Florida Legislature Passes FNGA Initiative

The Florida Nurserymen & Growers Association is pleased to report the Florida Legislature passed on March 22, 2002 an FNGA-authored amendment preempting local governments from adopting their own invasive plant lists. The amendment directs the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to maintain an official state list of invasive plants and noxious weeds. FDACS, in consultation with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food & Agricultural Science (IFAS), will review such list every two years.

FNGA’s initiative in the Florida Legislature was the direct result of the most recent local ordinance effort in Palm Beach County that proposed to create an invasive plant list numbering more than 100 species without the benefit of universally-recognized science. In an early version, the draft Palm Beach Count ordinance prohibited the growing, planting, propagating, shipping and transporting of plants on its list and imposed fines of up to $5,000 per violation per day.

The amendment passed by the Florida legislature will foster a coordinated state policy based on science, rather than allowing the potential proliferation of a conflicting patchwork quilt of different plant lists, rules and prohibitions spread across as many as 67 counties and 400 municipalities. It was for this reason FNGA pressed the legislature for a reasonable approach to address the legitimate problems posed by proven invasive plants without unduly impacting Florida’s nursery and landscape industry.

The amendment was sponsored by Rep. Richard Machek (Palm Beach) and Sen. John Laurent (Polk). FNGA and its Tallahassee-based lobbyist (Doug Mann of Littlejohn, Mann & Associates) worked with Commissioner of Agriculture Charlie Bronson and his staff, along with the Florida Association of Counties and other local government representatives to fashion language acceptable to all parties. While the Florida legislature discussed the amendment, the members of FNGA’s Palm Beach chapter successfully beat back the local ordinance there.

The amendment provides for local invasive plant ordinances adopted prior to March 1, 2002 to remain in effect. The amendment does not affect local ordinances requiring the removal of invasive plants ore noxious weeds from publicly- or privately-owned conservation areas or preserves. The Governor is expected to sign the bill into law. FNGA members are encouraged to call Governor Jeb Bush’s legislative office at 850/488-4441 and ask him to sign House Bill 1681.