FloridaSB 7002025SenateWALLET

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Sponsored By: Agriculture, Keith L. Truenow (Republican)

Signed by Governor

AppropriationAgricultureAppropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General GovernmentFiscal PolicyHouse Calendar

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

49 provisions identified: 23 benefits, 13 costs, 13 mixed.

Fuel stations get backup power grants

Subject to appropriation, eligible retail fuel facilities can get grants to install or modernize transfer switches for backup power. Grants reach $10,000 per facility in fiscally constrained counties and $5,000 elsewhere. Switches must support fuel pumps, dispensing equipment, life-safety systems, and payment equipment using alternative generated power. Facilities must comply with state backup-power requirements and document switch installation and generator sizing before receiving an award. Marinas, facilities with fewer than four fueling positions, and facilities covered by section 526.143(2) are excluded.

Farmers gain protection against lending restrictions

Financial institutions with more than $100 million in assets cannot limit services to Florida-authorized agricultural producers based on environmental, social, or governance factors. The ban covers denying, ending, restricting, or burdening services based partly or fully on those factors. An institution with an agriculture-related commitment faces a presumption of violation after denying or restricting service. It must prove the decision relied solely on documented risk analysis to overcome that presumption. The Attorney General can enforce the ban, and harmed parties can seek damages.

Farm housing owners face removal deadlines

Covered farmworker housing cannot continue after more than 365 days without qualifying use, loss of agricultural land classification, or permit revocation. Unused sites generally must be removed within 180 days after written county notice. An unused site can remain if the owner shows qualifying use will begin within 90 days after notice. Revoked-permit sites also face the 180-day removal deadline unless the permit is reinstated. Owners face fines up to $1,000 for a first unauthorized-occupancy violation and $5,000 for later violations, including occupants unlawfully present in the United States.

Public water systems face additive limits

Public water systems can use only substances that meet the law’s definition of a water quality additive. The definition covers substances used to meet or surpass drinking-water standards, prevent or remove contaminants, or improve water quality. Additives outside that definition are prohibited.

Gun License Reviews Gain Time Limits

The department must temporarily suspend concealed-weapon licenses or application processing after official notice of a potentially disqualifying arrest or charge. It must notify the person of hearing rights. Otherwise-eligible people can end suspension by sending a nondisqualifying final resolution electronically or by certified mail; confirmation is due within 90 days. Incomplete criminal-history records allow up to 45 extra review days, after which otherwise-qualified applicants must receive licenses if information remains missing. Disqualifying outcomes lead to denial or revocation proceedings, and later information can support suspension or revocation.

Clearer package prices for shoppers

Each package in a random-weight lot of the same product must clearly show its price per unit of weight. It must also show the total retail price on the outside. When a packaged product’s retail price is stated, its quantity must appear clearly and closely beside the price. These disclosures give shoppers information to compare prices and amounts.

Education reimbursement for state veterinary pathologists

The agriculture department can reimburse education expenses for qualified veterinary pathologists. Recipients must agree to remain employed by the department for a specified period. The department must adopt rules to run the program. The law does not set a reimbursement amount or guarantee payment.

More agriculture opportunities for school students

Subject to appropriation, the agriculture department can extend state and national Future Farmers of America opportunities to eligible students. Students must attend public school and be enrolled in agricultural education. Opportunities can cost students or school districts little or nothing. The department can also support statewide programming for these students.

Food Businesses Can Combine Renewal Dates

The agriculture department can set one permit renewal date for multiple food establishments owned by the same entity. This option is no longer limited to owners with at least 100 permitted locations. The law does not require a fee cut.

New conservation option for small farms

The agriculture department can create a simpler path for eligible farms to enroll in water-quality best practices. Parcels must be 25 acres or less and have county agricultural land-use designation or agricultural tax classification. Average water use cannot exceed 100,000 gallons daily, unless all water comes from qualifying recycled pond water or reuse water. Vegetable, agronomic crop, nursery, and dairy operations are excluded, along with parcels beside impaired waters or within larger enrolled or monitored operations. Department rules must protect water quality; the department can add eligibility limits and revoke enrollment.

Tax relief for emergency farm loans

Loans from the Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Emergency Recovery Loan Program are exempt from all taxes imposed by Florida’s chapter 201. The exemption applies to loans made through that program, not farm loans generally. No specific tax saving is stated.

Cities Gain State Mosquito Funding Access

Cities join counties and districts in eligibility for dollar-for-dollar state mosquito-control aid under department-approved plans. Matching local funds must be budgeted only for mosquito and related pest control. Distribution rules direct up to 80% of available funds to eligible programs with local budgets below $1 million. Payments follow department requests to the Chief Financial Officer rather than a fixed quarterly schedule; unused control funds carry into next year's budget. The agriculture commissioner can waive cited aid requirements when immediate control is needed to protect human or animal health.

Drone Harassment Brings Criminal Penalties

Knowingly or willfully letting a drone contact covered property, people, or objects with intent to harass is a crime. Covered places include private property, state wildlife management lands, and sport shooting and training ranges. A first offense is generally a second-degree misdemeanor; repeat offenses are first-degree misdemeanors. Recording video raises penalties to a first-degree misdemeanor initially and a third-degree felony for repeat offenses. Exceptions cover owners, people with prior written owner consent, and conduct allowed under Florida's drone privacy law.

Mail Theft Brings New State Penalties

Beginning July 1, 2025, Florida establishes offenses for theft and unlawful dealings involving mail and mail-depository keys or locks. The offenses require the specified intent to deprive an owner or recipient, or knowledge or intent tied to unlawful dealings. A first violation is a first-degree misdemeanor. A second or later violation is a third-degree felony.

More startup aid for mosquito control

Counties, cities, and districts can receive startup aid for mosquito or other arthropod control in areas they have not served. The annual maximum rises from $50,000 to $75,000 for up to 3 years. No local matching funds are required. Aid can include money, supplies, services, or equipment, and the agriculture department must approve the control measures.

Mosquito Programs Can Share Emergency Resources

During a pest-borne epidemic or other disaster requiring emergency control, the department can move equipment, materials, and staff between programs. It must notify the affected program and obtain its approval first. Before treating pests it finds threaten public or animal health, it must consult local programs and state health, environmental, and wildlife agencies. Consultation covers treatment locations, dates, and methods. Programs can also cooperate through approved work-and-reimbursement agreements and, on local request, serve unserved areas within the same county.

New Drone Protections for Farm Land

The law bans knowingly or willfully operating drones on land classified as agricultural or letting them contact people or objects there. It also bans bringing drones close enough to interfere with or disturb farming. A first offense is a second-degree misdemeanor; later offenses are first-degree misdemeanors. Exceptions cover landowners, people with their prior written consent, and conduct allowed under Florida's drone privacy law.

Stronger Enforcement for Mosquito Control Programs

The department can warn or fine mosquito-control violators, deny participation or state aid, and deny, suspend, or revoke licenses or certificates. Grounds include state control-law violations, federal pesticide violations, and failure to provide requested truthful information essential to program oversight. Probation for up to two years is available when sanctions would harm the public or be unnecessarily harsh. Proceedings can resume if probation terms are broken. Willfully damaging or obstructing covered programs, or knowingly or willfully violating control laws or board rules, is a second-degree misdemeanor.

Federal Pesticide Violations Trigger State Discipline

Final federal pesticide civil-penalty orders and criminal convictions become grounds for Florida pest-control and pesticide license discipline. For pest-control credentials, the department can warn, fine, deny or refuse renewal, or suspend or revoke credentials. For pesticide licenses, it can deny, suspend, or revoke the license. These provisions do not set a new fine amount.

Fuel Tampering and Fraud Bring Felonies

Beginning July 1, 2025, unauthorized, knowing, and willful fuel-dispenser tampering is covered more broadly by a second-degree felony offense. It covers manipulating, removing, replacing, or interrupting mechanical or electronic parts inside or outside the dispenser. Possessing or using a fuel-payment instrument with intent to defraud a retailer, account holder, or issuing bank is a third-degree felony.

New charity registry informs Florida donors

The agriculture department must publish an Honest Services Registry to help residents choose charities. To seek listing, a charity must submit a verified statement that it does not solicit or accept money, support, or services from a defined foreign source of concern. It must also state that such a source does not produce or influence its messages or content. Listing depends on the required attestation, not a direct payment to donors or charities.

Farm Education Sites Gain Local Protections

Beginning July 1, 2025, local governments cannot limit activities at public facilities built for agricultural education, Future Farmers of America, or 4-H. The protection covers educational and auxiliary facilities, including storing animals or equipment there.

Marketing support for Florida cattle producers

Subject to appropriation, the Cattle Enhancement Board must establish a Florida beef marketing program with the agriculture department. The program studies expanded uses of beef and beef products. It also supports in-state and national campaigns and promotions for Florida’s cattle industry. The law specifies no funding amount or direct household payment.

Citrus Nurseries Lose Distance Restrictions

Citrus nurseries no longer face the one-mile separation requirement from commercial citrus groves. The law also removes regulated-area requirements around commercial citrus nurseries and related citrus planting and removal restrictions. Nursery stock must still be grown in department-approved protective structures and can be distributed only if produced there.

Agriculture education land gains farm status

Beginning July 1, 2025, land used for agricultural education, Future Farmers of America, or 4-H counts as agricultural land. The status applies under Florida’s agricultural land-classification law, and the land is also subject to the cited farm-protection law. Any property-tax effect depends on how those laws apply; the law states no specific tax saving.

Florida wine fund gets tax revenue

The law sends 50% of qualifying wine excise-tax revenue to the Florida Wine Trust Fund. The wine must be made in Florida by an in-state manufacturer using products grown in Florida. This directs money to the fund rather than creating a household payment or changing the stated tax rate.

Gun License Military Experience Rule Narrows

The military-service option for showing firearm experience on a Florida concealed-weapon license application is limited to U.S. military service. Participation in organized shooting competition remains another way to show equivalent firearm experience.

Agricultural Officers Lose Career Service Coverage

Positions primarily serving as captains or majors in the Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement leave Career Service coverage. Their salaries and benefits follow Selected Exempt Service rules unless another law provides otherwise. The provision does not specify a pay change.

Tighter food rules for small sellers

Cottage food products cannot need time or temperature controls for safety or be potentially hazardous under department rules. Minor food outlets avoid permits only when they sell qualifying commercially prepackaged food and no other food. That food cannot be potentially hazardous, age restricted, or require time or temperature controls for safety. It can occupy no more than 12 total linear feet of shelf space. Outlets outside this exemption must get a food permit before operating.

Migrant housing owners must keep permits

Beginning July 1, 2025, owners of covered migrant labor camps and residential migrant housing must keep approved permit records. This includes successor permits, and records must be kept for at least 3 years. Owners must make them available for inspection within 14 days after a government request.

Yearly nutrient reports for covered farms

Covered farms enrolled through the by-rule process in basin management action plan areas must file yearly nutrient records. Records must show nitrogen and phosphorus applications for the previous calendar year. The agriculture department must collect and keep these records. Each year, it must inspect 20% of qualifying enrollments onsite and review required practice records from the previous 2 years.

Charities Face Election Filings and Enforcement

Nonexempt charities must include an authorized official's signed election-registration statement with initial registrations and annual renewals. It must confirm required state campaign-finance registration or, when law bars registration, that the charity avoids activities requiring it. The agriculture department can investigate charities or sponsors and refer potential election-law violations to the Florida Elections Commission. A charity or sponsor can face discretionary penalties when a false required statement causes registration denial or revocation.

Charities Face Foreign Contribution Ban

Charities and sponsors cannot solicit or accept contributions or anything of value from a legally defined foreign source of concern. The ban covers activity connected to solicitations and charitable or sponsor sales promotions. For a first violation, the department can forgo punishment after documentation of the required false foreign-source attestation, a refund within 30 days after notice, and a prevention plan. Later violations are treated as voluntary and can receive penalties at the department's discretion.

Drug-Producing Mushroom Material Sales Are Banned

People cannot transport, offer to transport, import, sell, offer for sale, furnish, or give away qualifying mushroom spores or mycelium. The ban applies when the material can produce controlled substances during its life cycle, including psilocybin or psilocyn. A violation is a first-degree misdemeanor.

More vehicle coolants count as antifreeze

The law expands the definition of antifreeze to include coolant and more vehicle-cooling products. It covers products intended to raise water’s boiling point, cool vehicle parts, or prevent engine overheating. The definition applies whether or not a product is used year-round in a vehicle cooling system.

Plant based sellers face labeling limits

The law directs the agriculture department to prohibit plant-based products mislabeled as milk, meat, poultry, eggs, or related products. Each labeling requirement takes effect when 11 of 14 named states enact consistent mandatory labeling laws. Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The law does not establish that these multistate triggers have already been met.

Petroleum Operators Must Register Each Year

Petroleum owners and operators must register annually with the agriculture department at no charge. Registration includes contacts, transfer switches, fuel infrastructure, inventories, and deliveries. During a state of emergency declared by the Governor, the department can require status updates.

Remote certification tests retain applicant fees

Limited pesticide, commercial landscape, and commercial wildlife certification applicants can test in person or remotely; vendors can add convenience fees. Applicants must pass; limited governmental/private pesticide and commercial landscape exams cost $50–$150, with the former costing $50 until rules set another fee. Commercial wildlife applicants must submit an application and pay $150–$300. Limited governmental/private pesticide recertification costs $25 every 4 years and requires 4 classroom hours of approved education. The department must provide reference materials for landscape exams and study materials for wildlife exams.

Remote pest exams with possible fees

The agriculture department must offer pest-control and certified pesticide-applicator exams in person and remotely through a third-party vendor. The vendor can charge and keep a convenience fee; no amount is specified. Pest-control certificateholders can renew through required continuing education or by passing the exam. Certified pesticide applicants must show competence in pesticide use and safety, including restricted-use pesticides in each classification sought.

Wineries Gain Signs but Risk Removal

Florida Farm Winery signs can guide visitors to certified wineries, not just certified winery tourist attractions. A winery that misses annual recertification or its required licensing fee faces sign removal. The winery must pay all state transportation department costs for removing its signs.

Local Mosquito Programs Gain Broader Authority

The mosquito-control framework now covers any governmental jurisdiction conducting mosquito control, including cities. Cities can join special taxing districts, and city or county governing bodies can exercise board powers without separate boards. Programs seeking state aid must submit a management plan and detailed budget, use aid as approved, and get approval before changes. Tentative plans and budgets are due July 15; certified budgets are due September 30 for the October–September fiscal year. Work to reduce pest-breeding areas requires department-approved plans and a finding that the area poses a health or nuisance problem.

Mosquito Programs Own State-Funded Equipment

Equipment bought with state money provided directly to a mosquito-control program becomes its property, unless another rule applies. Programs can trade or sell equipment they no longer need. Usable state-funded equipment must first be offered to other control programs at a price set by the owning board. If none needs it, public-property disposal procedures apply. Sale proceeds from state-funded real or personal property return to the program's state fund account unless the department directs otherwise.

Work Drone Permissions Shift in Florida

Beginning July 1, 2025, licensed professionals and their agents, employees, and contractors lose a general work-task drone exception. That exception no longer authorizes reasonable tasks within the scope of a state license. Local governments, their contractors, and people acting under their direction gain permission to use drones against plant or animal diseases. Their authorization also covers activities allowed under state aquatic plant, mosquito-control, and pesticide laws.

Farmworker Housing Faces Reports and Inspections

Governmental entities must report farmworker housing information quarterly under rules set by the agriculture department. The department must create a public complaint process, inspect randomly selected sites, investigate complaints, and enforce housing requirements. It must also send collected information quarterly to the State Board of Immigration Enforcement. The first reporting period to that board begins 60 days after the department receives and reviews the first governmental report.

Farmworker housing protections come with limits

Government entities cannot adopt or enforce measures that inhibit qualifying housing for legally verified agricultural workers on bona fide farms. Housing must be on agriculturally classified land, meet building and health standards, and keep dwellings at least 10 feet apart. Climate-controlled facilities cannot exceed 1.5% of the property or 35,000 square feet, whichever is less. Setback, screening, and driveway rules apply, including 100 feet of separation from residentially zoned property. Sites built and in use before July 1, 2024, avoid the new subsection’s requirements unless enlarged, remodeled, renovated, or rehabilitated; health and maintenance duties remain.

State safety rules for public chargers

Public electric vehicle chargers must be registered with the agriculture department before entering service. The department must adopt rules and can set placement, design, installation, maintenance, and operating safety standards. Local permits must follow department standards and other state law, with decision deadlines set by department rule. The department can inspect stations, issue warnings or Class II fines, stop use of dangerous stations, and seek court orders.

Stronger food oversight and shipping records

The agriculture department can arrange destruction when it finds, or has probable cause to believe, food-law violations exist. Covered violations include dangerous, unwholesome, mislabeled, fraudulent, or insanitary food or facilities. Detained or embargoed items can be moved, used, or discarded only with department permission or a written agreement. Carriers and recipients of interstate food shipments must keep movement, quantity, shipper, and recipient records for 3 years. They must allow designated department staff to inspect and copy those records on request.

State Can Sell Protected Agricultural Land

The agriculture department can sell eligible land acquired through the utility-land process after consulting the environmental department about farming suitability. The state must keep a rural-lands protection easement. All proceeds enter the department's Incidental Trust Fund to buy land interests short of full ownership. State forests, state parks, and wildlife management areas are excluded. The authority applies retroactively to January 1, 2009; reports on qualifying surplus lands are due January 1, 2026, and annually afterward.

Utilities Must Offer Farm Land First

Beginning July 31, 2026, utilities must offer qualifying land to the agriculture department for full ownership before private sale or transfer. Covered land was utility-owned or acquired on or after January 1, 2009, and agricultural within five years before acquisition. Utilities must send certified-mail notice within 30 days before the proposed transaction; the commissioner has 30 days after receipt to respond. A decline or no timely response releases the utility from this requirement. Accepted offers received at least six months before a regular legislative session must close by July 31 following that session.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government
Affiliation unavailable
Fiscal Policy
Affiliation unavailable

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 155 • No: 66

House vote • 4/29/2025

House Floor Vote

Yes: 88 • No: 27

Senate vote • 4/16/2025

Senate Floor Vote

Yes: 27 • No: 9

Senate vote • 4/15/2025