CS/CS/HB 1051 2024
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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 housing for agricultural workers; 2
amending s. 163.3162, F.S.; defining the terms 3
"housing site" and "legally verified agricultural 4
worker"; prohibiting a governmental entity from 5
adopting or enforcing legislation that inhibits the 6
construction of housing for legally verified 7
agricultural workers on agricultural land operated as 8
a bona fide farm; authorizing local governments to 9
adopt land use regulations that are less restrictive 10
than certain regulations; requiring that the 11
construction or installation of such housing units on 12
agricultural lands satisfy certain criteria; requiring 13
that local ordinances comply with certain regulations; 14
requiring property owners to maintain certain records 15
for a specified timeframe; requiring the suspension of 16
use of certain housing units and authorizing their 17
removal under certain circumstances; specifying 18
applicability of permit allocation systems in ce rtain 19
areas of critical state concern; authorizing the 20
continued use of housing sites constructed before the 21
effective date of the act if certain conditions are 22
met; providing requirements for property owners of 23
certain housing sites; providing an effectiv e date. 24
25
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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
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26
27
Section 1. Paragraphs (e) and (f) are added to subsection 28
(2) of section 163.3162, Florida Statutes, and subsection (5) is 29
added to that section, to read: 30
163.3162 Agricultural Lands and Practices. — 31
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 32
(e) "Housing site" means the totality of development 33
supporting authorized housing, including buildings, mobile 34
homes, barracks, dormitories used as living quarters, parking 35
areas, common areas such as athletic fields or playgrounds, 36
storage structures, and other related structures. 37
(f) "Legally verified agricultural worker" means a person 38
who meets all of the following criteria: 39
1. Is lawfully present in the United States. 40
2. Has been verified through the process provided in s. 41
448.095 and is authorized to work at the time of employment. 42
3. Is seasonally or annually employed in bona fide 43
agricultural production. 44
4. Remains lawfully present and authorized to work 45
throughout the duration of that employment. 46
47
The term includes a migrant farmworker as defined in s. 48
381.008(4) and a temporary worker with a valid H -2A visa issued 49
pursuant to 8 U.S.C. s. 1188. 50
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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
(5) HOUSING FOR LEGALLY VERIFIED AGRICULTURAL WORKERS. — 51
(a) A governmental entity may not adopt or enforce any 52
legislation to inhibit the construction or installation of 53
housing for legally verified agricultural workers on land 54
classified as agricultural land pursuant to s. 193.461 which is 55
operated as a bona fide farm except as provided in this 56
subsection. However, a local government may adopt land use 57
regulations that are less restrictive than as provided in this 58
subsection. 59
(b) Construction or installation of housing units for 60
legally verified agricultural workers on parcels of land 61
classified as agricultural land under s. 193.461 must satisfy 62
all of the following criteria: 63
1. The dwelling units must meet federal, state, and local 64
building standards, including standards of the Department of 65
Health adopted pursuant to ss. 381.008 -381.00897 and federal 66
standards for H-2A visa housing. If written notice of intent is 67
required to be submitted to the Department of Health pursuant to 68
s. 381.0083, the appropriate governmental entity with 69
jurisdiction over the agri cultural lands may also require 70
submittal of a copy of the written notice. 71
2. The housing site must be maintained in a neat, orderly, 72
and safe manner. 73
3. All structures containing dwelling units must be 74
located a minimum of 10 feet apart. 75
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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
4. The square footage of the housing site's climate -76
controlled facilities may not exceed 1.5 percent of the 77
property's area or 35,000 square feet, whichever is less. 78
5. A housing site must provide front, side, and rear yard 79
setbacks of at least 50 feet. However, an internal project 80
driveway may be located in the required yard space if the yard 81
is adjacent to a public roadway or to property that is under 82
common ownership with the housing site. 83
6. A housing site may not be located less than 250 feet 84
from a property line adjacent to property zoned for residential 85
use. If the housing site is located less than 500 feet from any 86
property line, screening must be provided between the housing 87
site and any residentially developed adjacent parcels that are 88
under different ownership. The screening may be designed in any 89
of the following ways: 90
a. Evergreen plants that, at the time of planting, are at 91
least 6 feet in height and provide an overall screening opacity 92
of 75 percent; 93
b. A masonry wall at least 6 feet in height and finished 94
on all sides with brick, stone, or painted or pigmented stucco; 95
c. A solid wood or PVC fence at least 6 feet in height 96
with the finished side of the fence facing out; 97
d. A row of evergreen shade trees that, at the time of 98
planting, are at lea st 10 feet in height, a minimum of 2 -inch 99
caliper, and spaced no more than 20 feet apart; or 100
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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
e. A berm made with a combination of the materials listed 101
in sub-subparagraphs a.-d., which is at least 6 feet in height 102
and provides an overall screening opacit y of 75 percent at the 103
time of installation. 104
7. All access drives that serve the housing site must be 105
made of packed shell, gravel, or a similar material that will 106
provide a relatively dust -free surface. 107
(c) Any local ordinance adopted pursuant to this 108
subsection must comply with all state and federal regulations 109
for migrant farmworker housing, as applicable, including rules 110
adopted by the Department of Health pursuant to ss. 381.008 –111
381.00897 and federal regulations under the Migrant and Seasonal 112
Agricultural Worker Protection Act or the H -2A visa program. 113
(d) Beginning July 1, 2024, a property owner must maintain 114
records of all approved permits, including successor permits, 115
for migrant labor camps or residential migrant housing as 116
required under s. 381.0081. A property owner must maintain such 117
records for at least 3 years and make the records available for 118
inspection within 14 days after receipt of a request for records 119
by a governmental entity. 120
(e) A housing site may not continue to be used and may be 121
required to be removed under the following circumstances: 122
1. If, for any reason, a housing site is not being used 123
for legally verified agricultural workers for longer than 365 124
days, any structures used as living quarters must be removed 125
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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
from the housing site within 180 days after receipt of written 126
notification from the county unless the property owner can 127
demonstrate that use of the site for housing legally verified 128
agricultural workers will occur within 90 days after receipt of 129
the written notificat ion. 130
2. If the property on which the housing site is located 131
ceases to be classified as agricultural land, housing authorized 132
under this section ceases to be eligible for residential uses 133
unless and until it is approved under the zoning and land use 134
regulations of the governmental entity. 135
3. If the permit authorized by the Department of Health 136
for the housing site is revoked, any structures must be removed 137
from the housing site within 180 days after receipt of written 138
notification from the county unless the permit is reinstated by 139
the Department of Health. 140
(f) Notwithstanding this subsection, the construction or 141
installation of housing for legally verified agricultural 142
workers in the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern or 143
the City of Key West A rea of Critical State Concern is subject 144
to the permit allocation systems of the Florida Keys Area of 145
Critical State Concern or the City of Key West Area of Critical 146
State Concern, respectively. 147
(g) A housing site that was constructed and in use before 148
July 1, 2024, may continue to be used, and the property owner 149
may not be required by a governmental entity to make changes to 150
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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
meet the requirements of this subsection, unless the housing 151
site will be enlarged, remodeled, renovated, or rehabilitated. 152
The property owner of a housing site that is authorized under 153
this paragraph must provide regular maintenance and repair, 154
including compliance with health and safety regulations and 155
maintenance standards, for such housing site to ensure the 156
health, safety, and ha bitability of the housing site. 157
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 158