Bankers balk at antidiscrimination language in Florida Farm Bill

It's a stock picture of a field.

A final Senate committee has advanced priority legislation of Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, but not without suggestions for improvement from the financial community on the Florida Farm Bill (SB 700).

It comes down to lending and providing financial services.

Anthony DiMarco of the Florida Bankers Association objected to a provision in the legislation that would incentivize the trial bar to exercise a private right of action to banks accused of discriminating against farmers. It would stop banks from debunking medical marijuana companies, he added, and would lead to other groups demanding the same right.

That provision, called the “Florida Farmer Financial Protection Act,” creates what would seem to be a narrow window for lawsuits, roping in language about environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

It says a “financial institution may not discriminate in the provision of financial services to an agriculture producer based, in whole or in part, upon an ESG factor.” It also says that “any ESG commitment” made by a lender related to agriculture creates an “inference” of violation, and compels the lender to demonstrate that its position was “based solely on documented risk analysis, and not on any ESG factor.”

Mitigating language notwithstanding, the Florida Credit Union Association is also against the bill, presumably for similar reasons.

Those concerns were echoed by Sen. Jim Boyd, a Bradenton Republican, who urged sponsor Keith Truenow to “collaborate with the bankers on the private right of action issue.”

“I do think there might be some concern worth noting there. I’m supporting the bill today, but would love to see some form of that worked out before we get it to the final vote on the floor,” Boyd advised.

The bill otherwise covers a lot of ground, including removing additives like fluoride from public water systems, and criminalizing flying drones over farmland or harassing people with drones anywhere in the state.

It also would ban psychedelic mushrooms and the representation of a plant product as milk or meat, a provision that irked “proud soy boy” Jackson Oberlink of Florida for All, who rhapsodized about plant-based products in his speaking time.

It would offer a ballot initiative where voters could choose to exempt agricultural lands from property taxes. The measure would provide grants for fiscally constrained counties to get electric vehicle charging stations.

It would also allow schools to maintain agricultural spaces for the Future Farmers of America and the 4H Club by exempting the schools from local zoning that would otherwise ban it.

Mail theft is already a federally banned activity, but the bill would give the state enforcement ability.

This bill is supported by Heritage Action, the Heartland Institute, the National Rifle Association, the Florida Agritourism Association, the Florida Feed Association, the Florida Poultry Association, the Florida Farm Bureau Federation and the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association.

The House version of this bill has the Commerce Committee ahead. It remains to be seen if the banking industry will make its concerns known there.