The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Regulated Industries
BILL: SPB 7046
INTRODUCER: Regulated Industries Committee
SUBJECT: Licensing Fee Relief
DATE: April 5, 2023
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
Kraemer Imhof RI Submitted as Committee Bill
I. Summary:
SPB 7046 requires the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) to waive
certain license application and license fees until July 1, 2025.
Under the bill, the following fees must be waived during Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and Fiscal
Year 2024-2025:
50 percent of the initial licensing fee for an applicant applying for an initial license for a
profession, up to $200 per year per license.
50 percent of a licensee's license renewal fee, up to $200 per year per license.
The bill provides that waived fees may not include any applicable unlicensed activity fees or
background check fees.
The above provisions expire July 1, 2025.
There is a $50 million appropriation from the General Revenue Fund to the Professional
Regulation Trust Fund. See Section V, Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill is effective July 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
Background information about the DBPR and the professions it regulates is provided below.
Organization of the DBPR
Section 20.165, F.S., establishes the organizational structure of the DBPR, which has the
following 11 divisions:
Administration;
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco;
REVISED: BILL: SPB 7046 Page 2
Certified Public Accounting;
Drugs, Devices, and Cosmetics;
Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes;
Hotels and Restaurants;
Professions;
Real Estate;
Regulation;
Service Operations; and
Technology.
The Florida Athletic Commission is assigned to the DBPR for administrative and fiscal
accountability purposes only.
1
The DBPR also administers the Child Labor Law and Farm Labor
Contractor Registration Law.
2
Powers and Duties of the DBPR
Chapter 455, F.S., applies to the regulation of professions constituting “any activity, occupation,
profession, or vocation regulated by the [DBPR] in the Divisions of Certified Public Accounting,
Professions, Real Estate, and Regulation.”
3
The chapter also provides the procedural and
administrative framework for those divisions and the professional boards within the DBPR.
4
The DBPR’s regulation of professions is to be undertaken “only for the preservation of the
health, safety, and welfare of the public under the police powers of the state.”
5
Regulation is
required when:
The potential for harming or endangering public health, safety, and welfare is recognizable
and outweighs any anticompetitive impact that may result;
The public is not effectively protected by other state statutes, local ordinances, federal
legislation, or other means; and
Less restrictive means of regulation are not available.
6
However, “neither the [DBPR] nor any board may create a regulation that has an unreasonable
effect on job creation or job retention,” or a regulation that unreasonably restricts the ability of
those desiring to engage in a profession or occupation from finding employment.
7
Chapter 455, F.S., provides the general powers of the DBPR and sets forth the procedural and
administrative framework for all of the professional boards housed under the DBPR as well as
the Divisions of Certified Public Accounting, Professions, Real Estate, and Regulation.
8
When a
1
Section 548.003(1), F.S.
2
See Parts I and III of ch. 450, F.S.
3
Section 455.01(6), F.S.
4
See s. 455.203, F.S. The DBPR must also provide legal counsel for boards within the DBPR by contracting with the
Department of Legal Affairs, by retaining private counsel, or by staff counsel of the DBPR. See s. 455.221(1), F.S.
5
Section 455.201(2), F.S.
6
Id.
7
Section 455.201(4)(b), F.S.
8
See s. 455.203, F.S. The DBPR must also provide legal counsel for boards within the DBPR by contracting with the
Department of Legal Affairs, by retaining private counsel, or by providing DBPR staff counsel. See s. 455.221(1), F.S. BILL: SPB 7046 Page 3
person is authorized to engage in a profession or occupation in Florida, the DBPR issues a
“permit, registration, certificate, or license” to the licensee.
9
License Fees
Section 455.219, F.S., requires each board within the DBPR to determine by rule the amount of
license fees for its profession, based upon DBPR-prepared long-range estimates of the revenue
required for the DBPR and the boards to implement all laws relating to regulated professions.
Renewal fees may be imposed for a two-year (biennial) or four-year license, if authorized by the
DBPR.
10
If the DBPR determines, based on the long-range estimates, that a profession’s trust fund moneys
exceed the amount required to cover the necessary functions of its board, or the DBPR when
there is no board, the DBPR may adopt rules to waive license renewal fees for that profession for
a period not to exceed two years, as determined by the DBPR.
11
Each board, or the DBPR when
there is no board, must ensure license fees are adequate to cover all anticipated costs and to
maintain a reasonable cash balance, as determined by DBPR rule, with advice of the applicable
board.
License Fee Waivers
Under s. 455.213, F.S., the DBPR must waive the initial licensing fee, the initial application fee,
and the initial unlicensed activity fee for a military veteran or his or her spouse at the time of
discharge, if he or she applies to the DBPR for a license within 60 months after being honorably
discharged from any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
Section 455.219, F.S., requires the DBPR, or the applicable board, to waive the initial licensing
fee, upon appropriate documentation to support eligibility for the waiver, for:
A member of the Armed Services of the United States who has served on active duty;
The spouse of a member of the Armed Services of the United States who was married to the
member during a period of active duty;
The surviving spouse of a member of the Armed Services of the United States who at the
time of death was serving on active duty; or
A low-income individual
12
upon application by the individual in a format prescribed by the
DBPR.
The DBPR or applicable board must process an application for a fee waiver within 30 days of
receiving it from the applicant.
9
Section 455.01(4) and (5), F.S.
10
See s. 455.203(1), F.S.
11
See s. 455.219(1), F.S. If retired professionals apply for and meet the requirements for issuance of a limited license, and
their employers certify no monetary compensation for professional services will be paid to the applicant, the application fee
and all licensure fees must be waived. See s. 455.214, F.S.
12
The term “low-income individual” means a person whose household income, before taxes, is at or below 130 percent of the
federal poverty guidelines prescribed for the family’s household size by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services; enrollment in a state or federal public assistance program that requires participants to be at or below 130 percent of
the federal poverty guidelines to qualify, serves as proof of meeting these guidelines. BILL: SPB 7046 Page 4
Unlicensed Activity Fees
Section 455.2281, F.S. requires the DBPR to impose, upon initial licensure and each subsequent
renewal, an unlicensed activity fee of $5 per licensee, to combat unlicensed activity, unless the
profession’s unlicensed fee account balance is more than twice the total of unlicensed activity
enforcement expenditures in the prior two years.
Division of Certified Public Accounting
In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, there were 38,541 active licensees in the DBPR’s Division of
Certified Public Accounting.
13
Division of Professions
In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, in the DBPR’s Division of Professions, which regulates all licensees,
there were 937,960 active licensees (of which 38,541 were licensed accountants; 66,936 were
licensed engineers, and 345,026 were real estate-related licensees), including:
14
Accountants (CPAs);
Architects and interior designers;
Asbestos consultants and contractors;
Athlete agents;
Auctioneers;
Barbers;
Building code administrators and inspectors;
Community association managers;
Construction industry contractors;
Cosmetologists;
Electrical contractors;
Employee leasing companies;
Engineers;
Geologists;
Home inspectors;
Harbor pilots (pilot commissioners);
Landscape architects;
Mold-related services;
Real estate appraisers;
Real estate (brokers/associates)
Talent agencies; and
Veterinarians.
13
See Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2021-2022, at 10, at
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/os/documents/Division%20Annual%20Report%20FY%2021-22.pdf (last visited
Mar. 21, 2023).
14
Id. BILL: SPB 7046 Page 5
Division of Real Estate
In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, there were 345,026 active licensees in the DBPR’s Division of Real
Estate.
15
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill requires the DBPR to waive, for licenses for professions subject to ch. 455, F.S., the
following fees during Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and Fiscal Year 2024-2025:
50 percent of the initial licensing fee for an applicant applying for an initial license for a
profession, up to $200 per year per license.
50 percent of a licensee's license renewal fee, up to $200 per year per license.
The bill provides that waived fees may not include any applicable unlicensed activity fees
16
or
background check fees. The requirement to waive the above fees expires July 1, 2025.
The bill is effective July 1, 2023.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
15
Id.
16
Upon initial licensure and each subsequent renewal, the DBPR is required to impose an unlicensed activity fee of $5 per
licensee, to combat unlicensed activity, unless the unlicensed fee account balance is more than twice the total of unlicensed
activity enforcement expenditures in the prior two years. See s. 455.2281, F.S. BILL: SPB 7046 Page 6
B. Private Sector Impact:
During Fiscal Years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, applicants and licensees for professions
regulated by the DBPR will have the benefit of a reduction in application fees and license
renewal fee that would otherwise be payable.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The bill provides an appropriation for the licensing fees that may be waived, in the sum
of $50 million in nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund to the DBPR to be
deposited into the Professional Regulation Trust Fund for Fiscal Year 2023-2024. Any
unexpended balance of funds remaining on June 30, 2024 will revert and is appropriated
to the DBPR for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 for the same purpose.
To date, no analysis by the DBPR of the impact of the bill on their respective operations,
revenue, and expenditures has been provided.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends section 455.213 of the Florida Statutes.
Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.