Florida Senate - 2023                                    SB 1470
       
       
        
       By Senator Bradley
       
       
       
       
       
       6-01160-23                                            20231470__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to a carbon dioxide compliance and
    3         credit market for agricultural producers; creating s.
    4         570.234, F.S.; requiring the Department of Agriculture
    5         and Consumer Services, in consultation with the
    6         Department of Environmental Protection, to establish
    7         by rule a compliance market for carbon emissions to
    8         facilitate carbon credit trading for agricultural
    9         producers in the state; authorizing the department to
   10         contract with public and private entities to
   11         administer the market; providing rule requirements;
   12         requiring the department to submit a specified annual
   13         report to the Governor and Legislature; providing an
   14         effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 570.234, Florida Statutes, is created to
   19  read:
   20         570.234 Carbon compliance and credit market for
   21  agricultural producers.—
   22         (1) The department, in consultation with the Department of
   23  Environmental Protection, shall establish by rule a compliance
   24  market for carbon dioxide emissions to facilitate carbon credit
   25  trading on the open market for agricultural producers in the
   26  state. The department may contract with public or private
   27  entities to administer the market.
   28         (2) At a minimum, the rules must provide for all of the
   29  following:
   30         (a) Project eligibility requirements, including:
   31         1. Minimum acreage.
   32         2. Crop types.
   33         3. Agricultural practices that avoid, destroy, or capture
   34  carbon emissions.
   35         4. Emissions leakage. Projects may not shift emissions
   36  elsewhere as a consequence of the project.
   37         (b) Buyer eligibility requirements.
   38         (c) Minimum contract period. Projects must store carbon for
   39  100 years to be considered a carbon offset.
   40         (d) Project registration and monitoring.
   41         (e) Quantification of carbon credits. Carbon credits shall
   42  be based on scientific evidence, verified by a third party, and
   43  enrolled in a credible carbon registry.
   44         (f) Reporting requirements.
   45         (g) Certification of project documentation. Projects must
   46  be certified by an independent third party preapproved by a
   47  credible carbon registry.
   48         (h) Issuance of carbon credit certificates. Carbon credits
   49  may only be issued:
   50         1. For 1 metric ton or more of carbon dioxide equivalent.
   51         2. To one entity for each credit.
   52         3. For projects that otherwise would not have occurred in
   53  the absence of an issued credit.
   54         (i) Project reversals, fraud, and error. Upon issuance of a
   55  carbon credit, a project may not be reversed before the contract
   56  period expires.
   57         (j) Engagement with private companies operating carbon
   58  credit programs in the United States to recognize the state as
   59  an area of geographic eligibility.
   60         (3) Beginning on January 1, 2024, and each January 1
   61  thereafter, the department shall submit a status report on the
   62  program, including recommendations for necessary statutory
   63  changes, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
   64  Speaker of the House of Representatives.
   65         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.