The Florida Bar Governmental Affairs Office: legislation of interest to the legal profession 2002.

AGING AND LONG-TERM CARE

SB 1378 -- Nursing Homes Staff/Union Organizing by Government Operations Oversight and Productivity Committee and Sen. Crist

Prohibits nursing home employees from participating in an activity related to union organizing during any time that is counted toward minimum staffing requirements and directs that salaries paid to an employee for union organizing may not be an allowable cost for Medicaid cost reporting. Further it provides that any expenses incurred for activities directly relating to influencing employees with respect to unionization are not an allowable cost for Medicaid cost-reporting purposes. The bill specifies, however, that these prohibitions do not apply to protected labor activities, such as addressing grievances or negotiating collective bargaining agreements; performing activities required by federal or state law or by a collective bargaining agreement; or normal personnel management communication between employees and employers. These provisions became law upon approval of the governor on May 3, 2002. Chapter 2002-231, Laws of Florida.

SB 604--Centralized Prescription Filling by Sen. Saunders

Defines the term "centralized prescription filling" as "the filling of a prescription by one pharmacy upon the request by another pharmacy to fill or refill the prescription. The term includes the performance of one pharmacy for another pharmacy of other pharmacy duties such as drug utilization review, therapeutic drug utilization review, claims adjudication, and the obtaining of refill authorizations." Authorizes Florida pharmacies to perform centralized prescription filling for another pharmacy when the pharmacies have the same owner, or the pharmacies have a written contract. It also requires each pharmacy participating in centralized prescription filling to include specific information in the policy and procedure manual relating to centralized prescription filling. Also provides rulemaking authority to the Board of Pharmacy to adopt rules necessary to implement centralized prescription filling. The effective date of this bill is July 1, 2002. Chapter 2002-182, Laws of Florida.

SB 962 -- Veterans by Council for Smarter Government and Rep. Jordan

Revises provisions relating to the administration of the state veterans' homes and revises the duties and procedures for the appointment of the veterans' homes' administrators. Eliminates a residency requirement for veterans' homes' administrators. Also provides for the accounting of certain funds and eliminates requirements for the deposit of certain interest into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund, in response to an Auditor General report. Modifies present law to provide authorization for more than one veterans' nursing home. Provides that the Bay County nursing home be named the "Clifford Chester Sims State Veterans' Nursing Home", and the Charlotte County nursing home be named the "Douglas T. Jacobson State Veterans' Nursing Home". The effective date of this bill is July 1,2002. Chapter 2002-298, Laws of Florida.

AGRICULTURE

CS/SB 1926 -- Citrus canker by Committee on Criminal Justice and Sen. Posey

Redefines the term "exposed to infection" to mean a citrus tree located within 1900 feet of an exposed tree. This definition will be repealed effective July 1, 2005. Clarifies that the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, through a county-wide search warrant, is authorized to look for citrus canker disease. Provisions regarding the warrant are provided for in the bill. And lastly, provides for the department to remove and destroy all infected or exposed citrus trees, providing notice of removal to property owners by means of an Immediate Final Order (IFO). Provisions regarding the IFO are included. These provisions became law upon approval by the governor on March 18, 2002. Chapter 2002-11, Laws of Florida.

CS/SB 1772 -- Agriculture/Crop Damage/Destruction by Agriculture and Consumer Services Committee and Sen. Smith Current law provides to a grower or producer of agricultural products a civil cause of action for double damages, plus costs and attorneys' fees, against any person who willfully and knowingly destroys those agricultural products. Adds agricultural production systems to this civil cause of action; and increases the damages award from double to triple the amount of the value of the product or system damaged or destroyed. The effective date of this bill is October 1, 2002. Chapter 2002-83, Laws of Florida.

BUSINESS LAW

CS/SB 2262 - The Florida Fair Lending Act by Committee on Banking and Insurance and Sen. Meek

Creates specific state regulation by the Department of Banking and Finance for high-cost home loans providing parameters for the sub-prime market that mirror safeguards found in the federal Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA). The bill also:

* Provides direct authority for the department to examine any person for compliance with this Act.

* Gives the department authority to impose on a person who violates the Act a $5,000 fine for each violation of the act, not to exceed $250,000 in the aggregate, and also provides statutory cross-section violation provisions for persons licensed under Chapters 494 (Mortgage Brokers and Lenders), 516 (Consumer Finance), 520 (Retail Installment Sales), 655 (Financial Institutions, generally), 657 (Credit Unions), 658 (Trust Business), 660 (International Banking), 665 (associations), and 667 (Savings Banks). This amendment also provides very broad rulemaking authority to the department.

* Provides a list of prohibited acts.

* Clarifies that a "high-cost home loan" is a loan as defined in 15 U.S.C. 1602 (Consumer Credit Protection Act).

* Provides for an opportunity for bor, rowers to cure a default before foreclosure.

* Provides local ordinance preemption but clarifies that the preemption shall not prohibit a local government body from requiring compliance with this act as a condition precedent to doing business with the government unit.

* Provides an effective date of October 2, 2002. The effective date of this bill is October 2, 2002. Chapter No. 2002-57, Laws of Florida.

HB 585 - Fla. Uniform Principal & Income Act by Reps. Goodlette, Joyner and Bullard

Enacts the 1997 Uniform Principal and Income Act, with Florida modifications primarily written to assist trustees in minimizing tax consequences. A trustee of a trust and the personal Rep. of a decedent's estate are fiduciaries that have special duties toward those who benefit from their administration. The trustee and the personal Representatives satisfy their obligations in part by making the proper allocations of assets to either principal or to income. Generally, assets allocated to principal serve the interests of remainder beneficiaries of a trust, and the interests of the final distribution of the assets in an estate. Assets allocated to income meet the requirements of income beneficiaries during the life of a trust, and those beneficiaries who must be paid out of the income derived during administration of an estate. The identification of principal and income, its allocation, and apportionment of assets between income and principal have always been tricky. Distinguishing income from principal is not a lways self-evident. Therefore, the law has provided trustees with statutory help for a very long period of time. The Uniform Law Commissioners promulgated the first Uniform Principal and Income Act in 1931. A revision was promulgated in 1962, which Florida subsequently adopted. The 1997 revision once again was promulgated by the Uniform Law Commissioners. The most significant non-uniform provisions in this Florida legislation are the ability to convert between an income trust and a total return unitrust, and the right of beneficiaries of a trust in existence on January 1, 2003, to opt out of the provision giving a trustee a discretionary right to allocate between principal and income. The effective date of this bill is January 1, 2003. Chapter 2002-42, Laws of Florida.

CS/HB 787 - Limited Liability Companies by Council for Smarter Government and Rep. Rubio

Continues Florida's adoption, begun in 1999, of the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. This bill provides for a third form of limited liability company ("LLC") management; namely, by a member or committee of members elected by the membership as a whole to be "managing members." Reduces restrictions on what may be included in an LLC operating agreement, specifies the time frame within LLC operating agreements may be entered into, and specifies a default effective date for an operating agreement. In addition, the requirements for registered agents of domestic and foreign LLC's identical; and requires that, in addition to current requirements, the LLC also keep copies at its principal office of "any other documents filed with the Department of State concerning the [LLC]." The effective date of this bill is October 1, 2002. Chapter 2002-272, Laws of Florida.

CS/SB 1066 - Uniform Commercial Code by Judiciary Committee; Sens. Campbell and Crist

Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code governs the process of establishing and foreclosing liens against personal property. Article 9 is found at ch. 679, F.S., entitled "Uniform Commercial Code: Secured Transactions". In the 2001 legislative session, the Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, as prepared by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, with Florida modifications, passed and was subsequently enacted into law. This bill corrects errors in that enactment and clarifies the relationship between fixtures filings and Florida real property law. These provisions became law upon approval of the governor on May 13, 2002. Chapter 2002-242, Laws of Florida.

CRIMINAL LAW

CS/CS/SB 1974 - Crime Victims' Rights by Judiciary Committee; Criminal Justice Committee and Sen. Crist

Victims of crime have a number of rights in Florida, provided both by statute and in the...