A bill that updates the Florida Right to Farm Act and its restrictions on the filing of nuisance lawsuits against farmers easily passed the state Senate earlier this month on a bipartisan vote.
SB 88, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Sanford), is aimed at protecting reasonable agricultural activities in the state from lawsuits alleging such problems as noise, smoke, particle emissions and vibrations – provided that the farm owners comply with environmental rules and best management practices.
The legislation expands the definition of farm operations to include agritourism activities, such as self-harvesting opportunities and other attractions. It also limits neighbors from bringing such lawsuits unless they live within a half-mile of the alleged nuisance, according to an analysis of the bill by the Senate Rules Committee staff.
State Sen. Jason Brodeur
“I’m proud to have seen SB 88 pass out of the Senate with 37 yeas and one nay last week,” Brodeur told the Florida Record in an email. “I think we got the bill to a great place with language that garnered broad support. I’ll be watching the companion bill’s progress in the House and hope it will enjoy the same level of support there.”
The Florida Sierra Club raised concerns about the effects of SB 88 if it were to become law, however.
“This bill will make it difficult or impossible for residents currently subjected to eight months of smoke and ash from sugar burning each year to successfully sue for damages,” the Sierra Club said in an alert to its members this month.
The Rules Committee’s analysis of the bill notes that a federal class-action lawsuit has been filed against sugarcane farmers in southern Florida over alleged health effects caused by the pre-harvest burning of sugarcane near Lake Okeechobee. The trial court has concluded that the burning activities are an acceptable farming practice under the Right to Farm Act, according to the analysis.
But the federal court has also found that the state law will not protect farmers if their pre-harvest burning releases pollutants that are deemed harmful to residents’ health.
Brodeur’s bill identifies certain unsanitary conditions that represent evidence of a legitimate nuisance. These include the presence of diseased animals that pose dangers to human health, untreated human waste or garbage on the premises, or septic tanks that lack proper maintenance, according to the bill.