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Wilton Simpson
Wilton Earl Simpson (born June 28, 1966) is an American politician who has served as the 13th agriculture commissioner of Florida since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2012 to 2022 and was the Senate president from the 2020 to 2022.
In 2025, he became embroiled in a public feud with Governor Ron DeSantis over the issue of illegal immigration.
Simpson was born in Lakeland, Florida in 1966. He earned an Associate of Arts degree from Pasco–Hernando State College (formerly Pasco–Hernando Community College) in 1997. Simpson has worked for his family's businesses, Simpson Environmental Services and Simpson Farms. For over four decades, he owned and managed a large-scale egg-laying operation that supplied grocery stores throughout the state.
Following the reconfiguration of Florida Senate districts in 2012, Simpson ran in the newly created 18th District, and although he initially anticipated engaging State Representative John Legg in a "very difficult primary," he ended up winning the nomination of the Republican Party and was unopposed in the general election when Legg decided to run in an adjacent district and his only Democratic opponent, a college student, dropped out.
Florida Senate President Don Gaetz gave control over the reform of the Florida Retirement System to Simpson, announcing that he would either accept the plan proposed by the Florida House of Representatives that would close the FRS pension system to all new employees who become eligible after January 1, 2014 or a plan that would extend the date to after July 1, 2014. However, on April 30, 2013, the Florida Senate rejected a plan similar to the House proposal, and as the 2013 session closed out, Simpson conceded that there would be no reforms for the rest of the year.
Simpson had more success, however, with legislation dealing with the restoration of the Everglades, whereby taxes on farmers in the region would be maintained until the 2030s, $880 million would be allocated for water quality restoration, and $32 million would be spent annually on reducing the amount of phosphorus that flows into the region, which was unanimously approved by the legislature.
Simpson's district was reconfigured and renumbered after court-ordered redistricting in 2016. In 2022, Simpson supported a measure which would allow "regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar installation." According to the bill sponsor, the proposal would have protected non-solar customers from shouldering the costs of maintaining the electrical grid that rooftop solar customers also use.
He championed several agriculture-focused policies in the Florida Senate, including increased legal protections for agricultural operations through the Right to Farm Act, reducing the tax burden on farmers by strengthening Florida's greenbelt laws, and expanding Agritourism throughout Florida.
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Wilton Simpson
Wilton Earl Simpson (born June 28, 1966) is an American politician who has served as the 13th agriculture commissioner of Florida since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2012 to 2022 and was the Senate president from the 2020 to 2022.
In 2025, he became embroiled in a public feud with Governor Ron DeSantis over the issue of illegal immigration.
Simpson was born in Lakeland, Florida in 1966. He earned an Associate of Arts degree from Pasco–Hernando State College (formerly Pasco–Hernando Community College) in 1997. Simpson has worked for his family's businesses, Simpson Environmental Services and Simpson Farms. For over four decades, he owned and managed a large-scale egg-laying operation that supplied grocery stores throughout the state.
Following the reconfiguration of Florida Senate districts in 2012, Simpson ran in the newly created 18th District, and although he initially anticipated engaging State Representative John Legg in a "very difficult primary," he ended up winning the nomination of the Republican Party and was unopposed in the general election when Legg decided to run in an adjacent district and his only Democratic opponent, a college student, dropped out.
Florida Senate President Don Gaetz gave control over the reform of the Florida Retirement System to Simpson, announcing that he would either accept the plan proposed by the Florida House of Representatives that would close the FRS pension system to all new employees who become eligible after January 1, 2014 or a plan that would extend the date to after July 1, 2014. However, on April 30, 2013, the Florida Senate rejected a plan similar to the House proposal, and as the 2013 session closed out, Simpson conceded that there would be no reforms for the rest of the year.
Simpson had more success, however, with legislation dealing with the restoration of the Everglades, whereby taxes on farmers in the region would be maintained until the 2030s, $880 million would be allocated for water quality restoration, and $32 million would be spent annually on reducing the amount of phosphorus that flows into the region, which was unanimously approved by the legislature.
Simpson's district was reconfigured and renumbered after court-ordered redistricting in 2016. In 2022, Simpson supported a measure which would allow "regulators to impose fees and barriers to rooftop solar installation." According to the bill sponsor, the proposal would have protected non-solar customers from shouldering the costs of maintaining the electrical grid that rooftop solar customers also use.
He championed several agriculture-focused policies in the Florida Senate, including increased legal protections for agricultural operations through the Right to Farm Act, reducing the tax burden on farmers by strengthening Florida's greenbelt laws, and expanding Agritourism throughout Florida.