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

2004 REGULAR SESSION

Included in this report is a brief summary, by subject, of bills that passed the House and Senate during the 2004 Regular Session (March 2-April 30, 2004) that may be of interest to Florida Bar members. During the 2004 Regular Session 2,691 bills were introduced. Of that total, 500 bills or approximately 19% of all bills passed. The Senate filed 1,604 bills, of which 337 passed. The House filed 1,087 bills, of which 163 passed.

This compilation reflects pending and final action by the Governor, and references 2004 Laws of Florida as of June 1, 2004. Information for these summaries was extracted from those bills and from House and Senate "End of Session Reports."

Lawyers looking for information in addition to that provided in this report may wish to contact the Florida Legislature's information service, toll-free, at (800) 342-1827. Complete bill text--as filed and in final form, plus legislative history and other information--can be found through Online Sunshine via the Internet at the URL location www.leg.state.fl.us/.

You may also call The Florida Bar's Governmental Affairs Office at (850) 561-5662, or access bill text and other legislative information through links on The Florida Bar's Web site www.flabar.org.

The Department of State will also have the new 2004 laws available online the day after they have been acted on by the Governor. The laws can be found in the "general laws" section of the Department of State's Internet homepage, accessed via the URL location http://election.dos.state.fl.us/laws/.

This is a condensed version, the whole document can be viewed in its entirety on The Florida Bar's Web site. Members desiring a copy of particular legislation in its final form may additionally contact: Session Law Chapter Numbers: Department of State, Elliott Building, 401 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250, (850) 488-8427. Senate Bills: Senate Documents, Room 303, The Capitol, Tallahassee 32399-1100, (850) 487-5285, House Bills: House Documents, Room 325, The Capitol, Tallahassee 32399-1300, (850) 488-7475.

The Florida Bar

Miles A. McGrane III President 2003-2004

Kelly Overstreet Johnson President 2004-2005

Alan B. Bookman President 2005-2006

John F. Harkness, Jr. Executive Director

Legislation Committee

2003-2004 Alan B. Bookman Chair

Sharon Langer Chair-elect

Francisco R. Angones

Steven E. Chaykin

Ervin A. Gonzalez

Louis Kwall

J. Chris Lombardo

Lawrence E. Sellers

Chief Legislative Counsel

Stephen W. Metz Tallahassee

Government Affairs Staff

Paul E Hill General Counsel

Dana M. Wood Legislative Assistant

Administration Law

HB 1869--Administrative Hearings Division

By Appropriations Committee and Rep. Brummer

The bill codifies in statute the Division of Administrative Hearing's current practice of providing administrative law judge services to certain entities on a full-cost recovery basis. Entities required to reimburse the division include, for example, water management districts and regional planning councils. This practice is currently authorized annually as proviso language in the General Appropriations Act. This bill eliminates the need for this proviso language. The division is reimbursed approximately $500,000 annually by these entities. The Governor approved the bill; these provisions take effect July 1, 2004.

Business Law

CS/SB 204--Recording Purchase of Burial Rights

By Banking and Insurance Committee

This bill provides that any person who purchases a burial right, below ground crypt, grave space, mausoleum, columbarium, ossuary, or scattering garden for the disposition of human remains may, at his or her option, permanently record the purchase of such burial right with the clerk of the court in the county where the burial site is located. The purpose of the recordation is for public notification and to establish a permanent official record in the county; however, such recordation does not create any priority of interest or ownership rights as to the purchaser who records such burial rights. The bill requires the court clerk to record the evidence of the purchase of such burial right upon receiving payment by the purchaser of a service charge as provided by law. This legislation would apply to all cemeteries in the state which sell burial rights. The Governor approved the bill; these provisions take effect July 1, 2004.

SB 282--Enforcement of Lost, Destroyed, or Stolen Negotiable Instruments

By Sen. Posey

This bill (Chapter 2004-3, L.O.F.) amends s. 673.3091(1), F.S., by authorizing a person to transfer ownership of a negotiable instrument even if the person lost the physical document creating the instrument. Further, the bill eliminates a person who has acquired ownership of a lost negotiable instrument to transfer ownership of the instrument. Additionally, the bill permits a person with a security interest in a negotiable instrument who never had possession of the negotiable instrument to enforce a lost instrument if the secured person had the right to enforce the instrument when the instrument was lost. The bill conforms Florida law to changes made in 2002 to Section 3-309 of the Uniform Commercial Code. These provisions became law upon approval by the Governor on March 29, 2004.

CS/CS/SB 528--Funeral and Cemetery Services By Banking and Insurance Committee, and others

The bill merges funeral and cemetery regulation into one board under the Department of Financial Services, and consolidates all cemetery and funeral provisions into one chapter. The bill provides that this act may be cited as the "Senator Howard E. Futch Act." The bill merges the provisions of chs. 470 and 497, F.S., into ch. 497, F.S. It duplicates and incorporates into ch. 497, F.S., relevant provisions from ch. 455, F.S., relating to the current ch. 470, F.S., professions. The bill also consolidates and eliminates duplicative provisions from the two chapters. It creates the Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services (board) and the Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services within the Department of Financial Services. The bill divides ch. 497, F.S., into six parts with each part corresponding to similar regulatory issues, i.e., part I relates to general provisions common to all parts, part II relates to cemetery regulation, part III relates to funeral directors and embalmers, part IV relates to pre-need sales, part V relates to monument establishments, and part VI relates to cremation, crematories and direct disposition. The bill also abolishes the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services within the Department of Financial Services. The bill sets forth the authority of the board and the department, including each entity's rulemaking authority. It provides a procedure for providing for receivership for cemeteries with a revoked license. It includes the process of closing the affairs of the cemetery and protecting the interests of consumers and family members of the deceased. It also provides extensive investigatory and examination authority to the department and board. The bill requires the proper identification of dead human remains in the casket, alternative container, or cremation container. The bill provides minimum dimension standards for adult grave spaces. The bill also requires that licensed cemeteries prepare a map documenting the survey reference markers to show the number of grave spaces available for sale, the location of each grave space, the number designation assigned each grave space, and the dimensions of a standard adult grave space. The bill provides for the regulation of pre-need contract sales by requiring a certificate of authority to conduct such sales. The bill also provides for the regulation of monument establishments, including minimum financial requirements for licensure. If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect October 1, 2005.

SB 2574--Commercial Relations/Electronic Mail

By Senators Garcia and others

The bill prohibits initiating or assisting in the transmission from a computer located in this state or to an electronic mail address held by a resident of this state of an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message that uses a third party's Internet domain name without permission or contains falsified or missing routing information or otherwise misrepresents, falsifies, or obscures any information identifying the point of origin or the transmission path of the unsolicited commercial electronic mail message or contains false or misleading information in the subject line; or contains false or deceptive information of the body of the message which is designed and intended to cause damage to the receiving device of an addressee or other recipient of the message. The bill also prohibits distribution of software or any other system designed to falsify missing routing information. The bill authorizes the Department of Legal Affairs to bring an action for damages or to impose a civil penalty. It also creates a cause of action for an interactive computer service, telephone company, or cable provider that handles or retransmits a commercial electronic mail message for an injunction against future violations, compensatory damages equal to any actual damage proven by the plain tiff or liquidated damages of $500 for each unsolicited commercial electronic mail message that is in violation of the bill's prohibitions, and attorney's fees and other costs. Additionally, a violation of the bill is an unfair and deceptive trade practices act. The bill states that it does not require a provider of Internet access service to block, transmit, or store electronic mail messages, and authorizes interactive computer services to block commercial or other electronic mail. The Governor approved the bill; these provisions take effect July 1, 2004.

CS/CS/SB 2682--Credit Counseling Services

By Commerce, Economic Opportunities, and...