Florida Senate - 2021                                     SB 522
       
       
        
       By Senator Diaz
       
       
       
       
       
       36-00597A-21                                           2021522__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to vacation rentals; amending s.
    3         509.013, F.S.; defining the term “advertising
    4         platform”; amending s. 509.032, F.S.; preempting the
    5         regulation of vacation rentals to the state;
    6         prohibiting a local law, ordinance, or regulation from
    7         allowing or requiring inspections or licensing of
    8         public lodging establishments, including vacation
    9         rentals, or public food service establishments;
   10         authorizing a local law, ordinance, or regulation to
   11         regulate certain activities under certain
   12         circumstances; providing an exemption; expanding an
   13         exemption to allow certain ordinances adopted on or
   14         before a certain date to be amended to be less
   15         restrictive; preempting the regulation of advertising
   16         platforms to the state; amending s. 509.241, F.S.;
   17         requiring licenses issued by the Division of Hotels
   18         and Restaurants of the Department of Business and
   19         Professional Regulation to be displayed conspicuously
   20         to the public inside the licensed establishment;
   21         requiring the owner or operator of certain vacation
   22         rentals to also display its vacation rental license
   23         number and applicable tax account numbers; creating s.
   24         509.243, F.S.; requiring advertising platforms to
   25         require that persons placing advertisements for
   26         vacation rentals include certain information in the
   27         advertisements; requiring advertising platforms to
   28         display and verify such information; requiring the
   29         division to maintain certain information in a readily
   30         accessible electronic format; requiring advertising
   31         platforms to quarterly provide the division with
   32         certain information regarding vacation rentals in this
   33         state listed on the platforms; requiring advertising
   34         platforms to remove an advertisement or a listing
   35         under certain conditions and within a specified
   36         timeframe; requiring advertising platforms to collect
   37         and remit taxes imposed under chs. 125 and 212, F.S.,
   38         for certain transactions; authorizing the Department
   39         of Revenue to adopt rules; authorizing the division to
   40         issue and deliver a notice to cease and desist for
   41         certain violations; providing that such notice does
   42         not constitute agency action for which certain
   43         hearings may be sought; authorizing the division to
   44         file certain proceedings and to seek certain remedies
   45         for the purpose of enforcing a cease and desist
   46         notice; authorizing the collection of attorney fees
   47         and costs under certain circumstances; requiring
   48         advertising platforms to adopt an antidiscrimination
   49         plan and to inform their users of the policy’s
   50         provisions; providing applicability; providing
   51         effective dates.
   52          
   53  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   54  
   55         Section 1. Subsection (17) is added to section 509.013,
   56  Florida Statutes, to read:
   57         509.013 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
   58         (17)“Advertising platform” means an entity that:
   59         (a)Provides an online application, software, a website, or
   60  a system through which a vacation rental located in this state
   61  is advertised or held out to the public as available to rent for
   62  transient occupancy;
   63         (b)Provides or maintains a marketplace for the renting by
   64  transient occupancy of a vacation rental; and
   65         (c)Provides a reservation or payment system that
   66  facilitates a transaction for the renting by transient occupancy
   67  of a vacation rental and for which the entity collects or
   68  receives, directly or indirectly, a fee in connection with the
   69  reservation or payment service provided for such transaction.
   70         Section 2. Subsection (7) of section 509.032, Florida
   71  Statutes, is amended to read:
   72         509.032 Duties.—
   73         (7) PREEMPTION AUTHORITY.—
   74         (a) The regulation of public lodging establishments,
   75  including vacation rentals, and public food service
   76  establishments, including, but not limited to, sanitation
   77  standards, licensing, inspections, training and testing of
   78  personnel, and matters related to the nutritional content and
   79  marketing of foods offered in such establishments, is expressly
   80  preempted to the state. A local law, ordinance, or regulation
   81  may not allow or require the local inspection or licensing of
   82  public lodging establishments, including vacation rentals, or
   83  public food service establishments. This paragraph does not
   84  preempt the authority of a local government or local enforcement
   85  district to conduct inspections of public lodging and public
   86  food service establishments for compliance with the Florida
   87  Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code, pursuant to
   88  ss. 553.80 and 633.206.
   89         (b) A local law, ordinance, or regulation may regulate
   90  activities that arise when a property is used as a vacation
   91  rental if the law, ordinance, or regulation applies uniformly to
   92  all residential properties without regard to whether the
   93  property is used as a vacation rental as defined in s.
   94  509.242(1)(c), the property is used as a long-term rental
   95  subject to chapter 83, or the property owner chooses not to rent
   96  the property. However, a local law, ordinance, or regulation may
   97  not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or
   98  frequency of rental of vacation rentals. The prohibitions set
   99  forth in this paragraph do This paragraph does not apply to any
  100  local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted on or before June 1,
  101  2011, including when such law, ordinance, or regulation is being
  102  amended to be less restrictive with regard to a prohibition or a
  103  duration or frequency regulation.
  104         (c) Paragraph (b) does not apply to any local law,
  105  ordinance, or regulation exclusively relating to property
  106  valuation as a criterion for vacation rental if the local law,
  107  ordinance, or regulation is required to be approved by the state
  108  land planning agency pursuant to an area of critical state
  109  concern designation.
  110         (d)The regulation of advertising platforms is preempted to
  111  the state, and advertising platforms shall be regulated under
  112  this chapter.
  113         Section 3. Effective January 1, 2022, subsection (3) of
  114  section 509.241, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  115         509.241 Licenses required; exceptions.—
  116         (3) DISPLAY OF LICENSE.—Any license issued by the division
  117  must shall be conspicuously displayed to the public inside in
  118  the office or lobby of the licensed establishment. Public food
  119  service establishments that which offer catering services must
  120  shall display their license number on all advertising for
  121  catering services. The owner or operator of a vacation rental
  122  offered for transient occupancy through an advertising platform
  123  must also display the vacation rental license number and the
  124  applicable Florida sales tax registration and tourist
  125  development tax account numbers under which such taxes must be
  126  paid for each rental of the property as a vacation rental.
  127         Section 4. Effective January 1, 2022, section 509.243,
  128  Florida Statutes, is created to read:
  129         509.243 Advertising platforms.—
  130         (1)(a)An advertising platform must require that a person
  131  who places an advertisement for the rental of a vacation rental:
  132         1.Include in the advertisement the vacation rental license
  133  number and the applicable Florida sales tax registration and
  134  tourist development tax account numbers under which such taxes
  135  must be paid before the advertisement may be listed; and
  136         2.Attest to the best of his or her knowledge that the
  137  license number for the vacation rental property and the
  138  applicable tax numbers are current, valid, and accurately stated
  139  in the advertisement.
  140         (b)An advertising platform must display the vacation
  141  rental license number and applicable Florida sales tax
  142  registration and tourist development tax numbers. The
  143  advertising platform must verify that the vacation rental
  144  license number provided by the owner or operator is valid and
  145  applies to the subject vacation rental before publishing the
  146  advertisement on its platform and again at the end of each
  147  calendar quarter that the advertisement remains on its platform.
  148         (c) The division shall maintain vacation rental license
  149  information in a readily accessible electronic format which is
  150  sufficient to facilitate prompt compliance with the requirements
  151  of this subsection by an advertising platform or a person
  152  placing an advertisement on an advertising platform for
  153  transient rental of a vacation rental.
  154         (2) An advertising platform must provide to the division on
  155  a quarterly basis, by file transfer protocol or electronic data
  156  exchange file, a list of all vacation rentals located in this
  157  state which are advertised on its platform, along with the
  158  following information for each vacation rental:
  159         (a)The uniform resource locator for the Internet address
  160  of the vacation rental advertisement; and
  161         (b)Unless otherwise stated in the vacation rental
  162  advertisement at the Internet address provided pursuant to
  163  paragraph (a), the physical address of the vacation rental,
  164  including any unit designation, the vacation rental license
  165  number provided by the owner or operator, and the applicable
  166  Florida sales tax registration and tourist development tax
  167  account numbers under which taxes will be remitted for the
  168  rentals commenced through the advertisement.
  169         (3)An advertising platform must remove from public view an
  170  advertisement or a listing from its online application,
  171  software, website, or system within 15 business days after being
  172  notified by the division in writing that the subject
  173  advertisement or listing for the rental of a vacation rental
  174  located in this state fails to display a valid license number
  175  issued by the division.
  176         (4) If a guest uses a payment system on or through an
  177  advertising platform, as defined in s. 509.013(17), to pay for
  178  the rental of a vacation rental located in this state, the
  179  advertising platform must collect and remit all taxes imposed
  180  under chapters 125 and 212 resulting from the rental. When
  181  calculating taxes imposed under chapters 125 and 212, an
  182  advertising platform may exclude the amount of any fees directly
  183  attributable to the service provided by the advertising
  184  platform. The Department of Revenue may adopt rules to implement
  185  this subsection.
  186         (5)If the division has probable cause to believe that a
  187  person not licensed by the division has violated this chapter or
  188  any rule adopted pursuant thereto, the division may issue and
  189  deliver to such person a notice to cease and desist from the
  190  violation. The issuance of a notice to cease and desist does not
  191  constitute agency action for which a hearing under ss. 120.569
  192  and 120.57 may be sought. For the purpose of enforcing a cease
  193  and desist notice, the division may file a proceeding in the
  194  name of the state seeking the issuance of an injunction or a
  195  writ of mandamus against any person who violates any provision
  196  of the notice. If the department is required to seek enforcement
  197  of the notice for a penalty pursuant to s. 120.569, it is
  198  entitled to collect attorney fees and costs, together with any
  199  cost of collection.
  200         (6)Advertising platforms must adopt an antidiscrimination
  201  plan to help prevent discrimination among their users and must
  202  inform all users of their services that it is illegal to refuse
  203  accommodation to an individual based on race, creed, color, sex,
  204  pregnancy, physical disability, or national origin pursuant to
  205  s. 509.092.
  206         Section 5. The application of this act does not supersede
  207  any current or future declaration or declaration of condominium
  208  adopted pursuant to chapter 718, Florida Statutes, cooperative
  209  document adopted pursuant to chapter 719, Florida Statutes, or
  210  declaration or declaration of covenants adopted pursuant to
  211  chapter 720, Florida Statutes.
  212         Section 6. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
  213  act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.