PRIA Logo™
FloridaSB 2902026SenateWALLET

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Sponsored By: Sponsor information unavailable

Signed by Governor

AppropriationAgricultureFiscal PolicyRulesHouse Calendar

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

31 provisions identified: 14 benefits, 7 costs, 10 mixed.

Loan repayment help for Florida veterinarians

Beginning July 1, 2026, Florida’s agriculture department may repay up to $25,000 in loan principal yearly for eligible veterinarians. Payments can last up to five years, with up to three new recipients selected annually, subject to legislative funding. Applicants must work with food animals or horses in Florida for at least 20 hours weekly. They must graduate from an American Veterinary Medical Association-accredited college and hold a Florida veterinary license and USDA Category II Accreditation. Continued payments require proof of continued qualifying Florida employment; recipients of federal veterinary loan repayment aid are ineligible.

Tighter emergency loan rules for producers

Beginning July 1, 2026, agricultural and aquaculture producers face tighter eligibility rules for Florida’s emergency recovery loans. Individual applicants must be U.S. citizens and legal Florida residents on or before the declared emergency date. Business applicants must be wholly owned and operated in the United States. They must also hold an active Florida Department of State certificate of status under chapter 605.

Fresh food help for hungry Floridians

Beginning July 1, 2026, Farmers Feeding Florida coordinates fresh food aid for residents lacking affordable or accessible food. Feeding Florida contracts with Florida’s agriculture department to coordinate food purchases and transportation outside the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Purchased food must serve charitable hunger relief and cannot enter wholesale, retail, or secondary markets. Beginning July 1, 2026, Feeding Florida reports monthly to the department and quarterly to legislative appropriations committee chairs.

Pest businesses face insurance and fines

Pest businesses that regularly offer and perform fumigations must provide insurance certificates when applying for or renewing licenses. One option requires bodily injury coverage of $1 million per person and $2 million per occurrence. It also requires property damage coverage of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million in the aggregate. The alternative is combined single-limit coverage of $2 million in the aggregate. Pest-control violations can bring Class III administrative fines instead of Class II fines, based on statutory factors.

Posted homes gain protection from solicitation

You can post a clearly visible sign identifying your home as private property and prohibiting commercial solicitation. The sign must measure at least 8.5 by 11 inches, with letters at least 1 inch high. Businesses cannot solicit sales or commercial fundraising at a dwelling displaying the required sign. A first violation is noncriminal; second and later violations are second-degree misdemeanors.

Driving test fee help for forest workers

Beginning July 1, 2026, Florida’s agriculture department may pay commercial driver license renewal test fees for qualifying Forest Service employees. This adds renewal tests to its authority to pay initial test fees. Employees qualify when their jobs require operating equipment that needs a commercial driver license. Payment is allowed, not required, and the law does not state the fee amount.

Forest trainees can get more support

The Florida Forest Service can staff, equip, and run the Withlacoochee and Welaka training centers. The centers can train forest managers and local fire crews in wildfire response. The service can give selected people or groups free meals, rooms, or scholarships at those centers or other training locations. These benefits no longer require an exchange of instructional help and are not guaranteed. The law states no funding or benefit amounts.

Farms gain protection for agritourism

Local governments cannot limit agritourism on land classified as agricultural or require rural event venue permits or licenses. They can still address substantial impacts outside the property and emergencies under state emergency law.

Commercial driver exam cheating brings penalties

Commercial driver license applicants commit a second-degree misdemeanor by receiving unauthorized help on highway-sign or traffic-law test sections. Knowingly or willfully giving unauthorized help during a required commercial driver license exam is also a second-degree misdemeanor.

Florida bans signal jamming devices

Florida bans possessing, making, holding or offering for sale, selling, importing, distributing, or using signal jamming devices. Violations are first-degree misdemeanors. Federal or military law enforcement is exempt when lawfully using a device in a criminal investigation. People authorized by the Federal Communications Commission are also exempt.

Misleading weapon permit displays are banned

People cannot wear or display items marked “concealed weapon permit” or “concealed weapon permitholder” with intent to mislead others. The rule covers false claims of agency membership, where applicable, or authorization to display the item. Ordinary possession without that intent is not covered. The offense is a first-degree misdemeanor.

Food inspections gain protection from obstruction

The law prohibits blocking or refusing authorized food inspections, entry, or sample collection. It also repeals Florida Statute 500.81. The supplied text does not explain that repealed section, so its practical effects are unclear.

Local bans on fuel-powered equipment blocked

Florida counties and cities cannot restrict covered farm or landscape equipment powered by gasoline, diesel, or gasoline-oil blends. They cannot treat it differently from electric or similar equipment in retail, manufacturing, or distribution settings. Local governments can still encourage alternative equipment.

State Fair Authority gains regulatory exemption

The Florida State Fair Authority is exempt from Part I of Florida's fair law. This exemption removes that part's requirements for the Authority, not for fair associations generally.

Florida wine gains research and promotion

The Florida Wine Trust Fund can promote wine made from products grown in Florida. It can also provide grants for wine research, alongside research on grape growing. The law specifies no grant amounts or promotional funding levels.

Native seed industry gains program support

Subject to appropriations, the Florida Wildflower Foundation must establish a native seed program with the state agriculture department. The program researches ways to expand native seed availability and uses. It promotes the industry in Florida and nationally. No funding amount is specified.

Aquaculture operators face tighter registration rules

The agriculture department cannot renew a noncompliant aquaculture facility's registration unless its application documents corrective action. Certificate holders and specified company or entity principals whose registrations are revoked cannot reapply for three years.

Higher penalties for unlicensed pest control

Beginning July 1, 2026, civil penalties for unlicensed pest control move from Class II to Class III. Florida’s agriculture department may also impose a Class III fine of at least twice the pest control business license cost. A previously issued license that has lapsed for less than one year does not trigger that specified fine.

Candidates face food event hosting limits

Feeding Florida cannot let an opposed candidate host a food distribution event from the qualifying period's last day through Election Day. The candidate must be opposed for election or reelection when the event occurs. Events responding to a declared state of emergency are exempt.

Housing density limits on sensitive land

Beginning July 1, 2026, developers seeking administrative approval on qualifying sensitive land must attest under penalty of perjury to density limits. The limit is one home per 20 acres on undeveloped land designated rural, conservation, agricultural, or greenspace. It applies in municipalities existing by January 1, 2025, with under 2,500 acres and no more than 5,000 legal residents. For homes expressly intended for the applicant’s family members, the applicant instead attests to that purpose. The municipal commission or council can waive the density limit by unanimous vote.

Fair associations face financial oversight rules

Fair associations with more than 25,000 visitors the previous year must get an annual review by a state-licensed qualified accountant. Smaller associations and first-year fairs must submit annual financial statements signed by a county officer. Beginning July 1, 2026, associations must review their charters every five years and submit certified copies containing all amendments. A designated member must confirm the copy is accurate and factual. After state-approved dissolution and payment of all debts and claims, remaining assets go to the principal-office county unless the deed directs otherwise.

Shellfish growers keep minimum rent obligations

Shellfish lease rent remains at least $15 per acre, or any fraction of an acre, each year. Inflation adjustments are discretionary rather than required. The state can adjust rent every five years using the five-year average change in the Consumer Price Index.

Subcontractors gain payment protections and enforcement

Licensed contractors must pay subcontractors or suppliers within 45 days after receiving payment for their work or materials, or as the contract requires. Genuine disputes over the amount due are exempt, and knowing or willful violations can lead to contractor discipline. Florida can also suspend state vendors for late subcontractor or supplier payments after finding good cause from agency records. Suspended vendors cannot bid, submit proposals or replies, enter, or renew state agency contracts.

Fair organizers gain flexibility but face limits

County residents who are qualified electors can form fair associations without the former 25-person minimum. Proposed charters must name an elected county commissioner as an ex officio director and list an official email address. They must include sworn statements about public service, assets exceeding $5,000, and good-faith operation, and receive county board approval before judicial review. Beginning July 1, 2026, each county is limited to one incorporated fair association, excluding the state fair. The agriculture commissioner can authorize a waiver, and associations incorporated before that date can continue holding fairs or expositions.

Local waste systems face biosolids deadlines

New biosolids land-application permits and renewals issued after July 1, 2020, must allow only Class AA biosolids on soil. All permits must comply by July 1, 2028. Local governments that do not transport biosolids outside their county for land application have until July 1, 2031. The law allows specified shipments of Class B biosolids to out-of-county Class AA treatment or waste-to-energy facilities.

New medical plan rules for agricultural nonprofits

Beginning July 1, 2026, agricultural nonprofits need federal tax exemption under 501(c)(5) to meet this requirement for offering medical benefit plans. This replaces the 501(c)(3) requirement, so that status alone no longer meets the tax-exemption test. Organizations must still meet all other requirements to qualify.

Conservation land sales retain farming protections

State environmental and agriculture officials must check qualifying conservation land acquired on or after January 1, 2024, for farming suitability. The state can sell suitable land but must keep a rural-lands protection easement. State forests, parks, wildlife management areas, and land within Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan boundaries are excluded. Sale money goes to the agriculture department's Incidental Trust Fund to buy land rights short of full ownership. Local governments cannot transfer future development rights for suitable farmland surplused on or after January 1, 2024.

Citrus research groups merge with safeguards

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation must merge into the Citrus Research and Field Trial Foundation. The merger plan must be completed by October 1, 2026, and follow Florida's nonprofit corporation law. Donated or earned trust funds must transfer and remain dedicated to their original purposes. The receiving foundation takes custody of property on the plan date or October 1, 2026, whichever comes first.

Fair permits add deadlines and insurance

Fair associations must submit officer-signed permit applications at least 90 calendar days before the fair. Applications must include the charter and amendments, required exhibits, and current and previous-year prize lists showing offered prizes and awards. At least 21 calendar days before the fair, associations must provide proof of at least $300,000 liability coverage per occurrence. They must also provide their latest annual financial statement and current directors' contact details, including mailing addresses. The agriculture department must issue the permit within 10 calendar days after receiving all required information.

New fitness businesses can receive exemptions

The agriculture department can exempt a business or activity from Florida's health studio laws. It must not have existed as of July 1, 2026. Exemptions are discretionary, not automatic. An exemption reduces covered business requirements and the consumer protections those requirements provide.

Poultry dealers face a yearly threshold

Florida sellers qualify as dealers when they sell, offer, or hold for sale more than 20,000 dressed birds annually. This replaces the threshold of more than 384 birds in any one week. Annual sales now determine coverage, rather than a single busy week. The egg threshold remains at least 30 dozen sold, offered, or held for sale in any one week.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsors

There is no primary sponsor on record.

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 177 • No: 13

House vote • 3/3/2026

House Floor Vote

Yes: 94 • No: 10

Senate vote • 2/19/2026

Senate Floor Vote

Yes: 38 • No: 0

Senate vote • 2/10/2026

Rules Vote

Yes: 24 • No: 0

Senate vote • 1/14/2026

Fiscal Policy Vote

Yes: 17 • No: 3

Senate vote • 12/2/2025

Agriculture Vote

Yes: 4 • No: 0

Actions Timeline

  1. Chapter No. 2026-3

    3/24/2026

  2. Approved by Governor

    3/23/2026

  3. Signed by Officers and presented to Governor

    3/18/2026

  4. Ordered enrolled

    3/3/2026Senate

  5. CS passed; YEAS 94, NAYS 10

    3/3/2026House

  6. Read 3rd time

    3/3/2026House

  7. Added to Third Reading Calendar

    3/3/2026House

  8. Read 2nd time

    3/3/2026House

  9. Substituted for CS/CS/HB 433

    3/3/2026House

  10. 1st Reading (Engrossed 1)

    2/26/2026House

  11. Bill added to Special Order Calendar (3/3/2026)

    2/26/2026House

  12. Bill referred to House Calendar

    2/26/2026House

  13. In Messages

    2/19/2026House

  14. Immediately certified -SJ 356

    2/19/2026Senate

  15. CS passed as amended; YEAS 38 NAYS 0 -SJ 345

    2/19/2026Senate

  16. Read 3rd time -SJ 345

    2/19/2026Senate

  17. Amendment(s) adopted (753210, 906600) -SJ 345

    2/19/2026Senate

  18. Read 2nd time -SJ 344

    2/19/2026Senate

  19. CS/CS/CS by Rules read 1st time

    2/18/2026Senate

  20. Placed on Special Order Calendar, 02/19/26

    2/17/2026Senate

  21. Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading

    2/12/2026Senate

  22. Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

    2/12/2026Senate

  23. CS/CS/CS by- Rules; YEAS 24 NAYS 0

    2/10/2026Senate

  24. On Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/10/26, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building

    2/5/2026Senate

  25. CS/CS by Fiscal Policy read 1st time

    1/22/2026Senate

Bill Text

Related Bills

Back to State Legislation