The Florida Senate

316.650  Traffic citations.--

(1)(a)  The department shall prepare, and supply to every traffic enforcement agency in this state, an appropriate form traffic citation containing a notice to appear (which shall be issued in prenumbered books with citations in quintuplicate) and meeting the requirements of this chapter or any laws of this state regulating traffic, which form shall be consistent with the state traffic court rules and the procedures established by the department. Upon all future printings of the traffic citation, the form shall include a special box which is to be checked by the law enforcement officer when the officer believes that the traffic violation or crash was due to aggressive careless driving as defined in s. 316.1923

(b)  The department shall prepare, and supply to every traffic enforcement agency in the state, an appropriate affidavit-of-compliance form which shall be issued along with the form traffic citation for any violation of s. 316.610 and which shall indicate the specific defect which needs to be corrected. However, such affidavit of compliance shall not be issued in the case of a violation of s. 316.610 by a commercial motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003(66). Such affidavit-of-compliance form shall be distributed in the same manner and to the same parties as is the form traffic citation.

(c)  Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), a traffic enforcement agency may produce uniform traffic citations by electronic means. Such citations must be consistent with the state traffic court rules and the procedures established by the department; must be appropriately numbered and inventoried; and may have fewer copies than the quintuplicate form. Affidavit-of-compliance forms may also be produced by electronic means.

(d)  The department must distribute to every traffic enforcement agency and to any others who request it, a traffic infraction reference guide describing the class of the traffic infraction, the penalty for the infraction, the points to be assessed on a driver's license, and any other information necessary to describe a violation and the penalties therefor.

(2)  Courts, enforcement agencies, and the department are jointly responsible to account for all uniform traffic citations in accordance with rules and procedures promulgated by the department.

(3)(a)  Except for a traffic citation issued pursuant to s. 316.1001, each traffic enforcement officer, upon issuing a traffic citation to an alleged violator of any provision of the motor vehicle laws of this state or of any traffic ordinance of any city or town, shall deposit the original and one copy of such traffic citation or, in the case of a traffic enforcement agency which has an automated citation issuance system, shall provide an electronic facsimile with a court having jurisdiction over the alleged offense or with its traffic violations bureau within 5 days after issuance to the violator.

(b)  If a traffic citation is issued pursuant to s. 316.1001, a traffic enforcement officer may deposit the original and one copy of such traffic citation or, in the case of a traffic enforcement agency that has an automated citation system, may provide an electronic facsimile with a court having jurisdiction over the alleged offense or with its traffic violations bureau within 45 days after the date of issuance of the citation to the violator.

(4)  The chief administrative officer of every traffic enforcement agency shall require the return to him or her of the department record copy of every traffic citation issued by an officer under the chief administrative officer's supervision to an alleged violator of any traffic law or ordinance and of all copies of every traffic citation which has been spoiled or upon which any entry has been made and not issued to an alleged violator. In the case of a traffic enforcement agency which has an automated citation issuance system, the chief administrative officer shall require the return of all electronic traffic citation records.

(5)  Upon the deposit of the original and one copy of such traffic citation or upon deposit of an electronic facsimile of the traffic citation with respect to traffic enforcement agencies which have an automated citation issuance system with a court having jurisdiction over the alleged offense or with its traffic violations bureau as aforesaid, the original, facsimile, or copy of such traffic citation may be disposed of only by trial in the court or other official action by a judge of the court, including forfeiture of the bail, or by the deposit of sufficient bail with, or payment of a fine to, the traffic violations bureau by the person to whom such traffic citation has been issued by the traffic enforcement officer.

(6)  The chief administrative officer shall transmit, on a form approved by the department, the department record copy of the uniform traffic citation to the department within 5 days after submission of the original and one copy to the court, or citation and transmittal data may be transmitted to the department in an automated fashion, in a form prescribed by the department. A copy of such transmittal shall also be provided to the court having jurisdiction for accountability purposes.

(7)  The chief administrative officer shall also maintain or cause to be maintained in connection with every traffic citation issued by an officer under his or her supervision a record of the disposition of the charge by the court or its traffic violations bureau in which the original or copy of the traffic citation was deposited.

(8)  It is unlawful and official misconduct for any traffic enforcement officer or other officer or public employee to dispose of a traffic citation or copies thereof or of the record of the issuance of the same in a manner other than as required herein.

(9)  Such citations shall not be admissible evidence in any trial.

(10)  If a uniform traffic citation has not been issued with respect to a criminal traffic offense, or with respect to an offense that requires mandatory revocation of the driver's license or driving privilege pursuant to s. 322.26 upon conviction of such offense, and the prosecution is by affidavit, information, or indictment, the prosecutor shall direct the arresting officer to prepare a citation. In the absence of an arresting officer, the prosecutor shall prepare the citation. For the purpose of this subsection, the term "arresting officer" means the law enforcement officer who apprehended or took into custody the alleged offender.

¹(11)  Driver information contained in a uniform traffic citation, which includes but is not limited to, the accused person's name and address, shall not be used for commercial solicitation purposes. However, the use of such driver information contained in a uniform traffic citation shall not be considered a commercial purpose when used for publication in a newspaper or other news periodical, when used for broadcast by radio or television, or when used to inform a person of the availability of driver safety training.

History.--s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 1, ch. 71-321; s. 1, ch. 76-31; s. 4, ch. 80-316; s. 193, ch. 81-259; s. 6, ch. 84-359; s. 2, ch. 86-260; s. 2, ch. 91-180; s. 27, ch. 91-221; s. 31, ch. 94-306; s. 905, ch. 95-148; s. 39, ch. 96-350; s. 8, ch. 96-413; s. 6, ch. 2001-147; s. 19, ch. 2003-286.

¹Note.--As created by s. 8, ch. 96-413. This version is published as the last expression of legislative will (see Journal of the House of Representatives 1996, pp. 2146 and 2164). Subsection (11) was also created by s. 39, ch. 96-350, and that version reads:

(11)  Uniform traffic citations issued by a law enforcement officer, and all information contained therein, including, but not limited to, the name of the person issued the citation, and the person's address, height, weight, and date of birth shall not be used for commercial solicitation purposes; provided, however, that the use of information contained in a uniform traffic citation for purposes of publication in a newspaper or other news periodical or a radio or television broadcast shall not be construed as a commercial purpose.

Note.--Former s. 316.018.