| 16 | | - | creating s. 415.10341, F.S.; defining terms; 3 |
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| 17 | | - | authorizing financial institutions, under certain 4 |
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| 18 | | - | circumstances, to delay a disbursement or transaction 5 |
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| 19 | | - | from an account of an individual; requiring the 6 |
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| 20 | | - | financial institution to maintain a written or an 7 |
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| 21 | | - | electronic record of certain information for a 8 |
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| 22 | | - | specified amount of time; specifying that a delay on a 9 |
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| 23 | | - | disbursement or transaction expires within a specified 10 |
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| 24 | | - | timeframe; authorizing the financial institution to 11 |
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| 25 | | - | extend the delay under certain circumstances; 12 |
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| 26 | | - | authorizing a court of competent jurisdiction to 13 |
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| 27 | | - | shorten or extend the delay; providing construction; 14 |
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| 28 | | - | requiring financial institutions to take certain 15 |
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| 29 | | - | actions before placing a delay on a disbursement or 16 |
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| 30 | | - | transaction; providing construction; providing an 17 |
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| 31 | | - | effective date. 18 |
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| 32 | | - | 19 |
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| 33 | | - | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20 |
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| 34 | | - | 21 |
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| 35 | | - | Section 1. Section 415.1 0341, Florida Statutes, is created 22 |
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| 36 | | - | to read: 23 |
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| 37 | | - | 415.10341 Protection of specified adults. — 24 |
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| 38 | | - | (1) As used in this section, the term: 25 |
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| 16 | + | creating s. 415.10341, F.S.; defining terms; providing 3 |
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| 17 | + | legislative findings and intent; authorizing financial 4 |
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| 18 | + | institutions, under certain circumstances, to delay a 5 |
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| 19 | + | disbursement or transaction from an account of a 6 |
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| 20 | + | specified adult; requiring the financial institution 7 |
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| 21 | + | to make certain information available upon request by 8 |
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| 22 | + | certain entities; specifying that a delay on a 9 |
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| 23 | + | disbursement or transaction expires on a certain date; 10 |
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| 24 | + | authorizing the financial institution to extend the 11 |
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| 25 | + | delay under certain circumstances; authorizing a court 12 |
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| 26 | + | of competent jurisdiction to shorten or extend the 13 |
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| 27 | + | delay; providing construction; requiring f inancial 14 |
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| 28 | + | institutions to take certain actions before placing a 15 |
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| 29 | + | delay on a disbursement or transaction; providing 16 |
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| 30 | + | construction; providing an effective date. 17 |
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| 31 | + | 18 |
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| 32 | + | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19 |
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| 33 | + | 20 |
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| 34 | + | Section 1. Section 415.10341, Fl orida Statutes, is created 21 |
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| 35 | + | to read: 22 |
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| 36 | + | 415.10341 Protection of specified adults. — 23 |
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| 37 | + | (1) As used in this section, the term: 24 |
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| 38 | + | (a) "Financial exploitation" means the wrongful or 25 |
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| 51 | | - | (a) "Financial exploitation" means the wrongful or 26 |
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| 52 | | - | unauthorized taking, withholding, appropriation, or use of 27 |
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| 53 | | - | money, assets, or property of an adult individual; or any act or 28 |
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| 54 | | - | omission by a person, including through the use of a power of 29 |
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| 55 | | - | attorney, guardianship, or conservatorship of an individual, to: 30 |
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| 56 | | - | 1. Obtain control over the individual's money, assets, or 31 |
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| 57 | | - | property through deception, intimidation, or undue influence to 32 |
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| 58 | | - | deprive him or her of the ownership, use, benefit, or possession 33 |
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| 59 | | - | of the money, assets, or property; or 34 |
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| 60 | | - | 2. Divert the individual's money, assets, or property to 35 |
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| 61 | | - | deprive him or her of the ownership, use, benefi t, or possession 36 |
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| 62 | | - | of the money, assets, or property. 37 |
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| 51 | + | unauthorized taking, withholding, appropriation, or use of 26 |
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| 52 | + | money, assets, or prop erty of a specified adult; or any act or 27 |
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| 53 | + | omission by a person, including through the use of a power of 28 |
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| 54 | + | attorney, guardianship, or conservatorship of a specified adult, 29 |
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| 55 | + | to: 30 |
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| 56 | + | 1. Obtain control over the specified adult's money, 31 |
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| 57 | + | assets, or property through de ception, intimidation, or undue 32 |
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| 58 | + | influence to deprive him or her of the ownership, use, benefit, 33 |
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| 59 | + | or possession of the money, assets, or property; or 34 |
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| 60 | + | 2. Divert the specified adult's money, assets, or property 35 |
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| 61 | + | to deprive him or her of the ownership, use, be nefit, or 36 |
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| 62 | + | possession of the money, assets, or property. 37 |
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| 66 | | - | (c) "Trusted contact" means a natural person 18 years of 41 |
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| 67 | | - | age or older whom the account owner has expressly identified and 42 |
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| 68 | | - | recorded in a financial institution's books and records as the 43 |
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| 69 | | - | person who may be contacted about the account. 44 |
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| 70 | | - | (2) If a financial institution reports suspected financial 45 |
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| 71 | | - | exploitation of an individual pursuant to s. 415.1034, it may 46 |
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| 72 | | - | delay a disbursement or transaction from an account of the 47 |
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| 73 | | - | individual or an account for which the individual is a 48 |
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| 74 | | - | beneficiary or beneficial owner if all of the following apply: 49 |
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| 75 | | - | (a) The financial institution i mmediately initiates an 50 |
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| 66 | + | (c) "Specified adult" means a natural person 70 y ears of 41 |
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| 67 | + | age or older, or a vulnerable adult as defined in s. 415.102. 42 |
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| 68 | + | (d) "Trusted contact" means a natural person 18 years of 43 |
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| 69 | + | age or older whom the account owner has expressly identified and 44 |
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| 70 | + | recorded in a financial institution's books and records as the 45 |
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| 71 | + | person who may be contacted about the account. 46 |
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| 72 | + | (2) The Legislature finds that many persons in this state, 47 |
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| 73 | + | because of age or disability, are at increased risk of financial 48 |
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| 74 | + | exploitation and loss of their assets, funds, investments, and 49 |
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| 75 | + | investment accounts. The Legislature further finds that 50 |
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| 88 | | - | internal review of the facts and circumstances that caused an 51 |
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| 89 | | - | employee of the financial institution to report suspected 52 |
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| 90 | | - | financial exploitation. 53 |
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| 91 | | - | (b) Not later than 3 business days after the date on which 54 |
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| 92 | | - | the delay was first placed, the financial institution: 55 |
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| 93 | | - | 1. Notifies in writing all parties authorized to transact 56 |
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| 94 | | - | business on the account and any trusted contact on the account, 57 |
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| 95 | | - | using the contact information provided for the account, with the 58 |
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| 96 | | - | exception of any party an employee of t he financial institution 59 |
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| 97 | | - | reasonably believes has engaged in, is engaging in, has 60 |
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| 98 | | - | attempted to engage in, or will attempt to engage in the 61 |
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| 99 | | - | suspected financial exploitation of the individual. The notice, 62 |
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| 100 | | - | which may be provided electronically, must provide the reason 63 |
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| 101 | | - | for the delay. 64 |
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| 102 | | - | 2. Creates and maintains a written or an electronic record 65 |
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| 103 | | - | of the delayed disbursement or transaction that includes, at 66 |
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| 104 | | - | minimum, the following information: 67 |
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| 105 | | - | a. The date on which the delay was first placed. 68 |
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| 106 | | - | b. The name and address of the individual. 69 |
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| 107 | | - | c. The business location of the financial institution. 70 |
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| 108 | | - | d. The name and title of the employee who reported 71 |
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| 109 | | - | suspected financial exploitation of the individual pursuant to 72 |
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| 110 | | - | s. 415.1034. 73 |
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| 111 | | - | e. The facts and circumstances that cause d the employee to 74 |
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| 112 | | - | report suspected financial exploitation. 75 |
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| 88 | + | specified adults in this state are at a statistically higher 51 |
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| 89 | + | risk of being targeted for financial exploitation, regardless of 52 |
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| 90 | + | diminished capacity or other disability, because of their 53 |
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| 91 | + | accumulation of substantial assets and wealth compared to 54 |
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| 92 | + | younger age groups. In enacting this section, the Legislature 55 |
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| 93 | + | recognizes the freedom of specified adults to manage their 56 |
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| 94 | + | assets, make investment choices, and spend their funds, and 57 |
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| 95 | + | intends that such rights may not be infringed absent a 58 |
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| 96 | + | reasonable belief of financial exploitation as provided in this 59 |
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| 97 | + | section. The Legislature therefore intends to provide for the 60 |
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| 98 | + | prevention of financial exploitation of such persons. The 61 |
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| 99 | + | Legislature intends to encourage the constructive involvement of 62 |
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| 100 | + | financial institutions that take action based upon the 63 |
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| 101 | + | reasonable belief that specified adults who have accounts with 64 |
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| 102 | + | such financial institutions have been or are the subject of 65 |
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| 103 | + | financial exploitation. The Legislature intends to balance the 66 |
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| 104 | + | rights of specified adults to direct and control their assets, 67 |
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| 105 | + | funds, and investments and to exercise their constitutional 68 |
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| 106 | + | rights consistent with due process with the need to provide 69 |
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| 107 | + | financial institutions the ability to place narrow, time -limited 70 |
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| 108 | + | restrictions on these right s in an effort to decrease specified 71 |
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| 109 | + | adults' risk of loss due to abuse, neglect, or financial 72 |
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| 110 | + | exploitation. 73 |
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| 111 | + | (3) If a financial institution reports suspected financial 74 |
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| 112 | + | exploitation of a specified adult pursuant to s. 415.1034, it 75 |
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| 125 | | - | (3) The financial institution must maintain for at least 5 76 |
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| 126 | | - | years after the date of a delayed disbursement or transaction a 77 |
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| 127 | | - | written or an electronic record of the information required in 78 |
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| 128 | | - | subparagraph (2)(b)2. 79 |
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| 129 | | - | (4) A delay on a disbursement or transaction under 80 |
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| 130 | | - | subsection (2) expires 5 business days after the date on which 81 |
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| 131 | | - | the delay was first placed. However, the financial institution 82 |
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| 132 | | - | may extend the delay for up to 7 additional calendar days if the 83 |
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| 133 | | - | financial institution's review of the available facts and 84 |
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| 134 | | - | circumstances continues to support the reasonable belief that 85 |
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| 135 | | - | financial exploitation of the individual has occurred, is 86 |
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| 136 | | - | occurring, has been attempted, or will be attempted. The length 87 |
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| 137 | | - | of the delay may be shortened or extended at any time by a court 88 |
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| 138 | | - | of competent jurisdiction. This subsection does not prevent a 89 |
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| 139 | | - | financial institution from terminating a delay after 90 |
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| 140 | | - | communication with the parties authorized to transact business 91 |
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| 141 | | - | on the account and any tru sted contact on the account. 92 |
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| 142 | | - | (5) Before placing a delay on a disbursement or 93 |
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| 143 | | - | transaction pursuant to this section, a financial institution 94 |
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| 144 | | - | must do all of the following: 95 |
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| 145 | | - | (a) Develop training policies or programs reasonably 96 |
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| 146 | | - | designed to educate employees on issues pertaining to financial 97 |
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| 147 | | - | exploitation of individuals. 98 |
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| 148 | | - | (b) Conduct training for all employees at least annually 99 |
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| 149 | | - | and maintain a written record of all trainings conducted. 100 |
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| 125 | + | may delay a disbursement or transaction from an account of a 76 |
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| 126 | + | specified adult or an account for which a specified adult is a 77 |
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| 127 | + | beneficiary or beneficial owner if all of the following apply: 78 |
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| 128 | + | (a) The financial institution immediately initiates an 79 |
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| 129 | + | internal review of the facts and circ umstances that caused an 80 |
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| 130 | + | employee of the financial institution to report suspected 81 |
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| 131 | + | financial exploitation. 82 |
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| 132 | + | (b) Not later than 3 business days after the date on which 83 |
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| 133 | + | the delay was first placed, the financial institution: 84 |
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| 134 | + | 1. Notifies in writing all parties authorized to transact 85 |
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| 135 | + | business on the account and any trusted contact on the account, 86 |
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| 136 | + | using the contact information provided for the account, with the 87 |
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| 137 | + | exception of any party an employee of the financial institution 88 |
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| 138 | + | reasonably believes has engaged in, is engaging in, has 89 |
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| 139 | + | attempted to engage in, or will attempt to engage in the 90 |
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| 140 | + | suspected financial exploitation of the specified adult. The 91 |
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| 141 | + | notice, which may be provided electronically, must provide the 92 |
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| 142 | + | reason for the delay. 93 |
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| 143 | + | 2. Creates and maintains for at least 5 years after the 94 |
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| 144 | + | date of the delayed disbursement or transaction a written or 95 |
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| 145 | + | electronic record of the delayed disbursement or transaction 96 |
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| 146 | + | that includes, at minimum, the following information: 97 |
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| 147 | + | a. The date on which the delay was first placed. 98 |
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| 148 | + | b. The name and address of the specified adult. 99 |
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| 149 | + | c. The business location of the financial institution. 100 |
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| 162 | | - | (c) Develop, maintain, and enforce written procedures 101 |
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| 163 | | - | regarding the manner in which suspected financial exploitation 102 |
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| 164 | | - | is reviewed internally, including, if applicable, the manner in 103 |
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| 165 | | - | which suspected financial exploitation is required to be 104 |
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| 166 | | - | reported to supervisory personnel. 105 |
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| 167 | | - | (6) Absent a reasonable belief of financial exploitatio n 106 |
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| 168 | | - | as provided in this section, this section does not otherwise 107 |
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| 169 | | - | alter a financial institution's obligations to all parties 108 |
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| 170 | | - | authorized to transact business on an account and any trusted 109 |
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| 171 | | - | contact named on such account. 110 |
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| 172 | | - | (7) This section does not create new ri ghts for or impose 111 |
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| 173 | | - | new obligations on a financial institution under other 112 |
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| 174 | | - | applicable law. 113 |
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| 175 | | - | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 114 |
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| 162 | + | d. The name and title of the employee who reported 101 |
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| 163 | + | suspected financial exploitation of the specified adult pursuant 102 |
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| 164 | + | to s. 415.1034. 103 |
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| 165 | + | e. The facts and circumstances that caused the employee to 104 |
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| 166 | + | report suspected financial exploitation. 105 |
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| 167 | + | (4) The financial institution must make the information 106 |
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| 168 | + | required in subparagraph (3)(b)2. available for review upon 107 |
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| 169 | + | request by the departme nt, any law enforcement agency conducting 108 |
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| 170 | + | an investigation under s. 415.104, or any state or federal 109 |
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| 171 | + | agency with regulatory authority over the financial institution. 110 |
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| 172 | + | (5) A delay on a disbursement or transaction under 111 |
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| 173 | + | subsection (3) expires 5 business day s after the date on which 112 |
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| 174 | + | the delay was first placed. However, the financial institution 113 |
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| 175 | + | may extend the delay for up to 7 additional calendar days if the 114 |
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| 176 | + | financial institution's review of the available facts and 115 |
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| 177 | + | circumstances continues to support the reaso nable belief that 116 |
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| 178 | + | financial exploitation of the specified adult has occurred, is 117 |
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| 179 | + | occurring, has been attempted, or will be attempted. The length 118 |
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| 180 | + | of the delay may be shortened or extended at any time by a court 119 |
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| 181 | + | of competent jurisdiction. This subsection doe s not prevent a 120 |
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| 182 | + | financial institution from terminating a delay after 121 |
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| 183 | + | communication with the parties authorized to transact business 122 |
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| 184 | + | on the account and any trusted contact on the account. 123 |
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| 185 | + | (6) Before placing a delay on a disbursement or 124 |
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| 186 | + | transaction pursuant to this section, a financial institution 125 |
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| 187 | + | |
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| 188 | + | CS/HB 515 2024 |
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| 189 | + | |
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| 190 | + | |
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| 191 | + | |
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| 192 | + | CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. |
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| 193 | + | hb0515-01-c1 |
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| 194 | + | Page 6 of 6 |
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| 195 | + | 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 |
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| 196 | + | |
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| 197 | + | |
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| 198 | + | |
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| 199 | + | must do all of the following: 126 |
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| 200 | + | (a) Develop training policies or programs reasonably 127 |
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| 201 | + | designed to educate employees on issues pertaining to financial 128 |
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| 202 | + | exploitation of specified adults. 129 |
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| 203 | + | (b) Conduct training for all employees at least annually 130 |
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| 204 | + | and maintain a written record of all trainings conducted. 131 |
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| 205 | + | (c) Develop, maintain, and enforce written procedures 132 |
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| 206 | + | regarding the manner in which suspected financial exploitation 133 |
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| 207 | + | is reviewed internally, including, if applicable, the manner in 134 |
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| 208 | + | which suspected financial exploitation is required to be 135 |
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| 209 | + | reported to supervisory personnel. 136 |
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| 210 | + | (7) Absent a reasonable belief of financial exploitation 137 |
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| 211 | + | as provided in this section, this section does not otherwise 138 |
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| 212 | + | alter a financial institution' s obligations to all parties 139 |
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| 213 | + | authorized to transact business on an account and any trusted 140 |
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| 214 | + | contact named on such account. 141 |
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| 215 | + | (8) This section does not create new rights for or impose 142 |
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| 216 | + | new obligations on a financial institution under other 143 |
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| 217 | + | applicable law. 144 |
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| 218 | + | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 145 |
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