TALLAHASSEE — Members of the citrus industry are begging Gov. Rick Scott to veto management shake-ups driven by one of their own, Sen. J.D. Alexander.
The Department of Citrus, founded in 1935 to promote the fruit, regulates the industry through a 12-member commission. Citrus growers fund the agency through a "box tax" on crops, so it runs without state dollars.
Some governance rules would change this year following a charge by Alexander, the Republican Senate budget chief and a citrus farmer from Lake Wales.
Bills would reduce members of the Citrus Commission from 12 to nine, and current commissioners' terms would end July 1. Scott would appoint nine new members for three districts, down from four.
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