2024 Bill Tracker – Agriculture & Rural Affairs

Sponsor: Melo/Brodeur 

Status: Monitor 

To view the latest bill actions, please see below: 

HB 119 

SB 188 

Establishes trespassing on designated commercial agricultural property as a third-degree felony. The bill specifically applies to an offender who enters a property with criminal intent. The property’s agricultural status must be clearly advertised under this section’s signage requirements.  

Sponsor: Abbott/Simon

Status: Support

To view the latest bill actions, please see below:

-HB 141

-SB 196

Removes local match requirements within the Regional Rural Development Grant program.  Current law requires a 25% non-state match by the recipient regional economic development organization. The bill also removes several eligibility requirements including: 

• Demonstration of need by the applicant 
• Proof by each respective unit of local government of financial or in-kind commitment to the regional organization 
• Demonstration of private-sector involvement within the regional organization 

Effective date: July 1, 2024 

This effort represents a response to the closure of several rural hospitals across the state, due to lower service volume and reimbursement rates.  

The bill designates “rural emergency hospitals” (REH) as a new classification of hospital license, potentially eligible for federal reimbursement and Medicare facility payments. A rural emergency hospital is expected to meet the following criteria: 

• Certified as an REH by the Department of Health and Human Services  
• Does not provide inpatient services, with the exception of a distinctly licensed skilled nursing unit to furnish post-hospital extended care services  
• Has a transfer agreement in place with a Level I or II trauma center 
• An emergency department staffed 24/7 
• 50 or fewer beds OR has been licensed as a “critical access hospital” 

The bill also prospectively requires health plans to cover rural emergency hospital services to the same extent that they would cover general hospital services.  

Sponsor: Roth/Rodriguez 

Status: Oppose 

To view the latest bill actions, please see below:  

HB 339 

SB 696 

Current law preempts local governments from prohibiting/regulating agritourism practices on land classified as agricultural. This bill expands the preemption to include the following as prohibited actions: 

• A local government may not require a certificate of use for agricultural facilities or agritourism venues. The bill also sunsets any such existing ordinances or regulations one year after the bill’s effective date. 
• A local government may not limit any state-regulated agritourism activities. This includes brewery, winery, and distillery operations on agricultural property. 

The bill precludes a government entity from restricting the construction or installation of housing for agricultural workers on land classified as agricultural. Local governments are, however, authorized to require the following of a housing site:  

• Meets all federal, state, and local building standards, including Department of Health (DOH) migrant farmworker living standards 
• Must be maintained in a neat, orderly, and safe manner;   
• May not exceed the lesser of 1.5 percent of the property’s area or 35,000 square feet 
• 50-foot setbacks on all sides  
• May not be located less than 250 feet from a property zoned for residential use;  
• Provide screening consisting of tree, wall, berm or fence coverage at least six feet in height, if the structure is within 500 feet of a residential-zoned parcel 
• Cover access drives with dust-free material such as packed shell or gravel. 

Such housing structures constructed prior to July 1, 2024 are not required to meet these requirements, unless the structure is altered or expanded. Housing structures are to be removed if agricultural operations cease for 365 days (following a 180 day notice period by the local government to resume operations) or if the DOH housing permit is revoked.  

Sponsors: Roth/Burgess 

Status: Monitor 

To view the latest bill actions, please see below: 

SB 1159 

HB 1422 

Directs the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide incentives to food producers to sell food products to food recovery entities at a discounted price. Food recovery entities may negotiate prices of fresh food products, before being reimbursed by DACS pursuant to this section. The bill also appropriates $5 million for FY2024-25 to implement the program.  

Sponsors: McFarland/Bradley 

Status: Monitor 

To view the latest bill actions, please see below: 

HB 1459 

SB 1680 

Creates the Government Technology Modernization Council within the Department of Management Services. The council’s stated purpose is the following: 

• Provide guidance on potential legislative reform and a state code of ethics regarding use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in government  
• Assess the impact of automated systems on residents’ legal and Constitutional rights 
• Study the benefits, liabilities, and risks on private residents and businesses  
• Recommend legislative and administrative actions to promote data modernization within the state 
• Assess current deployment of AI systems 
• Determine how AI may be exploited by bad actors, particularly foreign countries of concern under s. 287.138, F.S.  

The council is to be comprised of the following: 

• Lieutenant Governor 
• Chief Information Officer 
• Surgeon General 
• Secretary of Health Care Administration 
• A representative from the computer crimes unit of the Department of Law Enforcement 

• Chief Inspector General 
• Thirteen representatives from higher education institutions or the private sector, with senior level experience with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Constitutional Law 
• One member of both the House and Senate 
• The Secretary of Management Services will serve as an ex officio, non-voting member of the council.  

The bill directs the council to submit an annual report regarding data, trends, analysis, and recommendations regarding modern technology systems and ransomware incidents.  

The bill also requires a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure of the use of artificial intelligence in a political advertisement.