Florida Farm Bureau Names Legislators of the Year
FloridAgriculture July eNewsletter
Florida Farm Bureau has named two state legislators for their commitment to agriculture during the 2020 legislative session. Rep. Blaise Ingoglia and Sen. Debbie Mayfield played leading roles in their support for agricultural issues.
Representative Blaise Ingoglia
Chairman Blaise Ingoglia has been a legislative leader for Florida Farm Bureau and Florida agriculture during his time in the Florida House.
During the 2020 legislative session, Rep. Ingoglia continued his commitment to the agriculture industry by playing a key role in passing the bulk of Florida Farm Bureau’s legislative agenda. As Chairman of the State Affairs Committee, Rep. Ingoglia worked closely with the Agriculture Committee to include recommendations on each of our legislative priorities offered by the agriculture industry.
He sponsored HB 1199 – Environmental Protection Act. This bill contained the Rights of Nature preemption language, which ultimately passed as a part of SB 712, sponsored by Sen. Debbie Mayfield. Rep. Ingoglia was the driving factor in making sure this priority issue passed the House.
Rep. Ingoglia also Co-Sponsored and managed HB 1343 – Environmental Resource Management. This bill became the primary priority for Florida Farm Bureau, which contained the critical BMP language that Farm Bureau was advocating for and was the main companion bill to SB 712.
Florida Farm Bureau is grateful to Representative Blaise Ingoglia for his leadership and dedication to agriculture during the 2020 legislative session.
Senator Debbie Mayfield
As Chair of the Agriculture and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, Sen. Debbie Mayfield played a leading role for Florida Farm Bureau’s legislative priorities during the 2020 legislative session.
As chair, she played the primary role in the Senate’s funding programs at FDACs such as the Fresh From Florida program and the Rural and Family Land’s program.
Senator Mayfield sponsored SB 712 – Environmental Resource Management. This bill became the main Florida Farm Bureau priority during the legislative session. It contains language that adds credibility to the agricultural BMP program through the two year verification process and supports additional research by FDACS and UF/IFAS to develop new BMPs.
Although there were many attempts by the Everglades Foundation and others to undermine SB 712, Sen. Mayfield stood firm in favor of our positions, and Florida Farm Bureau is grateful for that.
