Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed into law a wide-ranging "farm bill" (SB 290) dealing with issues within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, including a provision banning cities and counties from outlawing gas-powered equipment such as leaf blowers.
"If you want to use different stuff, fine, it's a free country. But I like the gas-powered better. I just think it's more reliable," DeSantis said before signing the bill at the Alan Jay Arena at Highlands County Fairgrounds in Sebring. "If that's what you believe, then you should be able to continue to do that."
A legislative staff analysis of the bill, which goes into effect on July 1, noted local governments can still encourage the use of alternative energy sources, such as battery power, for farm or landscape equipment.
Other changes include prohibiting commercial solicitations on properties with "no solicitation" signs, establishing criminal penalties for receiving or providing unauthorized assistance on commercial driver's license exams, criminalizing the use of signal-jamming devices that can disrupt emergency calls, and repealing a 2016 program designed to financially aid grocery stores in underserved or low-income communities.
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