Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1184 By Senator Collins 14-01628-23 20231184__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to agricultural lands; amending s. 3 125.01, F.S.; increasing the nonresidential farm 4 building just value threshold for certain special 5 assessments; amending s. 163.3162, F.S.; authorizing 6 construction or installation of housing for migrant 7 farmworkers on certain lands; providing requirements 8 for such housing; exempting such housing from certain 9 local government approval; amending s. 193.461, F.S.; 10 prohibiting local governments from adopting land use 11 or zoning restrictions, conditions, or regulations 12 that require certain termination or surrender of 13 agricultural classifications; providing that such 14 restrictions, conditions, or regulations adopted 15 before a specified date are invalid and unenforceable; 16 amending s. 212.096, F.S.; providing tax credits for 17 the rental or purchase of specified housing for 18 migrant farmworkers; providing requirements for 19 claiming the tax credit; specifying procedures for the 20 governing body when an application for tax credit is 21 received; requiring that applications for tax credit 22 be received by a certain timeframe; conforming a 23 provision to changes made by the act; amending s. 24 381.0065, F.S.; requiring the Department of 25 Environmental Protection to permit and inspect toilet 26 facilities placed on lands classified as agricultural 27 for certain use; providing an effective date. 28 29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30 31 Section 1.Paragraph (r) of subsection (1) of section 32 125.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 33 125.01Powers and duties. 34 (1)The legislative and governing body of a county shall 35 have the power to carry on county government. To the extent not 36 inconsistent with general or special law, this power includes, 37 but is not restricted to, the power to: 38 (r)Levy and collect taxes, both for county purposes and 39 for the providing of municipal services within any municipal 40 service taxing unit, and special assessments; borrow and expend 41 money; and issue bonds, revenue certificates, and other 42 obligations of indebtedness, which power shall be exercised in 43 such manner, and subject to such limitations, as may be provided 44 by general law. There shall be no referendum required for the 45 levy by a county of ad valorem taxes, both for county purposes 46 and for the providing of municipal services within any municipal 47 service taxing unit. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 48 a county may not levy special assessments for the provision of 49 fire protection services on lands classified as agricultural 50 lands under s. 193.461 unless the land contains a residential 51 dwelling or nonresidential farm building, with the exception of 52 an agricultural pole barn, provided the nonresidential farm 53 building exceeds a just value of $350,000 $10,000. Such special 54 assessments must be based solely on the special benefit accruing 55 to that portion of the land consisting of the residential 56 dwelling and curtilage, and qualifying nonresidential farm 57 buildings. As used in this paragraph, the term agricultural 58 pole barn means a nonresidential farm building in which 70 59 percent or more of the perimeter walls are permanently open and 60 allow free ingress and egress. 61 Section 2.Subsection (5) is added to section 163.3162, 62 Florida Statutes, to read: 63 163.3162Agricultural Lands and Practices. 64 (5)(a)FARMWORKER HOUSING.The construction or installation 65 of housing for migrant farmworkers as defined in s. 381.008(4) 66 is authorized on land zoned for agricultural use and operated as 67 a bona fide farm. 68 (b)Construction or installation of housing under this 69 subsection: 70 1.May not exceed 5,000 square feet per parcel of land; 71 2.Must meet all local and state building standards for 72 securing a certificate of occupancy; and 73 3.Does not require approval by ordinance or resolution of 74 the governmental entity where the land is located. 75 Section 3.Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 76 193.461, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 77 193.461Agricultural lands; classification and assessment; 78 mandated eradication or quarantine program; natural disasters. 79 (3) 80 (b)Subject to the restrictions specified in this section, 81 only lands that are used primarily for bona fide agricultural 82 purposes shall be classified as agricultural. The term bona 83 fide agricultural purposes means good faith commercial 84 agricultural use of the land. 85 1.In determining whether the use of the land for 86 agricultural purposes is bona fide, the following factors may be 87 taken into consideration: 88 a.The length of time the land has been so used. 89 b.Whether the use has been continuous. 90 c.The purchase price paid. 91 d.Size, as it relates to specific agricultural use, but a 92 minimum acreage may not be required for agricultural assessment. 93 e.Whether an indicated effort has been made to care 94 sufficiently and adequately for the land in accordance with 95 accepted commercial agricultural practices, including, without 96 limitation, fertilizing, liming, tilling, mowing, reforesting, 97 and other accepted agricultural practices. 98 f.Whether the land is under lease and, if so, the 99 effective length, terms, and conditions of the lease. 100 g.Such other factors as may become applicable. 101 2.Offering property for sale does not constitute a primary 102 use of land and may not be the basis for denying an agricultural 103 classification if the land continues to be used primarily for 104 bona fide agricultural purposes while it is being offered for 105 sale. 106 3.A local government may not adopt a land use or zoning 107 restriction, condition, or regulation that requires the 108 termination of an agricultural classification for any property 109 or the surrender of an agricultural classification for any 110 property by the property owner. Such restrictions, conditions, 111 or regulations adopted before July 1, 2023, are invalid and 112 unenforceable. 113 Section 4.Present subsections (4) through (12) of section 114 212.096, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5) 115 through (13), respectively, a new subsection (4) is added to 116 that section, and present subsection (12) of that section is 117 amended, to read: 118 212.096Sales, rental, storage, use tax; enterprise zone 119 jobs credit against sales tax. 120 (4)(a)Upon an affirmative showing by an eligible business 121 to the satisfaction of the department that the requirements of 122 this section have been met, the business shall be allowed a 123 credit against the tax remitted under this chapter. 124 (b)The credit shall be computed as 100 percent of all 125 state sales tax that would be due on the: 126 1.Rental of housing, including a building, manufactured 127 home, mobile home, dormitory, barracks, motel, or hotel for 128 housing two or more migrant farmworkers as defined in s. 129 381.008(4); 130 2.Purchase of a mobile home as defined in s. 320.01(2)(a) 131 for housing two or more migrant farmworkers as defined in s. 132 381.008(4); or 133 3.Purchase of a manufactured home as defined in s. 134 320.01(2)(b) for housing two or more migrant farmworkers as 135 defined in s. 381.008(4). 136 (c)In order to claim this credit, an eligible employer 137 must file under oath with the governing body where the property 138 is located a statement that includes all of the following: 139 1.For each migrant farmworker for whom this credit is 140 claimed, the farmworkers name and place of permanent residence, 141 and documentation that the farmworker is legally eligible for 142 participation in the workforce. 143 2.The name and address of the eligible business. 144 3.The hourly wages paid to the migrant farmworker. 145 (d)Within 10 working days after receipt of the application 146 for credit, the governing body shall review the application to 147 determine if it contains all the information required pursuant 148 to this subsection and meets the criteria set out in this 149 section. The governing body shall certify all applications that 150 contain the information required pursuant to this subsection and 151 meet the criteria set out in this section as eligible to receive 152 the credit. 153 (e)All applications for a credit pursuant to this 154 subsection must be submitted to the department within 6 months 155 after the employee is hired. 156 (12)This section, except for subsection (12) (11), expires 157 on the date specified in s. 290.016 for the expiration of the 158 Florida Enterprise Zone Act. 159 Section 5.Paragraph (m) of subsection (3) of section 160 381.0065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 161 381.0065Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems; 162 regulation. 163 (3)DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL 164 PROTECTION.The department shall: 165 (m)Permit and inspect portable or temporary toilet 166 services and holding tanks. The department shall review 167 applications, perform site evaluations, and issue permits for 168 the temporary use of holding tanks, privies, portable toilet 169 services, or any other toilet facility that is intended for use 170 on a permanent or nonpermanent basis, including facilities 171 placed on lands classified as agricultural pursuant to s. 172 193.461 or construction sites when workers are present. The 173 department may specify standards for the construction, 174 maintenance, use, and operation of any such facility for 175 temporary use. 176 Section 6.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.