573.101 – Short Title.
573.101 Short title.—Sections 573.101-573.124 may be cited as the “Florida Agricultural Commodities Marketing Law.” History.—ss. 1, 26, ch. 87-171; s. 4, ch. 91-429.
573.102 – Purposes.
573.102 Purposes.—The purposes of ss. 573.101-573.124 are to: (1) Enable producers of agricultural commodities of this state, with the aid of the state, to correlate more effectively the marketing of their agricultural commodities with market demands therefor. (2) Establish and maintain orderly marketing of agricultural commodities. (3) Provide methods for the maintenance of present markets, or for the development […]
573.103 – Definitions.
573.103 Definitions.—As used in ss. 573.101-573.124: (1) “Agricultural commodities” means any and all aquacultural, agricultural, apicultural, horticultural (including floricultural), viticultural, and vegetable products produced in this state or any class, variety, or utilization thereof, either in their natural state or as processed by a producer for the purpose of marketing such product, or by a processor as […]
573.104 – Required Consent to Marketing Order by Industry.
573.104 Required consent to marketing order by industry.—No marketing order or amendment directly or indirectly affecting or regulating agricultural commodities in the primary channel of trade of this state shall become effective unless the marketing order or amendment has been consented to by a majority of producers or handlers of such commodities in this state, as […]
573.105 – Petition of Producers.
573.105 Petition of producers.—Upon the application or petition of 10 percent of the affected producers who state they have reason to believe that the issuance of a marketing order will tend to effectuate the declared policy of ss. 573.101-573.124, the department may give due notice of, and an opportunity for, a public hearing upon a proposed […]
573.106 – Petitioner’s Expense.
573.106 Petitioner’s expense.—Prior to the issuance of any marketing order by the department, the department shall require the applicants to deposit with it such amounts as the department may deem necessary to defray the expenses of preparing and making effective any marketing order. Funds shall be received, deposited, and disbursed by the department; provided, however, any […]
573.107 – Public Hearing.
573.107 Public hearing.—Due notice of any hearing shall be given to all persons who may be directly affected by any action of the department. These hearings shall be open to the public. All testimony shall be received under oath and a full and complete record of all proceedings at any hearing shall be made and filed […]
573.108 – Findings Required to Issue Marketing Order.
573.108 Findings required to issue marketing order.—After notice and hearing, the department shall issue a marketing order if it finds and sets forth that the order will tend to accomplish the objectives and purposes of ss. 573.101-573.124, and: (1) The provisions are necessary in order to effect a reasonable correlation of the supply of agricultural commodities affected […]
573.109 – Procedure for Referendum.
573.109 Procedure for referendum.— (1) With respect to any referendum conducted under the provisions of ss. 573.101-573.124, the department shall, before calling and announcing a referendum, fix, determine, and publicly announce, at least 15 days in advance of the date on which ballots and copies of the proposed order shall be mailed to all agricultural producers or […]
573.1101 – Referendum.
573.1101 Referendum.— (1) No marketing order or amendments thereto directly affecting and regulating handlers shall become effective unless the department finds that the order has been approved by ballot by the handlers covered by the marketing order who, during a representative period determined by the department, handled no less than 51 percent of the volume of agricultural […]
573.111 – Notice of Effective Date of Marketing Order.
573.111 Notice of effective date of marketing order.—Before the issuance of any marketing order, or any suspension, amendment, or termination thereof, a notice must be posted on the department website. A marketing order, or any suspension, amendment, or termination thereof, may not become effective until 5 days after the date of posting and publication. History.—ss. 11, […]
573.112 – Advisory Council.
573.112 Advisory council.— (1) When a marketing order is issued, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall appoint an advisory council to advise the department in administering the marketing order. The advisory council shall be composed of seven members and an alternate for each member. The majority of the members and alternate members of the council […]
573.113 – Advisory Council; Exemption From Liability.
573.113 Advisory council; exemption from liability.—The members and alternate members of any advisory council duly appointed by the department, including employees of the council, shall not be held responsible individually in any way whatsoever to any producer, distributor, or other handler or any other person for errors in judgment, mistakes, or other acts, either of commission […]
573.114 – Possible Subjects of Marketing Orders.
573.114 Possible subjects of marketing orders.—Subject to the legislative restrictions and limitations set forth herein, any marketing order issued by the department may contain any or all of the following provisions: (1) Provisions for the establishment of plans and programs for advertising, sales promotion, and education to maintain present markets or to create new or larger markets […]
573.115 – Cooperation With Other Governments.
573.115 Cooperation with other governments.—The department is hereby authorized to confer with and cooperate with the legally constituted authorities of other states and of the United States for the purpose of obtaining uniformity in the administration of federal and state marketing regulations, licenses, or orders, and the department is authorized to conduct joint hearings, issue joint […]
573.116 – Limited Marketing Orders.
573.116 Limited marketing orders.—A marketing order issued by the department may be limited in application by prescribing the marketing areas or portions of the state in which a particular order shall be effective, provided that no marketing order shall be issued by the department unless it embraces all persons of a like class who are engaged […]
573.117 – Marketing Agreement.
573.117 Marketing agreement.—In order to effectuate the declared policy of ss. 573.101-573.124, the department shall have the power to enter into marketing agreements, which agreements may contain any of those provisions contained in s. 573.114 with distributors, producers, and others engaged in the handling of agricultural commodities regulating the handling of the commodities, which marketing agreements […]
573.118 – Assessment; Funds; Review of Accounts; Loans.
573.118 Assessment; funds; review of accounts; loans.— (1) To provide funds to defray the necessary expenses incurred by the department in the formulation, issuance, administration, and enforcement of any marketing order, every person engaged in the production, distributing, or handling of agricultural commodities within this state, and directly affected by any marketing order, shall pay to the […]
573.119 – Department; Powers and Duties.
573.119 Department; powers and duties.— (1) The department shall administer and enforce the provisions of ss. 573.101-573.124. In order to effectuate the declared purposes of ss. 573.101-573.124, the department is authorized to issue, administer, and enforce the provisions of any marketing agreement or order regulating producer marketing and handling of agricultural commodities in the primary channel of […]
573.1201 – Certificates of Exemption.
573.1201 Certificates of exemption.— (1) The department may issue certificates of exemption to any applicant who applies for an exemption and furnishes adequate evidence to the department that by reason of a marketing order the applicant has been adversely affected or unduly burdened or that the result of the marketing order is confiscatory by reason of acts […]