Issues Newsletter

Legislative Update

The 2017 Session of the Florida Legislature will begin on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 and run for 60 days.  The Legislature will be considering a number of bills that could impact Florida’s business community.  A few of these proposals are summarized below.  We will provide a complete wrap-up of the Session in the May newsletter.

Employment Issues:

Senate Bill 160 (Rodriguez) and House Bill 109 (Jacquet) would increase the state minimum wage to $1 an hour over what the normal increase for the rate of inflation for 2017 will be, and $1.50 plus the increase in the rate of inflation for 2018 and each year after that until 2022.

Senate Bill 410 (Stewart) and House Bill 319 (Berman) would prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on an employee’s gender identity or expression, and the bill would prevent a prospective employee from disclosing prior employment wages or benefits.

Senate Bill 1148 (Rader) would allow for an alternative base period to be used to calculate eligibility for re-employment assistance.  The bill would also require employers to provide wage information to the state and would provide penalties for employers that do not respond timely.

House Bill 443 (Gruters) would require all employers to verify the identification of their newly-hired employees using the E-Verify system through the federal government.

Taxes:

Senate Bills 434 (Hukill) and 838 (Perry) House Bill 223 (Ahern) would reduce the sales tax on commercial leases.

Senate Bill 490 (Perry) would create a sales tax holiday for clothing, school supplies and personal computers from 12:01 am August 4, 2017 to 11:59 pm August 13, 2017.  The tax holiday would exempt certain clothing valued at $100 or less from state sales tax.  The tax holiday would include school supplies valued at $15 or less and personal computers valued at $1,000 or less.

Regulation:

Senate Bill 162 (Rodriguez) and House Bill 93 (Richardson) would allow local governments to create a pilot program to regulate or ban the use of disposable plastic shopping bags.

House Bill 17 (Fine) would prevent local governments from imposing regulations on businesses after July 1, 2017.

Is Your Business Insured Through FUBA Workers’ Comp?

If your business gets its workers’ compensation insurance through FUBA Workers’ Comp, we offer 3 ways to pay your monthly premium payment.

 Online

FUBAworks, our online payment program, is completely secure and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.­ This is the quickest and best way to make payments.­ With FUBAworks you can set up an online account using your bank account information that will authorize us to debit your account for the amount of your invoice.  It is easy to get started – just visit FUBAworks.com and click on “Sign up for an account.” ­­ Please note: Enrolling in FUBAworks does not mean your bank account will be automatically debited every month. You will need to go online and initiate a payment each month.­­

By Phone

Pay your premium by phone by calling our offices at 888-262-4483, Monday through Thursday 9 am – 5 pm, and Fridays 9 am – 4 pm.­ When you call, we will need the name of the bank, the nine-digit routing number, and the checking account number.

­ By Mail

Mail your monthly payment to our offices at FUBA Workers’ Comp, Post Office Box 1303, Tallahassee, FL 32302-1303.­

Attention Corporations and LLC’s: Reminder to File Your Annual Report

This is just another reminder that it is now time for all Florida Corporations and Limited Liability Companies (LLC’s) to file their Annual Report with the State of Florida.  To maintain an “active status” with the Department of State, corporations and LLC’s must file an Annual Report with the state Division of Corporations by May 1st.

The Annual Report is not a financial statement; its purpose is for you to update or confirm basic information about your company on the Division of Corporations records.  You must file an Annual Report even if no changes need to be made to your company’s information.

You will not receive a notice in the mail from the State of Florida about your Annual Report.  The only reminder that the state will send is an email to the email address the Division of Corporations has on file for you.  The email comes from the Florida Department of State and the subject of the email is “Official 2017 Annual Report Notice for:  [your company name].”  There is a link in the email that takes you directly to the state’s official website at sunbiz.org.

All Annual Reports must be filed online; paper copies are not accepted.

For more information about how to file your Annual Report, you can email the Florida Division of Corporations at corphelp@dos.state.fl.us.  Or, you can call our offices at 800-262-4483 and ask for Karen, Lance or Erin.  Even though the Annual Report is a requirement from the State of Florida (not us), we will try to answer any questions you may have.