Bill Text: FL S1106 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Agritourism
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-17 - Chapter No. 2013-179 [S1106 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S1106-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Agritourism
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-17 - Chapter No. 2013-179 [S1106 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S1106-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2013 SB 1106 By Senator Hays 11-00214A-13 20131106__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to agritourism; amending s. 570.96, 3 F.S.; providing legislative intent; restricting a 4 local government’s ability to regulate agritourism 5 activity on agricultural land; amending s. 570.961, 6 F.S.; revising the definition of the term “agritourism 7 activity” and adding a definition of the term 8 “inherent risks of agritourism activity”; creating s. 9 570.963, F.S.; limiting the liability of an 10 agritourism professional, his or her employer or 11 employee, or the owner of the underlying land on which 12 the agritourism activity occurs if certain conditions 13 are met; creating s. 570.964, F.S.; requiring that 14 signs and contracts notify participants of certain 15 inherent risks and the assumption of that risk; 16 preventing an agritourism professional, his or her 17 employer, and any employee, and the owner of the 18 underlying land from invoking the privileges of 19 immunity if certain conditions are not met; providing 20 criteria for the notice; providing an effective date. 21 22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23 24 Section 1. Section 570.96, Florida Statutes, is amended to 25 read: 26 570.96 Agritourism.— 27 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to eliminate 28 duplication of regulatory authority over agritourism as 29 expressed in this section. Except as otherwise provided for in 30 this section, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 31 local government may not adopt an ordinance, regulation, rule, 32 or policy that prohibits, restricts, regulates, or otherwise 33 limits an agritourism activity on land classified as 34 agricultural land under s. 193.461. This subsection does not 35 limit the powers and duties of a local government to address an 36 emergency as provided in chapter 252. 37 (2) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may 38 provide marketing advice, technical expertise, promotional 39 support, and product development related to agritourism to 40 assist the following in their agritourism initiatives: 41 Enterprise Florida, Inc.; convention and visitor bureaus; 42 tourist development councils; economic development 43 organizations; and local governments. In carrying out this 44 responsibility, the department shall focus its agritourism 45 efforts on rural and urban communities. 46 Section 2. Section 570.961, Florida Statutes, is amended to 47 read: 48 570.961 Definitions.—As used in ss. 570.96-570.964570.9649570.962, the term: 50 (1) “Agritourism activity” means any activity consistent 51 with a bona fidecarried out on afarm or ranch or in a working 52 forest that allows members of the general public, for 53 recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes, to view or 54 enjoy agricultural-relatedruralactivities, including, but not 55 limited to, farming, ranching, historical, cultural, or harvest 56 your-own, or nature-basedactivities and attractions. An 57 activity is an agritourism activity whether or not the 58 participant paid to participate in the activity. 59 (2) “Agritourism professional” means any person who is 60 engaged in the business of providing one or more agritourism 61 activities, whether or not for compensation. 62 (3) “Farm” means the land, buildings, support facilities, 63 machinery, and other appurtenances used in the production of 64 farm or aquaculture products, including land used to display 65 plants, animals, farm products, or farm equipment to the public. 66 (4) “Farm operation” has the same meaning as defined in s. 67 823.14. 68 (5) “Inherent risks of agritourism activity” means those 69 dangers or conditions that are an integral part of an 70 agritourism activity including certain hazards, such as surface 71 and subsurface conditions, natural conditions of land, 72 vegetation, and waters; the behavior of wild or domestic 73 animals; and the ordinary dangers of structures or equipment 74 ordinarily used in farming and ranching operations. The term 75 also includes the potential of a participant to act in a 76 negligent manner that may contribute to the injury of the 77 participant or others, including failing to follow the 78 instructions given by the agritourism professional or failing to 79 exercise reasonable caution while engaging in the agritourism 80 activity. 81 Section 3. Section 570.963, Florida Statutes, is created to 82 read: 83 570.963 Liability.— 84 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), an agritourism 85 professional, his or her employer or employee, or the owner of 86 the underlying land on which the agritourism occurs are not 87 liable for injury or death of, or damage or loss to, a 88 participant resulting from the inherent risks of agritourism 89 activities if the notice of risk required under s. 570.964 is 90 posted as required. Except as provided in subsection (2), a 91 participant, or a participant’s representative, may not maintain 92 an action against or recover from an agritourism professional, 93 his or her employer or employee, and the owner of the underlying 94 land on which the agritourism occurs for the injury or death of, 95 or damage or loss to, an agritourism participant resulting 96 exclusively from any of the inherent risks of agritourism 97 activities. In any action for damages against an agritourism 98 professional, his or her employer or employee, and the owner of 99 the underlying land on which the agritourism occurs for 100 agritourism activity, the agritourism professional, his or her 101 employer or employee, and the owner of the underlying land on 102 which the agritourism occurs must plead the affirmative defense 103 of assumption of the risk of agritourism activity by the 104 participant. 105 (2) In the event of the injury or death of, or damage or 106 loss to, an agritourism participant, subsection (1) does not 107 prevent or limit the liability of an agritourism professional or 108 his or her employer or employee or the owner of the underlying 109 land on which the agritourism occurs if he or she has actual 110 knowledge of, or reasonably should have known of, a dangerous 111 condition on the land or with the facilities or equipment used 112 in the activity and fails to make that danger known to the 113 participant. 114 (3) The limitation on legal liability afforded by this 115 section to an agritourism professional or his or her employer or 116 employee or the owner of the underlying land on which the 117 agritourism occurs is in addition to any limitations of legal 118 liability otherwise provided by law. 119 Section 4. Section 570.964, Florida Statutes, is created to 120 read: 121 570.964 Posting and notification.— 122 (1)(a) Each agritourism professional shall post and 123 maintain signs that contain the notice of inherent risk 124 specified in subsection (2). A sign shall be placed in a clearly 125 visible location at the entrance to the agritourism location and 126 at the site of the agritourism activity. The notice of inherent 127 risk must consist of a sign in black letters, with each letter a 128 minimum of 1 inch in height, with sufficient color contrast to 129 be clearly visible. 130 (b) Each written contract entered into by an agritourism 131 professional for the providing of professional services, 132 instruction, or the rental of equipment to a participant, 133 regardless of whether the contract involves agritourism 134 activities on or off the location or at the site of the 135 agritourism activity, must contain in clearly readable print the 136 notice of inherent risk specified in subsection (2). 137 (2) The sign and contract required under subsection (1) 138 must contain the following notice of inherent risk: 139 140 WARNING 141 142 Under Florida law, an agritourism professional is not 143 liable for injury or death of, or damage or loss to, a 144 participant in an agritourism activity conducted at 145 this agritourism location if such injury, death, 146 damage, or loss results from the inherent risks of the 147 agritourism activity. Inherent risks of agritourism 148 activities include, among others, risks of injury 149 inherent to land, equipment, and animals, as well as 150 the potential for you to act in a negligent manner 151 that may contribute to your injury, death, damage, or 152 loss. You are assuming the risk of participating in 153 this agritourism activity. 154 155 (3) Failure to comply with the requirements of this 156 subsection prevents an agritourism professional, his or her 157 employer or employee, or the owner of the underlying land on 158 which the agritourism occurs from invoking the privileges of 159 immunity provided by this section. 160 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.