A bill is making its way through the Florida House that could impact Floridians’ houses — if they live on or near former phosphate mines, at least.
Those mines — from extracting the phosphate rock commonly used in fertilizer — create pollution concerns like elevated radiation levels. Supporters say the proposal will address the legal fallout and health concerns from where the mining occurred, predominantly in phosphate-rich Polk, Hillsborough, Hardee and Manatee counties.
The bill, HB 167, would create a new legal shield for people who own former phosphate mining land. It helps owners remove what's called “strict liability” if someone sues over harms caused by pollution.
This means the landowner wouldn't be automatically responsible for the harm just because they own the land. People suing would have to show the owner did something wrong or contributed to the problem.
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The shield only goes to owners who record a public notice about the land with the county and have the state Department of Health run a radiation survey.
“We're going to have more data as a function of this than we currently do today,” said Republican Rep. Lawrence McClure of Dover, a bill sponsor. “There's no mandate to go do surveys today.”
He said the current legal standard isn’t fair to landowners.
He said there are significant swaths of land with “assumed liability simply because once upon a time, a machine unearthed some rock. Put yourself in the shoes of the landowner.”
Ragan Whitlock, a staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, called that line "irresponsible," minimizing the radioactivity risks from digging up phosphate deposits.
He views the legislation as irresponsible, too.
“Floridians are well aware of the devastating impact and legacy that phosphate mining has on our landscape,” said Whitlock, whose organization commonly takes the phosphate pollution issue to the courtroom. “It has polluted our waters, it has polluted our land, and it has increased the level of radiation around our communities, yet our Legislature seems interested in reducing liability instead of holding [the industry] accountable.”
ALSO READ: EPA and Mosaic challenge a lawsuit against the use of phosphate in road project
All Democrats voted against the bill at its second committee stop, worrying it weakens environmental accountability and doesn't do enough to make sure property owners — and renters — know about former phosphate mining land.
The Mosaic Company, a big phosphate fertilizer producer and a significant Florida landowner, is paying an influential lobbying firm to push for the bill, according to legislative records.
Mosaic also supported a controversial — and successful — bill in 2023 requiring the state government to study using a byproduct of processing phosphate rock in road projects.
McClure sponsored that legislation, too. Mosaic, which had contributed to McClure’s political committee before, hosted a political fundraiser for him soon after the bill passed, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
In response, McClure told the newspaper “there’s been lots of individual folks and industries that have supported the way I’ve thought about representing my district in the state of Florida.”
This year’s bill has passed all its House committees and is ready for full chamber consideration when session starts in January. The Senate doesn't yet have its own version of the bill.
It’s similar to legislation that died during the 2025 legislative session.
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
