Florida Senate - 2015                             CS for SB 1212
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Commerce and Tourism; and Senator Ring
       
       
       
       
       
       577-02756-15                                          20151212c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to contracts for goods and services;
    3         creating s. 725.09, F.S.; prohibiting contracts for
    4         the sale or lease of consumer goods or services from
    5         waiving the right of the consumer to make certain
    6         statements; providing civil penalties; providing
    7         construction and applicability; providing an effective
    8         date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Section 725.09, Florida Statutes, is created to
   13  read:
   14         725.09 Right of consumer to make statements.—
   15         (1)(a) A contract for the sale or lease of consumer goods
   16  or services may not include a provision waiving the right of the
   17  consumer to make any statement regarding the seller or lessor,
   18  the seller’s or lessor’s employees or agents, or the goods or
   19  services.
   20         (b) A seller or lessor or its employees or agents may not
   21  threaten or seek to enforce a provision prohibited under this
   22  subsection or otherwise penalize a consumer for making a
   23  statement protected under this subsection.
   24         (c) A waiver of this section is contrary to public policy,
   25  void, and unenforceable.
   26         (2)(a) A seller or lessor or its employees or agents that
   27  violate this section are subject to a civil penalty not to
   28  exceed $2,500 for the first violation and $5,000 for each
   29  subsequent violation. For a willful, intentional, or reckless
   30  violation, an additional civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 may
   31  be assessed.
   32         (b) The penalty shall be assessed and collected in a civil
   33  action brought by the consumer, the Attorney General, or the
   34  state attorney for the county in which the violation occurred.
   35  The penalty shall be payable, as appropriate, to the consumer or
   36  to the general fund of the governmental entity that brought the
   37  action.
   38         (c) The penalties in this subsection are not exclusive
   39  remedies and do not affect other relief or remedies provided by
   40  law.
   41         (3) This section does not prohibit a person or business
   42  that hosts online consumer reviews or comments from removing a
   43  statement that is otherwise lawful to remove.
   44         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.