Senate Bill 1570 (2022) — Economic assistance to new businesses
SB 1570
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1570 By Senator Jones 35-00384A-22 20221570__ Page 1 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to economic assistance to new 2 businesses; amending s. 287.042, F.S.; requiring the 3 Department of Management Services to encourage 4 agencies to allocate a certain percentage of specified 5 funds to purchase commodities and contractual services 6 from certain businesses; amending s. 288.006, F.S.; 7 requiring the Department of Economic Opportunity to 8 award a specified minimum amount of funds to certain 9 businesses; creating s. 288.102, F.S.; providing a 10
short title; defining the term “eligible new 11 business”; prohibiting agencies from requiring 12 eligible new businesses or persons establishing an 13 eligible new business from paying fees relating to 14 licenses or registrations for the business for a 15 specified amount of time; prohibiting agencies from 16 requiring home-based businesses to pay any fees 17 relating to licenses or registrations; requiring 18 Enterprise Florida, Inc., to develop and post a 19 specified annual report on its website and to serve as 20 the primary point of contact to assist eligible new 21 businesses seeking certain information; decreasing the 22 tax rate for certain income of eligible new businesses 23 under certain circumstances; authorizing the 24 Department of Revenue to adopt rules; creating s. 25 443.31, F.S.; creating the Self-Employment Assistance 26 Program within the Department of Economic Opportunity; 27 providing a purpose for the program; authorizing 28 individuals meeting certain criteria relating to 29
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1570 35-00384A-22 20221570__ Page 2 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. reemployment assistance benefits to apply to the 30 department for participation in the program; providing 31 application and eligibility requirements; specifying 32 requirements for individuals approved to participate 33 in the program; defining the term “full-time basis”; 34 exempting individuals participating in the program 35 from specified requirements relating to reemployment 36 assistance benefits; specifying that individuals 37 participating in the program are disqualified from the 38 program if the individuals become ineligible for 39 reemployment assistance benefits; requiring the 40 department to adopt rules; repealing s. 542.335, F.S., 41 relating to valid restraints of trade or commerce; 42 amending s. 445.004, F.S.; requiring that a specified 43 percentage of workforce development funding go to 44 certain individuals and businesses; creating s. 45 687.21, F.S.; prohibiting lenders from requiring small 46 businesses to sign confessions of judgment; defining 47 the term “small business”; providing an effective 48 date. 49 50 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 51 52
Section 1. Paragraph (
i) is added to subsection (1) of 53
section 287.042, Florida Statutes, to read: 54 287.042 Powers, duties, and functions.—The department shall 55 have the following powers, duties, and functions: 56 (1) 57 (
i) The department shall encourage agencies to allocate at 58
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1570 35-00384A-22 20221570__ Page 3 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. least 5 percent of funds used to purchase commodities and 59 contractual services pursuant to this
chapter to purchase 60 commodities and contractual services from businesses established 61 within the previous 5 years and whose principal place of 62 business is in this state. 63
Section 2. Subsection (2) of
section 288.006, Florida 64 Statutes, is amended to read: 65 288.006 General operation of loan programs.— 66
(2) State funds appropriated for a loan program may be used 67 only by an eligible recipient or loan administrator, and the use 68 of such funds is restricted to the specific state pur pose of the 69 loan program, subject to any compensation due to a loan 70 administrator as provided under this chapter. State funds may be 71 awarded directly by the department to an eligible recipient or 72 awarded by the department to a loan administrator. All state 73 funds, including any interest earned, remain state funds unless 74 otherwise stated in the statutory requirements of the loan 75 program. The department shall award at least 5 percent of funds 76 awarded under this
chapter to businesses established within the 77 previous 5 years and whose principal place of business is in 78 this state. 79
Section
Section 288.102, Florida Statutes, is created to 80 read: 81 288.102 Florida Right to Start Act.— 82
(1) This
section may be cited as the “Florida Right to 83 Start Act.” 84
(2) As used in this section, the term “eligible new 85 business” means: 86 (
a) A business entity licensed under the applicable laws of 87
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1570 35-00384A-22 20221570__ Page 4 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. this state that begins business operations on or after July 1, 88 2022; or 89 (
b) A home-based business as described under s. 559.955(3) 90 that begins business operations on or after July 1, 2022. 91
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, an agency may not 92 require an eligible new business or a person establishing an 93 eligible new business to pay any fee relating to a license or 94 registration for the first 5 years that the business is 95 established and may not require a home-based business that meets 96 the criteria under s. 559.955(3) to pay any fee relating to a 97 license or registration. 98
(4) Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall do all of the 99 following: 100 (
a) Develop and post on its website an annual report that 101 details how laws, rules, and regulations passed or adopted in 102 the previous year affect businesses established for 5 years or 103 less. 104 (
b) Serve as the primary point of contact to assist 105 eligible new businesses seeking information relating to this act 106 and the government agencies that support businesses established 107 for 5 years or less. 108 (5)(
a) If an eligible new business is required to pay taxes 109 under
chapter 220: 110 1. The first $250,000 of an eligible new business’s income 111 in the business’s first tax year is exempt from the tax imposed 112 by
chapter 220. 113 2. The first $500,000 of an eligible new business’s income 114 in the business’s second tax year shall be taxed at a rate of 1 115 percent, and any remaining income shall be taxed pur suant to 116
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chapter 220. 117 3. The first $750,000 of an eligible new business’s income 118 in the business’s third tax year shall be taxed at a rate of 2 119 percent, and any remaining income shall be taxed pursuant to 120
chapter 220. 121 4. The first $1 million of an eligible new business’s 122 income in the business’s fourth tax year shall be taxed at a 123 rate of 3 percent, and any remaining income shall be taxed 124 pursuant to
chapter 220. 125 5. Any income of an eligible new business after the fourth 126 tax year shall be taxed pursuant to
chapter 220. 127 (
b) The Department of Revenue may adopt rules to administer 128 this subsection. 129
Section
Section 443.31, Florida Statutes, is created to 130 read: 131 443.31 Self-Employment Assistance Program.— 132
(1) The Self-Employment Assistance Program is created 133 within the Department of Economic Opportunity. The purpose of 134 the program is to authorize an individual receiving benefits 135 under this
chapter to retain his or her eligibility while the 136 individual works toward establishing a business in this state 137 which will serve as the full-time employer of the individual. 138 (2)(
a) An individual may apply on a form prescribed by the 139 department for approval to participate in the program. The 140 application must include the projected start-up costs for the 141 applicant’s business, why the applicant believes there is a 142 demand for the business’s product, the business’s target 143 customer base, and the methods and strategies the applicant 144 plans to use to market the business. 145
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b) To be eligible for the program, an individual must: 146 1. Be receiving benefits under this chapter; 147 2. Be likely to exhaust his or her benefits before finding 148 employment; and 149 3. Have at least 18 weeks of benefit eligibility remaining. 150
(3) If an individual is approved to participate in the 151 program, he or she must work on a full-time basis toward 152 starting a business in this state, including, but not limited 153 to, participating in training and activities, such as business 154 counseling, which are required by department rule. An individual 155 who fails to meet the requirements of this subsection is 156 disqualified for benefits for the week in which the failure 157 occurs.
For the purposes of this subsection, the term “full -time 158 basis” means the amount of time necessary each week, as 159 determined by the department, to establish a business tha t will 160 serve as the full-time occupation of the individual. 161
(4) An individual participating in the program is exempt 162 from the work search requirements under s. 443.091 and from 163 being disqualified for benefits under s. 443.101(2) for failing 164 to apply for or accept suitable work. 165
(5) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), if an 166 individual is ineligible for benefits under this
chapter at any 167 time while participating in the program, the individual is 168 disqualified from the program. 169
(6) The department shall adopt rules to administer this 170 section. 171
Section
Section 542.335, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 172
Section 6. Paragraph (
a) of subsection (5) of
section 173 445.004, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 174
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1570 35-00384A-22 20221570__ Page 7 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 445.004 CareerSource Florida, Inc., and the state board; 175 creation; purpose; membership; duties and powers. — 176
(5) The state board has all the powers and authority not 177 explicitly prohibited by statute which are necessary or 178 convenient to carry out and effectuate its purposes as 179 determined by statute, Pub. L. No. 113-128, and the Governor, as 180 well as its functions, duties, and responsibilities, including, 181 but not limited to, the following: 182 (
a) Serving as the state’s workforce development board 183 pursuant to Pub. L. No. 113-128. Unless otherwise required by 184 federal law, at least 90 percent of workforce development 185 funding must go toward direct customer service, and 5 percent of 186 workforce development funding must go to support individuals 187 starting new businesses or to businesses established within the 188 previous 5 years and whose principal place of business is in 189 this state. 190
Section
Section 687.21, Florida Statutes, is created to 191 read: 192 687.21 Confessions of judgment prohibited for small 193 business loans.—A lender, regardless of whether the lender is 194 based in this state, may not require a small business based in 195 this state to sign a confession of judgment as a condition for 196 receiving a loan. For the purposes of this section, the term 197 “small business” has the same meaning as in s. 445.014(4). 198