Senate Bill 0672c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 CS for SB 672
By the Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Services; and
Senator Holzendorf
303-1711-99
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to deceptive trade practices in
3 print advertisement; creating s. 501.97, F.S.;
4 prohibiting the misrepresentation of the
5 geographic location of a service or product
6 supplier in print advertisement, under certain
7 circumstances; providing certain immunity from
8 liability to a telephone company or other
9 provider of a telephone directory or directory
10 assistance database, or its officers or agents;
11 providing an exception; providing that
12 violation of the prohibition is a deceptive and
13 unfair trade practice; providing for penalties;
14 providing for applicability; providing an
15 effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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19 Section 1. Section 501.97, Florida Statutes, is
20 created to read:
21 501.97 Deceptive trade practices; print advertisement;
22 penalties.--
23 (1) A person may not misrepresent the geographic
24 location of the supplier of a service or product by listing a
25 fictitious business name or an assumed business name in print
26 advertisement if:
27 (a) The name misrepresents the geographic location of
28 the supplier; and
29 (b) Calls to the local telephone number are routinely
30 forwarded or otherwise transferred to a business location that
31 is outside the State of Florida.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 CS for SB 672
303-1711-99
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2 For purposes of this section, a newspaper publisher, magazine
3 or other publication, telephone directory or directory
4 assistance service or its officer or agent, or the owner or
5 operator of a radio or television station, or any other owner
6 or operator of a medium primarily devoted to advertising who
7 publishes, broadcasts, or otherwise disseminates an
8 advertisement in good faith without knowledge of its false,
9 deceptive, or misleading character is immune from liability
10 for publishing the listing of a fictitious business name or
11 assumed business name of a supplier unless the advertiser is
12 the same person as the supplier of services or products who
13 has committed the act prohibited by this section. This section
14 applies to all advertisements published after the effective
15 date of this act.
16 (2) A violation of this section is a deceptive and
17 unfair trade practice and constitutes a violation of part II
18 of chapter 501. A person who violates this section commits a
19 deceptive and unfair trade practice, punishable by the
20 penalties provided under part II of chapter 501, and is
21 subject to the enforcement of remedies for the violation as
22 provided in part II of chapter 501.
23 (3) This section is supplemental to those provisions
24 of state or federal criminal or civil law which impose
25 prohibitions or provide penalties, sanctions, or remedies
26 against the same conduct prohibited by this section. Nothing
27 in this section may be construed as barring any cause of
28 action which would otherwise be available, as precluding any
29 action that would otherwise be available, or as precluding the
30 imposition of penalties or sanctions or the pursuit of
31 remedies otherwise provided for by law, except that this
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 CS for SB 672
303-1711-99
1 section may not be construed to permit duplicate enforcement
2 of penalties, sanctions, and remedies provided for under part
3 II of chapter 501. Furthermore, the provisions of this
4 section may not be construed to preclude the applicability of
5 any other provision of law which now applies, or may in the
6 future apply, to prohibit, penalize, or impose sanctions or
7 remedies for any conduct that violates this section.
8 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
9 law.
10
11 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
12 Senate Bill 672
13
14 Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 672 is different from
Senate Bill 672 in that it:
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- Prohibits a person from misrepresenting the geographic
16 location of a supplier of a service or product by
listing a fictitious business name in a print
17 advertisement, rather than a local telephone directory.
18 - Provides certain immunity from liability for a newspaper
publisher, magazine or other publication, telephone
19 directory or directory assistance service or its officer
or agent, or the owner or operator of a radio or
20 television station, or any other owner or operator of a
medium primarily devoted to advertising who publishes,
21 broadcasts, or otherwise disseminates an advertisement.
22 - Supplements those provisions of state or federal
criminal or civil law which prohibit, or provide
23 penalties, sanctions, or remedies against the same
conduct. Furthermore, nothing may be construed as
24 barring any cause of action which would otherwise be
available, or prevent penalties or sanctions or remedies
25 otherwise provided for by law.
26 - Prohibits duplicate enforcement of penalties, sanctions,
and remedies provided for under part II of chapter 501,
27 Florida Statutes.
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