules pursuant to ss. |
| 148 | 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section. |
| 149 | Section 5. Subsection (10) of section 570.07, Florida |
| 150 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 151 | 570.07 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; |
| 152 | functions, powers, and duties.--The department shall have and |
| 153 | exercise the following functions, powers, and duties: |
| 154 | (10) To act as adviser to producers and distributors, when |
| 155 | requested, and to assist them in the economical and efficient |
| 156 | distribution of their agricultural products, and to encourage |
| 157 | cooperative effort among producers to gain economical and |
| 158 | efficient production of agricultural products, and to adopt |
| 159 | rules establishing comprehensive best management practices for |
| 160 | agricultural production and food safety. |
| 161 | Section 6. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section |
| 162 | 570.48, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 163 | 570.48 Division of Fruit and Vegetables; powers and |
| 164 | duties; records.--The duties of the Division of Fruit and |
| 165 | Vegetables include, but are not limited to: |
| 166 | (2) |
| 167 | (e) Performing tomato food safety inspections under s. |
| 168 | 500.70 on tomato farms, in tomato greenhouses, and in tomato |
| 169 | packinghouses and repackers. |
| 170 | Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 604.15, Florida |
| 171 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 172 | 604.15 Dealers in agricultural products; definitions.--For |
| 173 | the purpose of ss. 604.15-604.34, the following words and terms, |
| 174 | when used, shall be construed to mean: |
| 175 | (1) "Agricultural products" means the natural products of |
| 176 | the farm, nursery, grove, orchard, vineyard, garden, and apiary |
| 177 | (raw or manufactured); sod; tropical foliage; horticulture; hay; |
| 178 | livestock; milk and milk products; poultry and poultry products; |
| 179 | the fruit of the saw palmetto (meaning the fruit of the Serenoa |
| 180 | repens); limes (meaning the fruit Citrus aurantifolia, variety |
| 181 | Persian, Tahiti, Bearss, or Florida Key limes); and any other |
| 182 | nonexempt agricultural products produced in the state, except |
| 183 | tobacco, sugarcane, tropical foliage, timber and timber |
| 184 | byproducts, forest products as defined in s. 591.17, and citrus |
| 185 | other than limes. |
| 186 | Section 8. Section 823.145, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 187 | to read: |
| 188 | 823.145 Disposal by open burning of certain materials |
| 189 | mulch plastic used in agricultural operations.--Polyethylene |
| 190 | agricultural mulch plastic; damaged, nonsalvageable, untreated |
| 191 | wood pallets; and packing material that cannot be feasibly |
| 192 | recycled, which are used in connection with agricultural |
| 193 | operations related to the growing, harvesting, or maintenance of |
| 194 | crops, may be disposed of by open burning provided that no |
| 195 | public nuisance or any condition adversely affecting the |
| 196 | environment or the public health is created thereby and that |
| 197 | state or federal national ambient air quality standards are not |
| 198 | violated. |
| 199 | Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |