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Asian American hotel owners in Florida say new fees approved by the legislature are discriminatory. A group of the hoteliers delivered a letter to Governor Charlie Crist this morning asking him to overturn new fees raising the price of advertising their businesses on state owned signs placed near exit ramps. The fees are going up between 200 and 400 percent. A spokesman for the group Nash Patel says the increase unfairly targets Asian-Americans.

“The fee will impact all business owners, but the vast majority of hotels in the state of Florida are owned by our association, so we feel that it is a direct impact on us,” said Patel.

The hoteliers say the increased fees coupled with a 12 fold increase in the unemployment tax could force layoffs.