Florida Senate - 2018                                     SB 884
       
       
        
       By Senator Steube
       
       
       
       
       
       23-00037-18                                            2018884__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public lodging; creating s.
    3         509.093, F.S.; providing legislative findings and
    4         intent; prohibiting transient lodging establishments
    5         from requiring minimum stays of greater than one
    6         night; authorizing the Division of Hotels and
    7         Restaurants of the Department of Business and
    8         Professional Regulation to adopt rules; providing an
    9         effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Section 509.093, Florida Statutes, is created to
   14  read:
   15         509.093 Minimum stay requirements for transient public
   16  lodging establishments.—
   17         (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—Hotel and other public
   18  lodging multiple-night, minimum-stay requirements can
   19  significantly reduce the available lodging in an area for
   20  travelers only requiring overnight accommodations while in
   21  transit to other destinations or those travelers only planning
   22  to visit or stay in a particular area for one evening. The
   23  Legislature finds that such minimum-stay requirements harm
   24  tourism in the state overall and make it unnecessarily difficult
   25  for travelers to find safe and reasonable accommodations as
   26  needed. Given the importance of tourism to this state, it is the
   27  intent of the Legislature that travelers to and within this
   28  state be able to reasonably locate public lodging to meet their
   29  needs, and that such minimum stay requirements should be
   30  prohibited.
   31         (2) PROHIBITION.—Transient public lodging establishments
   32  may not require a minimum stay of greater than one night.
   33         (3) RULEMAKING.—The division may adopt rules to implement
   34  this section.
   35         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.