Chapter 573 — Chapter 573
24 sections in this chapter.
Fla. Stat. § 573.101 Short title
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Sections 573.101-573.124 may be cited as the “Florida Agricultural Commodities Marketing Law.”
Fla. Stat. § 573.102 Purposes
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The purposes of ss. 573.101-573.124 are to:(1) Enable producers of agricultural commodities of this state, with the aid of the state, to correlate more effectively the marketing of their agricultural commodities with market demands therefor.(2) Establish and maintain orderly mark…
Fla. Stat. § 573.103 Definitions
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As used in ss. 573.101-573.124:(1) “Agricultural commodities” means any and all aquacultural, agricultural, apicultural, horticultural (including floricultural), viticultural, and vegetable products produced in this state or any class, variety, or utilization thereof, either in t…
Fla. Stat. § 573.104 Required consent to marketing order by industry
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No marketing order or amendment directly or indirectly affecting or regulating agricultural commodities in the primary channel of trade of this state shall become effective unless the marketing order or amendment has been consented to by a majority of producers or handlers of suc…
Fla. Stat. § 573.105 Petition of producers
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Upon the application or petition of 10 percent of the affected producers who state they have reason to believe that the issuance of a marketing order will tend to effectuate the declared policy of ss. 573.101-573.124, the department may give due notice of, and an opportunity for,…
Fla. Stat. § 573.106 Petitioner’s expense
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Prior to the issuance of any marketing order by the department, the department shall require the applicants to deposit with it such amounts as the department may deem necessary to defray the expenses of preparing and making effective any marketing order. Funds shall be received, …
Fla. Stat. § 573.107 Public hearing
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Due notice of any hearing shall be given to all persons who may be directly affected by any action of the department. These hearings shall be open to the public. All testimony shall be received under oath and a full and complete record of all proceedings at any hearing shall be m…
Fla. Stat. § 573.108 Findings required to issue marketing order
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After notice and hearing, the department shall issue a marketing order if it finds and sets forth that the order will tend to accomplish the objectives and purposes of ss. 573.101-573.124, and:(1) The provisions are necessary in order to effect a reasonable correlation of the sup…
Fla. Stat. § 573.109 Procedure for referendum
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(1) With respect to any referendum conducted under the provisions of ss. 573.101-573.124, the department shall, before calling and announcing a referendum, fix, determine, and publicly announce, at least 15 days in advance of the date on which ballots and copies of the proposed o…
Fla. Stat. § 573.1101 Referendum
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(1) No marketing order or amendments thereto directly affecting and regulating handlers shall become effective unless the department finds that the order has been approved by ballot by the handlers covered by the marketing order who, during a representative period determined by t…
Fla. Stat. § 573.111 Notice of effective date of marketing order
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Before the issuance of any marketing order, or any suspension, amendment, or termination thereof, a notice must be posted on the department website. A marketing order, or any suspension, amendment, or termination thereof, may not become effective until 5 days after the date of po…
Fla. Stat. § 573.112 Advisory council
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(1) When a marketing order is issued, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall appoint an advisory council to advise the department in administering the marketing order. The advisory council shall be composed of seven members and an alternate for each member. The…
Fla. Stat. § 573.113 Advisory council; exemption from liability
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The members and alternate members of any advisory council duly appointed by the department, including employees of the council, shall not be held responsible individually in any way whatsoever to any producer, distributor, or other handler or any other person for errors in judgme…
Fla. Stat. § 573.114 Possible subjects of marketing orders
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Subject to the legislative restrictions and limitations set forth herein, any marketing order issued by the department may contain any or all of the following provisions:(1) Provisions for the establishment of plans and programs for advertising, sales promotion, and education to …
Fla. Stat. § 573.115 Cooperation with other governments
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The department is hereby authorized to confer with and cooperate with the legally constituted authorities of other states and of the United States for the purpose of obtaining uniformity in the administration of federal and state marketing regulations, licenses, or orders, and th…
Fla. Stat. § 573.116 Limited marketing orders
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A marketing order issued by the department may be limited in application by prescribing the marketing areas or portions of the state in which a particular order shall be effective, provided that no marketing order shall be issued by the department unless it embraces all persons o…
Fla. Stat. § 573.117 Marketing agreement
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In order to effectuate the declared policy of ss. 573.101-573.124, the department shall have the power to enter into marketing agreements, which agreements may contain any of those provisions contained in s. 573.114 with distributors, producers, and others engaged in the handling…
Fla. Stat. § 573.118 Assessment; funds; review of accounts; loans
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(1) To provide funds to defray the necessary expenses incurred by the department in the formulation, issuance, administration, and enforcement of any marketing order, every person engaged in the production, distributing, or handling of agricultural commodities within this state, …
Fla. Stat. § 573.119 Department; powers and duties
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(1) The department shall administer and enforce the provisions of ss. 573.101-573.124. In order to effectuate the declared purposes of ss. 573.101-573.124, the department is authorized to issue, administer, and enforce the provisions of any marketing agreement or order regulating…
Fla. Stat. § 573.1201 Certificates of exemption
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(1) The department may issue certificates of exemption to any applicant who applies for an exemption and furnishes adequate evidence to the department that by reason of a marketing order the applicant has been adversely affected or unduly burdened or that the result of the market…
Fla. Stat. § 573.121 Termination or suspension of marketing orders
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The department shall suspend or terminate the marketing order or any provision of the marketing order whenever it finds the provision or order does not tend to effectuate the declared purposes of ss. 573.101-573.124, within the standards and subject to the limitations and restric…
Fla. Stat. § 573.122 Inspections
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Any authorized inspector or other authorized person discharging his or her duties in the checking of compliance with the provisions of any marketing order may enter and inspect any premises, enclosure, building, or conveyance where he or she has reason to believe any agricultural…
Fla. Stat. § 573.123 Maintenance and production of records
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(1) The department may require any and all persons directly affected by and subject to the provisions of any marketing order to maintain books and records reflecting their operations under the marketing order, to furnish to the department or its duly authorized or designated repr…
Fla. Stat. § 573.124 Penalties; violation; hearings
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(1) Every person who violates any provision of ss. 573.101-573.124 or any provision of any marketing agreement or order duly issued by the department shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.083. Each day during which any such violati…