Florida Bill: HB 433

House Bill 433 is a broad “Florida Farm Bill” that revises many statutes touching agriculture, consumer services, local regulation, and related programs. Among its many provisions, the bill preempts local governments from restricting gasoline-powered farm and landscape equipment, restructures how certain state lands are evaluated and surplused for agricultural use, creates programs such as the Florida Native Seed Research and Marketing Program and the Food Animal Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, and adjusts rules on rural event venues, fairs, pest control, contractors’ payments, CDL exam cheating, and signal jamming devices. Crucially, HB 433 amends Florida’s existing “food disparagement” statute to expand the ability of agricultural producers and their associations to sue over alleged disparagement of agricultural food products, broadening coverage beyond perishable products and explicitly including agricultural practices, while allowing successful plaintiffs to recover attorney fees and costs.