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House Bill 0399

Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 399 By Representative Flanagan 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to coordinated business 3 reporting; providing legislative findings and 4 intent; creating the "Florida Business 5 Coordination Act"; providing definitions; 6 requiring the Department of State to create a 7 master business index for certain purposes; 8 designating the Secretary of State as the 9 custodian of the index; providing duties of the 10 department; requiring certain state agencies to 11 maintain certain records; requiring the 12 Secretary of State to conduct a study and 13 develop legislation for certain purposes; 14 repealing s. 119.092, F.S., relating to 15 registration of federal employer registration 16 numbers; providing an effective date. 17 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19 20 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent.-- 21 (1) The Legislature finds that: 22 (a) As documented by the Governor's Single Business 23 Identifier Interagency Task Force, state government places a 24 heavy burden on the business community of this state through 25 the requirement to obtain and maintain numerous licenses, 26 permits, and registrations. 27 (b) While such requirements are necessary to ensure 28 the public safety and welfare, present methods for the 29 business community to meet such obligations, as prescribed by 30 law and administered and enforced by state agencies, are 31 1 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 399 570-128-97 1 cumbersome and place an undue hardship on business entities in 2 this state. 3 (c) The potential exists for the state to more easily 4 identify and eliminate duplicative or outdated licensing 5 requirements and thereby reduce its cost of operation without 6 jeopardizing the public safety or welfare. 7 (2) It is the intent of this act to establish a master 8 business index within the Department of State and to 9 facilitate a reporting mechanism which consolidates and 10 coordinates business entity licensing and reporting 11 requirements whenever possible. 12 Section 2. Short title.--This act may be cited as the 13 "Florida Business Coordination Act." 14 Section 3. Definitions.--As used in this act: 15 (1) "Business entity" means any form of cooperation, 16 partnership, association, cooperative, joint venture, business 17 trust, or sole proprietorship that conducts business in this 18 state. 19 (2) "Department" means the Department of State. 20 (3) "Master business index" means that database 21 maintained by the department which indexes all business entity 22 records maintained by any state government agency. 23 (4) "Single business identifier" means the unique 24 record number assigned to a business entity by the department 25 in compliance with the provisions of this act. 26 (5) "State agency" means any state government agency, 27 department, or commission which has jurisdiction over business 28 entities. 29 Section 4. Single business identifier.-- 30 (1) The department shall create a master business 31 index, using as an initial base the commercial regulation and 2 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 399 570-128-97 1 registration program databases the department currently 2 maintains. Each business entity shall be assigned a unique 3 single business identifier for interagency use. 4 (2) Each state agency that registers, licenses, or 5 otherwise regulates any business entity and maintains records 6 on such business entity shall, by July 1, 2000: 7 (a) Include the single business identifier, assigned 8 by the department and maintained in the master business index, 9 so that registration or license information may be directly 10 retrieved by use of the single business identifier number. 11 (b) Coordinate the agency's data records creation with 12 the department so as to obtain a single business identifier 13 for all records the agency maintains or creates which are not 14 of record with the department. 15 Section 5. Custodian.--The Secretary of State is 16 hereby designated the custodian of the master business index 17 and shall coordinate the implementation and application of the 18 index throughout the state agencies. 19 Section 6. The Secretary of State shall conduct a 20 study of the need for a uniform business report for use in 21 consolidated licensing, registration, or renewal of business 22 entity filings in this state. Based on the need determined in 23 this study, the Secretary of State shall develop legislative 24 proposals as appropriate to meet the intent of this act. 25 Section 7. Section 119.092, Florida Statutes, is 26 hereby repealed. 27 Section 8. This act shall take effect upon becoming a 28 law. 29 30 31 3 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 399 570-128-97 1 ***************************************** 2 HOUSE SUMMARY 3 Creates the "Florida Business Coordination Act." 4 Requires the Department of State to create a master business index of single business identifiers and 5 designates the Secretary of State as the custodian of the index. Requires the Secretary of State to study the need 6 for a uniform business report for use in consolidated licensing, registration, and renewal of business entity 7 filings in Florida. See bill for details. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 4