The Florida Senate

Except as hereinafter provided, prior to the approval of a citrus fruit dealer’s license, the applicant therefor must deliver to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services a good and sufficient cash bond, appropriate certificate of deposit, or a surety bond executed by the applicant as principal and by a surety company qualified to do business in this state as surety, in an amount as determined by the Department of Citrus. The amount of such bond or certificate of deposit shall be determined by taking into consideration any one or more of the following: The number of standard packed boxes of citrus fruit, or the equivalent thereof, which the applicant intends to handle during the term of the license as set forth in the application; the total volume of fruit handled by the dealer the previous season; the highest month’s volume handled the previous season; the anticipated increase in the total citrus crop during the season for which the application for license is made; and other relevant factors based on the following schedule:

If a citrus fruit dealer during the term of her or his license finds that she or he has handled, or can reasonably expect to handle a volume of fruit greater than that covered by a posted bond or certificate of deposit, the dealer shall have the affirmative duty of immediately notifying the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and initiating an increase in such bond or certificate of deposit to an amount that will meet the requirements set forth above.

Said bond shall be in the form approved by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and shall be conditioned as provided in s. 601.66(9), and also to fully comply with the terms and conditions of all contracts, verbal or written, made by the citrus fruit dealer with producers or with other citrus fruit dealers, relative to the purchasing, handling, sale, and accounting of purchases and sales of citrus fruit, and upon the dealer accounting for the proceeds from, and paying for, any citrus fruit purchased or contracted for, in accordance with the terms of the contracts with producers, and upon the dealer accounting for any advance payments or deposits made, and delivering all citrus fruit contracted for, in accordance with the terms of the contracts with other citrus fruit dealers. The commission may prescribe by rule that such a producer contract contain information that it considers necessary to protect the producer from deceptive practices. For purposes of this chapter, every such contract shall be conclusively deemed to have been made and entered into during the shipping season in which the delivery of fruit into the primary channel of trade is made.

Said bond shall be to the Department of Agriculture, for the use and benefit of every producer and of every citrus fruit dealer with whom the dealer deals in the purchase, handling, sale, and accounting of purchases and sales of citrus fruit. The aggregate accumulative liability under any bond shall not exceed the amount named therein. Said bond shall provide that the surety company thereon shall not be liable to any citrus fruit dealer claiming to be injured or damaged by the said dealer if the aggregate of the amounts found to be due to producers pursuant to the provisions of this chapter equals or exceeds the amount of the bond, unless such citrus fruit dealer is also a producer and is acting in the capacity of a producer and not in the capacity of a citrus fruit dealer in the transaction wherein she or he claims to have been injured or damaged by applicant; but if the aggregate of such amounts is less than the amount of the bond, then the surety may be held liable to such citrus fruit dealers, but not in excess of the sum by which the amount of the bond exceeds the aggregate of the amounts found to be due to producers pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

The Department of Citrus or the Department of Agriculture, or any officer or employee designated by the Department of Citrus or the Department of Agriculture, shall have the right to inspect such accounts and records of any citrus fruit dealer as may be deemed necessary to determine whether a bond which has been delivered to the Department of Agriculture is in the amount required by this section or whether a previously licensed nonbonded dealer should be required to furnish bond. If any such citrus fruit dealer refuses to permit such inspection, the Department of Agriculture may publish the facts and circumstances and by order suspend the license of the offender until permission to make such inspection is given. Upon a finding by the Department of Agriculture that any citrus fruit dealer has dealt or probably will deal with more fruit during the season than shown by the application, the Department of Agriculture may order such bond increased to such an amount as will meet the requirements as set forth in the bond schedule of subsection (1). Upon failure to file such increased bond within the time fixed by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture may publish the facts and circumstances and by order suspend the license of such citrus fruit dealer until the said bond is increased as ordered.

If any of the provisions of this act shall be held to be unconstitutional or invalid for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction or if such court shall find or declare that no applicant shall be required to furnish the bond required by this act, then and in that event this entire act shall be ineffective for any and all purposes and the laws in effect on July 31, 1965, which are amended by this act, shall not be deemed to be amended or repealed by this act but shall instead remain in full force and effect it being the intention of the Legislature that in such event this entire act shall be ineffective for any and all purposes and the laws in effect on July 31, 1965, which are amended or repealed by this act shall instead not be deemed to be amended or repealed by this act but shall remain in full force and effect.