Florida Senate - 2016 CS for CS for SB 260
By the Committees on Judiciary; and Banking and Insurance; and
Senators Smith and Richter
590-02336-16 2016260c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to financial transactions; amending s.
3 501.0117, F.S.; providing that a convenience fee
4 imposed upon a student or family paying certain fees
5 by credit card to a private school is not considered a
6 surcharge; amending s. 670.108, F.S.; revising
7 applicability; providing that ch. 670, F.S., governs
8 certain funds transfers that are remittance transfers;
9 providing that the federal Electronic Fund Transfer
10 Act governs any inconsistency between a funds transfer
11 made under the federal act and a funds transfer made
12 under ch. 670, F.S.; amending s. 701.03, F.S.;
13 reducing the time limit for a mortgagee or an assignee
14 to cancel a mortgage, except in cases where the loan
15 is an open-end mortgage; authorizing an open-end
16 mortgage to be canceled within a specified timeframe
17 if the borrower provides written notice of his or her
18 intent to close the open-end mortgage; providing
19 applicability; amending s. 516.07, F.S.; revising the
20 grounds for denial of an application for a license to
21 make consumer finance loans; providing applicability;
22 providing an effective date.
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 501.0117, Florida
27 Statutes, is amended to read:
28 501.0117 Credit cards; transactions in which seller or
29 lessor prohibited from imposing surcharge; penalty.—
30 (1) A seller or lessor in a sales or lease transaction may
31 not impose a surcharge on the buyer or lessee for electing to
32 use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar
33 means, if the seller or lessor accepts payment by credit card. A
34 surcharge is any additional amount imposed at the time of a sale
35 or lease transaction by the seller or lessor that increases the
36 charge to the buyer or lessee for the privilege of using a
37 credit card to make payment. Charges imposed pursuant to
38 approved state or federal tariffs are not considered to be a
39 surcharge, and charges made under such tariffs are exempt from
40 this section. A convenience fee imposed upon a student or family
41 paying tuition, fees, or other student account charges by credit
42 card to a William L. Boyd, IV, Florida resident access grant
43 eligible institution, as defined in s. 1009.89, or to a private
44 school, as defined in s. 1002.01, is not considered to be a
45 surcharge and is exempt from this section if the amount of the
46 convenience fee does not exceed the total cost charged by the
47 credit card company to the institution. The term “credit card”
48 includes those cards for which unpaid balances are payable on
49 demand. This section does not apply to the offering of a
50 discount for the purpose of inducing payment by cash, check, or
51 other means not involving the use of a credit card, if the
52 discount is offered to all prospective customers.
53 Section 2. Section 670.108, Florida Statutes, is amended to
54 read:
55 670.108 Relationship to Electronic Fund Transfer Act
56 Exclusion of consumer transactions governed by federal law.—
57 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), this chapter does
58 not apply to a funds transfer any part of which is governed by
59 the Electronic Fund Transfer Act of 1978 (Title XX, Pub. L. No.
60 95-630, 92 Stat. 3728, 15 U.S.C. ss. 1693 et seq.), as amended
61 from time to time.
62 (2) This chapter applies to a funds transfer that is a
63 remittance transfer as defined in the Electronic Fund Transfer
64 Act, 15 U.S.C. s. 1693o-1, as amended from time to time, unless
65 the remittance transfer is an electronic fund transfer as
66 defined in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, 15 U.S.C. s. 1693a,
67 as amended from time to time.
68 (3) If there is an inconsistency between a funds transfer
69 under this chapter and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the
70 Electronic Fund Transfer Act governs the inconsistency.
71 Section 3. Section 701.03, Florida Statutes is amended to
72 read:
73 701.03 Cancellation.—
74 (1) Whenever the amount of money due under a promissory
75 note secured by a on any mortgage is shall be fully paid, the
76 mortgagee or assignee shall within 45 60 days after satisfaction
77 of the mortgage thereafter cancel the mortgage same in the
78 manner provided by law, unless the mortgage is an open-end
79 mortgage.
80 (2) A mortgage that is an open-end mortgage as provided in
81 the loan agreement may be canceled upon written notice from the
82 borrower of the intent to close the mortgage. The mortgagee or
83 assignee shall cancel the open-end mortgage within 45 days after
84 receiving the notice. This subsection does not apply to an open
85 end mortgage existing before July 1, 2016, if the loan agreement
86 contained procedures for canceling the mortgage.
87 Section 4. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section
88 516.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
89 516.07 Grounds for denial of license or for disciplinary
90 action.—
91 (1) The following acts are violations of this chapter and
92 constitute grounds for denial of an application for a license to
93 make consumer finance loans and grounds for any of the
94 disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2):
95 (k) Paying money or anything else of value, directly or
96 indirectly, to any person as compensation, inducement, or reward
97 for referring loan applicants to a licensee, if such amount is
98 charged directly or indirectly to the borrower.
99 Section 5. This act applies to remittance transfers
100 initiated on or after July 1, 2016.
101 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.