2025 Florida Legislative Bill Tracker

Defending Rural Florida supports changes to county ordinances and state statutes to protect

rural lands and lifestyles by reducing rural-to-urban land conversion.

We diligently monitor crucial legislation that impacts our vital farmlands and rural communities in

Florida and keep you informed with timely updates and alerts. Our commitment is to ensure that

you stay engaged and empowered to advocate for preserving and protecting our rural

resources.

These bills Will Lead to the Loss of Rural Farms and Ranches.

These bills will accelerate the loss of rural farms and ranches by making it easier to convert agricultural land into residential and commercial developments. By eliminating the requirement for comprehensive plan amendments, the bill removes a key layer of local oversight that traditionally protects farmland from rapid urban expansion. Instead, landowners can seek administrative approval, allowing developments to proceed even if they conflict with existing land use designations.

Furthermore, the bill removes the presumption of urban sprawl, making it more difficult for local governments to challenge large-scale developments in rural areas. By requiring that all approved developments be treated as conforming uses, the legislation further reduces barriers to rezoning and conversion of agricultural land.

The combination of higher land values, developer incentives, and weakened land-use protections will likely pressure more farmers and ranchers to sell their properties rather than continue agricultural operations. Once converted, these lands will be permanently lost to development, accelerating the decline of rural farming communities and reducing the availability of productive agricultural land. This bill prioritizes growth and housing over farmland preservation, making it a significant threat to the future of family farms and ranching operations.

These bills threaten to eliminate what remains of rural Florida. By offering financial incentives,

these bills pressure rural counties to expand their populations and attract new businesses,

accelerating urbanization and fundamentally changing the character of these communities.

These bills establish a costly and intrusive bureaucracy that hands state officials control over

how rural counties can access grant funding. This massive legislation mandates the hiring of

“regional” bureaucrats who will interfere in local planning decisions while burdening counties

with extensive reporting requirements. To qualify for grants, rural counties must demonstrate

plans for significant population growth through large-scale infrastructure projects designed to

attract businesses. Naturally, this growth will necessitate increased land use density, effectively

erasing the rural character of these areas. As a result, property owners with five- to twenty-acre

homesteads will be pressured to sell, making way for higher-density development that will

forever alter the landscape and way of life in these communities.

These bills are a proposed constitutional amendment that creates a total tax exemption of

tangible personal property — such as farm machinery, equipment, and implements — on

property classified as agricultural. This constitutional amendment will help alleviate the financial

burden on Florida’s agriculture producers, help incentivize the growth of agricultural production

in the state, and ease increasing food costs to consumers by lowering the cost of production.

SJR 318/HJR 1215 is a joint resolution in the Florida Senate and requires support by three-fifths

of the membership of each chamber. If adopted by 60% of the electors voting on the measure in

the 2026 general election, the amendment will go into effect.

These bills, titled the "Florida Rural Jobs Act"; aim to stimulate economic development in the state's rural communities by offering tax credits to investors who provide capital to businesses in these areas.

These bills are framed as a way to attract investment and economic growth in rural

communities, but there’s valid concern that it primarily benefits investment firms rather than the

rural economy itself. These types of programs often provide tax credits or incentives to

investment companies that fund businesses in rural areas, but the actual impact on local

communities can vary.

A key issue is that these programs sometimes lead to investments that don’t align with the

existing industries in rural areas, such as agriculture, and instead encourage businesses that

contribute to population growth rather than supporting the livelihoods of current residents.

Additionally, past programs with similar structures have sometimes been criticized for funneling

taxpayer money to outside investors while delivering limited long-term benefits to rural

economies.