Florida Senate - 2010 CS for CS for SB 2182
By the Committees on Community Affairs; and Agriculture; and
Senator Alexander
578-03132-10 20102182c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to agriculture; amending s. 193.461,
3 F.S.; clarifying that land that is classified as
4 agricultural retains that classification when offered
5 for sale; providing for retroactive application;
6 providing the methodology for assessing certain
7 agricultural improvements, structures, or equipment
8 located on agricultural land and used for specified
9 purposes; amending s. 573.112, F.S.; requiring that
10 the Citrus Research and Development Foundation provide
11 advice to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
12 Services with respect to citrus research marketing
13 orders; amending s. 573.118, F.S.; providing for the
14 deposit of certain agricultural assessments; revising
15 the assessment rate on citrus fruit; amending s.
16 581.031, F.S.; expanding the type of research projects
17 that may be conducted by the department; requiring the
18 Citrus Research and Development Foundation, Inc., to
19 recommend the research projects; providing an
20 effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) and paragraph
25 (c) of subsection (6) of section 193.461, Florida Statutes, are
26 amended to read:
27 193.461 Agricultural lands; classification and assessment;
28 mandated eradication or quarantine program.—
29 (3)
30 (b) Subject to the restrictions specified set out in this
31 section, only lands that which are used primarily for bona fide
32 agricultural purposes shall be classified agricultural. The term
33 “bona fide agricultural purposes” means good faith commercial
34 agricultural use of the land.
35 1. In determining whether the use of the land for
36 agricultural purposes is bona fide, the following factors may be
37 taken into consideration:
38 a.1. The length of time the land has been so used.
39 b.2. Whether the use has been continuous.
40 c.3. The purchase price paid.
41 d.4. Size, as it relates to specific agricultural use, but
42 in no event shall a minimum acreage may not be required for
43 agricultural assessment.
44 e.5. Whether an indicated effort has been made to care
45 sufficiently and adequately for the land in accordance with
46 accepted commercial agricultural practices, including, without
47 limitation, fertilizing, liming, tilling, mowing, reforesting,
48 and other accepted agricultural practices.
49 f.6. Whether the such land is under lease and, if so, the
50 effective length, terms, and conditions of the lease.
51 g.7. Such other factors as may from time to time become
52 applicable.
53 2. Offering property for sale does not constitute a primary
54 use of land and may not be the basis for denying its
55 agricultural classification if the land continues to be used
56 primarily for bona fide agricultural purposes while it is being
57 offered for sale.
58 (6)
59 (c)1. For purposes of the income methodology approach to
60 assessment of property used for agricultural purposes,
61 irrigation systems, including pumps and motors, physically
62 attached to the land shall be considered a part of the average
63 yields per acre and shall have no separately assessable
64 contributory value.
65 2. Litter containment structures located on producing
66 poultry farms and animal waste nutrient containment structures
67 located on producing dairy farms shall be assessed by the
68 methodology described in subparagraph 1.
69 3. Agricultural improvements, structures, or equipment
70 located on land classified as agricultural land pursuant to s.
71 193.461 and used as a natural resource conservation practice or
72 to implement state-adopted best-management practices shall be
73 assessed by the methodology described in subparagraph 1.
74 Section 2. The amendment to paragraph (b) of subsection (3)
75 of section 193.461, Florida Statutes, made by this act is
76 intended to be remedial and clarifying in nature and applies
77 retroactively to all parcels for which a final court order has
78 not yet been entered as of the effective date of this act.
79 Section 3. Subsection (7) is added to section 573.112,
80 Florida Statutes, to read:
81 573.112 Advisory council.—
82 (7) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the
83 Citrus Research and Development Foundation, Inc., a direct
84 support organization of the University of Florida established
85 pursuant to s. 1004.28, shall serve as the advisory council for
86 a citrus research marketing order, provide the department with
87 advice on administering the order, and, in accordance with the
88 order, conduct citrus research and perform other duties assigned
89 by the department. Notwithstanding s. 1004.28(3), the
90 foundation’s board of directors shall be composed of 13 members,
91 including 10 citrus growers, 2 representatives of the
92 university’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and 1
93 member appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture.
94 Section 4. Subsections (1) and (6) of section 573.118,
95 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
96 573.118 Assessment; funds; audit; loans.—
97 (1) To provide funds to defray the necessary expenses
98 incurred by the department in the formulation, issuance,
99 administration, and enforcement of any marketing order, every
100 person engaged in the production, distributing, or handling of
101 agricultural commodities within this state, and directly
102 affected by any marketing order, shall pay to the department, at
103 such times and in such installments as the department may
104 prescribe, such person’s pro rata share of necessary expenses.
105 Each person’s share of expenses shall be that proportion which
106 the total volume of agricultural commodities produced,
107 distributed, or handled by the person during the current
108 marketing season, or part thereof covered by such marketing
109 order, is of the total volume of the commodities produced,
110 distributed, or handled by all such persons during the same
111 current marketing season or part thereof. The department, after
112 receiving the recommendations of the advisory council, shall fix
113 the rate of assessment on the volume of agricultural commodities
114 sold or some other equitable basis. For convenience of
115 collection, upon request of the department, handlers of the
116 commodities shall pay any producer assessments. Handlers paying
117 assessments for and on behalf of any producers may shall, at
118 their discretion, collect the producer assessments from any
119 moneys owed by the handlers to the producers. The collected
120 assessments shall be deposited into the appropriate General
121 Inspection trust fund and shall be used for the sole purpose of
122 implementing the marketing order for which the assessment was
123 collected. The department is not subject to the procedures found
124 in s. 287.057 in the expenditure of these funds. However, the
125 director of the Division of Marketing and Development shall file
126 with the internal auditor of the department a certification of
127 conditions and circumstances justifying each contract or
128 agreement entered into without competitive bidding.
129 (6) An Any assessment levied upon citrus fruit under this
130 section may not exceed the rate established in the marketing
131 order and shall be at a rate not to exceed 1 cent per standard
132 packed box of citrus fruit grown and placed into the primary
133 channel of trade in this state. All revenues from such
134 assessment collected by the department shall be deposited into
135 the Citrus Inspection Trust Fund.
136 Section 5. Subsection (32) of section 581.031, Florida
137 Statutes, is amended to read:
138 581.031 Department; powers and duties.—The department has
139 the following powers and duties:
140 (32) To The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
141 shall conduct or cause to be conducted those research projects
142 on citrus diseases, including, but not limited to, citrus canker
143 and citrus greening, which are recommended by the Citrus
144 Research and Development Foundation, Inc. Florida Citrus
145 Production Research Advisory Council, within the limits of
146 appropriations made specifically for such purpose.
147 Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.