FloridaSB 14522026SenateWALLET

Department of Financial Services

Sponsored By: Keith L. Truenow (Republican)

Signed by Governor

AppropriationBanking and InsuranceAppropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General GovernmentRulesHouse Calendar

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

49 provisions identified: 20 benefits, 9 costs, 20 mixed.

Funeral licensing bans with limited exceptions

Funeral, cemetery, and related-services licensing permanently bars applicants with first-degree felonies, listed felony offenses, or felonies involving moral turpitude. Other felonies bring a 10-year wait; misdemeanors tied to the work bring a 5-year wait. These waits begin after final release from supervision or completion of the sentence. Applicants must show rehabilitation, fitness, and payment of required court-ordered amounts, subject to the law's exceptions. Some can seek a probationary license after half the 10-year wait, with no new qualifying offense during that time. Exceptions address qualifying pardons or restored civil rights and active license holders as of July 1, 2026, whose records the board already considered. Applicants must disclose all felonies, all work-related misdemeanors, and other misdemeanors committed within five years before applying. Applications remain incomplete until required certified court records are supplied.

Property sellers gain price and cancellation protections

Buyers of reported abandoned property must pay at least 70% of its total value within 30 days. Sellers can cancel without penalty or obligation within 15 business days after signing. The written agreement must identify the property, parties, and amounts each receives, using at least 12-point type. Buyers must submit the signed agreement and proof of full payment with their claims. Claimant representatives must use official purchase or recovery agreement forms without changes.

Continued hurricane grants and broader roof help

The low- or moderate-income grant eligibility pathway no longer expires July 1, 2026; applicants must meet state income definitions. Grants can cover roof-to-wall connections, roof-deck attachments, secondary water resistance, and roof-covering replacement recommended by the initial inspection. The state provides $2 for each $1 an applicant contributes, up to $10,000 per project. Low-income applicants can receive up to $10,000 without a match. Grants depend on annual funding and are not guaranteed.

More homeowners can get hurricane inspections

My Safe Florida Home inspections cover attached or detached homes on individual parcels, up to three stories. The home must have a homestead exemption. The law removes the former site-built and owner-occupied requirements for inspections. You can seek another inspection after more than 24 months if the earlier inspection produced no grant payment.

Homeowners face tighter hurricane grant limits

A home's insured value must be $700,000 or less to qualify for a My Safe Florida Home grant. The law removes the exception for low-income applicants. Grant payments cover only improvements identified by the final hurricane mitigation inspection.

Homeowners gain time to finish hurricane projects

My Safe Florida Home recipients have 18 months after grant application approval to finish construction and request a final inspection. This replaces the one-year deadline and optional six-month extension; missing the deadline means abandonment and return of grant money. The Department of Financial Services must give applicants at least 5 business days’ notice before declaring an application abandoned. Applicants who respond within 5 business days after receiving notice and show good cause may submit another application. Alternatively, the department may decide the application is not abandoned.

Investors gain longer account inactivity protections

The owner-activity rule presumes a business ownership interest abandoned five years after the last qualifying owner-initiated activity or communication. Routine automatic reinvestments do not count. Ownership interests and securities accounts avoid abandonment solely for inactivity when holders know the owner's location and meet required checks. Those checks include third-party data matching, successful annual contact, and another account-level sign of owner interest every 10 years. If those requirements fail and the owner's location is unknown, a 10-year rule applies after unsuccessful reasonable search efforts and required notices. That clock runs from the latest sign of interest or undeliverable contact; an owner response before reporting can affect it.

Investors get longer to collect payments

Covered business debt and unpaid investment payments now have five-year abandonment periods, up from three years. For unmatured or unredeemed debt, the clock starts with the latest unclaimed interest payment; bearer and original-issue discount bonds are excluded. For matured or redeemed debt, it starts at maturity or redemption. Dividends, distributions, and other covered sums use their payment or delivery date. Those sums remain unclaimed only if the owner neither collects them nor writes to the business about them during that period.

Owner activity protects unclaimed financial property

Most intangible property is presumed abandoned after 5 years without continued interest, starting when payment is due—even without a demand. Qualifying activity within 5 years protects covered deposits, and recorded contact or presenting dividend payment instruments stops the equity-interest clock. Payment-instrument periods are more than 15 years for travelers’ checks, 7 years for money orders, and 5 years for covered bank checks. Recorded owner or representative contact prevents the 2-year abandonment rule for insurance-reorganization proceeds with incorrect addresses or returned mail. Owners and authorized representatives can show continued interest under these rules.

Owners can search for abandoned property

The Department of Financial Services must maintain a public, searchable website listing apparent owners and explaining how to claim property. The listing requirement covers reported property worth $10 or more; smaller amounts remain recoverable. When the department directly contacts an apparent owner, its notice must match the property type. The notice must explain consequences of not claiming it, including possible sale or disposal.

Public adjusters must answer claim-status requests

Public adjusters, apprentices, and adjusting firms must answer written or electronic claim-status requests within 14 days. A claimant, insured person, or designated representative can make the request. The response must provide specific information, and the response and related information must be recorded in the claim file.

Returned-check borrowers get stronger collection protections

Money services licensees and payday providers must follow Florida rules against abusive, misleading, or unfair collection practices. This applies to checks returned for insufficient funds, closed accounts, or stop-payment orders. Specified federal debt-collection rules also apply when providers use a third-party collector or a name other than their own.

Stronger protections against property recovery misconduct

Lawful charges against abandoned property must be authorized by statute to cover property or account maintenance costs. Illegal or excessive transaction charges are violations without proof they were imposed willfully. Misrepresenting, hiding, or evading required information is a violation without requiring fraud, owner reliance, or damage. Claimant representatives face discipline for employee or agent violations they knew or should have known about. Penalties include registration restrictions, suspension, revocation, reprimands, fines up to $2,000 per act, and limits on employer involvement.

Virtual currency owners get longer inactivity window

Covered virtual currency is presumed unclaimed after seven years without recorded owner contact or interest, up from five years. This applies to currency held or owed by banks, corporations, custodians, exchanges, and other businesses engaged in virtual currency activity.

Special-use homes avoid automatic fire-code reclassification

One- or two-family homes cannot face fire-code reclassification solely for use as qualifying mental-health, migrant, or recovery residences. Mental-health homes must be owned by a tax-exempt charitable nonprofit whose stated purpose includes supporting people with mental-health disorders. They must have 2–4 bedrooms, no more than 6 ambulatory adults, and no more than 2 adults per bedroom. Migrant housing must have a Department of Health permit. Other reasons for reclassification still apply.

Bail bond applicants no longer submit photos

Florida bail bond agent applicants no longer need to submit a recent, full-face credential photo. The requirement to provide a complete set of fingerprints remains unchanged.

Insurance workers get easier transfer proof

Insurance license applicants transferring to Florida can prove good standing through a home-state certification or national insurance licensing database records. The proof must cover the requested type of insurance authority. Good standing no longer has to be tied to when the home-state license was canceled.

Officials' relatives can compete for firefighting jobs

Public officials can hire, promote, or advance relatives as firefighters through a competitive process in a collective bargaining agreement. Officials can also advocate for those actions. This exception applies only to firefighters covered by the law's definition.

Simpler insurance licensing and interstate transfers

Florida's Department of Financial Services must accept the standard uniform application for resident and nonresident insurance agent and adjuster licenses. Agents and all-lines adjusters transferring to Florida can keep their other state's resident license for 30 days. That period starts when their Florida resident license is issued.

Veterans avoid insurance license application fees

Veterans who separated before applying pay no Florida insurance license application filing fee with proof of honorable discharge. The former requirement to apply within 24 months of separation no longer applies. A military record, discharge paper, or separation document can provide the required proof.

Abandoned firearms go to law enforcement

Holders must deliver firearms and ammunition found in abandoned safe-deposit boxes or other safekeeping repositories to law enforcement. Law enforcement handles or disposes of them under state law. The department may assess collector value and sell firearms with apparent historical collector value to federally licensed firearms dealers. If law enforcement sells a firearm, the remaining proceeds go to the State School Fund.

Easier occupancy rules for certain group homes

Single-family and two-family homes do not undergo an occupancy change solely because they become the group housing described here. Mental-health residences must be run by a tax-exempt nonprofit whose stated purpose includes supporting people with mental health disorders. These homes must have 2 to 4 bedrooms and house no more than 6 adults able to walk. They may assign no more than 2 adults per bedroom. Residential migrant housing must have a Florida Department of Health permit.

Reinsurance intermediaries shed specified application requirements

The law removes reinsurance intermediaries from the license categories subject to the specified application and fingerprint-submission requirements. This reduces those requirements for intermediaries applying for a Florida insurance license. It does not eliminate every licensing requirement.

Some documents and securities stay unreported

Holders cannot report documents or writings with little or no commercial value as abandoned property, whether private or not. They also cannot report securities they identify as worthless or not freely transferable. If a security loses both restricted statuses, holders must report and deliver it on the next regular securities reporting date. These exclusions limit which items enter Florida’s property-recovery system and when.

Florida insurance applicants lose residency shortcut

Florida residents holding another state's resident insurance license lose a special route for meeting Florida's residency requirement. This affects applications for general lines, life, and health agent licenses. A clearance letter showing cancellation or conversion of the other license no longer qualifies applicants through that route.

State employees lose twice-monthly pay option

Florida state salary schedules are limited to monthly or every-two-week payments. Twice-monthly payments are no longer authorized. The agency head must request a schedule, and the Governor's executive office and Department of Financial Services must approve it.

Businesses need identification for property claims

Property claims for active or dissolved corporations, other businesses, and trusts must include identification for the person acting for them. The claim needs a readable copy of that person’s valid driver license. The law expressly includes active corporations in these claim requirements.

Insurers must check bail bond appointees

Before appointing a bail bond agent or agency, an insurer's responsible officer must gather investigation and background information. The insurer must also obtain a sworn statement about premiums and outstanding forfeitures or judgments. It must collect other information reasonably required by the Department of Financial Services.

Bankruptcy property buyers face purchase rules

Florida removes the purchase-rule exception for unclaimed property handled through bankruptcy estate representatives or other federally authorized bankruptcy parties. These sales and purchases of Florida-held property must follow the state’s abandoned-property purchase requirements.

Business property buyers face new documentation

Businesses claiming property bought from a large business must submit the full asset purchase agreement and an owner statement. The statement confirms the seller's large-business status and awareness that the state returns property without a fee. A large business has at least $100 million in annual receipts or sales, 100 full-time U.S. employees, or publicly traded equity on an SEC-regulated exchange. For publicly traded sellers, the latest SEC annual report or a link can replace the statement. Requirements cover agreements signed on or after the act's effective date, with exceptions for bankruptcy, dissolution, similar proceedings, and specified grouped-seller agreements.

Claim professionals face registration and activity limits

Claim representatives need department registration and a Florida attorney license, public accountant certification, or Class C private investigator license. Applications require identity, business, electronic-payment details, a notarized signature, and statements about violations during the previous 5 years and disqualifying convictions. Private investigators must also provide their Class C individual and applicable Class A business licenses. After initial registration, representatives must file and obtain payment on at least 10 claims each calendar year. After notice, they have 30 days to show compliance or good cause; otherwise registration is revoked, with reapplication barred for 1 year.

Lost state payment checks get replacements

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer must replace lost or destroyed state payment warrants, with the same validity as the originals. After issuance, owners or their agents or attorneys must submit a sworn description of the warrant and its loss. The Chief Financial Officer may require a bond. If a warrant sent through a state agency is lost before reaching the payee, the agency director submits the sworn statement.

Competing property claims get priority rules

The first complete claim generally has priority when equally entitled claims compete, including multiple claims by the same claimant. In same-day ties, the claimant beats a representative, but a buyer beats the claimant. Among representatives, the lowest fee wins; tied representatives split fees equally. Among buyers, the highest payment to the seller wins; tied buyers split the property equally.

Different deadlines for owners’ unclaimed property

Without qualifying owner interest, unpaid wages and specified government-held property are presumed abandoned after 1 year. Covered fiduciary property has a 5-year period; property under a trust has a 2-year period. Safe-deposit contents are covered 3 years after the rental ends if neither the owner nor an authorized representative claims them. Savings bonds are presumed abandoned 5 years after maturity and the end of interest payments. Reporting covers bonds held by the state or registered to someone whose last known address is in Florida.

Estate documents available, but property deadlines apply

When a holder learns or confirms an owner’s death, property is presumed abandoned 2 years after the death. An authorized representative can prevent this by affirmatively showing continued interest before that deadline. Florida’s Department of Financial Services must provide requested copies of wills, trusts, and related changes found in repository contents it receives. Requesters must supply a certified death certificate or another government-certified record proving the document maker’s death.

Owners can use registered claim helpers

Claimants can use a representative registered with the department to pursue an abandoned-property claim. Registration rules identify Florida attorneys in good standing, Florida-certified public accountants, and licensed private investigators as qualifying professionals. Unregistered locators cannot act as claimant representatives; the definition also excludes non-contingent representatives and fiduciaries. Paid notices, claim help, and agreements to file another person’s claim generally require registration. Exceptions cover specified durable powers of attorney, guardianships, and attorneys or qualified representatives handling certain claim contests or probate matters.

Owners keep rights through property claims

Reported abandoned property remains the owner’s property; Florida holds it as a custodian. Florida can take title only with express legal authority and after reasonable efforts to identify and repay the owner fail. Owners must file a valid claim to establish their right to property held by the department. Records can use any understandable format, including formats read through assistive technology. The department may allow claimants and sellers to electronically sign recovery or purchase agreements using its approved system, without also being apparent owners.

Payday borrowers get limited payment choices

When payday providers allow customers to redeem a check instead of depositing it, they must treat cash and debit payments equally. Customers must pay the outstanding balance and earned fees. Personal checks and credit-card payments cannot be used for redemption.

Property claims gain options and deadlines

The department can let claimant representatives submit claim images electronically, but buyers cannot use this process. Representatives must first receive the originals, attest that images are true copies, and securely retain originals by claim number for inspection. Claimants can withdraw in writing; a representative must submit the claimant's signed authorization stating the reason and acknowledging effects on pending claims. A claim is also withdrawn if no response arrives within 60 days of a written request about errors or omissions.

Property owners get notices before state transfer

After a property's waiting period ends, holders must finish due diligence before reporting and transferring it to state custody. For property worth at least $50, holders must send written notice 90–180 days before reporting when address requirements are met. Owners who elected email delivery can receive email notices under the law's address requirements. For property over $1,000, holders must also send certified mail at least 60 days before reporting to an address not known to be inaccurate. A signed return receipt shows continued interest, but certified-mail costs can be deducted from the property. Holders must sign reports, confirm accuracy and completed due diligence, and transfer property when owners show no continued interest.

Property owners get notices with exceptions

The department must make at least one cost-effective attempt to directly notify owners of reported property worth $50 or more. The rule also covers tangible property and stock when a reported address or taxpayer identification number is available. Named deposit beneficiaries must receive notice for accounts worth at least $50, opened on or after October 1, 1990, with their address recorded. The notification section excludes travelers’ checks, money orders, covered written instruments, and reports lacking information needed to establish ownership. These notice exceptions do not remove the right to claim property.

Returned mail can trigger abandoned shares

A business ownership interest can be presumed abandoned three years after the holder's first-class mail is returned undelivered. If mail is resent within one month and also returned, the three-year clock starts with that second return. Holders that do not mail annually must attempt email contact within three years of the owner's last sign of interest. They must promptly try first-class mail if email details are invalid, delivery fails, or no response arrives within 30 days.

New abandoned-property rules for stock owners

Business ownership interests may be presumed abandoned 2 years after the apparent owner's death, down from 3 years. The holder must establish the death through specified evidence, such as notice from an authorized representative or other reasonable evidence. Securities are excluded from these abandoned-property rules if they cannot be delivered through the specified clearing custodian or lack a transfer agent. Securities are also excluded when a lien, legal hold, or other restriction limits their receipt, transfer, sale, or negotiation. That restriction must be shown in the holder's records or imposed by law.

Insurance workers face stronger exam oversight

Florida must require a new insurance license exam when the law's mandatory grounds apply. Cheating or breaking communicated exam rules counts as failing the exam. The department can also require reexamination on listed discretionary grounds when discipline is not already mandatory. These rules strengthen licensing oversight but add exam requirements for affected workers.

Title insurance exemptions and sales limits

Title insurers acting through designated corporate officers are exempt from the specified licensing and appointment requirements. Florida attorneys in good standing also qualify for the exemption. Employees initiating contact to sell title insurance must be licensed or covered by the law's specified solicitation exemption. A different exemption no longer permits that sales contact.

Financial rules receive required legal approval

The law ratifies listed financial rules about qualified public depositories and gold or silver coin. This approval satisfies an effectiveness condition in a prior law. The act takes effect upon becoming law. The supplied provision does not describe the rules' specific requirements or household costs.

Funeral directors follow insurer role rules

Life insurers can let funeral directors or direct disposers act in specified insurance roles only as the referenced licensing law allows. Covered roles include representatives, adjusters, claim agents, special claim agents, and agents. The law changes the governing cross-reference without specifying a household payment or coverage change.

Property holders face rules and protections

Expanded definitions cover more financial organizations, transfer agents, and people or businesses holding someone else’s property or owing an obligation. Florida custody requires completed owner checks without a response or claim, plus a qualifying legal connection to Florida. Connections include specified Florida addresses, Florida-based holders, unknown-owner cases, and foreign or non-escheat jurisdictions. A partial address counts when it establishes Florida residency at the relevant last-contact or payment-due date. Holders that substantially follow required owner checks and transfer property in good faith gain protection from transfer-related liability and a legal defense.

Providers and insurers get longer dispute deadlines

Health providers have 60 days after notice to challenge a workers’ compensation payment denial or adjustment, up from 45 days. Petitions need supporting records and service on the carrier and listed affected parties by certified mail or a tracked common carrier. Carriers have 45 days after receiving the petition to provide supporting documents, up from 30 days. Carriers that miss this deadline give up their objections.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Keith L. Truenow
Republican • Senate

Cosponsors

Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government
Affiliation unavailable
Banking and Insurance
Affiliation unavailable
Rules
Affiliation unavailable

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 226 • No: 0

Senate vote • 3/12/2026

Senate Floor Vote

Yes: 39 • No: 0

House vote • 3/11/2026

House Floor Vote

Yes: 109 • No: 0

Senate vote • 3/9/2026