| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to citrus canker; amending s. 581.184, |
| 3 | F.S.; requiring the Department of Agriculture and Consumer |
| 4 | Services to provide notice to property owners of the |
| 5 | removal of citrus trees infected with or exposed to citrus |
| 6 | canker; amending s. 581.1845, F.S.; revising eligibility |
| 7 | for compensation and the compensation amount for citrus |
| 8 | trees removed through a citrus canker eradication program; |
| 9 | providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 581.184, Florida |
| 14 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 15 | 581.184 Adoption of rules; citrus canker eradication; |
| 16 | voluntary destruction agreements.-- |
| 17 | (2)(a) The department shall remove and destroy all |
| 18 | infected citrus trees and all citrus trees exposed to infection. |
| 19 | Notice of the removal of such trees, by immediate final order, |
| 20 | shall may be provided to the owner of the property on which such |
| 21 | trees are located. An immediate final order issued by the |
| 22 | department pursuant to this section shall notify the property |
| 23 | owner that the citrus trees that are the subject of the |
| 24 | immediate final order will be removed and destroyed unless the |
| 25 | property owner, no later than 10 days after delivery of the |
| 26 | immediate final order pursuant to subsection (3), requests and |
| 27 | obtains a stay of the immediate final order from the district |
| 28 | court of appeal with jurisdiction to review such requests. The |
| 29 | property owner shall not be required to seek a stay of the |
| 30 | immediate final order by the department prior to seeking the |
| 31 | stay from the district court of appeal. |
| 32 | (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a), and |
| 33 | for the 2003-2004 fiscal year only, notice of the removal of |
| 34 | infected citrus trees and citrus trees exposed to infection, by |
| 35 | immediate final order, shall be provided to the owner of the |
| 36 | property on which such trees are located. This paragraph expires |
| 37 | July 1, 2004. |
| 38 | Section 2. Subsections (2), (3), and (6) of section |
| 39 | 581.1845, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 40 | 581.1845 Citrus canker eradication; compensation to |
| 41 | homeowners whose trees have been removed.-- |
| 42 | (2)(a) To be eligible to receive compensation under the |
| 43 | program, a homeowner must: |
| 44 | (a)1. Be the homeowner of record on the date the trees |
| 45 | were removed from the effective date of this act for residential |
| 46 | property where one or more citrus trees have been removed as |
| 47 | part of a citrus canker eradication program; |
| 48 | (b)2. Have had one or more citrus trees removed from the |
| 49 | property by a tree-cutting contractor as part of a citrus canker |
| 50 | eradication program on or after January 1, 1995; and |
| 51 | (c)3. Have received no commercial compensation and is not |
| 52 | eligible to receive commercial compensation from the United |
| 53 | States Department of Agriculture for citrus trees removed as |
| 54 | part of a citrus canker eradication program. |
| 55 | (b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a)1., and for |
| 56 | compensation during the 2003-2004 fiscal year only, to be |
| 57 | eligible to receive compensation under the program for |
| 58 | residential property where one or more citrus trees have been |
| 59 | removed on or after July 1, 2001, as part of a citrus canker |
| 60 | eradication program, a homeowner must be the homeowner of record |
| 61 | on the date the trees were removed. This paragraph expires July |
| 62 | 1, 2004. |
| 63 | (3) The amount of compensation for each tree removed from |
| 64 | residential property by the citrus canker eradication program |
| 65 | shall be $55 $100 per tree. If the homeowner's property is |
| 66 | eligible for a Shade Dade or a Shade Florida Card, the homeowner |
| 67 | may not receive compensation under this section for the first |
| 68 | citrus tree removed from the property as part of a citrus canker |
| 69 | eradication program. |
| 70 | (6) For the 2003-2004 fiscal year only, and |
| 71 | notwithstanding the $100-compensation amount specified in |
| 72 | subsection (3), the amount of compensation for each tree removed |
| 73 | from residential property by the citrus canker eradication |
| 74 | program shall be $55. This subsection expires July 1, 2004. |
| 75 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |