CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.





                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                  Bill No. HB 4431

    Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)

                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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 4                                                                

 5                                           ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW

 6

 7

 8

 9

10                                                                

11  Representative(s) Ogles offered the following:

12

13         Amendment (with title amendment) 

14  Remove from the bill:  Everything after the enacting clause

15

16  and insert in lieu thereof:

17         Section 1.  Section 468.401, Florida Statutes, is

18  renumbered as section 501.940, Florida Statutes, and amended

19  to read:

20         501.940 468.401  Regulation of Talent agencies;

21  definitions.--As used in this section part or any rule adopted

22  pursuant hereto:

23         (1)  "Talent agency" means any person who, for

24  compensation, engages in the occupation or business of

25  procuring or attempting to procure engagements for an artist.

26         (2)  "Owner" means any partner in a partnership, member

27  of a firm, or principal officer or officers of a corporation,

28  whose partnership, firm, or corporation owns a talent agency,

29  or any individual who is the sole owner of a talent agency.

30         (2)(3)  "Compensation" means any one or more of the

31  following:

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                  Bill No. HB 4431

    Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)





 1         (a)  Any money or other valuable consideration paid or

 2  promised to be paid for services rendered by any person

 3  conducting the business of a talent agency under this section

 4  part;

 5         (b)  Any money received by any person in excess of that

 6  which has been paid out by such person for transportation,

 7  transfer of baggage, or board and lodging for any applicant

 8  for employment; or

 9         (c)  The difference between the amount of money

10  received by any person who furnishes employees, performers, or

11  entertainers for circus, vaudeville, theatrical, or other

12  entertainments, exhibitions, engagements, or performances and

13  the amount paid by such person him to such employee,

14  performer, or entertainer.

15         (3)(4)  "Engagement" means any employment or placement

16  of an artist, where the artist performs in his or her artistic

17  capacity.  However, the term "engagement" shall not apply to

18  procuring opera, music, theater, or dance engagements for any

19  organization defined in s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

20  Code or any nonprofit Florida arts organization that has

21  received a grant from the Division of Cultural Affairs of the

22  Department of State or has participated in the state touring

23  program of the Division of Cultural Affairs.

24         (5)  "Department" means the Department of Business and

25  Professional Regulation.

26         (6)  "Operator" means the person who is or who will be

27  in actual charge of a talent agency.

28         (4)(7)  "Buyer" or "employer" means a person, company,

29  partnership, or corporation that uses the services of a talent

30  agency to provide artists.

31         (5)(8)  "Artist" means a person performing on the

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                  Bill No. HB 4431

    Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)





 1  professional stage or in the production of television, radio,

 2  or motion pictures; a musician or group of musicians; or a

 3  model.

 4         (6)(9)  "Person" means any individual, company,

 5  society, firm, partnership, association, corporation, manager,

 6  or any agent or employee of any of the foregoing.

 7         (10)  "License" means a license issued by the

 8  Department of Business and Professional Regulation to carry on

 9  the business of a talent agency under this part.

10         (11)  "Licensee" means a talent agency which holds a

11  valid unrevoked and unforfeited license issued under this

12  part.

13         Section 2.  Section 501.941, Florida Statutes, is

14  renumbered as section 510.941, Florida Statutes, and amended

15  to read:

16         501.941 468.412  Talent agency regulations; bond

17  required; violations, penalties, and remedies.--

18         (1)  A talent agency shall maintain a record sheet for

19  each booking.  This shall be the only required record of

20  placement and shall be kept for a period of 1 year after the

21  date of the last entry in the buyer's file.

22         (2)  Each talent agency shall keep records in which

23  shall be entered:

24         (a)  The name and address of each artist employing such

25  talent agency.;

26         (b)  The amount of compensation fees received from each

27  such artist.;

28         (c)  The employment in which each such artist is

29  engaged at the time of employing such talent agency and the

30  amount of compensation of the artist in such employment, if

31  any, and the engagements employments subsequently secured by

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                  Bill No. HB 4431

    Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)





 1  such artist during the term of the contract between the artist

 2  and the talent agency and the amount of compensation received

 3  by the artist pursuant thereto.; and

 4         (d)  Other information which the department may require

 5  from time to time.

 6         (3)  All money collected by a talent agency from an

 7  employer or buyer for the benefit of an artist shall be paid

 8  to the artist, less the talent agency's compensation, within 5

 9  business days after the receipt of such money by the talent

10  agency.  No talent agency is required to pay money to an

11  artist until the talent agency receives payment from the

12  employer or buyer.

13         (4)  No talent agency may, as a condition of

14  registering or obtaining employment for any applicant or

15  artist, require the applicant or artist to purchase any

16  advertisement, videotape, or audiotape; subscribe to any

17  publication, postcard service, resume service, or photography

18  service; or attend any school or workshop, including any

19  acting school or workshop.

20         (3)  All books, records, and other papers kept pursuant

21  to this act by any talent agency shall be open at all

22  reasonable hours to the inspection of the department and its

23  agents.  Each talent agency shall furnish to the department,

24  upon request, a true copy of such books, records, and papers,

25  or any portion thereof, and shall make such reports as the

26  department may prescribe from time to time.

27         (4)  Each talent agency shall post in a conspicuous

28  place in the office of such talent agency a printed copy of

29  this part and of the rules adopted under this part.  Such

30  copies shall also contain the name and address of the officer

31  charged with enforcing this part.  The department shall

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                  Bill No. HB 4431

    Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)





 1  furnish to talent agencies printed copies of any statute or

 2  rule required to be posted under this subsection.

 3         (5)  No talent agency may knowingly issue a contract

 4  for employment containing any term or condition which, if

 5  complied with, would be in violation of law, or attempt to

 6  fill an order for help to be employed in violation of law.

 7         (6)  No talent agency may publish or cause to be

 8  published any false, fraudulent, or misleading information,

 9  representation, notice, or advertisement.  All advertisements

10  of a talent agency by means of card, circulars, or signs, and

11  in newspapers and other publications, and all letterheads,

12  receipts, and blanks shall be printed and contain the licensed

13  name, department license number, and address of the talent

14  agency and the words "talent agency."  No talent agency may

15  give any false information or make any false promises or

16  representations concerning an engagement or employment to any

17  applicant who applies for an engagement or employment.

18         (7)  No talent agency may send or cause to be sent any

19  person as an employee to any house of ill fame, to any house

20  or place of amusement for immoral purposes, to any place

21  resorted to for the purposes of prostitution, or to any place

22  for the modeling or photographing of a minor in the nude in

23  the absence of written permission from the minor's parents or

24  legal guardians, the character of which place, as applicable,

25  places the talent agency could have ascertained upon

26  reasonable inquiry.

27         (8)  No talent agency may divide compensation fees with

28  anyone, including, but not limited to, an agent or other

29  employee of an employer, a buyer, a casting director, a

30  producer, a director, or any venue that uses entertainment.

31         (9)  If a talent agency collects from an artist

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                  Bill No. HB 4431

    Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)





 1  compensation a fee or expenses for obtaining employment for

 2  the artist, and the artist fails to procure such employment,

 3  or the artist fails to be paid for such employment if

 4  procured, such talent agency shall, upon demand therefor,

 5  repay to the artist the compensation fee and expenses so

 6  collected.  Unless repayment thereof is made within 48 hours

 7  after demand therefor, the talent agency shall pay to the

 8  artist an additional sum equal to the amount of the

 9  compensation fee.

10         (10)  Each talent agency must maintain a permanent

11  office and must maintain regular operating hours at that

12  office.

13         (11)  A talent agency may not charge a registration

14  fee.

15         (12)  Prior to obtaining any engagement, or attempting

16  to obtain any engagement, for an artist, a talent agency shall

17  execute a written agreement with the artist which lists the

18  services to be provided and the compensation to be charged.

19  The talent agency shall give each applicant to the talent

20  agency a copy of a written agreement which lists the services

21  provided and the compensation to be charged.

22         (13)(a)  Each talent agency shall acquire a surety bond

23  or an irrevocable letter of credit, executed by the talent

24  agency as principal, in the sum of $5,000.  The bond or letter

25  of credit shall provide that the talent agency is responsible

26  for the acts of any person under the talent agency's

27  supervision and shall be in effect at all times that the

28  talent agency is operating as a talent agency or soliciting

29  business as a talent agency.

30         (b)  The bond or letter of credit must be in favor of

31  any person in a transaction who suffers any loss as a result

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                  Bill No. HB 4431

    Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)





 1  of any violation of this part.  The bond or letter of credit

 2  must cover the period for which the principal is acting as a

 3  talent agency.  The aggregate liability of the surety may not

 4  exceed the sum of the bond; or, in the case of a letter of

 5  credit, the aggregate liability of the issuing bank may not

 6  exceed the sum of the credit.

 7         (c)  A surety bond must be executed by a surety company

 8  authorized to do business in the state as surety, and an

 9  irrevocable letter of credit must be issued by a bank

10  authorized to do business in the state as a bank.

11         (d)  An irrevocable letter of credit must be engaged by

12  a bank as an agreement to honor demands for payment as

13  specified in this section.

14         (e)  Any person injured by the fraud, deceit, or

15  willful negligence of any talent agency or by the failure of

16  any talent agency to comply with this part or any other law

17  applicable to talent agencies may file an action for damages

18  upon the bond or letter of credit, as applicable, against the

19  principal and the surety or bank, as applicable.

20         (14)  A talent agency may not commingle money or

21  property of another person with its own.  Each talent agency

22  shall maintain a separate trust or escrow account in an

23  insured bank or savings and loan association located in this

24  state in which shall be deposited all money received from an

25  employer for the benefit of an artist.  The artist shall be

26  paid before the talent agency can withdraw its compensation.

27         (15)  No talent agency shall knowingly send any person

28  who has received an engagement to any place where a strike,

29  lockout, or other labor dispute is in active progress, without

30  first notifying that person of such conditions.

31         (16)  A violation of this part shall be deemed an

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                  Bill No. HB 4431

    Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)





 1  unfair or deceptive trade practice within the meaning of part

 2  II of chapter 501, and all violations shall be subject to the

 3  penalties and remedies provided in such part.

 4         Section 3.  Section 501.942, Florida Statutes, is

 5  created to read:

 6         501.942  Exemptions.-- Any attorney who is performing

 7  an activity defined in this section, shall not be subject to

 8  the requirements set forth in this part and is exempted from

 9  the penalties and remedies authorized by this section.

10  "Attorney" means an attorney in good standing before the

11  Florida Bar or in good standing before any other state's bar.

12         Section 4.  Sections 468.405, 468.408, 468.411,

13  468.414, and 468.415, Florida Statutes, sections 468.402,

14  468.403, 468.404, 468.406, 468.407, 468.409, and 468.410,

15  Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 94-119, Laws of

16  Florida, and section 468.413, Florida Statutes, as amended by

17  chapters 94-119 and 94-218, Laws of Florida, are hereby

18  repealed.

19         Section 5.  This act shall take effect October 1, of

20  the year in which enacted.

21

22

23  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

24  And the title is amended as follows:

25         On page ,

26  remove from the title of the bill:  all of said lines

27

28  and insert in lieu thereof:

29         An act relating to talent agencies; amending

30         and renumbering s. 468.401, F.S. as 501.940,

31         F.S.; providing definitions; amending and

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    hrr0004                     03:32 pm         04431-0067-323641




                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                  Bill No. HB 4431

    Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)





 1         renumbering s. 468.412, F.S. as s. 501.941;

 2         providing requirements and prohibitions

 3         associated with practicing as a talent agent;

 4         providing that failure to comply is deemed an

 5         unfair or deceptive practice under part II of

 6         the ch 501; creating s. 501.942, F.S.;

 7         exempting attorneys from penalties and remedies

 8         provided in bill; repealing ss. 468.402,

 9         468.403, 468.404, 468.405, 468.406, 468.407,

10         468.408, 468.409, 468.410, 468.411, 468.413,

11         468.414, 468.415, F.S.; providing an effective

12         date.

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