HB 1529 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1529-00
Page 1 of 8
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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to agricultural property; creating s. 2
163.3203, F.S.; providing legislative intent; defining 3
the term "agricultural -related facility"; authorizing 4
certain facilities to be permitted specified land use 5
categories and zoning districts; requir es such 6
facilities comply with certain criteria; authorizing 7
an affirmative defense; amending s. 163.3248, F.S.; 8
providing that certain businesses and facilities are 9
traditional rural land uses; amending s. 193.461, 10
F.S.; authorizing property to be classif ied as 11
agricultural at the time of purchase if certain 12
conditions are met; requiring such property to obtain 13
certain classification within a specified time period; 14
authorizing retroactive reclassification in certain 15
circumstances; authorizing the property appraiser to 16
extend the time period; requiring the local government 17
to make certain notifications to purchasers; revising 18
the definition of "agricultural purposes"; amending s. 19
193.4613, F.S.; correcting a cross -reference; 20
providing an effective date. 21
22
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23
24
Section 1. Section 163.3203, Florida Statutes, is created 25
HB 1529 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1529-00
Page 2 of 8
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
to read: 26
163.3203 Agricultural -related facilities.— 27
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage the 28
sale of agricultural products to residents and businesses in the 29
state. In order to preserve open space and encourage 30
sustainability and diverse income within the state's 31
agricultural industry, it is essential that agricultural -related 32
facilities and associated infrastructure be constructed and 33
maintained in close proximity to, or collocated with, 34
agricultural businesses, where appropriate, throughout the state 35
in order to ensure access to and the availability of Florida -36
grown and produced agricultural products, which are criti cal to 37
the state's economic future. 38
(2) As used in this section, the term "agricultural -39
related facility" means a facility constructed and maintained 40
for the purposes of selling farm products that: 41
(a) Primarily uses farm products grown on site or with in a 42
50-mile radius of the facility. 43
(b) Consists principally of farm products and the 44
equipment necessary to distribute, transport, care, maintain 45
and, as applicable, install the farm products. 46
(c) May include accessory equipment, farm tractors as 47
defined in s. 322.01, or motor vehicles necessary to transport 48
farm products. 49
(3) A agricultural-related facility: 50
HB 1529 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1529-00
Page 3 of 8
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
(a) Shall be a permitted use in all agricultural land use 51
categories in a local government comprehensive plan and all 52
agricultural zoning di stricts within an unincorporated area. 53
(b) Must comply with the setback and landscaped buffer 54
area criteria for other similar uses in the agricultural 55
district. 56
(4) This section may be used as an affirmative defense in 57
existing or future actions by loc al government. 58
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 163.3248, Florida 59
Statutes, is amended to read: 60
163.3248 Rural land stewardship areas. — 61
(1) Rural land stewardship areas are designed to establish 62
a long-term incentive-based strategy to balance and guide the 63
allocation of land so as to accommodate future land uses in a 64
manner that protects the natural environment, stimulate economic 65
growth and diversification, and encourage the retention of land 66
for agriculture and other traditional rural land us es, 67
including, but not limited to, landscape service businesses, 68
equestrian facilities, and other businesses that are integral to 69
support agriculture. 70
Section 3. Subsections (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of 71
section 193.461, Florida Statutes, are renumber ed as subsections 72
(5), (6), (7), (8), and (9), respectively, paragraphs (a) and 73
(e) of subsection (3) and present subsection (5) are amended, 74
and a new subsection (4) is added to that section, to read: 75
HB 1529 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1529-00
Page 4 of 8
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
193.461 Agricultural lands; classification and asses sment; 76
mandated eradication or quarantine program; natural disasters. — 77
(3)(a) Except as provided in subsection (4), lands may not 78
be classified as agricultural lands unless a return is filed on 79
or before March 1 of each year. Before classifying such land s as 80
agricultural lands, the property appraiser may require the 81
taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative to furnish the 82
property appraiser such information as may reasonably be 83
required to establish that such lands were actually used for a 84
bona fide agricultural purpose. Failure to make timely 85
application by March 1 constitutes a waiver for 1 year of the 86
privilege granted in this section for agricultural assessment. 87
However, an applicant who is qualified to receive an 88
agricultural classification who fails to file an application by 89
March 1 must file an application for the classification with the 90
property appraiser on or before the 25th day after the mailing 91
by the property appraiser of the notice required under s. 92
194.011(1). Upon receipt of sufficient evide nce, as determined 93
by the property appraiser, that demonstrates that the applicant 94
was unable to apply for the classification in a timely manner or 95
that otherwise demonstrates extenuating circumstances that 96
warrant the granting of the classification, the p roperty 97
appraiser may grant the classification. If the applicant files 98
an application for the classification and fails to provide 99
sufficient evidence to the property appraiser as required, the 100
HB 1529 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1529-00
Page 5 of 8
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
applicant may file, pursuant to s. 194.011(3), a petition with 101
the value adjustment board requesting that the classification be 102
granted. The petition may be filed at any time during the 103
taxable year on or before the 25th day following the mailing of 104
the notice by the property appraiser as provided in s. 105
194.011(1). Notwithstanding s. 194.013, the applicant must pay a 106
nonrefundable fee of $15 upon filing the petition. Upon 107
reviewing the petition, if the person is qualified to receive 108
the classification and demonstrates particular extenuating 109
circumstances judged by the value adjustment board to warrant 110
granting the classification, the value adjustment board may 111
grant the classification for the current year. The owner of land 112
that was classified agricultural in the previous year and whose 113
ownership or use has not changed may reapply on a short form as 114
provided by the department. The lessee of property may make 115
original application or reapply using the short form if the 116
lease, or an affidavit executed by the owner, provides that the 117
lessee is empowered to make application f or the agricultural 118
classification on behalf of the owner and a copy of the lease or 119
affidavit accompanies the application. A county may, at the 120
request of the property appraiser and by a majority vote of its 121
governing body, waive the requirement that an a nnual application 122
or statement be made for classification of property within the 123
county after an initial application is made and the 124
classification granted by the property appraiser. Such waiver 125
HB 1529 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1529-00
Page 6 of 8
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
may be revoked by a majority vote of the governing body of th e 126
county. 127
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a), land 128
that has received an agricultural classification from the value 129
adjustment board or a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant 130
to this section is entitled to receive such classification in 131
any subsequent year until such agricultural use of the land is 132
abandoned or discontinued, the land is diverted to a 133
nonagricultural use, or the land is reclassified as 134
nonagricultural pursuant to subsection (5) (4). The property 135
appraiser must, no later than January 31 of each year, provide 136
notice to the owner of land that was classified agricultural in 137
the previous year informing the owner of the requirements of 138
this paragraph and requiring the owner to certify that neither 139
the ownership nor the use of the land has changed. The 140
department shall, by administrative rule, prescribe the form of 141
the notice to be used by the property appraiser under this 142
paragraph. If a county has waived the requirement that an annual 143
application or statement be made for class ification of property 144
pursuant to paragraph (a), the county may, by a majority vote of 145
its governing body, waive the notice and certification 146
requirements of this paragraph and shall provide the property 147
owner with the same notification provided to owners of land 148
granted an agricultural classification by the property 149
appraiser. Such waiver may be revoked by a majority vote of the 150
HB 1529 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1529-00
Page 7 of 8
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
county's governing body. This paragraph does not apply to any 151
property if the agricultural classification of that property is 152
the subject of current litigation. 153
(4)(a) Property may be classified as agricultural at the 154
time of purchase if the following conditions are met: 155
1. The purchaser owns an agriculture business in this 156
state, the business has been in operation for at least 5 years, 157
and the business is located on land classified as agricultural 158
pursuant to this section. 159
2. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 160
certifies that the purchaser is enrolled in the appropriate 161
interim measures or best management pract ices. 162
3. The purchaser completes the application for 163
agricultural classification. 164
(b) Property classified as agricultural under this 165
subsection must obtain agricultural classification under 166
subsection (3). The purchaser shall have 5 years after the dat e 167
the agricultural classification is received to commence bona 168
fide agricultural activities or the property appraiser may 169
retroactively reclassify the land as nonagricultural from the 170
date of purchase. The property appraiser may extend the 5 -year 171
period upon written request. 172
(c) When an agricultural classification is granted under 173
this section, the local government must notify the purchaser of 174
his or her rights under s. 823.14, and how to comply with any 175
HB 1529 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1529-00
Page 8 of 8
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
flood plain management ordinance. 176
(6)(5) For the purpose of this section, the term 177
"agricultural purposes" includes, but is not limited to, 178
horticulture; floriculture; viticulture; forestry; dairy; 179
livestock; poultry; bee; pisciculture, if the land is used 180
principally for the production of tropical fish; aquaculture as 181
defined in s. 597.0015; algaculture; sod farming; and all forms 182
of farm products as defined in s. 823.14(3) and farm production , 183
which includes, but is not limited to, equipment, machinery, and 184
other appurtenances which are integral to the operation and are 185
necessary to plant, grow, propagate, harvest, market, sell, 186
handle, distribute, or move farm products . 187
Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 188
193.4613, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 189
193.4613 Agricultural lands used in production of 190
aquaculture; assessment. — 191
(2)(a) When proper application for agricultural assessment 192
has been made and granted pursuant to s. 193.461, and the 193
property owner requests assessment pursuant to this section, the 194
assessment of land used in the production of aquaculture 195
products shall be based solely on its agricultural use, 196
consistent with the use factors specified in s. 193.461(7)(a) s. 197
193.461(6)(a), and assessed pursuant to paragraph (c). 198
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 199