HB 247

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to disabled parking permits; amending s.
3318.18, F.S.; providing for a parking enforcement
4specialist or agency to validate compliance for the
5disposition of a citation issued for illegally parking in
6a space provided for people who have disabilities;
7amending s. 320.0848, F.S.; revising requirements for
8renewal or replacement of a disabled parking permit;
9prohibiting applying for a new disabled parking permit for
10a certain period of time upon a second finding of guilt or
11plea of nolo contendere to unlawful use of such permit;
12requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
13Vehicles to audit disabled parking permit holders, verify
14certain information, and invalidate the permit of a
15deceased permitholder; directing the department to
16implement a means for reporting abuse of disabled parking
17permits; providing for the department to conduct a public
18awareness campaign; providing an effective date.
19
20Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22     Section 1.  Subsection (6) of section 318.18, Florida
23Statutes, is amended to read:
24     318.18  Amount of penalties.-The penalties required for a
25noncriminal disposition pursuant to s. 318.14 or a criminal
26offense listed in s. 318.17 are as follows:
27     (6)  One hundred dollars or the fine amount designated by
28county ordinance, plus court costs for illegally parking, under
29s. 316.1955, in a parking space provided for people who have
30disabilities. However, this fine will be waived if a person
31provides to the law enforcement agency or parking enforcement
32specialist or agency that issued the citation for such a
33violation proof that the person committing the violation has a
34valid parking permit or license plate issued pursuant to s.
35316.1958, s. 320.0842, s. 320.0843, s. 320.0845, or s. 320.0848
36or a signed affidavit that the owner of the disabled parking
37permit or license plate was present at the time the violation
38occurred, and that such a parking permit or license plate was
39valid at the time the violation occurred. The law enforcement
40officer or agency or the parking enforcement specialist or
41agency, upon determining that all required documentation has
42been submitted verifying that the required parking permit or
43license plate was valid at the time of the violation, must sign
44an affidavit of compliance. Upon provision of the affidavit of
45compliance and payment of a dismissal fee of up to $7.50 to the
46clerk of the circuit court, the clerk shall dismiss the
47citation.
48     Section 2.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (1), paragraph (e)
49of subsection (2), and subsection (8) of section 320.0848,
50Florida Statutes, are amended, subsections (9) and (10) are
51renumbered as subsections (11) and (12), respectively, and new
52subsections (9) and (10) are added to that section, to read:
53     320.0848  Persons who have disabilities; issuance of
54disabled parking permits; temporary permits; permits for certain
55providers of transportation services to persons who have
56disabilities.-
57     (1)
58     (d)  Beginning October 1, 2011 April 1, 1999, the
59department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall renew the
60disabled parking permit of any person certified as permanently
61disabled on the application if the person applies for renewal in
62person and provides a current certificate of disability pursuant
63to this subsection.
64     (2)  DISABLED PARKING PERMIT; PERSONS WITH LONG-TERM
65MOBILITY PROBLEMS.-
66     (e)  To obtain a replacement for a disabled parking permit
67that has been lost or stolen, a person must appear in person,
68submit an application on a form prescribed by the department,
69and must pay a replacement fee in the amount of $1.00, to be
70retained by the issuing agency. If the person submits with the
71application a police report documenting that the permit was
72stolen, there is no replacement fee.
73     (8)  A law enforcement officer or a parking enforcement
74specialist may confiscate the disabled parking permit from any
75person who fraudulently obtains or unlawfully uses such a
76permit. A law enforcement officer or a parking enforcement
77specialist may confiscate any disabled parking permit that is
78expired, reported as lost or stolen, or defaced, or that does
79not display a personal identification number.
80     (a)  Beginning April 1, 1999, The permit number of each
81confiscated permit must be submitted to the department of
82Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the fact that the permit
83has been confiscated must be noted on the permitholder's record.
84If two permits issued to the same person have been confiscated,
85the department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall refer
86the information to the central abuse hotline of the Department
87of Children and Family Services for an investigation of
88potential abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the permit owner.
89     (b)  A confiscated permit must be held as evidence until a
90judicial decision about the violation has been made. After a
91finding of guilt has been made or a plea of nolo contendere has
92been entered, the charging agency shall destroy the confiscated
93permit. A confiscated permit may not, under any circumstances,
94be returned to its registered owner after a finding of guilt has
95been made or a plea of nolo contendere has been entered in
96court. If a finding of guilt has been made or a plea of nolo
97contendere has been entered for fraudulent or other unlawful use
98of a disabled parking permit after a prior finding of guilt or
99plea of nolo contendere for fraudulent or other unlawful use of
100a disabled parking permit issued to the same registered permit
101owner, the permit owner may not apply for a new disabled parking
102permit for a period of 4 years. The permit number of each
103destroyed permit must be reported to the department, and the
104department must record in the real-time disabled parking permit
105database that the permit has been invalidated.
106     (9)(a)  At least once every 6 months, the department shall
107randomly audit disabled parking permit holders to ensure that
108all required criteria for the ownership and possession of such
109permit are still valid. As a component of the audit, the
110department shall, at a minimum:
111     1.  Review death records maintained by the Department of
112Health to ensure that the permitholder has not died.
113     2.  Review the number of times the permit has been
114confiscated for fraudulent or unlawful use, if at all.
115     3.  Determine if the permit has ever been reported lost or
116stolen and, if so, determine the current status of the permit.
117     (b)  At least annually, the department shall verify that
118the owner of each disabled parking permit has not died. Such
119verification shall include, but is not limited to, consultation
120with death records maintained by the Department of Health. If a
121disabled parking permit owner is found to be deceased, the
122department shall promptly invalidate the decedent's disabled
123parking permit.
124     (10)  The department shall develop and implement a means by
125which persons can report abuse of disabled parking permits by
126telephone hotline or by submitting a form online or by mail.
127     Section 3.  (1)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
128Vehicles shall make a public announcement and conduct a public
129awareness campaign regarding the abuses of disabled parking
130permits and the burdens such abuses inflict on disabled persons
131throughout the state. The public awareness campaign shall also
132inform the public about:
133     (a)  The requirement to appear in person to renew an
134expired disabled parking permit or replace a lost or stolen
135disabled parking permit.
136     (b)  The implementation of the new periodic disabled
137parking permit audit system.
138     (c)  The implementation of the new complaint process for
139reporting abuses of disabled parking permits.
140     (2)  The public awareness campaign shall commence within 30
141days after the effective date of this act and shall continue for
142not less than 6 months.
143     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.