by Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
December 2, 2025
From leaf blowers, commercial driver’s licenses, and door-to-door salesmen, this year’s Florida farm bill addresses a range of issues.
The omnibus 2026 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services bill passed its first committee stop, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, on Tuesday.
SB 290 is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Keith Truenow, a Republican from Tavares and chair of that chamber’s Committee on Agriculture. The bill must make it through the Fiscal Policy and Rules committees, too.
“There’s always a lot of things going on in the state of Florida and we got to try to figure out how we make it better every day, and this is the tool we’re going to use to get there,” Truenow said, closing out the first committee stop with a unanimous vote.
The House version, HB 433, is sponsored by Rep. Danny Alvarez, a Republican from Hillsborough County, and Rep. Chad Johnson, a Republican from Chiefland.
CDL
Lawmakers hope to address a concern raised earlier this year, when a truck driver made national headlines with a deadly accident.
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People seeking a commercial driver’s license would be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor under the bill if they receive “unauthorized assistance” on the part of the test that assesses ability to read and understand highway signs. Anyone who gives the assistance would be subject to the same charge.
That provision comes after the arrest of Harjinder Singh, an Indian national who is accused of killing three people when he made an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike. That story was the topic of political debate, particularly after it emerged that Singh’s commercial license had been issued by California, a Democratic-led state. Singh entered the country during President Donald Trump’s first term.
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Gasoline preemption
The bill would prohibit local governments from banning gas-powered landscape or farm equipment such as leaf blowers and chainsaws.
According to the bill analysis, Miami Beach and Naples are among “a number of local governments” that have prohibited use of such equipment in favor of battery-operated machines.
Sen. Darryl Rouson, a Democrat from St. Petersburg, asked whether gas-powered lawnmowers would fall under the scope of the bill. Truenow said they must be included to ensure a “level playing field.”
Solicitation
The bill would create a state law limiting door-to-door sales. Floridians would be able to post signs to keep their front doors free from solicitation.
The intent is to “protect such private property rights by creating a uniform standard for notifying individuals or groups of individuals that commercial solicitation is prohibited on private property,” according to the bill.
The bill would impose “a noncriminal violation” punishable with a $500 fine for first offenders who solicit a house that has posted a sign warning against soliciting. Second offenses would be punishable as second-degree misdemeanors.
The sign, as written in statute, would have to say: “THIS DWELLING IS DESIGNATED PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO COMMERCIAL SOLICITATION IS PERMITTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 501.062, FLORIDA STATUTES.”
Truenow specified during the meeting that the law would not make it illegal for political or religious door-knocking.
Additionally
Also in the 60-page bill is a proposed repeal of a law outlining Florida’s involvement in the Southern States Energy Compact, a non-profit that addresses energy and environmental policies.
“According to the department, Florida has not used and does not anticipate using the services provided by the compact. Participating in the compact costs Florida approximately $45,000 annually,” according to the bill analysis.
The bill would require people seeking emergency recovery agriculture loans to be citizens of Florida and the United States and entities to be owned and operated in the U.S.
Lawmakers are also looking to make it illegal to have or use a signal jamming device, a first-degree misdemeanor. Signal jamming is already illegal under federal law.
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