Registration service charge.

(1)(a) A service charge of $2.50 shall be imposed on each application that is handled in connection with original issuance, duplicate issuance, or transfer of a license plate, mobile home sticker, or validation sticker or with transfer or duplicate issuance of a registration certificate. This service charge shall be retained by the department or by the tax collector, as the case may be, as other fees accruing to those offices.

(b) A service charge of $1 shall also be imposed for the issuance of each license plate validation sticker, vessel decal, and mobile home sticker issued from an automated vending facility or printer dispenser machine. This service charge is payable to the department and shall be used to provide for automated vending facilities or printer dispenser machines that are used to dispense such stickers and decals by each tax collector’s or license tag agent’s employee.

(c) The tax collector may impose an additional service charge of up to 50 cents on any transaction specified in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b), or on any transaction specified in s. 319.32(2)(a) or s. 328.48 if such transaction occurs at a tax collector’s branch office.

(2) The service charges shall be collected by the department on all applications handled directly from its office; and the proceeds thereof, together with any fees returned to it by the tax collector, shall be paid into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund. No tax collector, deputy tax collector, or employee of the state or any county shall charge, collect, or receive any fee or compensation for services performed as notary public in connection with or incidental to the issuance of license plates or titles. The provisions of this subsection and of s. 116.38(2) prohibiting the charging, collecting, or receiving of notary public fees do not apply to any privately owned license plate agency appointed by the county manager of a charter county which has an appointed tax collector.

(3) If a tax collector elects to exercise his or her authority to contract with a license plate agent, the tax collector may determine additional service charges to be collected by privately owned license plate agents approved by the tax collector. Additional service charges must be fully itemized and disclosed to the person paying the service charges to the license plate agent. The license plate agent shall enter into a contract with the tax collector regarding the disclosure of additional service charges.

(4) The department may absorb all or any portion of any interchange, assessment, chargeback, authorization or settlement or equivalent fees charged by financial institutions relating to a credit or debit card transaction. The department may request approval to establish additional budget authority to pay additional fees related to credit and debit card transactions pursuant to s. 216.177.