Florida Senate - 2022                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1002
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì628822-Î628822                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/02/2022           .                                
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       The Committee on Community Affairs (Burgess) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Citrus Recovery
    6  Act.”
    7         Section 2. Section 601.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    8  read:
    9         601.04 Florida Citrus Commission; creation and membership.—
   10         (1)(a) There is created within the department the Florida
   11  Citrus Commission, which shall be composed of 11 nine members
   12  appointed by the Governor. Each member must be a resident
   13  citizen of this the state who is and has been actively engaged
   14  in the growing, growing and shipping, or growing and processing
   15  of citrus fruit in the state for at least 5 years immediately
   16  before appointment to the commission and has, during that 5-year
   17  period:
   18         1. Derived a major portion of her or his income from such
   19  growing, growing and shipping, or growing and processing of
   20  citrus fruit; or
   21         2. Been the owner of, member of, officer of, or paid
   22  employee of a corporation, firm, or partnership that has, during
   23  that 5-year period, derived the major portion of its income from
   24  such growing, growing and shipping, or growing and processing of
   25  citrus fruit.
   26         (b)1. Seven Six members of the commission shall be
   27  classified as grower members and shall be primarily engaged in
   28  the growing of citrus fruit as an individual owner; as the owner
   29  of, or as stockholder of, a corporation; or as a member of a
   30  firm or partnership primarily engaged in citrus growing. Such
   31  members may not receive any compensation from any licensed
   32  citrus fruit dealer or handler, as defined in s. 601.03, other
   33  than gift fruit shippers, but any of the grower members may
   34  shall not be disqualified as a member if, individually, or as
   35  the owner of, a member of, an officer of, or a stockholder of a
   36  corporation, firm, or partnership primarily engaged in citrus
   37  growing which processes, packs, and markets its own fruit and
   38  whose business is primarily not purchasing and handling fruit
   39  grown by others.
   40         2. Three members of the commission shall be classified as
   41  processor grower-handler members and shall be engaged as owners,
   42  or as paid officers or employees, of a corporation, firm,
   43  partnership, or other business unit engaged in canning,
   44  concentrating, or otherwise processing citrus fruit for market
   45  other than for shipment in fresh fruit form handling citrus
   46  fruit. One such member shall be primarily engaged in the fresh
   47  fruit business, and two such members shall be primarily engaged
   48  in the processing of citrus fruits.
   49         3.One member shall be classified as a packer member and
   50  shall be engaged as an owner, or as a paid officer or employee,
   51  of a corporation, firm, partnership, or other business unit that
   52  operates as a packinghouse as defined in s. 601.03. The member
   53  shall reside in the Indian River production area of this state
   54  as defined in s. 601.091(2).
   55         4.For purposes of this section, a member’s residence is
   56  his or her actual physical and permanent residence.
   57         (2)(a) One grower member Three commission members shall be
   58  appointed from each of the three citrus districts designated in
   59  s. 601.09. Members appointed from the same citrus district shall
   60  serve staggered terms, such that the term of one of the
   61  district’s three members expires each year. Each member must
   62  reside or grow citrus in the district from which she or he was
   63  appointed. For the purposes of this section, a member’s
   64  residence is her or his actual physical and permanent residence.
   65         (b) One grower member shall be a grower with a citrus
   66  producing area of more than 5,001 acres. The grower must reside
   67  and grow citrus in this state.
   68         (c) Members shall be appointed to terms of 3 years each,
   69  except that, to establish staggered terms of members from each
   70  citrus district, the terms of members appointed before July 1,
   71  2022 2012, shall be shortened as follows:
   72         1. The terms term of two grower members and one packer
   73  member one member from each citrus district shall expire June
   74  30, 2022 2012, and their successors her or his successor shall
   75  be appointed to terms a term beginning July 1, 2022 2012, and
   76  expiring May 31, 2025 2015.
   77         2. The terms term of two grower members and one processor
   78  member one member from each citrus district shall expire June
   79  30, 2023 2013, and their successors her or his successor shall
   80  be appointed to terms a term beginning July 1, 2023 2013, and
   81  expiring May 31, 2026 2016.
   82         3. The terms term of two grower members and one processor
   83  member one member from each citrus district shall expire June
   84  30, 2024 2014, and their successors her or his successor shall
   85  be appointed to terms a term beginning July 1, 2024 2014, and
   86  ending May 31, 2027 2017.
   87         4. One grower member and one processor member shall be
   88  appointed on or after July 1, 2022, with terms ending May 31,
   89  2025.
   90         5. Subsequent appointments shall be made in accordance with
   91  this section.
   92  
   93  Appointments shall be made by February 1 preceding the
   94  commencement of the term and are subject to confirmation by the
   95  Senate in the following legislative session. Each member is
   96  eligible for reappointment and shall serve until her or his
   97  successor is appointed and qualified. The regular terms begin on
   98  June 1 and expire on May 31 of the third year after such
   99  appointment.
  100         (d)(c) When appointments are made, the Governor shall
  101  publicly announce the actual classification and district that
  102  each appointee represents. A majority of the members of the
  103  commission currently appointed constitutes shall constitute a
  104  quorum for the transaction of all business and the carrying out
  105  of the duties of the commission. Before entering upon the
  106  discharge of their duties as members of the commission, each
  107  member shall take and subscribe to the oath of office prescribed
  108  in s. 5, Art. II of the State Constitution. The qualifications
  109  and classification required of each member by this section
  110  continue to be required throughout the respective term of
  111  office, and if a member, after appointment, fails to meet the
  112  qualifications or classification that she or he possessed at the
  113  time of appointment, the member must resign or be removed and be
  114  replaced with a member possessing the proper qualifications and
  115  classification.
  116         (e)(d) When making an appointment to the commission, the
  117  Governor shall announce the district, classification, and term
  118  of the person appointed.
  119         (3)(a) The commission shall elect a chair and secretary and
  120  may elect a vice chair and such other officers as the commission
  121  deems advisable.
  122         (b) The chair, subject to commission concurrence, may
  123  appoint such advisory committees or councils composed of
  124  industry representatives as the chair deems appropriate, setting
  125  forth the committee or council concerns that are consistent with
  126  the statutory powers and duties of the commission and the
  127  department.
  128         Section 3. Section 601.09, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  129  read:
  130         601.09 Citrus districts.—
  131         (1) For purposes of this chapter, the state is divided into
  132  six three districts composed of:
  133         (a) Citrus District One: Collier, Hendry, and Lee Levy,
  134  Alachua, Brevard, Putnam, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Flagler, Indian
  135  River, Marion, Seminole, Orange, Okeechobee, Polk, Volusia, and
  136  Osceola Counties.
  137         (b) Citrus District Two: Charlotte and Hardee, DeSoto,
  138  Highlands, and Glades Counties.
  139         (c) Citrus District Three: Glades, Highlands, and
  140  Okeechobee Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Hernando, Hendry,
  141  Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Martin, Pasco, Palm
  142  Beach, Pinellas, Sarasota, Sumter, Broward, and Miami-Dade
  143  Counties.
  144         (d)Citrus District Four: Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee,
  145  Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties.
  146         (e)Citrus District Five: Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Osceola,
  147  Pasco, Polk, and Sumter Counties.
  148         (f)Citrus District Six: Alachua, Brevard, Broward,
  149  Flagler, Indian River, Lake, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe,
  150  Orange, Palm Beach, Putnam, St. Johns, Seminole, St. Lucie, and
  151  Volusia Counties.
  152         (2) The Legislature intends that the citrus districts be
  153  reviewed and, if necessary to maintain substantially equal
  154  volumes of citrus production within each district, redistricted
  155  every 5 years. The commission may, once every 5 years, review
  156  the citrus districts based on the total boxes produced within
  157  each district during the preceding 5 years and, based on the
  158  commission’s findings, submit recommendations to the Legislature
  159  for redistricting in accordance with this subsection.
  160         Section 4. Present subsection (3) of section 601.13,
  161  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (5), and a new
  162  subsection (3) and subsection (4) are added to that section, to
  163  read:
  164         601.13 Citrus research; administration by Department of
  165  Citrus; appropriation.—
  166         (3)An entity that solicits research proposals and awards
  167  funding for those proposals expending funds received from the
  168  State Treasury on citrus production research conducted pursuant
  169  to chapter 573, as recommended by the Citrus Research and
  170  Development Foundation, Inc., or conducted through contract with
  171  the department shall deliver a report that includes all of the
  172  following information to the commission biannually and at the
  173  request of the commission:
  174         (a)Project plans selected for funding.
  175         (b)The financial status of the projects.
  176         (c)Current findings of the funded research.
  177         (d)Availability of citrus products or application of
  178  growers’ practices found through funded research.
  179         (e)The status of the commercialization process of such
  180  products or practices.
  181         (4)Before being released for sale to the general public,
  182  any new variety of citrus fruit which is developed as a result
  183  of any research or study accomplished using any percentage of
  184  funds from the State Treasury as well as any technology that
  185  enhances the marketability of new or current citrus varieties
  186  must be made available as a first option for licensing and
  187  commercialization for a period of 90 days, under commercially
  188  reasonable terms, exclusively to the Florida Department of
  189  Citrus or its designee. If the Florida Department of Citrus or
  190  its designee exercises such exclusive license, the Florida
  191  Citrus Commission may retain the exclusivity for up to 8 years
  192  after the date of execution.
  193         Section 5. Section 601.992, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  194  read:
  195         601.992 Collection of dues and other payments on behalf of
  196  certain nonprofit corporations engaged in market news and grower
  197  education.—The Department of Citrus or the Department of
  198  Agriculture or their successors may collect or compel the
  199  entities regulated by the Department of Citrus to collect dues,
  200  contributions, or any other financial payment upon request by,
  201  and on behalf of, any not-for-profit corporation and its related
  202  not-for-profit corporations located in this state that receive
  203  payments or dues from their members. Such not-for-profit
  204  corporation must be engaged, to the exclusion of agricultural
  205  commodities other than citrus, in market news and grower
  206  education solely for citrus growers, and must have at least
  207  2,500 5,000 members who are engaged in growing citrus in this
  208  state for commercial sale. The Department of Citrus may adopt
  209  rules to administer this section. The rules may establish
  210  indemnity requirements for the requesting corporation and for
  211  fees to be charged to the corporation that are sufficient but do
  212  not exceed the amount necessary to ensure that any direct costs
  213  incurred by the Department of Citrus in implementing this
  214  section are borne by the requesting corporation and not by the
  215  Department of Citrus.
  216         Section 6. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  217  made by this act to section 601.09, Florida Statutes, in a
  218  reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 600.051, Florida
  219  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  220         600.051 Marketing agreements; powers of department.—
  221         (1) In order to effectuate the declared policy and purposes
  222  of this act, the department shall have the power to enter into,
  223  administer, and enforce marketing agreements with handlers and
  224  distributors engaged in any one or more of the citrus districts
  225  established in and by s. 601.09, in the handling and
  226  distributing of citrus fruit in fresh fruit form or any variety
  227  or varieties, grade, size, or quality thereof, regulating the
  228  handling of such citrus fruit in the way and manner and to the
  229  extent therein prescribed and agreed upon, which said marketing
  230  agreements shall be binding only upon the signatories thereto
  231  exclusively. The execution of any such marketing agreement shall
  232  in no manner affect the issuance, administration, or enforcement
  233  of any marketing order otherwise provided for by chapter 601,
  234  and any marketing agreement executed hereunder shall be
  235  ineffective to the extent that it is in conflict with any rule,
  236  regulation, marketing order, or marketing agreement under any
  237  federal law relating to the handling of citrus fruit grown in
  238  Florida.
  239         Section 7. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  240  made by this act to section 601.13, Florida Statutes, in a
  241  reference thereto, paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section
  242  601.15, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  243         601.15 Advertising campaign; methods of conducting;
  244  assessments; emergency reserve fund; citrus research.—
  245         (7) All assessments levied and collected under this chapter
  246  shall be paid into the State Treasury on or before the 15th day
  247  of each month. Such moneys shall be accounted for in a special
  248  fund to be designated as the Florida Citrus Advertising Trust
  249  Fund, and all moneys in such fund are appropriated to the
  250  department for the following purposes:
  251         (b) Moneys in the Florida Citrus Advertising Trust Fund
  252  shall be expended for the activities authorized by s. 601.13 and
  253  for the cost of those general overhead, research and
  254  development, maintenance, salaries, professional fees,
  255  enforcement costs, and other such expenses that are not related
  256  to advertising, merchandising, public relations, trade
  257  luncheons, publicity, and other associated activities. The cost
  258  of general overhead, maintenance, salaries, professional fees,
  259  enforcement costs, and other such expenses that are related to
  260  advertising, merchandising, public relations, trade luncheons,
  261  publicity, and associated activities shall be paid from the
  262  balance of the Florida Citrus Advertising Trust Fund.
  263         Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.
  264  
  265  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  266  And the title is amended as follows:
  267         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  268  and insert:
  269                        A bill to be entitled                      
  270         An act relating to Florida citrus; providing a short
  271         title; amending s. 601.04, F.S.; revising the
  272         membership of the Florida Citrus Commission; requiring
  273         members to meet certain requirements; revising
  274         commission appointments to achieve staggered terms for
  275         the newly appointed members; revising the requirements
  276         for a quorum; amending s. 601.09, F.S.; increasing the
  277         number of citrus districts in this state and revising
  278         the counties that comprise each district; amending s.
  279         601.13, F.S.; requiring certain entities to provide
  280         reports on citrus production research to the
  281         commission at specified intervals and upon request of
  282         the commission; specifying requirements for the
  283         reports; requiring that new varieties of citrus fruit
  284         produced from research or studies funded by state
  285         funds be made exclusively available for licensing and
  286         commercialization to the Department of Citrus or its
  287         designee for a specified timeframe; amending s.
  288         601.992, F.S.; revising eligibility requirements for
  289         not-for-profit corporations that may be required to
  290         collect certain payments from their members;
  291         reenacting s. 600.051(1), F.S., relating to marketing
  292         agreements and the powers of the department, to
  293         incorporate the amendment made to s. 601.09, F.S., in
  294         a reference thereto; reenacting s. 601.15(7)(b), F.S.,
  295         relating to the use of moneys in the Florida Citrus
  296         Advertising Trust Fund, to incorporate the amendment
  297         made to s. 601.13, F.S., in references thereto;
  298         providing an effective date.