Florida Senate - 2011                             CS for SB 1246
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Agriculture; and Senators Norman and Hays
       
       
       
       
       575-02798-11                                          20111246c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to farms; prohibiting a person from
    3         entering onto a farm and making any audio record,
    4         photograph, or video record at the farm without the
    5         owner’s written consent; providing exceptions;
    6         providing definitions; providing penalties; providing
    7         an effective date.
    8  
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. (1) Any person, except an employee or agent of
   12  the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services acting
   13  pursuant to s. 570.15, Florida Statutes, or a law enforcement
   14  officer conducting a lawful inspection or investigation, who
   15  enters onto a farm or other property where legal agriculture
   16  operations are being conducted and produces audio or video
   17  records without the written consent of the owner or an
   18  authorized representative of the owner, commits misdemeanor of
   19  the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
   20  775.083, Florida Statutes.
   21         (2) As used in this section, the term:
   22         (a) “Audio or video records” means any audio or video
   23  recording, regardless of the recording medium or format,
   24  including, but not limited to, photographs, audio or videotapes,
   25  cd’s, dvd’s, or streaming media, whether stored on film stock,
   26  hard disks, solid state storage, or any electrical, magnetic, or
   27  optical or other form of data storage.
   28         (b) “Farm” means any tract of land cultivated for the
   29  purpose of agricultural production, the raising and breeding of
   30  domestic animals, or the storage of a commodity.
   31         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.