AI-assisted research summary: Counties and municipalities may not pass or enforce local rules that regulate financial or lending activities, and financial institutions must notify the office if local investigations or proceedings are started against them.
655.017 Local regulation preempted.—(1) A county or municipality may not enact or enforce a resolution, ordinance, or rule that regulates financial or lending activities, including a resolution, ordinance, or rule that disqualifies persons from doing business with a county or municipality based on lending interest rates, or that imposes reporting requirements or other obligations regarding the financial services or lending practices of persons or entities, and subsidiaries or affiliates thereof which:(a) Are subject to the jurisdiction of the office pursuant to the financial institutions codes; (b) Are subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the National Credit Union Administration, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; (c) Originate, purchase, sell, assign, secure, or service property interests or obligations created by financial transactions or loans made, executed, or originated by persons referred to in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) which assist or facilitate such transactions; (d) Are chartered by the United States Congress to engage in secondary market mortgage transactions; or (e) Are acting on behalf of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. (2) This section does not prevent a county or municipality from engaging in a civil investigation, initiating an administrative proceeding, or commencing a civil proceeding to determine compliance with or to enforce a state law, a rule or order of a state agency, or an ordinance or rule of a county or municipality which is not preempted pursuant to this section. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a financial institution shall notify the office of any civil investigation or administrative or civil proceeding initiated by a county or municipality in accordance with s. 655.948. The office shall have sole and exclusive jurisdiction to initiate appropriate administrative or civil proceedings to enforce such laws, rules, or orders if the office determines that such investigation or proceeding:(a) Is based on a local resolution, ordinance, or rule that is preempted pursuant to subsection (1); or (b) Directly and specifically regulates the manner, content, or terms and conditions of a financial transaction or account related thereto, that a financial institution is authorized to engage in, or prevents, significantly interferes with, or alters the exercise of powers granted to a financial institution under the financial institutions codes or any applicable federal law or regulation. (4) This section does not limit or restrict the powers of the Department of Legal Affairs or the law enforcement agencies of this state to commence a civil or criminal action, as applicable.