FL Senate Passes 'Right to Farm' Bill Expansion

The Senate has just passed legislation to modernize right to farm protections. Originally passed in 1979, SB88 would expand and modernize protections that are currently available under the Act. Farmers would be protected from lawsuits that are based on their routine farming and agricultural activities.

Assuring that “every state has a ‘Right to Farm’ law that protect [sic] farmers and ranchers from nuisance lawsuits filed by people who move into rural area where normal farming operations exist and then use our court system to try to interfere,” Senate President Wilton Simpson (R), himself a lifelong farmer, affirmed that “this bill is about protecting legacy businesses across our state.”

Noting the work that farmers do, Simpson added that “they don’t have the time or the money to spend months tied up in court because the new subdivision down the road doesn’t like the farming operations that have been in place on that land for generations.”

In an effort to help farmers, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, “by modernizing Florida’s Right to Farm Act, we are striking the correct balance between residential development and critical farm work and agritourism activities.”

“Florida farms contribute to our nation’s food supply and billions of dollars to our state’s economy, and yet this law hasn’t been updated in over 40 years” until now, Simpson shared.

The Senate bill was introduced by Florida Rep. Jason Brodeur (R).