| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Department of Business and |
| 3 | Professional Regulation; amending s. 718.501, F.S.; |
| 4 | adjusting the annual fee paid to the Division of Florida |
| 5 | Land Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes by certain |
| 6 | condominium associations; providing for repeal; amending |
| 7 | s. 721.27, F.S.; adjusting the annual fee paid to the |
| 8 | division by managing entities of timeshare plans; |
| 9 | providing for repeal; amending s. 455.2281, F.S.; |
| 10 | providing an unlicensed activity fee waiver for specified |
| 11 | entities and licensees; providing for repeal; providing an |
| 12 | effective date. |
| 13 |
|
| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
|
| 16 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 718.501, Florida |
| 17 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 18 | 718.501 Powers and duties of Division of Florida Land |
| 19 | Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes.-- |
| 20 | (2)(a)1. Effective January 1, 1992, each condominium |
| 21 | association which operates more than two units shall pay to the |
| 22 | division an annual fee in the amount of $4 for each residential |
| 23 | unit in condominiums operated by the association. If the fee is |
| 24 | not paid by March 1, then the association shall be assessed a |
| 25 | penalty of 10 percent of the amount due, and the association |
| 26 | will not have standing to maintain or defend any action in the |
| 27 | courts of this state until the amount due, plus any penalty, is |
| 28 | paid. |
| 29 | 2. Notwithstanding subparagraph 1., on each succeeding |
| 30 | January 1 until expiration of this subparagraph, the amount due |
| 31 | under subparagraph 1. is reduced to $2 for each residential unit |
| 32 | in condominiums operated by the association. This subparagraph |
| 33 | expires July 1, 2009, unless reenacted by the Legislature prior |
| 34 | to that date. |
| 35 | (b) All fees shall be deposited in the Division of Florida |
| 36 | Land Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes Trust Fund as |
| 37 | provided by law. |
| 38 | Section 2. Section 721.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 39 | read: |
| 40 | 721.27 Annual fee for each timeshare unit in plan.-- |
| 41 | (1) On January 1 of each year, each managing entity of a |
| 42 | timeshare plan located in this state shall collect as a common |
| 43 | expense and pay to the division an annual fee of $2 for each 7 |
| 44 | days of annual use availability that exist within the timeshare |
| 45 | plan at that time, subject to any limitations on the amount of |
| 46 | such annual fee pursuant to s. 721.58. If any portion of the |
| 47 | annual fee is not paid by March 1, the managing entity may be |
| 48 | assessed a penalty pursuant to s. 721.26. |
| 49 | (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), on January 1, 2009, |
| 50 | and on each succeeding January 1 until expiration of this |
| 51 | subsection, the annual fee due for each 7 days of annual use |
| 52 | availability under subsection (1) is reduced to $1. This |
| 53 | subsection expires July 1, 2009, unless reenacted by the |
| 54 | Legislature prior to that date. |
| 55 | Section 3. Section 455.2281, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 56 | to read: |
| 57 | 455.2281 Unlicensed activities; fees; disposition.-- |
| 58 | (1) In order to protect the public and to ensure a |
| 59 | consumer-oriented department, it is the intent of the |
| 60 | Legislature that vigorous enforcement of regulation for all |
| 61 | professional activities is a state priority. All enforcement |
| 62 | costs should be covered by professions regulated by the |
| 63 | department. Therefore, the department shall impose, upon initial |
| 64 | licensure and each renewal thereof, a special fee of $5 per |
| 65 | licensee. Such fee shall be in addition to all other fees |
| 66 | collected from each licensee and shall fund efforts to combat |
| 67 | unlicensed activity. Any profession regulated by the department |
| 68 | which offers services that are not subject to regulation when |
| 69 | provided by an unlicensed person may use funds in its unlicensed |
| 70 | activity account to inform the public of such situation. The |
| 71 | board with concurrence of the department, or the department when |
| 72 | there is no board, may earmark $5 of the current licensure fee |
| 73 | for this purpose, if such board, or profession regulated by the |
| 74 | department, is not in a deficit and has a reasonable cash |
| 75 | balance. A board or profession regulated by the department may |
| 76 | authorize the transfer of funds from the operating fund account |
| 77 | to the unlicensed activity account of that profession if the |
| 78 | operating fund account is not in a deficit and has a reasonable |
| 79 | cash balance. The department shall make direct charges to this |
| 80 | fund by profession and shall not allocate indirect overhead. The |
| 81 | department shall seek board advice regarding enforcement methods |
| 82 | and strategies prior to expenditure of funds; however, the |
| 83 | department may, without board advice, allocate funds to cover |
| 84 | the costs of continuing education compliance monitoring under s. |
| 85 | 455.2177. The department shall directly credit, by profession, |
| 86 | revenues received from the department's efforts to enforce |
| 87 | licensure provisions. The department shall include all financial |
| 88 | and statistical data resulting from unlicensed activity |
| 89 | enforcement and from continuing education compliance monitoring |
| 90 | as separate categories in the quarterly management report |
| 91 | provided for in s. 455.219. The department shall not charge the |
| 92 | account of any profession for the costs incurred on behalf of |
| 93 | any other profession. For an unlicensed activity account, a |
| 94 | balance which remains at the end of a renewal cycle may, with |
| 95 | concurrence of the applicable board and the department, be |
| 96 | transferred to the operating fund account of that profession. |
| 97 | (2) For fiscal year 2008-2009 only, the following entities |
| 98 | and licensees, as determined by the department based on cash |
| 99 | balances and renewal schedules, are exempt from paying the |
| 100 | unlicensed activity fee imposed under subsection (1): |
| 101 | (a) Board of Architecture and Interior Design; |
| 102 | (b) Florida Board of Auctioneers; |
| 103 | (c) Board of Landscape Architecture; |
| 104 | (d) Board of Pilot Commissioners; |
| 105 | (e) Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers; |
| 106 | (f) Board of Employee Leasing Companies; |
| 107 | (g) Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board; |
| 108 | (h) Florida Real Estate Commission; |
| 109 | (i) Asbestos Unit; |
| 110 | (j) Athlete agents; and |
| 111 | (k) Community association managers. |
| 112 | |
| 113 | This subsection expires July 1, 2009, unless reenacted by the |
| 114 | Legislature prior to that date. |
| 115 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |