Judge strikes down Fla. Cuba travel law

MIAMI, April 14 (UPI) -- A U.S. judge says a Florida state law placing hefty registration fees on travel agencies specializing in trips to Cuba is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge Alan Gold ruled Tuesday that Florida's 2008 Sellers of Travel Act unfairly singles out agencies booking trips to Cuba by requiring them to post up to a $250,000 bond and pay up to $25,000 in registration fees, nearly 10 times the amount required of agencies not selling trips to Cuba, The Miami Herald reported.

The ruling came one day after the Obama administration announced the lifting of some travel restrictions to Cuba, such as allowing exiles to visit the island more than once a year.

"We felt all along that justice would prevail and that the judge would see how irrational and unjust this law was," Armando Garcia, owner of Marazul Charters Travel, told the Herald.

State Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, who sponsored the law, said before the ruling that any decision could potentially be appealed.

"I don't see this ending here," he told the newspaper.