ENROLLED 2023 Legislature CS for SB 214 2023214er 1 2 An act relating to sales of firearms and ammunition; 3 amending s. 790.335, F.S.; providing legislative 4 findings; prohibiting payment settlement entities, 5 merchant acquiring entities, or third party settlement 6 organizations from assigning merchant category codes 7 or otherwise classifying merchants of firearms or 8 ammunition separately from general merchandise or 9 sporting goods retailers; prohibiting entities 10 involved in facilitating or processing payment card 11 transactions from assigning to or requiring a merchant 12 to use certain merchant category codes; authorizing a 13 merchant of firearms or ammunition to be assigned or 14 to use certain merchant category codes; specifying 15 that any agreement or contractual provision to the 16 contrary is void and in violation of the public policy 17 of this state; authorizing the Department of 18 Agriculture and Consumer Services to investigate 19 certain alleged violations and bring administrative 20 actions; providing an exception to complaint 21 investigations by state attorneys; making technical 22 changes; providing an effective date. 23 24 WHEREAS, the International Standards Organization, based in 25 Switzerland, recently approved a new merchant category code for 26 firearm and ammunition merchants, and 27 WHEREAS, firearm and ammunition merchants historically have 28 been classified as sporting goods retailers or general 29 merchandise retailers, which has been sufficient for credit card 30 companies business needs, and 31 WHEREAS, according to advocates for the new merchant 32 category code, the new code will allow credit card companies to 33 flag suspicious transactions, ostensibly for the purpose of 34 predicting and preventing future gun violence, and 35 WHEREAS, proponents indicate that the new merchant category 36 code is a first step but have given no guidance as to how to 37 distinguish suspicious activity from lawful sales, and 38 WHEREAS, the use of either merchant category code cannot 39 distinguish the sale of a firearm from the sale of a gun safe by 40 a firearms and ammunition merchant, and 41 WHEREAS, the use of the new merchant category code to 42 detect suspicious activities predicting future unlawful activity 43 will likely discourage financial institutions from serving 44 lawful retailers of firearms and ammunition and chill the lawful 45 exercise of Second Amendment rights, and 46 WHEREAS, current law requires a firearm retailer to conduct 47 a criminal history records check on a potential purchaser before 48 delivering a firearm to the purchaser, and 49 WHEREAS, the new merchant category code may result in 50 credit card companies reporting law-abiding citizens to a law 51 enforcement agency based on overbroad definitions of suspicious 52 activity and the creation of a de facto gun registry and 53 watchlists of law-abiding citizens, and 54 WHEREAS, the use of the new merchant category code will 55 likely make the job of law enforcement officers more difficult, 56 as those purchasing a firearm from a firearm retailer for an 57 unlawful purpose will likely purchase firearms with cash, 58 cryptocurrency, or other means that are difficult or impossible 59 to trace, and 60 WHEREAS, developing appropriate regulations for the sale of 61 firearms and ammunition while protecting the right of self 62 defense is the role of democratically elected officials, not the 63 role of unelected bankers and foreign organizations, NOW, 64 THEREFORE, 65 66 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 67 68 Section 1.Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsections 69 (2) and (4) of section 790.335, Florida Statutes, are amended to 70 read: 71 790.335Prohibition of registration of firearms; electronic 72 records. 73 (1)LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. 74 (a)The Legislature finds and declares that: 75 1.The right of individuals to keep and bear arms is 76 guaranteed under both the Second Amendment to the United States 77 Constitution and s. 8, Art. I of the State Constitution. 78 2.A list, record, or registry of legally owned firearms or 79 law-abiding firearm owners is not a law enforcement tool and can 80 become an instrument for profiling, harassing, or abusing law 81 abiding citizens based on their choice to own a firearm and 82 exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms as 83 guaranteed under the United States Constitution. Further, such a 84 list, record, or registry has the potential to fall into the 85 wrong hands and become a shopping list for thieves. 86 3.A list, record, or registry of legally owned firearms or 87 law-abiding firearm owners is not a tool for fighting terrorism, 88 but rather is an instrument that can be used as a means to 89 profile innocent citizens and to harass and abuse American 90 citizens based solely on their choice to own firearms and 91 exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms as 92 guaranteed under the United States Constitution. 93 4.The creation or maintenance of records of purchases of 94 firearms or ammunition or the tracking of sales made by a 95 retailer of firearms or ammunition by a nongovernmental entity, 96 including a financial institution, without a substantial and 97 historical business need or a requirement imposed by law, may 98 frustrate the right to keep and bear arms and violate the 99 reasonable privacy rights of lawful purchasers of firearms or 100 ammunition. 101 5.Law-abiding firearm owners whose names have been 102 illegally recorded in a list, record, or registry are entitled 103 to redress. 104 (2)PROHIBITIONS. 105 (a)A No state governmental agency or local government, 106 special district, or other political subdivision or official, 107 agent, or employee of the such state or other governmental 108 entity or any other person, public or private, may not shall 109 knowingly and willfully keep or cause to be kept any list, 110 record, or registry of privately owned firearms or any list, 111 record, or registry of the owners of those firearms. 112 (b)A payment settlement entity, merchant acquiring entity, 113 or third party settlement organization as those terms are 114 defined in s. 6050W of the Internal Revenue Code may not assign 115 a merchant category code to or otherwise classify a merchant 116 that is a seller of firearms or ammunition separately from 117 general merchandise retailers or sporting goods retailers. 118 (c)An entity involved in facilitating or processing a 119 payment card transaction, including, but not limited to, a 120 financial institution, an acquirer, a payment card network, or a 121 payment card issuer, may not assign to or require a merchant to 122 use a merchant category code that classifies the merchant as a 123 firearms or ammunition retailer or places the merchant in a 124 similar classification. A merchant of firearms or ammunition may 125 be assigned or may use a merchant category code for general 126 merchandise retailers or sporting goods retailers. Any agreement 127 or contractual provision to the contrary is void in violation of 128 the public policy of this state. 129 (4)PENALTIES. 130 (a)Any person who, or entity that, violates paragraph 131 (2)(a) a provision of this section commits a felony of the third 132 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 133 (b)Except as required by the provisions of s. 16, Art. I 134 of the State Constitution or the Sixth Amendment to the United 135 States Constitution, no public funds may not shall be used to 136 defend the unlawful conduct of any person charged with a 137 violation of this section, unless the charges against the such 138 person are dismissed or the such person is determined to be not 139 guilty at trial. Notwithstanding this paragraph, public funds 140 may be expended to provide the services of the office of public 141 defender or court-appointed conflict counsel as provided by law. 142 (c)The governmental entity, or the designee of the such 143 governmental entity, in whose service or employ a list, record, 144 or registry was compiled in violation of paragraph (2)(a) this 145 section may be assessed a fine of up to not more than $5 146 million, if the court determines that the evidence shows that 147 the list, record, or registry was compiled or maintained with 148 the knowledge or complicity of the management of the 149 governmental entity. The Attorney General may bring a civil 150 cause of action to enforce the fines assessed under this 151 paragraph. 152 (d)The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may 153 investigate alleged violations of paragraph (2)(b) or paragraph 154 (2)(c) and, upon finding a violation, bring an administrative 155 action seeking to impose an administrative fine pursuant to s. 156 570.971 in the Class III category for each violation of 157 paragraph (2)(b) or paragraph (2)(c) for each instance of an 158 unlawfully classified retailer. 159 (e)The state attorney in the appropriate jurisdiction 160 shall investigate complaints of criminal violations of this 161 section, except for alleged violations of paragraph (2)(b) or 162 paragraph (2)(c), and shall prosecute violators, where evidence 163 indicates that a violation may have occurred, shall prosecute 164 violators. 165 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.