Florida Banking May 2022

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

THE FBA HAS A SUCCESSFUL 2022 SESSION

BY ANTHONY DIMARCO, FBA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

T he FBA had a successful Session. We passed our bills on LIBOR and doc stamp suspension on emergency loans. We defeated bills on public deposits, data privacy, and PACE. We aided the Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) in increasing funding for examiners’ salaries to help retain them. We also amended bills dealing with mortgage estoppel letters, UCC Pick Your Partners, Kearney case, and trust accounting to name a few. We are also happy that legislation passed on increased financial literacy in schools, and the Rule Against Perpetuities for trust accounts was increased to 1,000 years (something we advocated for several years ago). Some of these bills are listed below. As a reminder, all bills are subject to Gov. DeSantis’ veto. Consumer Data Privacy – FAILED The biggest issue the FBA and the entire business community faced this Session was consumer data privacy. House Bill 9 passed the House but was never heard in the Senate. We met several times with the House and Senate sponsors over the last two Sessions and offered several amendments. While some were taken, our major amendment was not. Our main amendment was to exempt Gramm-Leach-Bliley financial institutions. We were opposed to the bill because it created a state privacy regime that would have caused undue burden and created litigation uncertainty. Bills We Supported: LIBOR – PASSED Thank you Rep. Stevenson and Sen. Gruters (HB 925) The FBA has worked to have safe harbor legislation passed that mirrors New York and Alabama laws so that when a financial contract containing LIBOR is not amended before LIBOR ceases to be used, the financial contract will automatically switch

to SOFR. The bills will ensure that the contract is still legally valid and binding. The intent is to keep commerce moving and not inundate the court system with legal disputes. Financial Literacy – PASSED Thank you Rep. Busatta Cabrera and Sen. Hutson (SB 1054) Also known as the Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act, it revises the current credits for a standard high school diploma to include instruction on personal financial literacy and money management. Curriculum includes instruction on opening and managing a bank account, completing loan applications, simple contracts, receiving an inheritance, credit scores, and other basic principles The House released the annual tax package, HB 7071, which included many future tax cuts, including the annual sales tax holiday. We are happy to report that our language exempting the payment of documentary stamp tax on any loans in response to a state of emergency declared through either an executive order or a proclamation from the Governor is included in the bill. OFR Retention Budget – INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET - We are happy to report that OFR’s line item in the budget to increase compensation for examiners was fully funded. The FBA was glad to help with this funding. We want to ensure that OFR examiners stay on the job longer, instead of being hired by the federal regulators or private industry, and do not require as much on the job training by our members. of money management. Tax Package – PASSED Thank you Reps. Bobby Payne and Tommy Gregory and Sens. Ana Maria Rodriguez and Joe Gruters (HB 7071)

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