HB 221 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to sales of firearms and ammunition; 2
amending s. 790.335, F.S.; providing legislative 3
findings; prohibiting payment settlement entities, 4
merchant acquiring entities, or third party settlement 5
organizations from assigning merchant category codes 6
or otherwise classifying merchants of firearms or 7
ammunition separately from general merchandise or 8
sporting goods retailers; authorizing the Department 9
of Agriculture and Consumer Services to investigate 10
certain alleged violations and bring administrative 11
actions; providing an exception to complaint 12
investigations by state attorneys; making technical 13
changes; providing an effective date. 14
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WHEREAS, the International Standards Organization, based in 16
Switzerland, recently approved a new merchant category code for 17
firearm and ammunition merchants, and 18
WHEREAS, firearm and ammunition merchants historically have 19
been classified as sporting goods retailers or general 20
merchandise retailers, which has been sufficient for credit card 21
companies' business needs, and 22
WHEREAS, according to advocates for the new merchant 23
category code, the new code will allow credit card companies to 24
flag "suspicious" transactions, os tensibly for the purpose of 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
predicting and preventing future gun violence, and 26
WHEREAS, proponents indicate that the new merchant category 27
code is a "first step" but have given no guidance as to how to 28
distinguish suspicious activity from lawful sales, an d 29
WHEREAS, the use of either merchant category code cannot 30
distinguish the sale of a firearm from the sale of a gun safe by 31
a firearms and ammunition merchant, and 32
WHEREAS, the use of the new merchant category code to 33
detect suspicious activities predict ing future unlawful activity 34
will likely discourage financial institutions from serving 35
lawful retailers of firearms and ammunition and chill the lawful 36
exercise of Second Amendment rights, and 37
WHEREAS, current law requires a firearm retailer to conduct 38
a criminal history records check on a potential purchaser before 39
delivering a firearm to the purchaser, and 40
WHEREAS, the new merchant category code may result in 41
credit card companies reporting law abiding citizens to a law 42
enforcement agency based on over broad definitions of suspicious 43
activity and the creation of a de facto gun registry and 44
watchlists of law abiding citizens, and 45
WHEREAS, the use of the new merchant category code will 46
likely make the job of law enforcement officers more difficult, 47
as those purchasing a firearm from a firearm retailer for an 48
unlawful purpose will likely purchase firearms with cash, 49
cryptocurrency, or other means that are difficult or impossible 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
to trace, and 51
WHEREAS, developing appropriate regulations for the sale of 52
firearms and ammunition while protecting the right of self -53
defense is the role of democratically elected officials, not the 54
role of unelected bankers and foreign organizations, NOW, 55
THEREFORE, 56
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 58
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Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsections 60
(2) and (4) of section 790.335, Florida Statutes, are amended to 61
read: 62
790.335 Prohibition of registration of firearms; 63
electronic records.— 64
(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. — 65
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that: 66
1. The right of individuals to keep and bear arms is 67
guaranteed under both the Second Amendment to the United States 68
Constitution and s. 8, Art. I of the State Constitution. 69
2. A list, record, or registry of legally owned firearms 70
or law-abiding firearm owners is not a law enforcement tool and 71
can become an instrument for profiling, harassing, or abusing 72
law-abiding citizens based on their choice to own a firearm and 73
exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms as 74
guaranteed under the United States Constitution. Further, such a 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
list, record, or registry has the potential to fall into the 76
wrong hands and become a shopping list for thieves. 77
3. A list, record, or registry of legally owned firearms 78
or law-abiding firearm owners is not a tool for fighting 79
terrorism, but rather is an instrument that can be used as a 80
means to profile innocent citizens and to harass and abuse 81
American citizens based solely on their choice to own firearms 82
and exercise their Sec ond Amendment right to keep and bear arms 83
as guaranteed under the United States Constitution. 84
4. The creation or maintenance of records of purchases of 85
firearms or ammunition or the tracking of sales made by a 86
retailer of firearms or ammunition by a nong overnmental entity, 87
including a financial institution, without a substantial and 88
historical business need or a requirement imposed by law, may 89
frustrate the right to keep and bear arms and violate the 90
reasonable privacy rights of lawful purchasers of firea rms or 91
ammunition. 92
5. Law-abiding firearm owners whose names have been 93
illegally recorded in a list, record, or registry are entitled 94
to redress. 95
(2) PROHIBITIONS.— 96
(a) A No state governmental agency or local government, 97
special district, or other po litical subdivision or official, 98
agent, or employee of the such state or other governmental 99
entity or any other person, public or private, may not shall 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
knowingly and willfully keep or cause to be kept any list, 101
record, or registry of privately owned firea rms or any list, 102
record, or registry of the owners of those firearms. 103
(b) A payment settlement entity, merchant acquiring 104
entity, or third party settlement organization as those terms 105
are defined in s. 6050W of the Internal Revenue Code may not 106
assign a merchant category code to or otherwise classify a 107
merchant that is a seller of firearms or ammunition separately 108
from general merchandise retailers or sporting goods retailers. 109
(4) PENALTIES.— 110
(a) Any person who, or entity that, violates paragraph 111
(2)(a) a provision of this section commits a felony of the third 112
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 113
(b) Except as required by the provisions of s. 16, Art. I 114
of the State Constitution or the Sixth Amendment to the United 115
States Constitution, no public funds may not shall be used to 116
defend the unlawful conduct of any person charged with a 117
violation of this section, unless the charges against the such 118
person are dismissed or the such person is determined to be not 119
guilty at trial. Notwi thstanding this paragraph, public funds 120
may be expended to provide the services of the office of public 121
defender or court-appointed conflict counsel as provided by law. 122
(c) The governmental entity, or the designee of the such 123
governmental entity, in whos e service or employ a list, record, 124
or registry was compiled in violation of paragraph (2)(a) this 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
section may be assessed a fine of up to not more than $5 126
million, if the court determines that the evidence shows that 127
the list, record, or registry was comp iled or maintained with 128
the knowledge or complicity of the management of the 129
governmental entity. The Attorney General may bring a civil 130
cause of action to enforce the fines assessed under this 131
paragraph. 132
(d) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Se rvices 133
may investigate alleged violations of paragraph (2)(b) and, upon 134
finding a violation, bring an administrative action seeking to 135
impose an administrative fine pursuant to s. 570.971 in the 136
Class III category for each violation of paragraph (2)(b) for 137
each instance of an unlawfully classified retailer. 138
(e) The state attorney in the appropriate jurisdiction 139
shall investigate complaints of criminal violations of this 140
section, except for alleged violations of paragraph (2)(b), and 141
shall prosecute violat ors, where evidence indicates that a 142
violation may have occurred , shall prosecute violators . 143
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 144