State Senator Rene Garcia (R-FL) has recently taken up sponsoring Cashless Zones Legislation. With recent changes among small businesses in Florida, this bill is intended to make it easier to be a patron a small businesses.
There is no question the COVID-19 Pandemic changed how everyday interactions happen. Once the significant change was the practical abandonment of paying with physical cash, and only paying via credit card, or online. This legislative measure attempts to correct this problem by mandating Miami-Dade retail businesses to accept cash payments, as well as non-physical payments.
The bill also ensures that certain protected classes on the basis of age, disability, and race can participate in their respective local economies. Any violations of the legislation would be enforced by a civil penalty upon violation.
What could be problematic for the bill is the recent push, especially in Miami, to fully endorsed cryptocurrency as the common currency. While this is a national phenomenon, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R-FL) has been a vocal advocate of making a permanent shift to cryptocurrency for the Miami area.
Earlier this year, Garcia had to answer to controversy when the Miami-Dade Republican Party reportedly had members of far-right groups like the Proud Boys join it's ranks. The alleged problem has since died down.
