Home > News & Media > Bill would undo Senate's new role in picking Department of Citrus chief

Bill would undo Senate's new role in picking Department of Citrus chief

The Florida Current – January 6, 2012

A state representative who is a former chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission filed a bill this week that would restore the panel’s authority to appoint the head of the Florida Department of Citrus.

The Legislature in 2011 passed SB 2122 requiring Senate confirmation of the Department of Citrus executive director. The move was viewed by some as a power play by Senate Budget Committee Chairman JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, whose family is in the citrus business, according to a Tampa Tribune report.

Executive Director Ken Keck resigned under pressure after the legislation passed, according to the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times).

On Thursday, Rep. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, filed HB 1237, which would delete the 2011 law change requiring Senate confirmation. He was commission chairman from 2007 to 2010, when he was elected to the House.

The bill states that the executive director serves at the pleasure of the Florida Citrus Commission and shall be appointed by a majority vote. Albritton did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Debra J. Funkhouser, acting executive director of the Department of Citrus, said the citrus industry held meetings last fall to jointly propose revisions to state law governing the department and is pleased with the introduction of HB 1237.

“We have received early indications of support (from legislators) and expect to see the passage of this legislation in the upcoming legislative session,” she said in an email.

The commission, by a 5-4 vote on Dec. 21, selected Publix executive Douglas Ackerman to be the new Department of Citrus executive director. He starts Monday with a salary that was advertised between $190,000 and $250,000.

But the law change does not take effect until July so Ackerman still faces a potentially controversial confirmation process in the Senate during the upcoming legislative session.

The four commissioners voting against his hiring cited Ackerman’s lack of experience, particularly in beverage marketing, according to a Lakeland Ledger report. But those commissioners also expressed support for the hiring after the vote.

Sam Yates, who operates a public relations firm in Fort Pierce and says he has long-standing family ties to the citrus industry, has been critical of the choice of Ackerman. Yates said the department, faced with declining orange juice sales in nine of the past 10 years, needs someone with broader experience in the industry.

“The bill (HB 1237) underscores the growing concern within the citrus industry of how that agency is being managed,” Yates told The Florida Current.

Click here to view this article online