Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida businesses, including doctors’ offices and hospitals, could be forced to accept cash payments from their customers or face hefty fines under a bill (HB 35) filed Monday in the House for consideration in the 2024 Session.
Filed by Rep. Joel Rudman, HB 35 requires businesses “operating at a fixed, permanent physical premises, from a vehicle or other mobile space, or from a temporary physical premises” to accept cash payment for the transaction of any tangible goods or services.
The cash requirement — which includes coin and currency — does not apply to sales conducted via the internet or through telephone sales.
The bill does not apply to parking garages. It also does not apply to single transactions of $5,000 or more, or to services provided by lawyers, architects, engineers, financial advisers, insurance agents, interior designers, software developers, and management or other consultants.
A physician in Navarre, Rudman excluded from the definition of consultants licensed medical or allied health care practitioners, meaning they are subject to the mandate to accept cash payment for services.
“While we appreciate the good intention of the bill, we are concerned with medical offices have to maintain large sums of cash on premises,” said Jacksonville lawyer and health care lobbyist Christopher Nuland. “We look forward to working through these issues with the sponsor.”
The bill would authorize the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to levy a $2,500 fine against companies that refuse to accept cash. The fine would double to $5,000 for a second violation and would increase to $10,000 for repeated violations.
5 comments
JD
September 11, 2023 at 4:00 pm
This is so guns and ammo or other potentially nefarious purchases can be hidden.
Refuse. If they are going to take away a businesses right to commerce in their way, do not comply – just like anti-maskers.
My Take
September 11, 2023 at 5:21 pm
Why back in the day–with real silver, and even gold coins!–you could demand bitin’ money, specie, and know you were getting real value.
Pam
September 12, 2023 at 9:00 am
Yes, real money not plastic!
Marcene Kreifels
September 12, 2023 at 9:26 am
Patients do not carry large sums of cash, which is why they mostly use credit cards and write checks. If not, the kindly asks the office if they could pay at their follow up visit. Mandating medical offices to accept cash only will undoubtedly result in patients leaving office without paying anything after being treated, or worse, being told they cannot be seen unless they have cash, and possibly be forced to pay before being treated. Medical offices’ expenses will increase with resources needed to collect said payments, as not all patients have bank accounts or emails, nor do they even have assets to place on liens. Some physician offices may even have to invest in vaults to store the cash or make bank deposit more frequently. It’s bad enough medical offices have to wait to get paid, and oftentimes not paid at all by a few, but large, commercial insurance, and others. To exclude other professional business in this bill is totally discriminating. I would like to know the reasons behind this bill as to why physicians in their medical offices are the target of this bill, or have I misinterpreted this news article.
Dona G Musitano
September 12, 2023 at 9:54 pm
They are not saying CASH ONLY. They are saying these businesses must accept cash if the customer or client wants to pay in cash. This is for those who do not want a record of their transaction on any digital files.
It allows the Black & Grey Markets to exist. Transactions that can’t be traced. You know, the private stuff. No one else’s beeswax. I remember a time when the government hoped to shut down the Black market by eliminating cash altogether. So everything could be traced.
Funny how deep the corruption has gone. Now they want to protect the underground transactions. LMAO.
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