House Bill 0557c1
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 CS/HB 557
By the Committee on Transportation and Representatives
Chestnut, Cosgrove and Greenstein
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Department of Highway
3 Safety and Motor Vehicles; amending s. 324.201,
4 F.S.; deleting the requirement that recovery
5 agents notify law enforcement of a license
6 plate seizure; amending s. 324.202, F.S.;
7 providing for expanding into additional
8 counties a pilot project that authorizes a
9 recovery agent or recovery agency to seize the
10 license plate of a motor vehicle following
11 suspension of the vehicle's registration or
12 suspension of the driver's license of the owner
13 or operator of the vehicle for failing to
14 maintain personal injury protection; requiring
15 that the department provide procedures for
16 paying fees; amending s. 627.733, F.S.;
17 deleting payment of a fee to recovery agents;
18 providing effective dates.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 324.201, Florida
23 Statutes, is amended to read:
24 324.201 Return of license or registration to
25 department.--
26 (5) When a recovery agent or recovery agency obtains a
27 seized license plate in accordance with this chapter, the
28 license plate shall be delivered to a driver license office on
29 the next business day local law enforcement agencies must be
30 notified of the recovery within 6 hours after seizure. The
31 recovery agent or recovery agency shall deliver the license
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 CS/HB 557
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1 plate to the local law enforcement authorities and obtain a
2 receipt upon delivery of the license plate for claim record
3 purposes with the department pursuant to the procedure
4 prescribed in this section.
5 Section 2. Section 324.202, Florida Statutes, is
6 amended to read:
7 324.202 Seizure of motor vehicle license plates by
8 recovery agents.--
9 (1) Upon the implementation of the vehicle information
10 system overall reorganization to the Oracle database of driver
11 licenses, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
12 shall implement a program pilot project in Broward County,
13 Dade County, and Hillsborough County to determine the
14 effectiveness of using recovery agents for the seizure of
15 license plates in counties where a majority of the governing
16 body of the county has requested the program be implemented.
17 Until the vehicle information system overall reorganization is
18 complete, the existing pilot project within Broward, Dade, and
19 Hillsborough Counties shall continue in effect pursuant to
20 chapter 95-202, Laws of Florida. On October 1, 1996, the
21 department shall provide a report to the President of the
22 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the chair
23 of the Senate Commerce Committee, the chair of the House
24 Insurance Committee, and the Majority and Minority Leaders of
25 the Senate and the House of Representatives, on the results of
26 the pilot project. A licensed recovery agent or agents and
27 recovery agency, agencies as described in s. 493.6101(20) and
28 (21) may seize the license plate plates of a motor vehicle if
29 the vehicle's registration or the driver's license of the
30 owner or operator of the vehicle has vehicles whose
31 registrations have been suspended pursuant to s. 316.646 or s.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 CS/HB 557
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1 627.733, in such counties upon compliance with this section
2 and rules of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
3 Vehicles.
4 (2) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
5 Vehicles shall:
6 (a) Provide a procedure for the payment of fees to
7 recovery agents or recovery agencies who seize license plates
8 pursuant to this section. This procedure shall include the
9 development and distribution of forms and monthly renewal
10 notices, including the name and most current address available
11 to the department of persons not in compliance with s. 316.646
12 or s. 627.733, which shall be used by the seizing recovery
13 agent or recovery agency to transmit the seized license plate
14 to the local law enforcement agency pursuant to s. 324.201.
15 (b) Provide a method for the payment of a the fee of
16 $25 in s. 627.733(7) to the recovery agent or recovery agency
17 seizing an eligible the license plate pursuant to this
18 section. The requirements with respect to payment must
19 provide that when the owner or operator whose driver's license
20 has been suspended under s. 316.646 or s. 627.733 pays the
21 reinstatement fee to the Department of Highway Safety and
22 Motor Vehicles, the department shall pay the recovery agent.
23 Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 627.733, Florida
24 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
25 627.733 Required security.--
26 (7)(a) Any operator or owner whose driver's license or
27 registration has been suspended pursuant to this section or s.
28 316.646 may effect its reinstatement upon compliance with the
29 requirements of this section and upon payment to the
30 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles of a
31 nonrefundable reinstatement fee of $150 for the first
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 CS/HB 557
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1 reinstatement. Such reinstatement fee shall be $250 for the
2 second reinstatement and $500 for each subsequent
3 reinstatement during the 3 years following the first
4 reinstatement. Any person reinstating her or his insurance
5 under this subsection must also secure noncancelable coverage
6 as described in s. 627.7275(2) and present to the appropriate
7 person proof that the coverage is in force on a form
8 promulgated by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
9 Vehicles, such proof to be maintained for 2 years. If the
10 person does not have a second reinstatement within 3 years
11 after her or his initial reinstatement, the reinstatement fee
12 shall be $150 for the first reinstatement after that 3-year
13 period. In the event that a person's license and registration
14 are suspended pursuant to this section or s. 316.646, only one
15 reinstatement fee shall be paid to reinstate the license and
16 the registration. All fees shall be collected by the
17 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles at the time of
18 reinstatement. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
19 Vehicles shall issue proper receipts for such fees and shall
20 promptly deposit those fees in the Highway Safety Operating
21 Trust Fund. One-third of the fee collected under this
22 subsection shall be distributed from the Highway Safety
23 Operating Trust Fund to the local government entity or state
24 agency which employed the law enforcement officer or the
25 recovery agent who seizes a license plate pursuant to s.
26 324.201 or to s. 324.202. Such funds may be used by the local
27 government entity or state agency for any authorized purpose.
28 (b) One-third of the fee collected for the seizure of
29 a license plate by a recovery agent shall be paid to the
30 recovery agent, and the balance shall remain in the Highway
31
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1 Safety Operating Trust Fund and be distributed pursuant to s.
2 321.245.
3 Section 4. Effective July 1, 2000, subsection (7) of
4 section 627.733, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, as amended
5 by chapter 98-223, Laws of Florida, is amended to read:
6 (7)(a) Any operator or owner whose registration has
7 been suspended pursuant to this section or s. 316.646 may
8 effect its reinstatement upon compliance with the requirements
9 of this section and upon payment to the Department of Highway
10 Safety and Motor Vehicles of a nonrefundable reinstatement fee
11 of $150 for the first reinstatement. Such reinstatement fee
12 shall be $250 for the second reinstatement and $500 for each
13 subsequent reinstatement during the 3 years following the
14 first reinstatement. Any person reinstating her or his
15 insurance under this subsection must also secure noncancelable
16 coverage as described in s. 627.7275(2) and present to the
17 appropriate person proof that the coverage is in force on a
18 form promulgated by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
19 Vehicles, such proof to be maintained for 2 years. If the
20 person does not have a second reinstatement within 3 years
21 after her or his initial reinstatement, the reinstatement fee
22 shall be $150 for the first reinstatement after that 3-year
23 period. All fees shall be collected by the Department of
24 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles at the time of
25 reinstatement. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
26 Vehicles shall issue proper receipts for such fees and shall
27 promptly deposit those fees in the Highway Safety Operating
28 Trust Fund. One-third of the fee collected under this
29 subsection shall be distributed from the Highway Safety
30 Operating Trust Fund to the local government entity or state
31 agency which employed the law enforcement officer or the
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 CS/HB 557
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1 recovery agent who seizes a license plate pursuant to s.
2 324.201 or to s. 324.202. Such funds may be used by the local
3 government entity or state agency for any authorized purpose.
4 (b) One-third of the fee collected for the seizure of
5 a license plate by a recovery agent shall be paid to the
6 recovery agent, and the balance shall remain in the Highway
7 Safety Operating Trust Fund and be distributed pursuant to s.
8 321.245.
9 Section 5. Except as otherwise provided herein, this
10 act shall take effect July 1, 1999.
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