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Associated PressAdvocates say the bill would save time and money and provide more protection for homeowners.
TALLAHASSEE - Search warrants served on homeowners for purposes of identifying and destroying trees infected with citrus canker would be valid for 60 days instead of the current 10, under a bill approved by a Senate panel Monday.
The bill (SB 2484) would also allow Department of Agriculture employees to serve the warrants, plus give homeowners a 10-day appeal window.
Sen. JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, a citrus grower and the measure's sponsor, said the present system is clogging courtrooms as the department seeks new warrants.
"This will be providing the department with a reasonable time for fulfilling their responsibilities," Alexander said.
The bill also protects the homeowner, since the Agriculture Department worker could not search the property for anything other than diseased trees. Vehicles and homes would not be searched.
"We're not there on any sort of a criminal activity check, nor could we be called to testify about it," Agriculture Department spokeswoman Liz Compton said Monday.
Compton noted the department always seeks initial permission from the owners. If the homeowner signs a waiver, there is no need for the warrant.
If agriculture employees, instead of solely law enforcement officers, were permitted to serve the warrants, it would save time and money, supporters say. Homeowners, however, would continue to be subject to second-degree misdemeanor charges if they refuse a properly served warrant.
A similar version (HB 1005) is on the House calendar for debate.
Citrus canker is a bacteria, typically spread by wind or animals, which causes infected trees to drop their leaves and fruit prematurely. It is not harmful to humans.
As a protection, the Department of Agriculture removes infected and exposed trees. The department maintains trees within 1,900 feet of ones known to be infected should also be removed because they have a better-than-even chance of also contracting the disease.
The state has chopped down and burned more than 2-million trees since canker was detected in Miami-Dade County seven years ago. State officials say they still need to cut down at least 170,000 trees in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
About two dozen properties in Broward County were scheduled to be inspected Monday, but heavy rains delayed those plans. Each was a site inspectors have not been allowed to visit in the past.
The House is also moving legislation that spells out how much a homeowner would receive for removed trees. For the past two years, the department has paid $100 for the first removed tree and $55 for any others, but court challenges called the reimbursements into question.