Bill Text: FL S1442 | 2017 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Fee and Surcharge Reductions
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-05 - Died on Calendar, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 741 (Ch. 2017-29), HB 7109 (Ch. 2017-36) [S1442 Detail]
Download: Florida-2017-S1442-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2017 CS for SB 1442 By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Broxson 596-03006-17 20171442c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to fee and surcharge reductions; 3 amending s. 113.01, F.S.; deleting the fee for a 4 commission of an elected officer by the Governor; 5 amending s. 206.41, F.S.; deleting the fee for a claim 6 for refund of the tax on motor fuel; amending s. 7 212.18, F.S.; deleting a registration fee for certain 8 dealers or businesses; amending s. 319.32, F.S.; 9 exempting a surviving spouse from the fee to transfer 10 a motor vehicle title; amending ss. 322.051 and 11 322.14, F.S.; deleting fees for adding the word 12 “Veteran” to an identification card or driver license; 13 amending s. 322.21, F.S.; exempting veterans from the 14 fee for an original commercial driver license; 15 exempting certain persons from the fee for an 16 identification card; amending s. 455.271, F.S.; 17 revising provisions relating to imposition and amount 18 of a delinquency fee for licensees regulated by the 19 Department of Business and Professional Regulation; 20 amending s. 488.03, F.S.; reducing fees for 21 application, licensure, and renewal of licensure to 22 operate a driver school; amending s. 553.721, F.S.; 23 reducing the amount of the surcharge assessed by the 24 department on Florida Building Code permit fees; 25 amending ss. 1012.56 and 1012.59, F.S.; eliminating 26 the application fee and the fees for certain 27 examinations for an initial Florida Professional 28 Educator’s Certificate beginning in a specified fiscal 29 year; waiving the fee for one subject area examination 30 for an initial Florida Professional Educator’s 31 Certificate beginning in a specified fiscal year; 32 eliminating the fee for renewing a Florida 33 Professional Educator’s Certificate for a certified 34 teacher employed at a Florida public school beginning 35 in a specified fiscal year; providing specified 36 provisions are subject to certain funding; amending 37 ss. 15.09, 212.0596, and 319.28, F.S.; conforming 38 provisions to changes made by the act; providing 39 effective dates. 40 41 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 42 43 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 15.09, Florida 44 Statutes, is amended to read: 45 15.09 Fees.— 46 (3) All fees arising from certificates of election or 47 appointment to officeand from commissions to officersshall be 48 paid to the Chief Financial Officer for deposit in the General 49 Revenue Fund. 50 Section 2. Section 113.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to 51 read: 52 113.01 Fee for commissions issued by Governor.—A fee of $10 53 is prescribed for the issuance of each commission issued by the 54 Governor of the state and attested by the Secretary of State for 55an elected officer ora notary public. 56 Section 3. Effective January 1, 2018, paragraph (c) of 57 subsection (5) of section 206.41, Florida Statutes, is amended 58 to read: 59 206.41 State taxes imposed on motor fuel.— 60 (5) 61 (c)1. No refund may be authorized unless a sworn 62 application therefor containing such information as the 63 department may determine is filed with the department not later 64 than the last day of the month following the quarter for which 65 the refund is claimed. However, when a justified excuse for late 66 filing is presented to the department and the last preceding 67 claim was filed on time, the deadline for filing may be extended 68 an additional month. No refund will be authorized unless the 69 amount due is for $5 or more for any refund period and unless 70 application is made upon forms prescribed by the department. 71 2. Claims made for refunds provided pursuant to subsection 72 (4) shall be paid quarterly.The department shall deduct a fee73of $2 for each claim, which fee shall be deposited in the74General Revenue Fund.75 Section 4. Effective January 1, 2018, subsection (7) of 76 section 212.0596, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 77 212.0596 Taxation of mail order sales.— 78 (7) The department may establish by rule procedures for 79 collecting the use tax from unregistered persons who but for 80 their mail order purchases would not be required to remit sales 81 or use tax directly to the department. The procedures may 82 provide for waiver of registrationand registration fees, 83 provisions for irregular remittance of tax, elimination of the 84 collection allowance, and nonapplication of local option 85 surtaxes. 86 Section 5. Effective January 1, 2018, paragraphs (a) and 87 (c) of subsection (3) of section 212.18, Florida Statutes, are 88 amended to read: 89 212.18 Administration of law; registration of dealers; 90 rules.— 91 (3)(a) A person desiring to engage in or conduct business 92 in this state as a dealer, or to lease, rent, or let or grant 93 licenses in living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping 94 accommodations in hotels, apartment houses, roominghouses, or 95 tourist or trailer camps that are subject to tax under s. 96 212.03, or to lease, rent, or let or grant licenses in real 97 property, and a person who sells or receives anything of value 98 by way of admissions, must file with the department an 99 application for a certificate of registration for each place of 100 business. The application must include the names of the persons 101 who have interests in such business and their residences, the 102 address of the business, and other data reasonably required by 103 the department. However, owners and operators of vending 104 machines or newspaper rack machines are required to obtain only 105 one certificate of registration for each county in which such 106 machines are located. The department, by rule, may authorize a 107 dealer that uses independent sellers to sell its merchandise to 108 remit tax on the retail sales price charged to the ultimate 109 consumer in lieu of having the independent seller register as a 110 dealer and remit the tax. The department may appoint the county 111 tax collector as the department’s agent to accept applications 112 for registrations. The application must be submitted to the 113 department before the person, firm, copartnership, or 114 corporation may engage in such business, and it must be115accompanied by a registration fee of $5. However, a registration116fee is not required to accompany an application to engage in or117conduct business to make mail order sales. The department may118waive the registration fee for applications submitted through119the department’s Internet registration process. 120 (c)1. A person who engages in acts requiring a certificate 121 of registration under this subsection and who fails or refuses 122 to register commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, 123 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Such acts 124 are subject to injunctive proceedings as provided by law. A 125 person who engages in acts requiring a certificate of 126 registration and who fails or refuses to register is also 127 subject to a $100 initial registration feein lieu of the $5128registration fee required by paragraph (a). However, the 129 department may waive theincrease in theregistration fee if it 130 finds that the failure to register was due to reasonable cause 131 and not to willful negligence, willful neglect, or fraud. 132 2.a. A person who willfully fails to register after the 133 department provides notice of the duty to register as a dealer 134 commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in 135 s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 136 b. The department shall provide written notice of the duty 137 to register to the person by personal service or by sending 138 notice by registered mail to the person’s last known address. 139 The department may provide written notice by both methods 140 described in this sub-subparagraph. 141 Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 142 319.28, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 143 319.28 Transfer of ownership by operation of law.— 144 (1)(a) In the event of the transfer of ownership of a motor 145 vehicle or mobile home by operation of law as upon inheritance, 146 devise or bequest, order in bankruptcy, insolvency, replevin, 147 attachment, execution, or other judicial sale or whenever the 148 engine of a motor vehicle is replaced by another engine or 149 whenever a motor vehicle is sold to satisfy storage or repair 150 charges or repossession is had upon default in performance of 151 the terms of a security agreement, chattel mortgage, conditional 152 sales contract, trust receipt, or other like agreement, and upon 153 the surrender of the prior certificate of title or, when that is 154 not possible, presentation of satisfactory proof to the 155 department of ownership and right of possession to such motor 156 vehicle or mobile home, and upon payment of the fee prescribed 157 by law, except as provided in s. 319.32(1)(d), and presentation 158 of an application for certificate of title, the department may 159 issue to the applicant a certificate of title thereto. 160 Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 319.32, Florida 161 Statutes, is amended to read: 162 319.32 Fees; service charges; disposition.— 163 (1)(a) The department shall charge a fee of $70 for each 164 original certificate of title, except for a certificate of title 165 for a motor vehicle for hire registered under s. 320.08(6) for 166 which the title fee shall be $49; $70 for each duplicate copy of 167 a certificate of title, except for a certificate of title for a 168 motor vehicle for hire registered under s. 320.08(6) for which 169 the title fee shall be $49; $2 for each salvage certificate of 170 title; and $3 for each assignment by a lienholder. The 171 department shall also charge a fee of $2 for noting a lien on a 172 title certificate, which fee includes the services for the 173 subsequent issuance of a corrected certificate or cancellation 174 of lien when that lien is satisfied. 175 (b) If an application for a certificate of title is for a 176 vehicle that is required by s. 319.14(1)(b) to have a physical 177 examination, the department shall charge an additional fee of 178 $40 for the initial examination and $20 for each subsequent 179 examination. The initial examination fee shall be deposited into 180 the General Revenue Fund, and each subsequent examination fee 181 shall be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund. 182 The physical examination of the vehicle includes, but is not 183 limited to, verification of the vehicle identification number 184 and verification of the bill of sale or title for major 185 components. 186 (c) In addition to all other fees charged, a sum of $1 187 shall be paid for the issuance of an original or duplicate 188 certificate of title to cover the cost of materials used for 189 security purposes. A service fee of $2.50, to be deposited into 190 the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund, shall be charged for 191 shipping and handling for each paper title mailed by the 192 department. 193 (d) The surviving spouse of a deceased motor vehicle owner 194 who applies for a transfer of title in his or her own name, 195 regardless of whether the surviving spouse is named on the 196 deceased motor vehicle owner’s title, is exempt from the fees 197 imposed under this subsection. 198 Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section 199 322.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 200 322.051 Identification cards.— 201 (8) 202 (b) The word “Veteran” shall be exhibited on the 203 identification card of a veteran uponthe payment of an204additional $1 fee for the identification card andthe 205 presentation of a copy of the person’s DD Form 214, issued by 206 the United States Department of Defense, or another acceptable 207 form specified by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Until a 208 veteran’s identification card is next renewed, the veteran may 209 have the word “Veteran” added to his or her identification card 210 upon surrender of his or her current identification card,211payment of a $2 fee to be deposited into the Highway Safety212Operating Trust Fund,and presentation of a copy of his or her 213 DD Form 214 or another acceptable form specified by the 214 Department of Veterans’ Affairs. If the applicant is not 215 conducting any other transaction affecting the identification 216 card, a replacement identification card shall be issued with the 217 word “Veteran” without payment of the fee required in s. 218 322.21(1)(f)3. 219 Section 9. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 220 322.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 221 322.14 Licenses issued to drivers.— 222 (1) 223 (d) The word “Veteran” shall be exhibited on the driver 224 license of a veteran uponthe payment of an additional $1 fee225for the license andthe presentation of a copy of the person’s 226 DD Form 214, issued by the United States Department of Defense, 227 or another acceptable form specified by the Department of 228 Veterans’ Affairs. Until a veteran’s license is next renewed, 229 the veteran may have the word “Veteran” added to his or her 230 license upon surrender of his or her current license, payment of231a $2 fee to be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating Trust232Fund,and presentation of a copy of his or her DD Form 214 or 233 another acceptable form specified by the Department of Veterans’ 234 Affairs. If the applicant is not conducting any other 235 transaction affecting the driver license, a replacement license 236 shall be issued with the word “Veteran” without payment of the 237 fee required in s. 322.21(1)(e). 238 Section 10. Paragraphs (a) and (f) of subsection (1) of 239 section 322.21, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 240 322.21 License fees; procedure for handling and collecting 241 fees.— 242 (1) Except as otherwise provided herein, the fee for: 243 (a) An original or renewal commercial driver license is 244 $75, which shall include the fee for driver education provided 245 by s. 1003.48. However, if an applicant has completed training 246 and is applying for employment or is currently employed in a 247 public or nonpublic school system that requires the commercial 248 license, the fee is the same as for a Class E driver license. A 249 delinquent fee of $15 shall be added for a renewal within 12 250 months after the license expiration date. A veteran is exempt 251 from the fee for an original commercial driver license upon 252 presentation of his or her DD Form 214, issued by the United 253 States Department of Defense, or another acceptable form 254 specified by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. 255 (f) An original, renewal, or replacement identification 256 card issued pursuant to s. 322.051 is $25, except that an 257 applicant who presents evidence satisfactory to the department 258 that he or she is homeless as defined in s. 414.0252(7); his or 259 her annual income is at or below 100 percent of the federal 260 poverty level;orhe or she is a juvenile offender who is in the 261 custody or under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile 262 Justice, is receiving services pursuant to s. 985.461, and whose 263 identification card is issued by the department’s mobile issuing 264 units; or he or she is 80 years of age or older is exempt from 265 such fee. Funds collected from fees for original, renewal, or 266 replacement identification cards shall be distributed as 267 follows: 268 1. For an original identification card issued pursuant to 269 s. 322.051, the fee shall be deposited into the General Revenue 270 Fund. 271 2. For a renewal identification card issued pursuant to s. 272 322.051, $6 shall be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating 273 Trust Fund, and $19 shall be deposited into the General Revenue 274 Fund. 275 3. For a replacement identification card issued pursuant to 276 s. 322.051, $9 shall be deposited into the Highway Safety 277 Operating Trust Fund, and $16 shall be deposited into the 278 General Revenue Fund. Beginning July 1, 2015, or upon completion 279 of the transition of the driver license issuance services, if 280 the replacement identification card is issued by the tax 281 collector, the tax collector shall retain the $9 that would 282 otherwise be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating Trust 283 Fund and the remaining revenues shall be deposited into the 284 General Revenue Fund. 285 Section 11. Subsection (7) of section 455.271, Florida 286 Statutes, is amended to read: 287 455.271 Inactive and delinquent status.— 288 (7) Notwithstanding the provisions of the professional 289 practice acts administered by the department, each board, or the 290 department when there is no board, shall, by rule,impose an 291 additional delinquency fee of $25, not to exceed the biennial292renewal fee for an active status license,on a delinquent status 293 licensee when such licensee applies for active or inactive 294 status. 295 Section 12. Section 488.03, Florida Statutes, is amended to 296 read: 297 488.03 License; application; expiration; renewal; fees.—An 298 application for a license shall be made in the form prescribed 299 by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Every 300 application for an original license must be accompanied by an 301 application fee of $25$50, which fee may not be refunded. If 302 the application is approved, a further fee of $100$200must be 303 paid before the license may be issued. The license shall be 304 valid for a period of 1 year from the date of issuance and is 305 not transferable. In the event of any change in ownership or 306 interest in the business, an application for a new license, 307 together with all instructors’ certificates issued thereunder, 308 must be surrendered to the department before a license will be 309 issued to a new owner of the business. The fee for the annual 310 renewal of a license is $50$100. 311 Section 13. Section 553.721, Florida Statutes, is amended 312 to read: 313 553.721 Surcharge.—In order for the Department of Business 314 and Professional Regulation to administer and carry out the 315 purposes of this part and related activities, there is created a 316 surcharge, to be assessed at the rate of 11.5percent of the 317 permit fees associated with enforcement of the Florida Building 318 Code as defined by the uniform account criteria and specifically 319 the uniform account code for building permits adopted for local 320 government financial reporting pursuant to s. 218.32. The 321 minimum amount collected on any permit issued shall be $2. The 322 unit of government responsible for collecting a permit fee 323 pursuant to s. 125.56(4) or s. 166.201 shall collect the 324 surcharge and electronically remit the funds collected to the 325 department on a quarterly calendar basis for the preceding 326 quarter and continuing each third month thereafter. The unit of 327 government shall retain 10 percent of the surcharge collected to 328 fund the participation of building departments in the national 329 and state building code adoption processes and to provide 330 education related to enforcement of the Florida Building Code. 331 All funds remitted to the department pursuant to this section 332 shall be deposited in the Professional Regulation Trust Fund. 333 Funds collected from the surcharge shall be allocated to fund 334 the Florida Building Commission and the Florida Building Code 335 Compliance and Mitigation Program under s. 553.841. Funds 336 allocated to the Florida Building Code Compliance and Mitigation 337 Program shall be $925,000 each fiscal year. The Florida Building 338 Code Compliance and Mitigation Program shall fund the 339 recommendations made by the Building Code System Uniform 340 Implementation Evaluation Workgroup, dated April 8, 2013, from 341 existing resources, not to exceed $30,000 in the 2016-2017 342 fiscal year. Funds collected from the surcharge shall also be 343 used to fund Florida Fire Prevention Code informal 344 interpretations managed by the State Fire Marshal and shall be 345 limited to $15,000 each fiscal year. The State Fire Marshal 346 shall adopt rules to address the implementation and expenditure 347 of the funds allocated to fund the Florida Fire Prevention Code 348 informal interpretations under this section. The funds collected 349 from the surcharge may not be used to fund research on 350 techniques for mitigation of radon in existing buildings. Funds 351 used by the department as well as funds to be transferred to the 352 Department of Health and the State Fire Marshal shall be as 353 prescribed in the annual General Appropriations Act. The 354 department shall adopt rules governing the collection and 355 remittance of surcharges pursuant to chapter 120. 356 Section 14. Subsection (1) of section 1012.56, Florida 357 Statutes, is amended to read: 358 1012.56 Educator certification requirements.— 359 (1) APPLICATION.—Each person seeking certification pursuant 360 to this chapter shall submit a completed application containing 361 the applicant’s social security number to the Department of 362 Education and remit the fee required pursuant to s. 1012.59 and 363 rules of the State Board of Education. 364 (a) Beginning in the 2017-2018 fiscal year and each year 365 thereafter, the application fee and the fees for the following 366 examinations are eliminated for an applicant for the initial 367 Florida Professional Educator’s Certificate: the General 368 Knowledge Test, for a first-time registration; and the 369 Professional Education Test, for a first-time registration. This 370 paragraph is subject to funding appropriated in the General 371 Appropriations Act. 372 (b) Beginning in the 2017-2018 fiscal year and each year 373 thereafter, one subject area examination fee is waived for an 374 applicant for the initial Florida Professional Educator’s 375 Certificate. This paragraph is subject to funding appropriated 376 in the General Appropriations Act. 377 (c) Beginning in the 2017-2018 fiscal year and each year 378 thereafter, the fee for renewing a Florida Professional 379 Educator’s Certificate is eliminated for a certified teacher 380 employed at a Florida public school. This paragraph is subject 381 to funding appropriated in the General Appropriations Act. 382 (d) Pursuant to the federal Personal Responsibility and 383 Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, each party is 384 required to provide his or her social security number in 385 accordance with this section. Disclosure of social security 386 numbers obtained through this requirement is limited to the 387 purpose of administration of the Title IV-D program of the 388 Social Security Act for child support enforcement. Pursuant to 389 s. 120.60, the department shall issue within 90 calendar days 390 after the stamped receipted date of the completed application: 391 1.(a)If the applicant meets the requirements, a 392 professional certificate covering the classification, level, and 393 area for which the applicant is deemed qualified and a document 394 explaining the requirements for renewal of the professional 395 certificate; 396 2.(b)If the applicant meets the requirements and if 397 requested by an employing school district or an employing 398 private school with a professional education competence 399 demonstration program pursuant to paragraphs (6)(f) and (8)(b), 400 a temporary certificate covering the classification, level, and 401 area for which the applicant is deemed qualified and an official 402 statement of status of eligibility; or 403 3.(c)If an applicant does not meet the requirements for 404 either certificate, an official statement of status of 405 eligibility. 406 407 The statement of status of eligibility must advise the applicant 408 of any qualifications that must be completed to qualify for 409 certification. Each statement of status of eligibility is valid 410 for 3 years after its date of issuance, except as provided in 411 paragraph (2)(d). 412 Section 15. Section 1012.59, Florida Statutes, is amended 413 to read: 414 1012.59 Certification fees.— 415 (1) The State Board of Education, by rule, shall establish 416 separate fees for applications, examinations, certification, 417 certification renewal, late renewal, recordmaking, and 418 recordkeeping, and may establish procedures for scheduling and 419 administering an examination upon an applicant’s request. Each 420 fee shall be based on department estimates of the revenue 421 required to implement the provisions of law with respect to 422 certification of school personnel. The application fee shall be 423 nonrefundable. Each examination fee shall be sufficient to cover 424 the actual cost of developing and administering the examination. 425 (a) Beginning in the 2017-2018 fiscal year and each year 426 thereafter, the application fee and the fees for the following 427 examinations are eliminated for an applicant for the initial 428 Florida Professional Educator’s Certificate: the General 429 Knowledge Test, for a first-time registration; and the 430 Professional Education Test, for a first-time registration. This 431 paragraph is subject to funding appropriated in the General 432 Appropriations Act. 433 (b) Beginning in the 2017-2018 fiscal year and each year 434 thereafter, one subject area examination fee is waived for an 435 applicant for the initial Florida Professional Educator’s 436 Certificate. This paragraph is subject to funding appropriated 437 in the General Appropriations Act. 438 (c) Beginning in the 2017-2018 fiscal year and each year 439 thereafter, the fee for renewing a Florida Professional 440 Educator’s Certificate is eliminated for a certified teacher 441 employed at a Florida public school. This paragraph is subject 442 to funding appropriated in the General Appropriations Act. 443 (2) The proceeds from the collection of certification fees, 444 fines, penalties, and costs levied pursuant to this chapter 445 shall be remitted by the Department of Education to the Chief 446 Financial Officer for deposit into a separate fund to be known 447 as the “Educational Certification and Service Trust Fund” and 448 disbursed for the payment of expenses incurred by the 449 Educational Practices Commission and in the printing of forms 450 and bulletins and the issuing of certificates, upon vouchers 451 approved by the department. 452 Section 16. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 453 act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2017.