Bill Text: FL H0675 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Credit Card Surcharges

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Community and Military Affairs Subcommittee [H0675 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-H0675-Introduced.html
HB 675

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to credit card surcharges; amending s.
3125.01, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by
4the act; creating ss. 125.01035 and 166.0433, F.S.;
5prohibiting counties and municipalities from
6prohibiting the owners or operators of certain
7passenger vehicles for hire from imposing credit card
8surcharges on passenger fares; amending s. 501.0117,
9F.S.; exempting certain passenger vehicle fares from
10the prohibition on the imposition of credit card
11surcharges; conforming provisions; providing an
12effective date.
13
14Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16     Section 1.  Paragraph (n) of subsection (1) of section
17125.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
18     125.01  Powers and duties.-
19     (1)  The legislative and governing body of a county shall
20have the power to carry on county government. To the extent not
21inconsistent with general or special law, this power includes,
22but is not restricted to, the power to:
23     (n)  Except as provided in s. 125.01035, license and
24regulate taxis, jitneys, limousines for hire, rental cars, and
25other passenger vehicles for hire that operate in the
26unincorporated areas of the county; except that any
27constitutional charter county as defined in s. 125.011(1) shall
28on July 1, 1988, have been authorized to have issued a number of
29permits to operate taxis which is no less than the ratio of one
30permit for each 1,000 residents of said county, and any such new
31permits issued after June 4, 1988, shall be issued by lottery
32among individuals with such experience as a taxi driver as the
33county may determine.
34     Section 2.  Section 125.01035, Florida Statutes, is created
35to read:
36     125.01035  Passenger vehicles for hire; credit card
37surcharges.-A county may not prohibit the owner or operator of a
38taxicab, limousine, jitney, or other passenger vehicle for hire
39from imposing a surcharge on a passenger who elects to pay the
40passenger fare using a credit card in lieu of payment by cash,
41check, or similar means.
42     Section 3.  Section 166.0433, Florida Statutes, is created
43to read:
44     166.0433  Passenger vehicles for hire; credit card
45surcharges.-A municipality may not prohibit the owner or
46operator of a taxicab, limousine, jitney, or other passenger
47vehicle for hire from imposing a surcharge on a passenger who
48elects to pay the passenger fare using a credit card in lieu of
49payment by cash, check, or similar means.
50     Section 4.  Section 501.0117, Florida Statutes, is amended
51to read:
52     501.0117  Credit cards; transactions in which seller or
53lessor prohibited from imposing surcharge; penalty.-
54     (1)  A seller or lessor in a sales or lease transaction may
55not impose a surcharge on the buyer or lessee for electing to
56use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar
57means, if the seller or lessor accepts payment by credit card. A
58surcharge is any additional amount imposed at the time of a sale
59or lease transaction by the seller or lessor that increases the
60charge to the buyer or lessee for the privilege of using a
61credit card to make payment. As used in this section, the term
62"credit card" includes those cards for which unpaid balances are
63payable on demand.
64     (2)(a)  Charges imposed pursuant to approved state or
65federal tariffs are not considered to be a surcharge, and
66charges made under such tariffs are exempt from this section.
67     (b)  A convenience fee imposed upon a student or family
68paying tuition, fees, or other student account charges by credit
69card to a William L. Boyd, IV, Florida resident access grant
70eligible institution, as defined in s. 1009.89, is not
71considered to be a surcharge and is exempt from this section if
72the amount of the convenience fee does not exceed the total cost
73charged by the credit card company to the institution. The term
74"credit card" includes those cards for which unpaid balances are
75payable on demand.
76     (c)  This section does not apply to the offering of a
77discount for the purpose of inducing payment by cash, check, or
78other means not involving the use of a credit card, if the
79discount is offered to all prospective customers.
80     (d)  This section does not apply to passenger fares for a
81taxicab, limousine, jitney, or other passenger vehicle for hire.
82     (3)(2)  A person who violates this section commits the
83provisions of subsection (1) is guilty of a misdemeanor of the
84second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
85775.083.
86     Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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