24 percent of consumers were not sure whether their credit card provided insurance coverage when renting a car.

An auto guide published by the office of CFO Alex Sink, seeks to give some guidance to clueless consumers. Included in a list of cautionary tips is the advisory that Florida law allows a rental agency to require that the lessee's insurance coverage is primary, and some coverages offered by rental agencies may already be included in the lessee's personal policy or through their credit cards. Throughout the manual, motorists are advised to read their personal policy and check with their insurance agent to determine what is covered and what is not.

Toni Germinario, managing director of Insurance Agency Operations at AAA Auto Club South, echoes Sink's “check with your agent” mantra. “Rental cars in Florida are a little strange,” she says, with no small degree of understatement.

State Farm, Florida's largest auto insurer with 2.8 million policies in force, is “known for offering an excellent auto policy,” says Spokesperson Michal Connolly. “Policy specifics vary, but in general, State Farm policies are one of the few that do cover rental cars. For instance, the policy generally pays for a rental car if you are unfortunate enough to wreck your own car. And if you get a rental car and are really unfortunate and wreck that too, it usually covers that damage, also.” Connolly ended with the usual caveat that individual policies will have certain deductibles, there are some built-in time limits depending on the specific policy, and people should always check with their agent.

Rental Costs Big Bucks

Getting the facts straight on insurance is just part of the rental battle. Consumers also have to wade through a list of fees, taxes, and surcharges before reaching their final destination – the bottom-line cost.

Florida has no state income tax, and seems determined to make up for it in other ways. A review of a recent bill for a car rented at the Tallahassee airport included the following taxes and fees (The concession recovery fee can vary by location, as well as the discretionary tax, but the other taxes are common on every bill):

1. A $2.00 per day rental car surcharge fee (on the first 30 days of the rental or lease)

2. A 10 percent concession recovery fee

3. Sales and use state tax (six percent), plus local discretionary surtax (1.5 percent for Leon County).

Surcharge fee – Section 212.0606 (2)(a), Florida Statutes provides, “Notwithstanding the provisions of section 212.20, and less costs of administration, 80 percent of the proceeds of this surcharge shall be deposited in the State Transportation Trust Fund, 15.75 percent of the proceeds of this surcharge shall be deposited in the Tourism Promotional Trust Fund created in s. 288.122, and 4.25 percent of the proceeds of this surcharge shall be deposited in the Florida International Trade and Promotion Trust Fund.”

Rental car surcharge collections during FY 2006 and FY2007 were approximately $148 million for each year. The 80 percent earmarked to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) totaled $108.4 million in FY07, about two percent of FDOT's overall budget.

The Department of Revenue (DOR) administrative charge has been $52,218 (about 1/3 of one percent of these collections) over the past few years. Fees retained by the DOR are used to cover operational costs.

2.Concession recovery fee – airports charge rental car companies for their access to the airport. On average, concession recovery fees range from eight-10 percent and are charged in lieu of rent. This fee does not show up as a separate line item on a bill, but is included in the rental car company's fees to the customer.

3.Sales and use tax – A six percent state tax, plus a local discretionary surtax is calculated based on the entire bill. The rates for local discretionary surtaxes vary by county.

While fees, taxes and surcharges from any transaction are fodder for discussion and dissension, the millions that flow into the Transportation Trust Fund have generated much debate in recent years.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce, along with other groups, says it fights a never-ending battle to “save” the transportation trust fund from predatory legislators. In October 2005, Florida Chamber of Commerce President Frank Ryll wrote his members: “What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, we were still in shock at the brazen raid of $200 million from the state's Transportation Trust Fund. These were taxes paid by the traveling public in Florida for a very specific purpose–transportation maintenance and improvements. Using those dollars for any other purpose was wrong. Those funds, which were confiscated under the guise of filling immediate budgetary shortfalls, didn't even come from general revenue sources. They were collected from transportation 'user fees'–gasoline taxes and tag fees–and did not contribute one dime to the state's budgetary problems.”

Ryll reminded his members that not long after that 2003 Session money grab, “whispers around the Capitol could again be heard that the raiders would return in 2004.” After much lobbying by the Chamber and others, legislators agreed to drop their proposed $100 million Transportation Trust Fund diversion from the 2004-05 budget.

“While the fund was safe for another year, all revenues earmarked for transportation were not. On April 1, the Florida House of Representatives approved a one-month, 10-cent suspension of Florida's state gas tax,” Ryll wrote. “The $80-90 million proposal would have had a devastating impact on Florida's transportation system, economy, and quality of life. Ultimately, the House and Senate agreed to cutting eight cents off the state gas tax for August and covering the $56 million cost with, ironically, a transfer from the General Fund to the State Transportation Trust Fund.”

Jennifer Davis, communications director of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, reported that this defense of the trust fund is a “recurring event. Every time there is a budget issue, they turn to the trust funds to alleviate the problem.”

At least Florida legislators were trying to transfer the funds to public budget items. In Arizona, the privately owned Cardinals football team is playing in a new stadium built with the help of funds collected via a 3.25 percent surtax on all car rental charges.