Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that prohibits counties in Florida from enacting any restriction on the use of gasoline-powered farm equipment.

Highlights:

• Prohibits a county or municipality from enacting a local policy to restrict the use of gasoline powered farm or landscape equipment (Sec. 1).

• Establishes density requirements for developers who seek to build in small municipalities and provides exemptions from this requirement under certain circumstances (Sec. 3).

• Requires the Acquisition and Restoration Council to determine whether any lands surplused by a local governmental entity are suitable for bona fide agricultural purposes, and prohibits local governments from transferring future development rights for such lands (Sec. 6).

• Requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to determine whether any state owned conservation lands are suitable for bona fide agricultural purposes, and requires the department to retain a rural-lands-protection easement for all such lands (Sec. 6).

• Repeals statutes requiring Florida’s participation in the Southern States Energy Compact (Sec. 11-13).

• Prohibits land application of classes of biosolids besides Class AA biosolids, and removes the requirement that rules adopted by the department with respect to biosolids be ratified by the Legislature (Sec. 14).

• Repeals the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (Sec. 21).

• Prohibits commercial solicitation on properties that comply with “no solicitation” signage requirements and provides penalties for violation (Sec. 24).

• Amends eligibility requirements for the Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Emergency Recovery Loan Program (Sec. 26).

• Requires the Florida Wildflower Foundation, Inc. to establish the Florida Native Seed Research and Marketing Program to conduct research designed to expand the availability and uses of native seeds (Sec. 27).

• Establishes the Food Animal and Equine Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program to help offset loans incurred for studies leading to a veterinary degree with a specialization in food animal or equine animal veterinary medicine (Sec. 28).

• Prohibits local governments from requiring an agricultural property owner to obtain a rural event venue permit or license (Sec. 30).

• Repeals the Citrus Research and Development Foundation, Inc., and replaces it with the Citrus Research and Field Trial Foundation Inc. as the advisory council and research body for a citrus research marketing order, and requires the merger of the two foundations (Sec. 31-54).

• Authorizes the Welaka Training Center as a site that the Florida Forest Service (FFS) may operate to train fire and forest resource managers (Sec. 34).

• Establishes the Farmers Feeding Florida Program and restricts Feeding Florida from allowing an opposed candidate for elective office to host a food distribution event (Sec. 35).

• Expands the list of words a person is prohibited from wearing or displaying with the intention to mislead to include “concealed weapon permit” and “concealed weapon permitholder” (Sec. 51).

• Prohibits the possession, use, manufacture, import, sale, or distribution of signal jamming devices (Sec. 52).

• Specifies that this Act takes effect July 1, 2026 (Sec. 61).

Full Bill Text