Florida Senate - 2020                      CS for CS for SB 1514
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Innovation, Industry, and Technology; and
       Agriculture; and Senator Albritton
       
       
       
       
       580-03741-20                                          20201514c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Department of Agriculture and
    3         Consumer Services; amending s. 193.461, F.S.;
    4         specifying a methodology for the assessment of certain
    5         buildings and structures located on agricultural
    6         lands; amending s. 316.520, F.S.; revising application
    7         of agricultural load securing requirements; amending
    8         s. 570.07, F.S.; revising the functions, powers, and
    9         duties of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
   10         Services to authorize the department to purchase
   11         private insurance policies for a specified purpose;
   12         amending s. 570.441, F.S.; extending the scheduled
   13         expiration for the Department of Agriculture and
   14         Consumer Services’ use of funds from the Pest Control
   15         Trust Fund for certain duties of the department;
   16         amending s. 590.02, F.S.; directing the Florida Forest
   17         Service to develop a training curriculum for wildland
   18         firefighters; providing requirements for such
   19         training; amending s. 633.408, F.S.; providing
   20         wildland firefighter training and certification for
   21         certain firefighters and volunteer firefighters;
   22         requiring the Department of Environmental Protection,
   23         in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and
   24         Consumer Services and other entities, to develop a
   25         study to estimate the benefits of renewable natural
   26         gas in this state; requiring a report to the Governor
   27         and the Legislature; providing an effective date.
   28          
   29  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   30  
   31         Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of section
   32  193.461, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   33         193.461 Agricultural lands; classification and assessment;
   34  mandated eradication or quarantine program; natural disasters.—
   35         (6)(c)1. For purposes of the income methodology approach to
   36  assessment of property used for agricultural purposes,
   37  irrigation systems, including pumps and motors, physically
   38  attached to the land shall be considered a part of the average
   39  yields per acre and shall have no separately assessable
   40  contributory value.
   41         2. Litter containment structures located on producing
   42  poultry farms and animal waste nutrient containment structures
   43  located on producing dairy farms shall be assessed by the
   44  methodology described in subparagraph 1.
   45         3. Structures or improvements used in horticultural
   46  production for frost or freeze protection, which are consistent
   47  with the interim measures or best management practices adopted
   48  by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant
   49  to s. 570.93 or s. 403.067(7)(c), shall be assessed by the
   50  methodology described in subparagraph 1.
   51         4. Screened enclosed structures used in horticultural
   52  production for protection from pests and diseases or to comply
   53  with state or federal eradication or compliance agreements shall
   54  be assessed by the methodology described in subparagraph 1.
   55         5.Any building or structure located on land that is
   56  classified as agricultural and which is used in and in
   57  furtherance of the agricultural purpose of the land, including,
   58  but not limited to, buildings or structures used for production,
   59  packaging, processing, or storage, shall be assessed by the
   60  methodology described in subparagraph 1.
   61         Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 316.520, Florida
   62  Statutes, is amended to read:
   63         316.520 Loads on vehicles.—
   64         (4) The provision of subsection (2) requiring covering and
   65  securing the load with a close-fitting tarpaulin or other
   66  appropriate cover does not apply to vehicles carrying
   67  agricultural products locally from a harvest site or to or from
   68  a farm on roads where the posted speed limit is 65 miles per
   69  hour or less and the distance driven on public roads is less
   70  than 20 miles.
   71         Section 3. Subsection (47) is added to section 570.07,
   72  Florida Statutes, to read:
   73         570.07 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;
   74  functions, powers, and duties.—The department shall have and
   75  exercise the following functions, powers, and duties:
   76         (47)To purchase, at its discretion, private insurance
   77  policies to cover expenses related to the payment of benefits
   78  required by s. 112.1816.
   79         Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 570.441, Florida
   80  Statutes, is amended to read
   81         570.441 Pest Control Trust Fund.—
   82         (4) In addition to the uses authorized under subsection
   83  (2), moneys collected or received by the department under
   84  chapter 482 may be used to carry out the provisions of s.
   85  570.44. This subsection expires June 30, 2024 2020.
   86         Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 590.02, Florida
   87  Statutes, is amended to read
   88         590.02 Florida Forest Service; powers, authority, and
   89  duties; liability; building structures; Withlacoochee Training
   90  Center.—
   91         (1) The Florida Forest Service has the following powers,
   92  authority, and duties to:
   93         (a) Enforce the provisions of this chapter;
   94         (b) Prevent, detect, and suppress wildfires wherever they
   95  may occur on public or private land in this state and do all
   96  things necessary in the exercise of such powers, authority, and
   97  duties;
   98         (c) Provide firefighting crews, who shall be under the
   99  control and direction of the Florida Forest Service and its
  100  designated agents;
  101         (d) Appoint center managers, forest area supervisors,
  102  forestry program administrators, a forest protection bureau
  103  chief, a forest protection assistant bureau chief, a field
  104  operations bureau chief, deputy chiefs of field operations,
  105  district managers, forest operations administrators, senior
  106  forest rangers, investigators, forest rangers, firefighter
  107  rotorcraft pilots, and other employees who may, at the Florida
  108  Forest Service’s discretion, be certified as forestry
  109  firefighters pursuant to s. 633.408(8). Other law
  110  notwithstanding, center managers, district managers, forest
  111  protection assistant bureau chief, and deputy chiefs of field
  112  operations have Selected Exempt Service status in the state
  113  personnel designation;
  114         (e) Develop a training curriculum for wildland forestry
  115  firefighters which must contain a minimum of 40 hours of
  116  structural firefighter training, a minimum of 40 hours of
  117  emergency medical training, the basic volunteer structural fire
  118  training course approved by the Florida State Fire College of
  119  the Division of State Fire Marshal and a minimum of 376 250
  120  hours of wildfire training;
  121         (f) Pay the cost of the initial commercial driver license
  122  examination fee for those employees whose position requires them
  123  to operate equipment requiring a license. This paragraph is
  124  intended to be an authorization to the department to pay such
  125  costs, not an obligation;
  126         (g) Provide fire management services and emergency response
  127  assistance and set and charge reasonable fees for performance of
  128  those services. Moneys collected from such fees shall be
  129  deposited into the Incidental Trust Fund of the Florida Forest
  130  Service;
  131         (h) Require all state, regional, and local government
  132  agencies operating aircraft in the vicinity of an ongoing
  133  wildfire to operate in compliance with the applicable state
  134  Wildfire Aviation Plan;
  135         (i) Authorize broadcast burning, prescribed burning, pile
  136  burning, and land clearing debris burning to carry out the
  137  duties of this chapter and the rules adopted thereunder; and
  138         (j) Make rules to accomplish the purposes of this chapter.
  139         Section 6. Subsection (8) of section 633.408, Florida
  140  Statutes, is amended to read:
  141         633.408 Firefighter and volunteer firefighter training and
  142  certification.—
  143         (8)(a) Pursuant to s. 590.02(1)(e), the division shall
  144  establish a structural fire training program of not less than 40
  145  206 hours. The division shall issue to a person satisfactorily
  146  complying with this training program and who has successfully
  147  passed an examination as prescribed by the division and who has
  148  met the requirements of s. 590.02(1)(e), a Wildland Firefighter
  149  Forestry Certificate of Compliance.
  150         (b) An individual who holds a current and valid Wildland
  151  Firefighter Forestry Certificate of Compliance is entitled to
  152  the same rights, privileges, and benefits provided for by law as
  153  a firefighter.
  154         Section 7. Renewable natural gas study.
  155         (1)The Department of Environmental Protection, in
  156  coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
  157  Services, the Florida chapter of the National Waste and
  158  Recycling Association, and the Florida Natural Gas Association,
  159  shall develop a study to estimate the potential benefits of
  160  renewable natural gas in this state. The study must consider all
  161  of the following:
  162         (a)The use of renewable natural gas resources to generate
  163  energy and fuel and the benefits for local communities, the
  164  economy, and the environment.
  165         (b)The ability of renewable natural gas to create new
  166  revenue streams for local governments, agricultural producers,
  167  and other producers of waste.
  168         (c)The potential for renewable natural gas to contribute
  169  to energy security by providing the gas grid enhanced diversity
  170  of supply.
  171         (2)The Department of Environmental Protection shall submit
  172  a report of the results of the study to the Governor, the
  173  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
  174  Representatives upon completion of such study.
  175         Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.