| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to credit card surcharges; amending s. |
| 3 | 125.01, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by |
| 4 | the act; creating ss. 125.01035 and 166.0433, F.S.; |
| 5 | prohibiting counties and municipalities from |
| 6 | prohibiting the owners or operators of certain |
| 7 | passenger vehicles for hire from imposing credit card |
| 8 | surcharges on passenger fares; amending s. 501.0117, |
| 9 | F.S.; exempting certain passenger vehicle fares from |
| 10 | the prohibition on the imposition of credit card |
| 11 | surcharges; conforming provisions; providing an |
| 12 | effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Paragraph (n) of subsection (1) of section |
| 17 | 125.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 18 | 125.01 Powers and duties.- |
| 19 | (1) The legislative and governing body of a county shall |
| 20 | have the power to carry on county government. To the extent not |
| 21 | inconsistent with general or special law, this power includes, |
| 22 | but is not restricted to, the power to: |
| 23 | (n) Except as provided in s. 125.01035, license and |
| 24 | regulate taxis, jitneys, limousines for hire, rental cars, and |
| 25 | other passenger vehicles for hire that operate in the |
| 26 | unincorporated areas of the county; except that any |
| 27 | constitutional charter county as defined in s. 125.011(1) shall |
| 28 | on July 1, 1988, have been authorized to have issued a number of |
| 29 | permits to operate taxis which is no less than the ratio of one |
| 30 | permit for each 1,000 residents of said county, and any such new |
| 31 | permits issued after June 4, 1988, shall be issued by lottery |
| 32 | among individuals with such experience as a taxi driver as the |
| 33 | county may determine. |
| 34 | Section 2. Section 125.01035, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 35 | to read: |
| 36 | 125.01035 Passenger vehicles for hire; credit card |
| 37 | surcharges.-A county may not prohibit the owner or operator of a |
| 38 | taxicab, limousine, jitney, or other passenger vehicle for hire |
| 39 | from imposing a surcharge on a passenger who elects to pay the |
| 40 | passenger fare using a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, |
| 41 | check, or similar means. |
| 42 | Section 3. Section 166.0433, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 43 | to read: |
| 44 | 166.0433 Passenger vehicles for hire; credit card |
| 45 | surcharges.-A municipality may not prohibit the owner or |
| 46 | operator of a taxicab, limousine, jitney, or other passenger |
| 47 | vehicle for hire from imposing a surcharge on a passenger who |
| 48 | elects to pay the passenger fare using a credit card in lieu of |
| 49 | payment by cash, check, or similar means. |
| 50 | Section 4. Section 501.0117, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 51 | to read: |
| 52 | 501.0117 Credit cards; transactions in which seller or |
| 53 | lessor prohibited from imposing surcharge; penalty.- |
| 54 | (1) A seller or lessor in a sales or lease transaction may |
| 55 | not impose a surcharge on the buyer or lessee for electing to |
| 56 | use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar |
| 57 | means, if the seller or lessor accepts payment by credit card. A |
| 58 | surcharge is any additional amount imposed at the time of a sale |
| 59 | or lease transaction by the seller or lessor that increases the |
| 60 | charge to the buyer or lessee for the privilege of using a |
| 61 | credit card to make payment. As used in this section, the term |
| 62 | "credit card" includes those cards for which unpaid balances are |
| 63 | payable on demand. |
| 64 | (2)(a) Charges imposed pursuant to approved state or |
| 65 | federal tariffs are not considered to be a surcharge, and |
| 66 | charges made under such tariffs are exempt from this section. |
| 67 | (b) A convenience fee imposed upon a student or family |
| 68 | paying tuition, fees, or other student account charges by credit |
| 69 | card to a William L. Boyd, IV, Florida resident access grant |
| 70 | eligible institution, as defined in s. 1009.89, is not |
| 71 | considered to be a surcharge and is exempt from this section if |
| 72 | the amount of the convenience fee does not exceed the total cost |
| 73 | charged by the credit card company to the institution. The term |
| 74 | "credit card" includes those cards for which unpaid balances are |
| 75 | payable on demand. |
| 76 | (c) This section does not apply to the offering of a |
| 77 | discount for the purpose of inducing payment by cash, check, or |
| 78 | other means not involving the use of a credit card, if the |
| 79 | discount is offered to all prospective customers. |
| 80 | (d) This section does not apply to passenger fares for a |
| 81 | taxicab, limousine, jitney, or other passenger vehicle for hire. |
| 82 | (3)(2) A person who violates this section commits the |
| 83 | provisions of subsection (1) is guilty of a misdemeanor of the |
| 84 | second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. |
| 85 | 775.083. |
| 86 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |