Florida Senate - 2013                               CS for SB 62
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Hays
       
       
       
       
       596-00753-13                                            201362c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to low-speed vehicles; amending s.
    3         319.14, F.S.; authorizing the conversion of a vehicle
    4         titled or branded and registered as a low-speed
    5         vehicle to a golf cart; providing procedures;
    6         requiring an affidavit; requiring the Department of
    7         Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to issue a decal;
    8         providing specifications for the decal; providing for
    9         a fee; providing an effective date.
   10  
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Section 319.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   14  read:
   15         319.14 Sale of motor vehicles registered or used as
   16  taxicabs, police vehicles, lease vehicles, rebuilt vehicles,
   17  nonconforming vehicles, custom vehicles, or street rod vehicles;
   18  conversion of low-speed vehicles.—
   19         (1)(a) A person may not knowingly offer for sale, sell, or
   20  exchange any vehicle that has been licensed, registered, or used
   21  as a taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle, or a
   22  vehicle that has been repurchased by a manufacturer pursuant to
   23  a settlement, determination, or decision under chapter 681,
   24  until the department has stamped in a conspicuous place on the
   25  certificate of title of the vehicle, or its duplicate, words
   26  stating the nature of the previous use of the vehicle or the
   27  title has been stamped “Manufacturer’s Buy Back” to reflect that
   28  the vehicle is a nonconforming vehicle. If the certificate of
   29  title or duplicate was not so stamped upon initial issuance
   30  thereof or if, subsequent to initial issuance of the title, the
   31  use of the vehicle is changed to a use requiring the notation
   32  provided for in this section, the owner or lienholder of the
   33  vehicle shall surrender the certificate of title or duplicate to
   34  the department prior to offering the vehicle for sale, and the
   35  department shall stamp the certificate or duplicate as required
   36  herein. When a vehicle has been repurchased by a manufacturer
   37  pursuant to a settlement, determination, or decision under
   38  chapter 681, the title shall be stamped “Manufacturer’s Buy
   39  Back” to reflect that the vehicle is a nonconforming vehicle.
   40         (b) A person may not knowingly offer for sale, sell, or
   41  exchange a rebuilt vehicle until the department has stamped in a
   42  conspicuous place on the certificate of title for the vehicle
   43  words stating that the vehicle has been rebuilt or assembled
   44  from parts, or is a kit car, glider kit, replica, flood vehicle,
   45  custom vehicle, or street rod vehicle unless proper application
   46  for a certificate of title for a vehicle that is rebuilt or
   47  assembled from parts, or is a kit car, glider kit, replica,
   48  flood vehicle, custom vehicle, or street rod vehicle has been
   49  made to the department in accordance with this chapter and the
   50  department has conducted the physical examination of the vehicle
   51  to assure the identity of the vehicle and all major component
   52  parts, as defined in s. 319.30(1), which have been repaired or
   53  replaced. Thereafter, the department shall affix a decal to the
   54  vehicle, in the manner prescribed by the department, showing the
   55  vehicle to be rebuilt.
   56         (c) As used in this section, the term:
   57         1. “Police vehicle” means a motor vehicle owned or leased
   58  by the state or a county or municipality and used in law
   59  enforcement.
   60         2.a. “Short-term-lease vehicle” means a motor vehicle
   61  leased without a driver and under a written agreement to one or
   62  more persons from time to time for a period of less than 12
   63  months.
   64         b. “Long-term-lease vehicle” means a motor vehicle leased
   65  without a driver and under a written agreement to one person for
   66  a period of 12 months or longer.
   67         c. “Lease vehicle” includes both short-term-lease vehicles
   68  and long-term-lease vehicles.
   69         3. “Rebuilt vehicle” means a motor vehicle or mobile home
   70  built from salvage or junk, as defined in s. 319.30(1).
   71         4. “Assembled from parts” means a motor vehicle or mobile
   72  home assembled from parts or combined from parts of motor
   73  vehicles or mobile homes, new or used. “Assembled from parts”
   74  does not mean a motor vehicle defined as a “rebuilt vehicle” in
   75  subparagraph 3., which has been declared a total loss pursuant
   76  to s. 319.30.
   77         5. “Kit car” means a motor vehicle assembled with a kit
   78  supplied by a manufacturer to rebuild a wrecked or outdated
   79  motor vehicle with a new body kit.
   80         6. “Glider kit” means a vehicle assembled with a kit
   81  supplied by a manufacturer to rebuild a wrecked or outdated
   82  truck or truck tractor.
   83         7. “Replica” means a complete new motor vehicle
   84  manufactured to look like an old vehicle.
   85         8. “Flood vehicle” means a motor vehicle or mobile home
   86  that has been declared to be a total loss pursuant to s.
   87  319.30(3)(a) resulting from damage caused by water.
   88         9. “Nonconforming vehicle” means a motor vehicle which has
   89  been purchased by a manufacturer pursuant to a settlement,
   90  determination, or decision under chapter 681.
   91         10. “Settlement” means an agreement entered into between a
   92  manufacturer and a consumer that occurs after a dispute is
   93  submitted to a program, or an informal dispute settlement
   94  procedure established by a manufacturer or is approved for
   95  arbitration before the New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board as
   96  defined in s. 681.102.
   97         11. “Custom vehicle” means a motor vehicle that:
   98         a. Is 25 years of age or older and of a model year after
   99  1948 or was manufactured to resemble a vehicle that is 25 years
  100  of age or older and of a model year after 1948; and
  101         b. Has been altered from the manufacturer’s original design
  102  or has a body constructed from nonoriginal materials.
  103  
  104  The model year and year of manufacture that the body of a custom
  105  vehicle resembles is the model year and year of manufacture
  106  listed on the certificate of title, regardless of when the
  107  vehicle was actually manufactured.
  108         12. “Street rod” means a motor vehicle that:
  109         a. Is of a model year of 1948 or older or was manufactured
  110  after 1948 to resemble a vehicle of a model year of 1948 or
  111  older; and
  112         b. Has been altered from the manufacturer’s original design
  113  or has a body constructed from nonoriginal materials.
  114  
  115  The model year and year of manufacture that the body of a street
  116  rod resembles is the model year and year of manufacture listed
  117  on the certificate of title, regardless of when the vehicle was
  118  actually manufactured.
  119         (2) A person may not knowingly sell, exchange, or transfer
  120  a vehicle referred to in subsection (1) without, before
  121  consummating the sale, exchange, or transfer, disclosing in
  122  writing to the purchaser, customer, or transferee the fact that
  123  the vehicle has previously been titled, registered, or used as a
  124  taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle, is a
  125  vehicle that is rebuilt or assembled from parts, is a kit car,
  126  glider kit, replica, or flood vehicle, or is a nonconforming
  127  vehicle, custom vehicle, or street rod vehicle, as the case may
  128  be.
  129         (3) Any person who, with intent to offer for sale or
  130  exchange any vehicle referred to in subsection (1), knowingly or
  131  intentionally advertises, publishes, disseminates, circulates,
  132  or places before the public in any communications medium,
  133  whether directly or indirectly, any offer to sell or exchange
  134  the vehicle shall clearly and precisely state in each such offer
  135  that the vehicle has previously been titled, registered, or used
  136  as a taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle or
  137  that the vehicle or mobile home is a vehicle that is rebuilt or
  138  assembled from parts, is a kit car, glider kit, replica, or
  139  flood vehicle, or is a nonconforming vehicle, custom vehicle, or
  140  street rod vehicle, as the case may be. A person who violates
  141  this subsection commits a misdemeanor of the second degree,
  142  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
  143         (4) If a certificate of title, including a foreign
  144  certificate, is branded to reflect a condition or prior use of
  145  the titled vehicle, the brand must be noted on the registration
  146  certificate of the vehicle and such brand shall be carried
  147  forward on all subsequent certificates of title and registration
  148  certificates issued for the life of the vehicle.
  149         (5) A person who knowingly sells, exchanges, or offers to
  150  sell or exchange a motor vehicle or mobile home contrary to this
  151  section or any officer, agent, or employee of a person who
  152  knowingly authorizes, directs, aids in, or consents to the sale,
  153  exchange, or offer to sell or exchange a motor vehicle or mobile
  154  home contrary to this section commits a misdemeanor of the
  155  second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
  156  775.083.
  157         (6) A person who removes a rebuilt decal from a rebuilt
  158  vehicle with the intent to conceal the rebuilt status of the
  159  vehicle commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
  160  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
  161         (7) This section applies to a mobile home, travel trailer,
  162  camping trailer, truck camper, or fifth-wheel recreation trailer
  163  only when the mobile home or vehicle is a rebuilt vehicle or is
  164  assembled from parts.
  165         (8) A person is not liable or accountable in any civil
  166  action arising out of a violation of this section if the
  167  designation of the previous use or condition of the motor
  168  vehicle is not noted on the certificate of title and
  169  registration certificate of the vehicle which was received by,
  170  or delivered to, such person, unless the person has actively
  171  concealed the prior use or condition of the vehicle from the
  172  purchaser.
  173         (9) Subsections (1), (2), and (3) do not apply to the
  174  transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle after the motor vehicle
  175  has ceased to be used as a lease vehicle and the ownership has
  176  been transferred to an owner for private use or to the transfer
  177  of ownership of a nonconforming vehicle with 36,000 or more
  178  miles on its odometer, or 34 months whichever is later and the
  179  ownership has been transferred to an owner for private use. Such
  180  owner, as shown on the title certificate, may request the
  181  department to issue a corrected certificate of title that does
  182  not contain the statement of the previous use of the vehicle as
  183  a lease vehicle or condition as a nonconforming vehicle.
  184         (10)(a) A vehicle titled or branded and registered as a
  185  low-speed vehicle may be converted to a golf cart pursuant to
  186  the following:
  187         1. The owner of the converted vehicle must contact the
  188  regional office of the department to verify the conversion,
  189  surrender the registration license plate and the current
  190  certificate of title, and pay the appropriate fee established
  191  under paragraph (b).
  192         2. The owner of the converted vehicle must provide an
  193  affidavit to the department attesting that the vehicle has been
  194  modified to comply with the speed restrictions provided in s.
  195  320.01(42) and acknowledging that the vehicle must be operated
  196  in accordance with s. 316.212, s. 316.2125, s. 316.2126, or s.
  197  316.21265.
  198         3. Upon verification of the conversion, the department
  199  shall note in the vehicle record that the low-speed vehicle has
  200  been converted to a golf cart and shall cancel the certificate
  201  of title and registration of the vehicle.
  202         (b) The department shall establish a fee of $40 to cover
  203  the cost of verification and associated administrative costs for
  204  carrying out its responsibilities under this subsection.
  205         (c) The department shall issue a decal reflecting the
  206  conversion of the vehicle to a golf cart, upon which is clearly
  207  legible the following text: “CONVERTED VEHICLE. Max speed 20
  208  mph.” The decal must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle, so
  209  that the decal is plainly visible.
  210         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.