| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to household moving services; amending s. |
| 3 | 507.01, F.S.; redefining the term "storage"; amending s. |
| 4 | 507.03, F.S.; providing for the biennial renewal of mover |
| 5 | and moving broker registrations; authorizing the |
| 6 | Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to extend |
| 7 | registration expiration dates in order to establish |
| 8 | staggered dates; requiring the calculation of biennial |
| 9 | registration fees based on an annual rate; deleting a |
| 10 | provision requiring certain movers and moving brokers to |
| 11 | obtain a local license or registration and pay the state |
| 12 | registration fee; amending s. 507.07, F.S.; prohibiting a |
| 13 | mover or moving broker from conducting business without |
| 14 | being registered with the department; providing penalties; |
| 15 | amending s. 507.13, F.S.; preempting local ordinances and |
| 16 | regulations except in certain counties; restricting the |
| 17 | levy or collection of local registration fees and taxes of |
| 18 | movers and moving brokers; providing for local |
| 19 | registration and bonding; exempting local business taxes |
| 20 | from preemption; providing for retroactive application; |
| 21 | providing an effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Subsection (13) of section 507.01, Florida |
| 26 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 27 | 507.01 Definitions.-As used in this chapter, the term: |
| 28 | (13) "Storage" means the temporary warehousing of a |
| 29 | shipper's goods while under the care, custody, and control of |
| 30 | the mover. |
| 31 | Section 2. Subsections (1), (3), and (4) of section |
| 32 | 507.03, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 33 | 507.03 Registration.- |
| 34 | (1) Each mover and moving broker must annually register |
| 35 | with the department, providing its legal business and trade |
| 36 | name, mailing address, and business locations; the full names, |
| 37 | addresses, and telephone numbers of its owners or corporate |
| 38 | officers and directors and the Florida agent of the corporation; |
| 39 | a statement whether it is a domestic or foreign corporation, its |
| 40 | state and date of incorporation, its charter number, and, if a |
| 41 | foreign corporation, the date it registered with the Department |
| 42 | of State; the date on which the mover or broker registered its |
| 43 | fictitious name if the mover or broker is operating under a |
| 44 | fictitious or trade name; the name of all other corporations, |
| 45 | business entities, and trade names through which each owner of |
| 46 | the mover or broker operated, was known, or did business as a |
| 47 | mover or moving broker within the preceding 5 years; and proof |
| 48 | of the insurance or alternative coverages required under s. |
| 49 | 507.04. |
| 50 | (3) Registration fees shall be calculated at the rate of |
| 51 | $300 per year per mover or moving broker. All amounts collected |
| 52 | shall be deposited by the Chief Financial Officer to the credit |
| 53 | of the General Inspection Trust Fund of the department for the |
| 54 | sole purpose of administration of this chapter. |
| 55 | (4) A registration must be renewed biennially on or before |
| 56 | its expiration date. In order to establish staggered expiration |
| 57 | dates, the department may extend the expiration date of a |
| 58 | registration for a period not to exceed 12 months. Any mover or |
| 59 | moving broker whose principal place of business is located in a |
| 60 | county or municipality that requires, by local ordinance, a |
| 61 | local license or registration to engage in the business of |
| 62 | moving and storage of household goods must obtain the license or |
| 63 | registration from the county or municipality. A mover or broker |
| 64 | that obtains a local license or registration must also pay the |
| 65 | state registration fee under subsection (3). |
| 66 | Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 507.07, Florida |
| 67 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 68 | 507.07 Violations.-It is a violation of this chapter to: |
| 69 | (1) Conduct business as a mover or moving broker, or |
| 70 | advertise to engage in the business of moving or offering to |
| 71 | move, without first being registered annually with the |
| 72 | department. |
| 73 | Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 507.13, Florida |
| 74 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 75 | 507.13 Local regulation.- |
| 76 | (1)(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c), this |
| 77 | chapter preempts a does not preempt local ordinance ordinances |
| 78 | or regulation regulations of a county or municipality which |
| 79 | regulates regulate transactions relating to movers of household |
| 80 | goods or moving brokers. |
| 81 | (b) This chapter does not preempt an ordinance or |
| 82 | regulation originally enacted by a county before January 1, |
| 83 | 2011, or a subsequent amendment to such an ordinance or |
| 84 | regulation. However, registration fees required by such an |
| 85 | ordinance or regulation must be reasonable and may not exceed |
| 86 | the cost of administering the ordinance or regulation. In |
| 87 | addition, registration and bonding may be required only of a |
| 88 | mover or moving broker whose principal place of business is |
| 89 | located within that county's jurisdiction. |
| 90 | (c) This section does not preempt a local government's |
| 91 | authority to levy a local business tax pursuant to chapter 205. |
| 92 | As provided in s. 507.03(4), counties and municipalities may |
| 93 | require , levy, or collect any registration fee or tax or |
| 94 | require the registration or bonding in any manner of any mover |
| 95 | or moving broker. |
| 96 | Section 5. The amendments made by this act to ss. 570.03 |
| 97 | and 507.13, Florida Statutes, apply retroactively to county and |
| 98 | municipal ordinances adopted on or after January 1, 2011. |
| 99 | Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |