Senate Bill sb1580c2
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for CS for SB 1580
By the Committees on Criminal Justice; Banking and Insurance;
and Senators Aronberg, Fasano, Lawson and Bullard
307-2419-03
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to consumer protection;
3 creating ss. 501.165, 501.166, F.S.;
4 prohibiting the use of deception to obtain
5 certain personal information for commercial
6 solicitation purposes; prohibiting the sale or
7 disclosure of personal customer information by
8 persons in bankruptcy; amending s. 501.2075,
9 F.S.; providing an exception to a civil
10 penalty; creating s. 501.2076, F.S.;
11 prohibiting falsely representing oneself as
12 being affiliated with a law enforcement or
13 firefighting agency or public utility;
14 providing a penalty; providing that a violation
15 of s. 817.568, F.S., is an unfair or deceptive
16 act or practice or unfair method of competition
17 in violation of part II of ch. 501, F.S.;
18 providing penalties; amending ss. 501.23 and
19 501.24, F.S.; changing obsolete dates;
20 providing an effective date.
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22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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24 Section 1. Section 501.2076, Florida Statutes, is
25 created to read:
26 501.2076 Misrepresentations; law enforcement,
27 firefighters, or public utilities.--Any person who engages in
28 a deceptive and unfair trade practice with the intent to
29 deceive another person into believing that he or she is
30 affiliated with a law enforcement agency, firefighting agency,
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1 or public utility is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
2 $15,000 for each violation.
3 Section 2. Section 501.165, Florida Statutes, is
4 created to read:
5 501.165 Obtaining personal information for commercial
6 solicitation.--Any person who uses deceptive practices or
7 means to obtain another person's address, telephone number, or
8 social security number and uses it to engage in commercial
9 solicitation commits an unfair or deceptive act or practice or
10 unfair method of competition in violation of part II of this
11 chapter, and is subject to the penalties and remedies provided
12 for such violation, in addition to remedies otherwise
13 available for such conduct.
14 Section 3. Section 501.2075, Florida Statutes, is
15 amended to read:
16 501.2075 Civil penalty.--Except as provided in s.
17 501.2076 or s. 501.2077, any person, firm, corporation,
18 association, or entity, or any agent or employee of the
19 foregoing, who is willfully using, or has willfully used, a
20 method, act, or practice declared unlawful under s. 501.204,
21 or who is willfully violating any of the rules of the
22 department adopted under this part, is liable for a civil
23 penalty of not more than $10,000 for each such violation.
24 Willful violations occur when the person knew or should have
25 known that his or her conduct was unfair or deceptive or
26 prohibited by rule. This civil penalty may be recovered in
27 any action brought under this part by the enforcing authority;
28 or the enforcing authority may terminate any investigation or
29 action upon agreement by the person, firm, corporation,
30 association, or entity, or the agent or employee of the
31 foregoing, to pay a stipulated civil penalty. The department
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1 or the court may waive any such civil penalty if the person,
2 firm, corporation, association, or entity, or the agent or
3 employee of the foregoing, has previously made full
4 restitution or reimbursement or has paid actual damages to the
5 consumers or governmental entities who have been injured by
6 the unlawful act or practice or rule violation. If civil
7 penalties are assessed in any litigation, the enforcing
8 authority is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
9 A civil penalty so collected shall accrue to the state and
10 shall be deposited as received into the General Revenue Fund
11 unallocated.
12 Section 4. Section 501.166, Florida Statutes, is
13 created to read:
14 501.166 Selling personal customer information.--
15 (1) A person who files for bankruptcy may not sell or
16 otherwise transfer to another any database that contains
17 personal customer information if the bankrupt person, through
18 contract or a published privacy policy, agreed or stated that
19 such personal customer information would not be disclosed.
20 (2) A person who violates or fails to comply with
21 subsection (1) commits an unfair or deceptive act or practice
22 or unfair method of competition in violation of part II of
23 this chapter and is subject to the penalties and remedies
24 provided for such violation, in addition to remedies otherwise
25 available for such conduct.
26 Section 5. A person who violates or fails to comply
27 with any provision of section 817.568, Florida Statutes,
28 commits an unfair or deceptive act or practice or unfair
29 method of competition in violation of part II of chapter 501,
30 Florida Statutes, and is subject to the penalties and remedies
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1 provided for such violation, in addition to remedies otherwise
2 available for such conduct.
3 Section 6. Subsection (3) of section 501.203, Florida
4 Statutes, is amended to read:
5 501.203 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, unless
6 the context otherwise requires, the term:
7 (3) "Violation of this part" means any violation of
8 this act or the rules adopted under this act and may be based
9 upon any of the following as of July 1, 2003 2001:
10 (a) Any rules promulgated pursuant to the Federal
11 Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. ss. 41 et seq.;
12 (b) The standards of unfairness and deception set
13 forth and interpreted by the Federal Trade Commission or the
14 federal courts;
15 (c) Any law, statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance
16 which proscribes unfair methods of competition, or unfair,
17 deceptive, or unconscionable acts or practices.
18 Section 7. Subsection (2) of section 501.204, Florida
19 Statutes, is amended to read:
20 501.204 Unlawful acts and practices.--
21 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that, in
22 construing subsection (1), due consideration and great weight
23 shall be given to the interpretations of the Federal Trade
24 Commission and the federal courts relating to s. 5(a)(1) of
25 the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. s. 45(a)(1) as of
26 July 1, 2003 2001.
27 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
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1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 CS/SB 1580
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4 Updates obsolete date references to various federal and state
laws in ss. 501.203 (definitions) and 501.204 (unlawful acts
5 and practices), F.S., relevant to the Florida Deceptive and
Unfair Trade Practices Act.
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