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Advocates based in South Florida say a bill moving through the legislature will help protect the practice of sugarcane burning which they say causes negative health impacts to communities of color.
Democratic lawmakers and South Florida community advocates are teaming up to oppose a bill that would make it harder to sue farms. They say proponents of the measure are using it as a cover to support sugarcane burning that adversely affects communities of color.
The measure would add particle emissions as a farming operation protected from lawsuits. The bill s sponsor Rep. Jayer Williamson (R-Pace), says he s chosen to put the phrase into his bill because that s a term people in the agricultural industry and those regulating that industry use. He points to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an example.