March 19, 2021 

 Inside this issue

• • Take Action: Ask your Legislators to support FFBF's Priorities
• • Right to Farm Legislation Passes on the Senate Floor

Take Action: Ask your Legislators to support FFBF's Priorities 

On Friday, March 12, we had a successful Virtual Farm Bureau Day...but there is still time for you to have your voice heard. An important part of any Farm Bureau Day event is having our grassroots members make connections with their legislators.  This year, instead of being able to make appointments and visit elected officials in the Capitol, we will depend on other ways of communicating with them during session.  

We encourage each of you to use the two forms on our legislative action page to send a message to your Senator and Representative. The FFBF Legislative Team will be following up with members of the Legislature on all the issues we discussed during our Virtual Farm Bureau Day as well as many other issues.

Again, thank you for participating, and please reach out to the FFBF Legislative Team if you have any questions. 

To take action, please click here: https://www.floridafarmbureau.org/legislative-action-center/?vvsrc=%2fcampaigns%2f82055%2frespond

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Right to Farm Legislation Passes on the Senate Floor 

On Thursday, SB 88 by Sen. Jason Brodeur passed on the Senate floor with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 37-1.

The House companion bill, HB 1601 by Rep. Jayer Williamson was heard in the House Civil Just & Property Rights Subcommittee and passed favorably with 14 yeas and 4 nays. It will be heard next in the Environment, Agriculture & Flooding subcommittee.

FFBF Director of Legislative Affairs, Adam Basford spoke in support of the bill. 

This Right to Farm legislation is a priority for FFBF.  It amends and strengthens the Florida Right to Farm Act, which is intended to protect reasonable agricultural activities conducted on farmland from nuisance lawsuits. The Right to Farm bill has three main goals: to minimize the amount of lawsuits that will be brought, to place limits on damages and to modernize the law by expanding protection beyond just nuisance claims.

• Minimize lawsuits-The bill limits the number of lawsuits able to be filed by stating that only properties within ½ mile of the farm can bring lawsuits. The bill also discourages frivolous lawsuits by forcing those who lose a claim against a farm to be responsible for the prevailing party's attorney's fees.
• Limit damages-The bill would limit compensatory damages to only the lost value of the property that was harmed.  It would also allow punitive damages only in limited situations.
• Modernize the law-The bill includes agritourism activities into the Right to Farm law.  It also expands nuisance protections to include other types of lawsuits like personal injury and trespass.

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