Florida Senate - 2024 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1082
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Rules (Collins) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 29 - 146
4 and insert:
5 paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, new paragraphs (a),
6 (f), and (g) are added to that subsection, and subsection (5) is
7 added to that section, to read:
8 163.3162 Agricultural Lands and Practices.—
9 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
10 (a) “Agricultural worker” means a person who is seasonally
11 or annually employed in bona fide agricultural production; is
12 lawfully present in the United States; is authorized to work at
13 the time of employment and remains so throughout the duration of
14 that employment; and has been verified through the process
15 provided in s. 448.095. The term includes a migrant farmworker
16 as defined in s. 381.008 and a worker with an H-2A visa.
17 (f) “Housing site” means the totality of development
18 supporting authorized housing, including buildings, mobile
19 homes, barracks, dormitories used as living quarters, parking
20 areas, common areas such as athletic fields or playgrounds,
21 storage structures, and other related structures.
22 (g) “Nonimmigrant agricultural employee” means a person who
23 is working in this state pursuant to 8 U.S.C. s. 1188.
24 (5) HOUSING FOR NONIMMIGRANT AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYEES WITH AN
25 H-2A VISA.—
26 (a) A governmental entity may not adopt or enforce any
27 legislation to inhibit the construction or installation of
28 housing for nonimmigrant agricultural employees with an H-2A
29 visa on land classified as agricultural land pursuant to s.
30 193.461 which is operated as a bona fide farm except as provided
31 in this subsection. However, a local government may adopt land
32 use regulations relating to the construction or installation of
33 housing for agricultural workers on lands classified as
34 agricultural if such regulations are less restrictive than those
35 provided in this section.
36 (b) Construction or installation of housing units for
37 nonimmigrant agricultural employees with an H-2A visa on parcels
38 of land classified as agricultural land under s. 193.461 must
39 satisfy all of the following criteria:
40 1. The dwelling units must meet federal, state, and local
41 building standards, including H-2A farmworker housing standards
42 regulated by the Department of Health and federal standards for
43 H-2A visa housing. If written notice of intent is required to be
44 submitted to the Department of Health pursuant to s. 381.0083,
45 the appropriate governmental entity with jurisdiction over the
46 agricultural lands may also require submittal of a copy of the
47 written notice.
48 2. The housing site must be maintained in a neat, orderly,
49 and safe manner.
50 3. All structures containing dwelling units must be located
51 a minimum of 10 feet apart.
52 4. The square footage of the housing site’s climate
53 controlled facilities may not exceed 1.5 percent of the
54 property’s area or 35,000 square feet, whichever is less.
55 5. A housing site must provide front, side, and rear yard
56 setbacks of at least 50 feet. However, an internal project
57 driveway may be located in the required yard space if the yard
58 is adjacent to a public roadway or to property that is under
59 common ownership with the housing site.
60 6. A housing site may not be located less than 250 feet
61 from a property line adjacent to property zoned for residential
62 use. If the housing site is located less than 500 feet from any
63 property line, screening must be provided between the housing
64 site and any residentially developed adjacent parcels that are
65 under different ownership. The screening may be designed in any
66 of the following ways:
67 a. Evergreen plants that, at the time of planting, are at
68 least 6 feet in height and provide an overall screening opacity
69 of 75 percent;
70 b. A masonry wall at least 6 feet in height and finished on
71 all sides with brick, stone, or painted or pigmented stucco;
72 c. A solid wood or PVC fence at least 6 feet in height with
73 the finished side of the fence facing out;
74 d. A row of evergreen shade trees that, at the time of
75 planting, are at least 10 feet in height, a minimum of 2-inch
76 caliper, and spaced no more than 20 feet apart; or
77 e. A berm made with a combination of the materials listed
78 in sub-subparagraphs a.-d., which is at least 6 feet in height
79 and provides an overall screening capacity of 75 percent at the
80 time of installation.
81 7. All access drives that serve the housing site must be
82 made of packed shell, gravel, or a similar material that will
83 provide a relatively dust-free surface.
84 (c) Any local ordinance adopted pursuant to this subsection
85 must comply with all state and federal regulations for migrant
86 farmworker housing, as applicable, including rules adopted by
87 the Department of Health pursuant to ss. 381.008–381.00897 and
88 federal regulations under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural
89 Worker Protection Act or the H-2A visa program.
90 (d) Beginning July 1, 2024, a property owner must maintain
91 records of all approved permits, including successor permits,
92 for migrant labor camps or residential migrant housing as
93 required under s. 381.0081. A property owner must maintain such
94 records for at least 3 years and make the records available for
95 inspection within 14 days after receipt of a request for records
96 by a governmental entity.
97 (e) A housing site may not continue to be used and may be
98 required to be removed under the following circumstances:
99 1. If, for any reason, a housing site is not being used for
100 nonimmigrant agricultural employees with an H-2A visa for longer
101 than 365 days, any structures used as living quarters must be
102 removed from the housing site within 180 days after receipt of
103 written notification from the county unless the property owner
104 can demonstrate that use of the site for housing nonimmigrant
105 agricultural employees with an H-2A visa will occur within 90
106 days
107 2. If the property on which the housing site is located
108 ceases to be classified as agricultural land, housing authorized
109 under this section ceases to be eligible for residential uses
110 unless and until it is approved under the zoning and land use
111 regulations of the governmental entity.
112 3. If the permit authorized by the Department of Health for
113 the housing site is revoked, any structures must be removed from
114 the housing site within 180 days after receipt of written
115 notification from the county unless the permit is reinstated by
116 the Department of Health.
117 (f) Notwithstanding this subsection, the construction or
118 installation of housing for seasonal agricultural employees in
119 the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern and the City of
120 Key West Area of Critical State Concern is subject to the permit
121 allocation systems of the Florida Keys Area of Critical State
122 Concern and City of Key West Area of Critical State Concern,
123 respectively.
124 (g) A housing site that was constructed and in use before
125
126 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
127 And the title is amended as follows:
128 Delete lines 2 - 14
129 and insert:
130 An act relating to housing for nonimmigrant
131 agricultural employees; amending s. 163.3162, F.S.;
132 defining terms; prohibiting a governmental entity from
133 adopting or enforcing any legislation to inhibit the
134 construction of housing for nonimmigrant agricultural
135 employees with an H-2A visa on agricultural land
136 operated as a bona fide farm; requiring that the
137 construction or installation of such housing units on
138 agricultural lands satisfy certain criteria; requiring
139 that local ordinances comply with certain regulations;
140 requiring property