House Staff Analysis: PCS for HB 6077 Assets of an Estate in Administration (Insurance & Banking Subcommittee)

Summary

A House of Representatives staff analysis dated March 8, 2021 of the PCS for HB 6077, Assets of an Estate in Administration, sponsored by the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee. The analysis explains that s. 69.031, F.S., lets a court order estate assets placed with a bank, trust company, or savings and loan association that is a member of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. It states that the FSLIC was abolished in 1989 and that the bill removes the reference to it along with other obsolete language. The section directory lists an amendment to s. 69.031, F.S. and an effective date of July 1, 2021. The fiscal analysis reports no impact on state or local government and an indeterminate but likely positive impact on the private sector.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

                                    HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #:     PCS for HB 6077 Assets of an Estate in Administration
SPONSOR(S): Insurance & Banking Subcommittee
TIED BILLS:       IDEN./SIM. BILLS:

  REFERENCE                                                       ACTION                   ANALYST                STAFF DIRECTOR or
                                                                                                                  BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF

  Orig. Comm.: Insurance & Banking Subcommittee                                            Hinshelwood            Luczynski

                                                        SUMMARY ANALYSIS
A court having jurisdiction over the administration of an estate may order that part or all of the personal assets
of the estate be placed with a financial institution designated by the court. Currently, the financial institutions
where a court may order assets placed are “a bank, trust company, or savings and loan association (which
savings and loan association is a member of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and doing
business in this state).” The Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) was created in 1934 in
order to insure deposits of savings and loan associations. However, the FSLIC was abolished in 1989 on the
heels of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Savings and loan associations are now insured by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as are commercial banks.

The bill removes a statutory reference to the FSLIC along with other obsolete language.

The bill has no impact on local governments or the state. The bill has an indeterminate but likely positive
impact on the private sector.

The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2021.




This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: pcs6077.IBS
DATE: 3/8/2021
                                                     FULL ANALYSIS

                                              I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS

    A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
        Background

        When a court administers an estate, such as in probate1 or in a guardianship,2 there is often an
        individual appointed by the court to assist with the administration. Depending on the context, such
        individual will have varying titles such as guardian, curator, executor, administrator, trustee, or receiver.
        Although the individual may be required by statute or the court to carry a bond,3 s. 69.031, F.S.,
        provides that a court may nevertheless order that part or all of the personal assets of the estate be
        placed with a financial institution designated by the court.4 This may occur if the size of the bond
        required is burdensome, or for other cause.5 After the assets have been placed with the financial
        institution, and receipt for the assets is given by the financial institution, the court must waive the bond
        or reduce it so that the bond only applies to the estate remaining in the hands of the individual
        appointed to assist with administration of the estate.6

        Currently, the financial institutions where a court may order assets placed are “a bank, trust company,
        or savings and loan association (which savings and loan association is a member of the Federal
        Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and doing business in this state).”7

        The Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) was created by the National Housing
        Act of 1934 in order to insure deposits of savings and loan associations.8 Savings and loan
        associations may be chartered both under federal authority9 or state authority10 and were created to
        primarily provide depository services and make home loans. Today, the rights and privileges of savings
        and loan associations are substantially similar to, and in some cases the same as, commercial banks.11
        The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation now insures savings and loan associations, as well as
        commercial banks.12 The FSLIC, the entity that initially insured savings and loan associations, was
        abolished in 1989 on the heels of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.13

        As previously stated, s. 69.031, F.S., permits a court to place assets in a savings and loan association
        that is a member of the FSLIC, a now obsolete entity.

        Effect of the Bill


1 Probate is a court-supervised process for identifying and gathering the assets of a deceased person (decedent), paying

the decedent’s debts, and distributing the decedent’s assets to his or her beneficiaries. The Florida Bar, Consumer
Pamphlet: Probate in Florida, https://www.floridabar.org/public/consumer/pamphlet026/ (last visited Mar. 6, 2021).
2 A guardianship is a legal proceeding in the circuit courts of Florida in which a guardian is appointed to exercise the legal

rights of an incapacitated person. The Florida Bar, Consumer Pamphlet: What is Guardianship?,
https://www.floridabar.org/public/consumer/pamphlet030/ (last visited Mar. 6, 2021).
3 See, e.g., fiduciary bonds in formal probate proceedings (ss. 733.402 – 733.406, F.S.); fiduciary bonds in guardianship

(ss. 744.2003, 744.351, and 744.619, F.S.).
4 S. 69.031(1), F.S.
5 Id.
6 S. 69.031(1) and (2), F.S.
7 S. 69.031(1), F.S. (emphasis added).
8 Pub.L. 73–479, https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/48/STATUTE-48-Pg1246.pdf.
9 Home Owners' Loan Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1461 et seq.
10 In Florida, chs. 665 and 667, F.S., comprise authority to charter a savings and loan association. However, Florida

currently has no savings and loan associations chartered under its authority.
11 Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Interpretive Letter #1169 (June 30, 2020),

https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-actions/2020/int1169.pdf (last visited Mar. 6,
2021).
12 12 U.S.C. § 1814(a).
13 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, Pub.L. 101-73,

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-103/pdf/STATUTE-103-Pg183.pdf (last visited Mar. 6, 2021).
STORAGE NAME: pcs6077.IBS                                                                                              PAGE: 2
DATE: 3/8/2021
       The bill removes a statutory reference to the FSLIC along with other obsolete language.

   B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
       Section 1. Amends s. 69.031, F.S., relating to designated financial institutions for assets in hands of
                  guardians, curators, administrators, trustees, receivers, or other officers.

       Section 2. Provides an effective date of July 1, 2021.

                            II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT

   A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:

       1. Revenues:
           None.

       2. Expenditures:
           None.

   B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

       1. Revenues:
           None.

       2. Expenditures:
           None.

   C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
       The bill broadens access to financial services by allowing a court to place assets of an estate in a
       savings and loan association without reference to the savings and loan association having insurance
       through the FSLIC, a now obsolete entity. The impact to the private sector, while likely positive, is
       indeterminate.

   D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
       None.

                                               III. COMMENTS

   A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:

       1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
          Not Applicable. This bill does not appear to affect county or municipal governments

       2. Other:
          None.

   B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
       None.

   C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
       None.


STORAGE NAME: pcs6077.IBS                                                                                PAGE: 3
DATE: 3/8/2021
                            IV. AMENDMENTS/ COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES




STORAGE NAME: pcs6077.IBS                                                  PAGE: 4
DATE: 3/8/2021


File and source

File

2021_3100_insurance-banking-subcommittee_proposed-committee-bill-analyses_fn-pcs6077-ibs.pdf

Size

134,062 bytes

SHA-256

fc4a6f5040fef0a5ab0958cddf5ee5befdcd37922906539cab40f8bb3d45a8ac

Our copy

2021_3100_insurance-banking-subcommittee_proposed-committee-bill-analyses_fn-pcs6077-ibs.pdf

Original

www.flhouse.gov