Florida Senate - 2013                              CS for SB 720
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Regulated Industries; and Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       580-02839-13                                           2013720c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the deregulation of professions and
    3         occupations; amending s. 468.383, F.S.; exempting
    4         certain auctioneers who conduct motor vehicle auction
    5         contests from licensure; amending s. 468.385, F.S.;
    6         deleting licensure requirements for auctioneer
    7         apprentices; amending ss. 468.381, 468.384, 468.3855,
    8         468.388, and 468.391, F.S., to conform; amending s.
    9         477.0132, F.S.; deleting provisions requiring the
   10         registration of persons whose occupation or practice
   11         is confined solely to hair braiding, hair wrapping, or
   12         body wrapping; providing that the Florida Cosmetology
   13         Act does not apply to such persons; amending ss.
   14         477.019, 477.026, 477.0265, and 477.029, F.S., to
   15         conform; repealing part VIII of chapter 559, F.S.,
   16         relating to the Sale of Business Opportunities Act and
   17         the regulation of certain business opportunities;
   18         amending ss. 205.1971, 501.604, and 721.11, F.S.;
   19         conforming a cross-reference; providing for a study
   20         and report to the Legislature by the Office of Program
   21         Policy Analysis and Government Accountability;
   22         providing an effective date.
   23  
   24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   25  
   26         Section 1. Subsection (10) is added to section 468.383,
   27  Florida Statutes, to read:
   28         468.383 Exemptions.—This act does not apply to the
   29  following:
   30         (10) Motor vehicle auctions, as defined in s. 320.27,
   31  conducted by auctioneers licensed in other states and held for
   32  the purpose of conducting sanctioned contests among auctioneers,
   33  if an auctioneer licensed pursuant to this part is on site to
   34  monitor the sanctioned contest.
   35         Section 2. Subsections (3), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of
   36  section 468.385, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   37         468.385 Licenses required; qualifications; examination.—
   38         (3) A No person may not shall be licensed as an auctioneer
   39  or apprentice if he or she:
   40         (a) Is under 18 years of age; or
   41         (b) Has committed any act or offense in this state or any
   42  other jurisdiction which would constitute a basis for
   43  disciplinary action under s. 468.389.
   44         (5) Each apprentice shall work under the supervision of
   45  application and license shall name a licensed auctioneer who has
   46  agreed to serve as the supervisor of the apprentice. An No
   47  apprentice may not conduct, or contract to conduct, an auction
   48  without the express approval of his or her supervisor. The
   49  supervisor shall regularly review the apprentice’s records,
   50  which are required by the board to be maintained, to determine
   51  if such records are accurate and current.
   52         (6) A No person may not shall be licensed as an auctioneer
   53  unless he or she:
   54         (a) Has held an apprentice license and has served as an
   55  apprentice for 1 year or more, or has completed a course of
   56  study, consisting of not less than 80 classroom hours of
   57  instruction, that meets standards adopted by the board;
   58         (b) Has passed the required examination; and
   59         (c) Is approved by the board.
   60         (7)(a) Any auction that is subject to the provisions of
   61  this part must be conducted by an auctioneer who has an active
   62  license or an apprentice who is actively supervised by a
   63  licensed sponsor has an active apprentice auctioneer license and
   64  who has received prior written sponsor consent.
   65         (b) A No business may not shall auction or offer to auction
   66  any property in this state unless it is licensed as an auction
   67  business by the board or is exempt from licensure under this
   68  act. Each application for licensure shall include the names of
   69  the owner and the business, the business mailing address and
   70  location, and any other information which the board may require.
   71  The owner of an auction business shall report to the board
   72  within 30 days after of any change in this required information.
   73         (8) A license issued by the department to an auctioneer,
   74  apprentice, or auction business is not transferable.
   75         Section 3. Section 468.381, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   76  read:
   77         468.381 Purpose.—The Legislature finds that unqualified
   78  auctioneers and apprentices and unreliable auction businesses
   79  present a significant threat to the public. It is the intent of
   80  the Legislature to protect the public by creating a board to
   81  regulate auctioneers, apprentices, and auction businesses and by
   82  requiring a license to operate.
   83         Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 468.384, Florida
   84  Statutes, is amended to read:
   85         468.384 Florida Board of Auctioneers.—
   86         (3) The board shall receive and act upon applications for
   87  auctioneer, apprentice, and auction business licenses and shall
   88  have the power to issue, suspend, and revoke such licenses and
   89  to take such other action as is necessary to carry out the
   90  provisions of this act.
   91         Section 5. Subsections (5) through (10) of section
   92  468.3855, Florida Statutes, are amended, and a new subsection
   93  (9) is added to that section, to read:
   94         468.3855 Apprenticeship training requirements.—
   95         (5) Each apprentice and sponsor shall file reports as
   96  required by board rule.
   97         (5)(6) A sponsor may not authorize an apprentice to conduct
   98  an auction or act as principal auctioneer unless the sponsor has
   99  determined that the apprentice has received adequate training to
  100  do so.
  101         (6)(7) The sponsor is shall be responsible for any acts or
  102  omissions of the apprentice which constitute a violation of law
  103  in relation to the conduct of an auction.
  104         (8) All apprentice applications shall be valid for a period
  105  of 6 months after board approval. Any applicant who fails to
  106  complete the licensure process within that time shall be
  107  required to make application as a new applicant.
  108         (7)(9) Any licensed apprentice who wishes to change the
  109  sponsor under whom he or she is supervised licensed must submit
  110  a new application and application fee. However, a new license
  111  fee shall not be required and credit shall be awarded credit for
  112  training received or any period of apprenticeship served under
  113  the previous sponsor.
  114         (8)(10) Credit for training received or any period of
  115  apprenticeship served is shall not be allowed unless it occurred
  116  under the supervision of the sponsor under whose supervision the
  117  apprentice is licensed.
  118         (9) An apprentice must submit verification of his or her
  119  apprenticeship signed by the sponsors on a form prescribed by
  120  the department at the time of submitting the application for an
  121  auctioneer license.
  122         Section 6. Subsection (4) and paragraph (b) of subsection
  123  (11) of section 468.388, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  124         468.388 Conduct of an auction.—
  125         (4) Each auction must be conducted by an auctioneer who has
  126  an active license or by an apprentice who has an active
  127  apprentice auctioneer license and who has received prior written
  128  sponsor consent. Each auction must be conducted under the
  129  auspices of a licensed auction business. Any auctioneer or
  130  apprentice auctioneer conducting an auction, and any auction
  131  business under whose auspices such auction is held, shall be
  132  responsible for determining that any auctioneer, apprentice, or
  133  auction business with whom they are associated in conducting
  134  such auction has an active Florida auctioneer, apprentice, or
  135  auction business license.
  136         (11)
  137         (b) A No licensed auctioneer, licensed apprentice, or
  138  auction business, or apprentice may not disseminate or cause to
  139  be disseminated any advertisement or advertising which is false,
  140  deceptive, misleading, or untruthful. Any advertisement or
  141  advertising is shall be deemed to be false, deceptive,
  142  misleading, or untruthful if it:
  143         1. Contains misrepresentations of facts.
  144         2. Is misleading or deceptive because, in its content or in
  145  the context in which it is presented, it makes only a partial
  146  disclosure of relevant facts.
  147         3. Creates false or unjustified expectations of the
  148  services to be performed.
  149         4. Contains any representation or claim which the
  150  advertising licensee fails to perform.
  151         5. Fails to include the name and license number of the
  152  principal auctioneer and the auction business.
  153         6. Fails to include the name and license number of the
  154  sponsor if an apprentice is acting as the principal auctioneer.
  155         7. Advertises an auction as absolute without specifying any
  156  and all items to be sold with reserve or with minimum bids.
  157         8. Fails to include the percentage amount of any buyer’s
  158  premium or surcharge which is a condition to sale.
  159         Section 7. Section 468.391, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  160  read:
  161         468.391 Penalty.—Any auctioneer, apprentice, or auction
  162  business or any owner or manager thereof, or, in the case of
  163  corporate ownership, any substantial stockholder of the
  164  corporation owning the auction business, who operates without an
  165  active license or written sponsorship consent or violates s.
  166  468.389(1)(c), (e), (f), (h), or (i) commits a felony of the
  167  third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
  168  775.083.
  169         Section 8. Section 477.0132, Florida Statutes, is amended
  170  to read:
  171         (Substantial rewording of section. See
  172         s. 477.0132, F.S., for present text.)
  173         477.0132 Hair braiding, hair wrapping, and body wrapping;
  174  application of chapter.—This chapter does not apply to a person
  175  whose occupation or practice is confined solely to hair
  176  braiding, hair wrapping, or body wrapping.
  177         Section 9. Subsection (7) of section 477.019, Florida
  178  Statutes, is amended to read:
  179         477.019 Cosmetologists; qualifications; licensure;
  180  supervised practice; license renewal; endorsement; continuing
  181  education.—
  182         (7)(a) The board shall prescribe by rule continuing
  183  education requirements intended to ensure protection of the
  184  public through updated training of licensees and registered
  185  specialists, not to exceed 16 hours biennially, as a condition
  186  for renewal of a license or registration as a specialist under
  187  this chapter. Continuing education courses shall include, but is
  188  not be limited to, the following subjects as they relate to the
  189  practice of cosmetology: human immunodeficiency virus and
  190  acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Occupational Safety and
  191  Health Administration regulations; workers’ compensation issues;
  192  state and federal laws and rules as they pertain to
  193  cosmetologists, cosmetology, salons, specialists, specialty
  194  salons, and booth renters; chemical makeup as it pertains to
  195  hair, skin, and nails; and environmental issues. Courses given
  196  at cosmetology conferences may be counted toward the number of
  197  continuing education hours required if approved by the board.
  198         (b) Any person whose occupation or practice is confined
  199  solely to hair braiding, hair wrapping, or body wrapping is
  200  exempt from the continuing education requirements of this
  201  subsection.
  202         (b)(c) The board may, by rule, require any licensee in
  203  violation of a continuing education requirement to take a
  204  refresher course or refresher course and examination in addition
  205  to any other penalty. The number of hours for the refresher
  206  course may not exceed 48 hours.
  207         Section 10. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section
  208  477.026, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  209         477.026 Fees; disposition.—
  210         (1) The board shall set fees according to the following
  211  schedule:
  212         (f) For hair braiders, hair wrappers, and body wrappers,
  213  fees for registration shall not exceed $25.
  214         Section 11. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section
  215  477.0265, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  216         477.0265 Prohibited acts.—
  217         (1) It is unlawful for any person to:
  218         (f) Advertise or imply that skin care services or body
  219  wrapping, as performed under this chapter, have any relationship
  220  to the practice of massage therapy as defined in s. 480.033(3),
  221  except those practices or activities defined in s. 477.013.
  222         Section 12. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
  223  477.029, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  224         477.029 Penalty.—
  225         (1) It is unlawful for any person to:
  226         (a) Hold himself or herself out as a cosmetologist or ,
  227  specialist, hair wrapper, hair braider, or body wrapper unless
  228  duly licensed or registered, or otherwise authorized, as
  229  provided in this chapter.
  230         Section 13. Part VIII of chapter 559, Florida Statutes,
  231  consisting of sections 559.80, 559.801, 559.802, 559.803,
  232  559.805, 559.807, 559.809, 559.811, 559.813, and 559.815,
  233  Florida Statutes, is repealed.
  234         Section 14. Section 205.1971, Florida Statutes, is amended
  235  to read:
  236         205.1971 Sellers of travel; consumer protection.—A county
  237  or municipality may not issue or renew a business tax receipt to
  238  engage in business as a seller of travel pursuant to part X XI
  239  of chapter 559 unless such business exhibits a current
  240  registration or letter of exemption from the Department of
  241  Agriculture and Consumer Services.
  242         Section 15. Subsection (20) of section 501.604, Florida
  243  Statutes, is amended to read:
  244         501.604 Exemptions.—The provisions of this part, except ss.
  245  501.608 and 501.616(6) and (7), do not apply to:
  246         (20) A person who is registered pursuant to part X XI of
  247  chapter 559 and who is soliciting within the scope of the
  248  registration.
  249         Section 16. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
  250  721.11, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  251         721.11 Advertising materials; oral statements.—
  252         (3) The term “advertising material” does not include:
  253         (d) Any audio, written, or visual publication or material
  254  relating to the promotion of the availability of any
  255  accommodations or facilities, or both, for transient rental,
  256  including any arrangement governed by part X XI of chapter 559,
  257  so long as a mandatory tour of a timeshare plan or attendance at
  258  a mandatory sales presentation is not a term or condition of the
  259  availability of such accommodations or facilities, or both, and
  260  so long as the failure of any transient renter to take a tour of
  261  a timeshare plan or attend a sales presentation does not result
  262  in the transient renter receiving less than what was promised to
  263  the transient renter in such materials.
  264         Section 17. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
  265  Government Accountability shall review all regulated or licensed
  266  businesses and professions under the jurisdiction of the
  267  Department of Business and Professional Regulation and shall
  268  submit a report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker
  269  of the House of Representatives by January 1, 2014. The report
  270  must include a description of the current regulatory scheme for
  271  each business or profession, and a discussion of the
  272  feasibility, if any, of and recommendations for changing from
  273  the current licensure system to a self-regulating system that
  274  includes a minimum standard of insurance or bond requirements
  275  for each regulated business or profession.
  276         Section 18. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.