Bill Text: FL S0406 | 2023 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

---

Bill Title: Yacht and Ship Brokers

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2023-05-05 - Died in Fiscal Policy [S0406 Detail]

Download: Florida-2023-S0406-Comm_Sub.html

---

       Florida Senate - 2023                              CS for SB 406
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Regulated Industries; and Senator Hooper
       
       
       
       
       
       580-03282-23                                           2023406c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to yacht and ship brokers; amending s.
    3         326.002, F.S.; defining the term “visiting broker”;
    4         revising the definition of the term “yacht”; amending
    5         s. 326.004, F.S.; exempting a visiting broker from
    6         licensure for specified transactions; requiring,
    7         rather than authorizing, the Division of Florida
    8         Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the
    9         Department of Business and Professional Regulation to
   10         deny licenses for applicants who fail to meet certain
   11         requirements; revising requirements for licensure as a
   12         broker; removing a provision requiring the division to
   13         adopt rules relating to temporary licenses; providing
   14         an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Present subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section
   19  326.002, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (4),
   20  (6), and (3), respectively, a new subsection (5) is added to
   21  that section, and present subsection (4) of that section is
   22  amended, to read:
   23         326.002 Definitions.—As used in ss. 326.001-326.006, the
   24  term:
   25         (5) “Visiting broker” means a person who conducts business
   26  as a broker or salesperson in another state as his or her
   27  primary profession and engages in the purchase or sale of a
   28  yacht under this act if the transaction is executed in its
   29  entirety with a broker or salesperson licensed in this state.
   30         (6)(4) “Yacht” means any vessel which is propelled by sail
   31  or machinery in the water which exceeds 32 feet in length, and
   32  is:
   33         (a) Manufactured or operated primarily for pleasure; or
   34         (b) Leased, rented, or chartered to a person other than the
   35  owner for such person’s pleasure which weighs less than 300
   36  gross tons.
   37         Section 2. Subsections (6), (8), and (15) of section
   38  326.004, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (f) is
   39  added to subsection (3) of that section, to read:
   40         326.004 Licensing.—
   41         (3) A license is not required for:
   42         (f) A visiting broker who engages in the purchase or sale
   43  of a yacht under this act if the transaction is executed in its
   44  entirety with a broker or salesperson licensed in this state.
   45         (6) The division shall may deny a license to any applicant
   46  who does not:
   47         (a) Furnish proof satisfactory to the division that he or
   48  she is of good moral character.
   49         (b) Certify that he or she has never been convicted of a
   50  felony.
   51         (c) Post the bond required by the Yacht and Ship Brokers’
   52  Act.
   53         (d) Demonstrate that he or she is a resident of this state
   54  or that he or she conducts business in this state.
   55         (e) Furnish a full set of fingerprints taken within the 6
   56  months immediately preceding the submission of the application.
   57         (f) Have a current license and has operated as a broker or
   58  salesperson without a license.
   59         (8) A person may not be licensed as a broker unless he or
   60  she:
   61         (a) Has been a salesperson for at least 2 consecutive
   62  years;, and
   63         (b)1. Can demonstrate that he or she has been directly
   64  involved in at least four transactions that resulted in the sale
   65  of a yacht during the 2 years preceding the date of the license
   66  application; or
   67         2. Can certify that he or she has completed 20 hours of
   68  education, in-person or online, from a provider approved by the
   69  division, as provided under ss. 455.2178 and 455.2179, regarding
   70  the state laws, rules, and ethics relating to the professional
   71  standards of practice, duties, and responsibilities of a
   72  licensee may not be licensed as a broker unless he or she has
   73  been licensed as a salesperson for at least 2 consecutive years.
   74         (15) The division shall provide by rule for the issuance of
   75  a temporary 90-day license to an applicant while the Florida
   76  Department of Law Enforcement conducts a national criminal
   77  history analysis of the applicant by means of fingerprint
   78  identification.
   79         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.