Peter Schorsch
Sarasota Sen. Greg Steube and Fort Myers Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen, both Republicans, are sponsoring bills this year that aim to put franchisees on a level playing field with their franchisor.
“Florida’s hard-working franchise owners typically invest more than $375,000 of their own personal savings in order to pursue their dream of owning a small business, and we must do our part to help protect these investments in our local communities,” Steube said. “These dedicated small business owners employ more than 404,000 Floridians, and I am proud today to do my part to file common sense legislation that would protect the livelihoods of these men and women.”
“We simply want to level the playing field for these small business owners,” Fitzenhagen said. “The unfortunate truth is that many of these large, out-of-state corporations are taking advantage of the tremendous imbalance in the franchisor-franchisee relationship. This is wrong, and this bill provides an opportunity to level the playing field.”
SB 1076 and HB 1219, also known as the “Small Business Parity Act,” would protect such business owners from having their franchise yanked away without good cause, such as the franchisee being convicted of a felony or the bulk of the franchise’s assets being signed over to a creditor.
Additionally, the bills shield franchisees from limits on selling their business or passing their franchise on to an heir, and would give franchise owners the right to pursue legal disputes against their franchisors in Florida court and under Florida law and also states.
If passed and signed into law, the proposals wouldn’t alter franchise deals currently in place, but would apply to all new franchises and upon the renewal of existing franchises.
The measure has the backing of The Coalition of Franchisee Associations, or CFA, a trade group for franchisees.
“I wish Florida would offer me the same protections that more than 20 other states give to their small business owners,” said Terry Hutchinson, a Florida franchise owner. “Franchise owners like me support our local economies, hire people from our communities, and pay state taxes — we deserve a stable relationship with the corporate brands, so we can both grow and foster Florida’s economy.”
CFA says there are more than 40,000 locations owned and operated by franchisees in Florida and such businesses are responsible for staffing their stores and also shelling out money for sales and property taxes, while the corporate brands they represent employ few Floridians directly.
Neither SB 1076 nor HB 1219 have been heard in committee.
