Senate Bill 2446c3
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Florida Senate - 2000 CS for CS for CS for SB 2446
By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; Comprehensive Planning,
Local and Military Affairs; Agriculture and Consumer Services;
and Senator Mitchell
309-2163-00
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to tobacco farm conversion;
3 providing funds to purchase stranded tobacco
4 farming equipment; providing for resale of
5 purchased equipment with restrictions;
6 providing for use of proceeds from resale of
7 equipment; providing an effective date.
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9 WHEREAS, tobacco was one of the first export
10 commodities in this country, becoming established as a staple
11 crop as early as 1703 when over 23 million pounds were
12 exported, and was the major commodity exported to raise funds
13 to finance the American Revolution, and
14 WHEREAS, from its beginnings the production of tobacco
15 was, and continues to be, a legal enterprise in this state and
16 nation, and
17 WHEREAS, tobacco has been produced by growers in this
18 state every year since a federally controlled quota system was
19 established in 1938, and
20 WHEREAS, tobacco has been one of the most stable and
21 predictable crops for Florida farmers due to the federal quota
22 system, which regulates the volume of production, and the
23 producer-owned-and-operated Flue-Cured Stabilization
24 Corporation, which provides market stability at no net cost to
25 any taxpayer or governmental entity, and
26 WHEREAS, the production of tobacco, as compared to
27 other agricultural commodities, requires a proportionally
28 larger investment of capital per unit of production due to
29 quotas and the infrastructure needed for production, which
30 requires sufficient agricultural land and specialized barns
31 and production equipment, and
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2000 CS for CS for CS for SB 2446
309-2163-00
1 WHEREAS, the necessarily large production costs to
2 tobacco producers causes such producers to have very large
3 asset investments and debt-service requirements, which
4 constitute a disproportionally large component of the local
5 economies of tobacco-growing counties in this state, and
6 WHEREAS, the assistance to tobacco farmers provided by
7 this act will help to ensure the stability of the economies of
8 20 Florida counties by assisting the family farms in this
9 state which have been adversely affected by Florida's
10 participation in the tobacco litigation, and
11 WHEREAS, this assistance will entail efforts to
12 diversify and convert farms that have for generations depended
13 on tobacco for their primary source of income, and
14 WHEREAS, there are precedents to the types of
15 assistance provided by this legislation, NOW, THEREFORE,
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17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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19 Section 1. (1) In order to assist Florida tobacco
20 farmers in reducing encumbered debt on stranded investment in
21 equipment, the nonrecurring sum of $5 million is appropriated
22 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Agriculture
23 and Consumer Services for the purchase at fair market value of
24 equipment associated with agricultural production of tobacco
25 from persons or entities that:
26 (a) Were using such equipment for production of
27 tobacco between April 1 and October 1, 2000, on land within
28 this state; and
29 (b) Sign a binding agreement with the department to
30 cease production of tobacco in this state within 12 months
31 after execution of the agreement.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2000 CS for CS for CS for SB 2446
309-2163-00
1 The department may adopt rules that, at a minimum, define and
2 describe the equipment to be purchased under this section,
3 prescribe criteria for identifying persons and entities who
4 are eligible to have such equipment purchased by the
5 department, and prescribe procedures to be followed for
6 equipment purchases. From the funds appropriated by this
7 section, the department is authorized to expend such sums as
8 are reasonable and necessary to administer the program.
9 (2) Equipment purchased by the Department of
10 Agriculture and Consumer Services under this section may be
11 resold by the Department of Management Services. However, no
12 such equipment may be sold, leased, or conveyed to or for use
13 by a person or entity who produces tobacco in this state or
14 holds a quota for production of tobacco in this state. The
15 Department of Management Services shall deposit proceeds of
16 such sale, less reasonable administrative costs, in the
17 General Inspections Trust Fund of the Department of
18 Agriculture and Consumer Services.
19 (3) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer
20 Services may use proceeds from the resale of equipment
21 purchased under this section to continue purchasing equipment
22 and to assist tobacco producers to seek out, experiment with,
23 and develop diverse profitable enterprises and retain
24 ownership of their land so that their farms can remain
25 productive agricultural entities and provide ancillary
26 environmental benefits.
27 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2000 CS for CS for CS for SB 2446
309-2163-00
1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
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4 Reduces the size and source of the appropriation. Appropriates
$5 million from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of
5 Agriculture and Consumer Services the purpose of which is
limited to purchasing equipment used in the production of
6 tobacco.
7 Equipment used in the production of tobacco between April 1
and October 1, 2000, may be purchased at fair market value,
8 but sellers must agree to cease production of tobacco in
Florida within 12 months.
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The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
10 may to adopt rules and the Department of Management Services
may resell equipment with proceeds to be used to purchase
11 additional equipment or to assist tobacco farmers in remaining
agriculturally viable.
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