CS/CS/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; prohibiting entities 9
involved in facilitating or processing payment card 10
transactions from assigning to or requiring a merchant 11
to use certain merchant category codes; authorizing a 12
merchant of firearms or ammunition to be assigned or 13
to use certain merchant category codes; spe cifying 14
that any agreement or contractual provision to the 15
contrary is void and in violation of the public policy 16
of this state; authorizing the Department of 17
Agriculture and Consumer Services to investigate 18
certain alleged violations and bring administrat ive 19
actions; providing an exception to complaint 20
investigations by state attorneys; making technical 21
changes; providing an effective date. 22
23
WHEREAS, the International Standards Organization, based in 24
Switzerland, recently approved a new merchant categ ory code for 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
firearm and ammunition merchants, and 26
WHEREAS, firearm and ammunition merchants historically have 27
been classified as sporting goods retailers or general 28
merchandise retailers, which has been sufficient for credit card 29
companies' business need s, and 30
WHEREAS, according to advocates for the new merchant 31
category code, the new code will allow credit card companies to 32
flag "suspicious" transactions, ostensibly for the purpose of 33
predicting and preventing future gun violence, and 34
WHEREAS, proponents indicate that the new merchant category 35
code is a "first step" but have given no guidance as to how to 36
distinguish suspicious activity from lawful sales, and 37
WHEREAS, the use of either merchant category code cannot 38
distinguish the sale of a firearm fro m the sale of a gun safe by 39
a firearms and ammunition merchant, and 40
WHEREAS, the use of the new merchant category code to 41
detect suspicious activities predicting future unlawful activity 42
will likely discourage financial institutions from serving 43
lawful retailers of firearms and ammunition and chill the lawful 44
exercise of Second Amendment rights, and 45
WHEREAS, current law requires a firearm retailer to conduct 46
a criminal history records check on a potential purchaser before 47
delivering a firearm to the purch aser, and 48
WHEREAS, the new merchant category code may result in 49
credit card companies reporting law -abiding citizens to a law 50
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enforcement agency based on overbroad definitions of suspicious 51
activity and the creation of a de facto gun registry and 52
watchlists of law-abiding citizens, and 53
WHEREAS, the use of the new merchant category code will 54
likely make the job of law enforcement officers more difficult, 55
as those purchasing a firearm from a firearm retailer for an 56
unlawful purpose will likely purchase fire arms with cash, 57
cryptocurrency, or other means that are difficult or impossible 58
to trace, and 59
WHEREAS, developing appropriate regulations for the sale of 60
firearms and ammunition while protecting the right of self -61
defense is the role of democratically elec ted officials, not the 62
role of unelected bankers and foreign organizations, NOW, 63
THEREFORE, 64
65
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 66
67
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsections 68
(2) and (4) of section 790.335, Florida Statutes, are amended to 69
read: 70
790.335 Prohibition of registration of firearms; 71
electronic records.— 72
(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. — 73
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that: 74
1. The right of individuals to keep and bear arms is 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
guaranteed under both the Second Amendment to the United States 76
Constitution and s. 8, Art. I of the State Constitution. 77
2. A list, record, or registry of legally owned firearms 78
or law-abiding firearm owners is not a law enforcement tool and 79
can become an instrument for profiling, harassing, or abusing 80
law-abiding citizens based on their choice to own a firearm and 81
exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms as 82
guaranteed under the United States Constitution. Further, such a 83
list, record, or registry has the potential to fall into the 84
wrong hands and become a shopping list for thieves. 85
3. A list, record, or registry of legally owned firearms 86
or law-abiding firearm owners is not a tool for fighting 87
terrorism, but rather is an instrument th at can be used as a 88
means to profile innocent citizens and to harass and abuse 89
American citizens based solely on their choice to own firearms 90
and exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms 91
as guaranteed under the United States Constitution . 92
4. The creation or maintenance of records of purchases of 93
firearms or ammunition or the tracking of sales made by a 94
retailer of firearms or ammunition by a nongovernmental entity, 95
including a financial institution, without a substantial and 96
historical business need or a requirement imposed by law, may 97
frustrate the right to keep and bear arms and violate the 98
reasonable privacy rights of lawful purchasers of firearms or 99
ammunition. 100
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5.4. Law-abiding firearm owners whose names have been 101
illegally recorded in a list, record, or registry are entitled 102
to redress. 103
(2) PROHIBITIONS.— 104
(a) A No state governmental agency or local government, 105
special district, or other political subdivision or official, 106
agent, or employee of the such state or other governmenta l 107
entity or any other person, public or private, may not shall 108
knowingly and willfully keep or cause to be kept any list, 109
record, or registry of privately owned firearms or any list, 110
record, or registry of the owners of those firearms. 111
(b) A payment settlement entity, merchant acquiring 112
entity, or third party settlement organization as those terms 113
are defined in s. 6050W of the Internal Revenue Code may not 114
assign a merchant category code to or otherwise classify a 115
merchant that is a seller of firearms or ammunition separately 116
from general merchandise retailers or sporting goods retailers. 117
(c) An entity involved in facilitating or processing a 118
payment card transaction, including, but not limited to, a 119
financial institution, an acquirer, a payment card ne twork, or a 120
payment card issuer, may not assign to or require a merchant to 121
use a merchant category code that classifies the merchant as a 122
firearms or ammunition retailer or places the merchant in a 123
similar classification. A merchant of firearms or ammunit ion may 124
be assigned or may use a merchant category code for general 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
merchandise retailers or sporting goods retailers. Any agreement 126
or contractual provision to the contrary is void in violation of 127
the public policy of this state. 128
(4) PENALTIES.— 129
(a) Any person who, or entity that, violates paragraph 130
(2)(a) a provision of this section commits a felony of the third 131
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 132
(b) Except as required by the provisions of s. 16, Art. I 133
of the State Constitution or the Sixth Amendment to the United 134
States Constitution, no public funds may not shall be used to 135
defend the unlawful conduct of any person charged with a 136
violation of this section, unless the charges against the such 137
person are dismissed or the such person is determined to be not 138
guilty at trial. Notwithstanding this paragraph, public funds 139
may be expended to provide the services of the office of public 140
defender or court-appointed conflict counsel as provided by law. 141
(c) The governmental entity, or the designee of the such 142
governmental entity, in whose service or employ a list, record, 143
or registry was compiled in violation of paragraph (2)(a) this 144
section may be assessed a fine of up to not more than $5 145
million, if the court determines that the evidence shows that 146
the list, record, or registry was compiled or maintained with 147
the knowledge or complicity of the management of the 148
governmental entity. The Attorney General may bring a civil 149
cause of action to enforce the fines assesse d under this 150
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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
paragraph. 151
(d) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 152
may investigate alleged violations of paragraph (2)(b) or 153
paragraph (2)(c) and, upon finding a violation, bring an 154
administrative action seeking to impose an administrative f ine 155
pursuant to s. 570.971 in the Class III category for each 156
violation of paragraph (2)(b) or paragraph (2)(c) for each 157
instance of an unlawfully classified retailer. 158
(e)(d) The state attorney in the appropriate jurisdiction 159
shall investigate complaints of criminal violations of this 160
section, except for alleged violations of paragraph (2)(b) or 161
paragraph (2)(c), and shall prosecute violators and, where 162
evidence indicates that a violation may have occurred , shall 163
prosecute violators. 164
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 165