HB 353

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the protection of commercial citrus
3	groves; amending s. 581.091, F.S.; providing conditions
4	for use of Casuarina cunninghamiana as a windbreak for
5	commercial citrus groves; providing for permitting and
6	permit fees; providing for destruction of Casuarina
7	cunninghamiana; providing that use as a windbreak does not
8	preclude research or release of agents to control
9	Casuarina sp.; providing that the use of Casuarina
10	cunninghamiana for windbreaks does not interfere with or
11	restrict efforts to manage or control noxious weeds or
12	invasive plants; prohibiting any other agency or local
13	government from removing Casuarina cunninghamiana planted
14	as a windbreak under special permit; providing an
15	effective date.
16
17	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19	Section 1.  Subsection (5) is added to section 581.091,
20	Florida Statutes, to read:
21	581.091  Noxious weeds and infected plants or regulated
22	articles; sale or distribution; receipt; information to
23	department; withholding information; use as windbreak for
24	commercial citrus grove.--
25	(5)(a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of state law or
26	rule, a person may obtain a special permit from the department
27	to plant Casuarina cunninghamiana as a windbreak for a
28	commercial citrus grove provided the plants are produced in an
29	authorized registered nursery and certified by the department as
30	being from certified male plants. A commercial citrus grove is
31	defined as a contiguous planting of forty or more citrus trees
32	where citrus fruit is produced for sale.
33	(b)  Special permits authorizing a person to plant
34	Casuarina cunninghamiana may only be issued as part of a program
35	to create a windbreak for the purpose of controlling citrus
36	canker in commercial citrus groves. Each application for a
37	special permit shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount
38	determined by the department, through its rulemaking authority,
39	not to exceed $500. A special permit shall be required for each
40	commercial citrus grove and shall be renewed every 5 years. The
41	property owner is responsible for maintaining and producing for
42	inspection the original nursery invoice with certification
43	documentation. If ownership of the property is transferred, the
44	seller must notify the department and provide the buyer with a
45	copy of the special permit and copies of all invoices and
46	certification documentation prior to the closing of the sale.
47	(c)  Nurseries authorized to produce Casuarina
48	cunninghamiana must obtain a special permit from the department
49	certifying that the plants are from sexually mature male source
50	trees. Each male source tree must be registered by the
51	department as being a horticulturally true-to-type male plant
52	and be labeled with a source tree registration number. Each
53	nursery application for a special permit shall be accompanied by
54	a fee in an amount determined by the department, through its
55	rulemaking authority, not to exceed $200. Special permits shall
56	be renewed annually. There shall be an annual fee as determined
57	by the department, through its rulemaking authority, not to
58	exceed $50 for each Casuarina cunninghamiana registered as a
59	source tree. Nurseries may only sell Casuarina cunninghamiana to
60	a person with a special permit as specified in paragraphs (a)
61	and (b). The source tree registration numbers of the parent
62	plants must be documented on each invoice or other certification
63	documentation provided to the buyer.
64	(d)  All Casuarina cunninghamiana must be destroyed by the
65	property owner once the site is no longer used for commercial
66	citrus production or if the department determines that the
67	Casuarina cunninghamiana on the site has become invasive. The
68	department shall make such determination based on the
69	recommendation of the Noxious Weed and Invasive Plant Review
70	Committee in consultation with a representative of the citrus
71	industry who has a Casuarina cunninghamiana windbreak.
72	Destruction of all Casuarina cunninghamiana used in the
73	windbreak must be completed within 6 months after the final
74	harvest of fruit for commercial sale. If the owner or person in
75	charge refuses or neglects to comply, the director of the
76	Division of Plant Industry or her or his authorized
77	representative may, under authority of the department, proceed
78	to destroy the plants. The expense of the destruction shall be
79	assessed, collected, and enforced against the owner by the
80	department. If the owner does not pay the assessed cost, the
81	department is authorized to record a lien against the property.
82	(e)  The use of Casuarina cunninghamiana for windbreaks
83	shall not preclude the department from issuing permits for the
84	research or release of biological control agents to control
85	Casuarina sp. in accordance with provisions in s. 581.083. The
86	department may not consider potential adverse impacts to
87	Casuarina cunninghamiana windbreaks when determining whether to
88	approve or deny permits for the research or release of any
89	biological control agent.
90	(f)  The use of Casuarina cunninghamiana for windbreaks
91	shall not restrict or interfere with any other agency or local
92	government efforts to manage or control noxious weeds or
93	invasive plants, including Casuarina cunninghamiana, nor shall
94	any other agency or local government remove any Casuarina
95	cunninghamiana planted as a windbreak under special permit
96	issued by the department.
97	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.