CS/CS/HB 585 2024
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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 access to financial institution 2
customer accounts; amending s. 280.051, F.S.; 3
providing additional grounds for qualified public 4
depositories to be suspended and disqualified; 5
amending s. 280.054, F.S.; providing additional acts 6
deemed knowing and willful violations by qualified 7
public depositories which are subject to certain 8
penalties; creating s. 655.49, F.S.; authorizing the 9
Office of Financial Regulation to receive complaints 10
from a customer or member who reasonably believes that 11
a financial institution has acted in bad faith in 12
terminating, suspending, or taking similar action 13
restricting access to such customer's or member's 14
account; providing a time limit for a customer or 15
member to file a complaint; providing 16
nonapplicability; prov iding duties of the office upon 17
receipt of a customer's or member's complaint; 18
providing duties of a financial institution upon 19
receipt of notification that a complaint has been 20
filed; providing violations and penalties; requiring 21
the office to provide cer tain reports and information 22
to specified entities under certain circumstances; 23
providing that the financial institutions' customers 24
and members have a cause of action under certain 25
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circumstances; authorizing such customers and members 26
to recover damages, together with costs and attorney 27
fees; providing a time limit for initiating causes of 28
action; requiring the office to make available 29
information necessary for filing complaints on its 30
website; providing an effective date. 31
32
Be It Enacted by the Legisla ture of the State of Florida: 33
34
Section 1. Subsection (16) is added to section 280.051, 35
Florida Statutes, to read: 36
280.051 Grounds for suspension or disqualification of a 37
qualified public depository. —A qualified public depository may 38
be suspended or disqualified or both if the Chief Financial 39
Officer determines that the qualified public depository has: 40
(16) Pursuant to a determination notice reported by the 41
Office of Financial Regulation under s. 655.49, acted in bad 42
faith when terminating, suspendin g, or taking similar action 43
restricting a customer's or member's account, or failed to 44
cooperate in an investigation conducted pursuant to s. 45
655.49(3), including, without limitation, failing to timely file 46
a termination-of-access report with the office. 47
Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 48
280.054, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 49
280.054 Administrative penalty in lieu of suspension or 50
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disqualification.— 51
(1) If the Chief Financial Officer finds that one or more 52
grounds exist for the suspension or disqualification of a 53
qualified public depository, the Chief Financial Officer may, in 54
lieu of suspension or disqualification, impose an administrative 55
penalty upon the qualified public depository. 56
(b) With respect to any knowing and willful violation of a 57
lawful order or rule, the Chief Financial Officer may impose a 58
penalty upon the qualified public depository in an amount not 59
exceeding $1,000 for each violation. If restitution is due, the 60
qualified public depository shall make rest itution upon the 61
order of the Chief Financial Officer and shall pay interest on 62
such amount at the legal rate. Each day a violation continues 63
constitutes a separate violation. Each of the following Failure 64
to timely file the attestation required under s. 2 80.025 is 65
deemed a knowing and willful violation by the qualified public 66
depository: 67
1. Failure to timely file the attestation required under 68
s. 280.025. 69
2. Bad faith termination, suspension, or similar action 70
restricting a customer's or member's accou nt access, as 71
determined by the Office of Financial Regulation pursuant to s. 72
655.49. 73
3. Failure to cooperate in an investigation conducted 74
pursuant to s. 655.49(3), including, without limitation, failure 75
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to timely file a termination -of-access report with the office. 76
Section 3. Section 655.49, Florida Statutes, is created to 77
read: 78
655.49 Bad faith termination or restriction of account 79
access; investigations by the office. — 80
(1) A customer or member of a financial institution who 81
reasonably believes that a financial institution has terminated, 82
suspended, or taken similar action restricting access to the 83
customer's or member's account in bad faith may file, within 30 84
calendar days after such termination, suspension, or similar 85
action restricting accou nt access, a complaint with the office 86
alleging a violation of this section. Such complaint is barred 87
if not timely filed. 88
(2) This section does not apply if a financial 89
institution's termination, suspension, or similar action 90
restricting a customer's or member's account access was due to 91
one or more of the following: 92
(a) The customer or member initiated the change in access; 93
(b) There is a lack of activity in the account; or 94
(c) The account is presumed unclaimed property pursuant to 95
chapter 717. 96
(3) Upon receipt of a customer's or member's complaint 97
under subsection (1): 98
(a) Within 30 calendar days, the office must notify the 99
financial institution that a complaint has been filed. 100
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(b) Within 30 calendar days after receiving the notice 101
from the office, the financial institution must file with the 102
office a termination -of-access report containing such 103
information as the commission requires by rule. 104
(c) Within 90 calendar days after receiving the 105
termination-of-access report from the financial ins titution, the 106
office must investigate the financial institution's action and 107
determine whether the action was taken in bad faith as 108
substantiated by competent and substantial evidence that was 109
known or should have been known to the financial institution at 110
the time of the termination, suspension, or similar action 111
restricting a customer's or member's account access. 112
(d) Within 30 calendar days after making the determination 113
required under paragraph (c), the office must report to the 114
Attorney General and t he Chief Financial Officer the 115
determination of a bad faith termination, suspension, or similar 116
action restricting a customer's or member's account access. The 117
report to the Attorney General must describe the findings of the 118
investigation, provide a summar y of the evidence, and state 119
whether an alleged violation of the financial institutions codes 120
by the financial institution occurred. Upon reporting to the 121
Attorney General pursuant to this paragraph, the office must 122
send a copy of the report to the custome r or member by certified 123
mail, return receipt requested. 124
(4) A financial institution's bad faith termination, 125
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suspension, or similar action restricting access to a customer's 126
or member's account, as determined by the office pursuant to 127
subsection (3), or a financial institution's failure to 128
cooperate in an investigation conducted pursuant to subsection 129
(3), including, without limitation, failure to timely file a 130
termination-of-access report with the office, constitutes a 131
violation of the financial institu tions codes and subjects the 132
financial institution to the applicable sanctions and penalties 133
provided for in the financial institutions codes. 134
(5) The office shall provide any report filed pursuant to 135
this section, or any information contained therein, t o any 136
federal, state, or local law enforcement or prosecutorial 137
agency, and any federal or state agency responsible for the 138
regulation or supervision of financial institutions, if the 139
provision of such report is otherwise required by law. 140
(6) If the office determines under subsection (3) that a 141
financial institution has acted in bad faith, the aggrieved 142
customer or member of the financial institution has a cause of 143
action against the financial institution for damages and may 144
recover damages therefor in an y court of competent jurisdiction, 145
together with costs and reasonable attorney fees to be assessed 146
by the court. To recover damages under this subsection, the 147
customer or member must establish that, beyond a reasonable 148
doubt, the financial institution acte d in bad faith in 149
terminating, suspending, or taking similar action restricting 150
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access to the customer's or member's account. The office's 151
determination that the financial institution has acted in bad 152
faith pursuant to subsection (3) does not, in and of it self, 153
establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the financial 154
institution acted in bad faith in the termination, suspension, 155
or similar action restricting access to the customer's or 156
member's account. A customer's or member's failure to initiate a 157
cause of action under this subsection within 12 months after the 158
office's finding of bad faith pursuant to subsection (3) bars 159
recovery of any filed claims thereafter. 160
(7) By July 1, 2024, the office shall make available on 161
its website the information necessary f or a customer or member 162
of a financial institution to file a complaint with the office 163
under subsection (1). 164
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 165