Bill to limit ‘nuisance’ lawsuits against farmers advances in Florida House
A priority of Senate President Wilton Simpson to give farmers more protection from “nuisance” lawsuits started to move forward Wednesday in the House.
Over the objections of environmentalists who contend the proposal is intended to protect the sugar industry around Lake Okeechobee, the House Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee voted 14-4 to support a measure (HB 1601) that would expand Florida’s “Right to Farm” law, which was first approved in 1979 and helps shield farmers from what are known as nuisance lawsuits.
The bill would expand the law to include issues related to agritourism and “particle emissions.” It also would require people who file lawsuits to show by “clear and convincing evidence” that farms did not comply with state and federal environmental laws.
The proposal also would prohibit nuisance lawsuits from being filed by anyone owning property that is not within one-half mile of the alleged violations. It also would limit damages that could be awarded to the market value of any property damaged.
“Unfortunately, we have a group of people who simply believe that food comes from the grocery store. It comes from a farm,” House bill sponsor Jayer Williamson, R-Pace, said. “And we want to make sure we have protections in place to protect those workers and to protect those industries that are producing food for our state and for the rest of the country.”
Williamson added that the distance requirement is intended to “narrow” the focus to properties “directly affected by a farm.”
But critics contend by addressing “particle emissions” in the bill, the proposal is part of an effort to scuttle a federal lawsuit over the health impact of “black snow” created from the burning of sugar cane fields.
“It really is to turn the legal system on its head to
protect the sugar industry from lawsuits over their practices,” said Deborah Foote of the Sierra Club Florida.
“One only need to look to the Forest Service maps that show that particles can travel up to 25 to 30 miles outside of where the actual burn is happening,” Foote said. “This will silence any future claims.”
Those concerns were
echoed by some lawmakers.
“This looks like it’s two bills in one, trying to increase agritourism while also really stretching the format to the point where folks who are currently trying to stop particles coming into the air from miles away will not be able to do that,” Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said.