Florida Senate - 2023 CS for CS for SB 1184 By the Committees on Finance and Tax; and Community Affairs; and Senator Collins 593-03756-23 20231184c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to agricultural lands; amending s. 3 125.01, F.S.; prohibiting a county from levying 4 special assessments on certain lands; deleting 5 exceptions; deleting the definition of the term 6 agricultural pole barn; amending s. 163.3162, F.S.; 7 defining the term agricultural employee; authorizing 8 construction or installation of housing for 9 agricultural employees on certain lands; providing 10 requirements for such housing; exempting such housing 11 from certain local government approval; providing 12 limitations on eligibility for residential uses of 13 certain property; amending s. 193.461, F.S.; 14 prohibiting local governments from adopting land use 15 or zoning restrictions, conditions, or regulations 16 that require termination or surrender of agricultural 17 classifications for certain property; providing that 18 such restrictions, conditions, or regulations adopted 19 before a specified date are invalid and unenforceable; 20 amending s. 381.0065, F.S.; requiring the Department 21 of Environmental Protection to permit and inspect 22 toilet facilities placed on lands classified as 23 agricultural for certain use; providing an effective 24 date. 25 26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27 28 Section 1.Paragraph (r) of subsection (1) of section 29 125.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 30 125.01Powers and duties. 31 (1)The legislative and governing body of a county shall 32 have the power to carry on county government. To the extent not 33 inconsistent with general or special law, this power includes, 34 but is not restricted to, the power to: 35 (r)Levy and collect taxes, both for county purposes and 36 for the providing of municipal services within any municipal 37 service taxing unit, and special assessments; borrow and expend 38 money; and issue bonds, revenue certificates, and other 39 obligations of indebtedness, which power shall be exercised in 40 such manner, and subject to such limitations, as may be provided 41 by general law. There shall be no referendum required for the 42 levy by a county of ad valorem taxes, both for county purposes 43 and for the providing of municipal services within any municipal 44 service taxing unit. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 45 a county may not levy special assessments for the provision of 46 fire protection services on lands classified as agricultural 47 lands under s. 193.461 unless the land contains a residential 48 dwelling or nonresidential farm building, with the exception of 49 an agricultural pole barn, provided the nonresidential farm 50 building exceeds a just value of $10,000. Such special 51 assessments must be based solely on the special benefit accruing 52 to that portion of the land consisting of the residential 53 dwelling and curtilage, and qualifying nonresidential farm 54 buildings. As used in this paragraph, the term agricultural 55 pole barn means a nonresidential farm building in which 70 56 percent or more of the perimeter walls are permanently open and 57 allow free ingress and egress. 58 Section 2.Present paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection 59 (2) of section 163.3162, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 60 paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, a new paragraph (a) is 61 added to that subsection, and subsection (5) is added to that 62 section, to read: 63 163.3162Agricultural Lands and Practices. 64 (2)DEFINITIONS.As used in this section, the term: 65 (a)Agricultural employee means a person who produces a 66 farm product as defined in s. 823.14(3); is seasonally or 67 annually employed in agricultural production; is lawfully 68 present in the United States; is allowed to work at the time of 69 employment and remains so throughout the duration of that 70 employment; and has been verified through the process provided 71 in s. 448.095. 72 (5)AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYEE HOUSING. 73 (a)The construction or installation of housing for 74 agricultural employees as defined in this section is authorized 75 on land zoned for agricultural use which is operated as a bona 76 fide farm. 77 (b)Construction or installation of housing under this 78 subsection: 79 1.May not exceed 7,500 square feet per parcel of land; 80 2.Must meet all local and state building standards for 81 securing a residential certificate of occupancy; and 82 3.Does not require approval by ordinance or resolution of 83 the governmental entity where the land is located. 84 (c)If agricultural operations are discontinued on the 85 property for a minimum of 3 years and the agricultural land 86 classification of the property is no longer valid, the 87 agricultural employee housing is no longer eligible for the 88 residential uses as provided for in this section unless and 89 until approved by the local jurisdiction under its zoning and 90 land use regulations for the intended nonagricultural use. 91 Section 3.Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 92 193.461, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 93 193.461Agricultural lands; classification and assessment; 94 mandated eradication or quarantine program; natural disasters. 95 (3) 96 (b)Subject to the restrictions specified in this section, 97 only lands that are used primarily for bona fide agricultural 98 purposes shall be classified as agricultural. The term bona 99 fide agricultural purposes means good faith commercial 100 agricultural use of the land. 101 1.In determining whether the use of the land for 102 agricultural purposes is bona fide, the following factors may be 103 taken into consideration: 104 a.The length of time the land has been so used. 105 b.Whether the use has been continuous. 106 c.The purchase price paid. 107 d.Size, as it relates to specific agricultural use, but a 108 minimum acreage may not be required for agricultural assessment. 109 e.Whether an indicated effort has been made to care 110 sufficiently and adequately for the land in accordance with 111 accepted commercial agricultural practices, including, without 112 limitation, fertilizing, liming, tilling, mowing, reforesting, 113 and other accepted agricultural practices. 114 f.Whether the land is under lease and, if so, the 115 effective length, terms, and conditions of the lease. 116 g.Such other factors as may become applicable. 117 2.Offering property for sale does not constitute a primary 118 use of land and may not be the basis for denying an agricultural 119 classification if the land continues to be used primarily for 120 bona fide agricultural purposes while it is being offered for 121 sale. 122 3.A local government may not adopt a land use or zoning 123 restriction, condition, or regulation that requires the 124 termination of an agricultural classification for any property 125 or the surrender of an agricultural classification for any 126 property by the property owner if the property is used for bona 127 fide agricultural purposes as defined in this section. Such 128 restrictions, conditions, or regulations adopted before July 1, 129 2023, are invalid and unenforceable. 130 Section 4.Paragraph (m) of subsection (3) of section 131 381.0065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 132 381.0065Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems; 133 regulation. 134 (3)DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL 135 PROTECTION.The department shall: 136 (m)Permit and inspect portable or temporary toilet 137 services and holding tanks. The department shall review 138 applications, perform site evaluations, and issue permits for 139 the temporary use of holding tanks, privies, portable toilet 140 services, or any other toilet facility that is intended for use 141 on a permanent or nonpermanent basis, including facilities 142 placed on lands classified as agricultural pursuant to s. 143 193.461 or construction sites when workers are present. The 144 department may specify standards for the construction, 145 maintenance, use, and operation of any such facility for 146 temporary use. 147 Section 5.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.