SB 988 Florida Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Securities

Summary

Securities; Revising the circumstances under which securities transactions are exempt from registration requirements; revising the filing requirements for securities issuers under the Florida Invest Local Exemption law; revising the list of persons who must submit fingerprints for live-scan processing for registration applications; defining the term “restitution order”, etc.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 4, 2025 Last action Apr 24, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

S 988 c1 → S 988 c2 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Florida's securities laws to update definitions, expand registration exemptions for certain investors, revise fingerprinting requirements for dealers and intermediaries, and modify the Securities Guaranty Fund eligibility criteria. The changes aim to modernize regulatory language, align with federal standards, and improve investor protections while maintaining oversight of securities transactions.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of securities exemptions to include additional investor categories and clarifies definitions for various business entities and roles in securities transactions.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'owner' and 'shareholder' to clarify who must submit fingerprints for background checks, and updated definitions for various business entities like limited liability companies and partnerships.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified eligibility criteria for the Securities Guaranty Fund to include restitution orders entered on or after October 1, 2024, and expanded the types of claims eligible for payment.

REQUIREMENT

Revised fingerprinting requirements for dealers and intermediaries to include additional categories of individuals, such as officers and owners with specific ownership percentages, and clarified fee responsibilities for background checks.

EXEMPTIONS

Updated securities registration exemptions to include additional investor categories like family offices and expanded the criteria for eligible privately held companies in merger and acquisition transactions.

TECHNICAL

Made technical corrections to cross-references between statutes and updated section numbers to reflect recent legislative changes.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 18, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Apr 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Fiscal Policy, 04/17/25, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building

upper

Apr 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; YEAS 11 NAYS 0

upper

Apr 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government, 04/10/25, 11:00 am, 412 Knott Building

upper

Mar 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government

upper

Mar 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 5, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Banking and Insurance, 03/10/25, 1:30 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Introduced

upper

Feb 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to Banking and Insurance; Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; Fiscal Policy

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors