Florida 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0597 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	HB 597 2022
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
8	8	hb0597-00
9	9	Page 1 of 3
10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
11	11
12	12
13	13
14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to the Florida Young Farmer and 2
16	16	Rancher Matching Grant Program; creating s. 288.06572, 3
17	17	F.S.; creating the program within the Department of 4
18	18	Agriculture and Consumer Services; specifying the 5
19	19	purpose of grants administered through the program; 6
20	20	requiring the department to select grant recipients 7
21	21	based on specified criteria; requiring the department 8
22	22	to adopt rules; requiring that applicants meet 9
23	23	specified eligibility requirements; specifying a range 10
24	24	for grant amounts; providing that a recipient may not 11
25	25	receive more than one award per year under the 12
26	26	program; specifying that grant funding is contingent 13
27	27	upon specific annual appropriation by the Legisl ature; 14
28	28	providing an appropriation; providing an effective 15
29	29	date. 16
30	30	17
31	31	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
32	32	19
33	33	Section 1. Section 288.06572, Florida Statutes, is created 20
34	34	to read: 21
35	35	288.06572 Florida Young Farmer and Rancher Matching Gr ant 22
36	36	Program.— 23
37	37	(1) The Florida Young Farmer and Rancher Matching Grant 24
38	38	Program is created within the Department of Agriculture and 25
39	39
40	40	HB 597 2022
41	41
42	42
43	43
44	44	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
45	45	hb0597-00
46	46	Page 2 of 3
47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
48	48
49	49
50	50
51	51	Consumer Services to support the start -up functions associated 26
52	52	with new farming and ranching operations. 27
53	53	(a) Grants administered by the Department of Agriculture 28
54	54	and Consumer Services through the program must be for the 29
55	55	purpose of fostering the creation and expansion of agricultural 30
56	56	businesses by young farmers and ranchers in this state. 31
57	57	(b) The Department of Agriculture an d Consumer Services 32
58	58	shall select grant recipients based on selection criteria 33
59	59	adopted pursuant to subsection (2). 34
60	60	(2)(a) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 35
61	61	shall adopt rules governing the operation of the program, 36
62	62	including an applicatio n process and selection criteria for 37
63	63	grant recipients. 38
64	64	(b) At a minimum, in order to be eligible to receive a 39
65	65	grant, an individual must meet all of the following 40
66	66	requirements: 41
67	67	1. Be an agricultural producer, be an employee of a farm 42
68	68	or ranch, or be an agricultural producer who is a veteran as 43
69	69	defined in s. 1.01(14). 44
70	70	2. Be at least 18 years of age but not older than 35 years 45
71	71	of age. 46
72	72	3. Have operated a farm or ranch for not more than 10 47
73	73	years. 48
74	74	4. Demonstrate, at minimum, a dollar -for-dollar matching 49
75	75	investment for the grant amount requested. 50
76	76
77	77	HB 597 2022
78	78
79	79
80	80
81	81	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
82	82	hb0597-00
83	83	Page 3 of 3
84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
85	85
86	86
87	87
88	88	5. Submit, on a form prescribed by the Department of 51
89	89	Agriculture and Consumer Services, a grant application during 52
90	90	the application period established by the Department of 53
91	91	Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Department of Agriculture 54
92	92	and Consumer Services may designate only one period each year 55
93	93	for accepting applications. 56
94	94	(3) Each grant award under the program must be at least 57
95	95	$5,000 but not more than $20,000, and a grant recipient may not 58
96	96	receive more than one award per grant period. 59
97	97	(4) Annual grant funding for this program is contingent 60
98	98	upon specific annual appropriation by the Legislature. 61
99	99	Section 2. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the sum of 62
100	100	$500,000 in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the Ge neral 63
101	101	Revenue Fund to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 64
102	102	Services for the purpose of implementing this act. 65
103	103	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 66