Senate Bill 2368
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2368
By Senator King
8-1422-00
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to motor vehicle drivers;
3 amending s. 316.650, F.S.; requiring a traffic
4 school reference guide to be issued with
5 traffic citations; amending s. 318.14, F.S.;
6 deleting a limit on the number of times a
7 person may elect to attend a basic driver
8 improvement course in lieu of a court
9 appearance; amending s. 318.1451, F.S.;
10 establishing a fee for persons attending such
11 courses under court order; amending s.
12 322.0261, F.S.; requiring certain persons
13 involved in crashes to attend such courses;
14 creating s. 322.02615, F.S.; requiring certain
15 persons who have been convicted or have pled
16 nolo contendere to moving infractions to attend
17 such courses; amending s. 322.05, F.S.;
18 requiring persons under 18 years of age to
19 attend a driver's education course before
20 receiving a driver's license; providing an
21 effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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25 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 316.650, Florida
26 Statutes, is amended to read:
27 316.650 Traffic citations.--
28 (3) Every traffic enforcement officer, upon issuing a
29 traffic citation to an alleged violator of any provision of
30 the motor vehicle laws of this state or of any traffic
31 ordinance of any city or town, shall issue a copy of the
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2368
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1 traffic school reference guide issued under s. 318.1451 to the
2 alleged violator and deposit the original citation and one
3 copy of such traffic citation or, in the case of a traffic
4 enforcement agency which has an automated citation issuance
5 system, shall provide an electronic facsimile with a court
6 having jurisdiction over the alleged offense or with its
7 traffic violations bureau within 5 days after issuance to the
8 violator.
9 Section 2. Subsection (9) of section 318.14, Florida
10 Statutes, is amended to read:
11 318.14 Noncriminal traffic infractions; exception;
12 procedures.--
13 (9) Any person who is cited for an infraction under
14 this section other than a violation of s. 320.0605, s.
15 320.07(3)(a) or (b), s. 322.065, s. 322.15(1), s. 322.61, or
16 s. 322.62 may, in lieu of a court appearance, elect to attend
17 in the location of his or her choice within this state a basic
18 driver improvement course approved by the Department of
19 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. In such a case,
20 adjudication must be withheld; points, as provided by s.
21 322.27, may not be assessed; and the civil penalty that is
22 imposed by s. 318.18(3) must be reduced by 18 percent;
23 however, a person may not make an election under this
24 subsection if the person has made an election under this
25 subsection in the preceding 12 months. A person may make no
26 more than five elections under this subsection. The
27 requirement for community service under s. 318.18(8) is not
28 waived by a plea of nolo contendere or by the withholding of
29 adjudication of guilt by a court.
30 Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 318.1451, Florida
31 Statutes, is amended to read:
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2368
8-1422-00
1 318.1451 Driver improvement schools.--
2 (4) In addition to a regular course fee, an assessment
3 fee in the amount of $2.50 shall be collected by the school
4 from each person who is ordered by a court or who elects to
5 attend a course, as it relates to ss. 318.14(9), 322.0261,
6 322.0265, 322.05(2), 322.291, and 627.06501, which shall be
7 remitted to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
8 Vehicles and deposited in the Highway Safety Operating Trust
9 Fund to administer this program and to fund the general
10 operations of the department.
11 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 322.0261, Florida
12 Statutes, is amended to read:
13 322.0261 Mandatory driver improvement course; certain
14 crashes.--
15 (1) The department shall screen crash reports received
16 under s. 316.066 or s. 324.051 to identify crashes involving
17 the following:
18 (a) A crash involving death or a bodily injury
19 requiring transport to a medical facility; or
20 (b) A second crash by the same operator within the
21 previous 2-year period involving property damage in an
22 apparent amount of at least $500.
23 Section 5. Section 322.02615, Florida Statutes, is
24 created to read:
25 322.02615 Mandatory driver improvement course; certain
26 violations.--
27 (1) The department shall screen reports of convictions
28 for violations of chapter 316 to identify operators who:
29 (a) Are less than 21 years of age and have been
30 convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to a noncriminal
31 moving infraction and also have been convicted of or pleaded
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2368
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1 nolo contendere to another noncriminal moving infraction since
2 initial license issuance; or
3 (b) Have been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere
4 to more than one noncriminal moving infraction in a 12-month
5 period.
6 (2) The department shall require that such operators,
7 in addition to other applicable penalties, complete a
8 department-approved basic driver-improvement course to
9 maintain driving privileges. If the operator does not complete
10 the course within 90 days after receiving notice from the
11 department, the department shall suspend the operator's
12 driver's license until the course is successfully completed.
13 (3) Completion of a course approved by the department
14 as a driver improvement course for purposes of s. 318.14(9)
15 satisfies the requirements of this section. However,
16 completion of a course required by this section is not
17 included in the limitation on course elections under s.
18 318.14(9).
19 Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 322.05, Florida
20 Statutes, is amended to read:
21 322.05 Persons not to be licensed.--The department may
22 not issue a license:
23 (2) To a person who is at least 16 years of age but is
24 under 18 years of age unless the person has passed a driver's
25 education course under s. 233.063, a course under s. 488.01,
26 or a basic driver-improvement course approved by the
27 department, and meets the requirements of s. 322.091 and holds
28 a valid:
29 (a) Learner's driver's license for at least 6 months
30 before applying for a license; or
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 2368
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1 (b) License that was issued in another state or in a
2 foreign jurisdiction and that would not be subject to
3 suspension or revocation under the laws of this state.
4 Section 7. This act shall take effect October 1, 2000.
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7 SENATE SUMMARY
8 Requires the issuance of a traffic school reference guide
with every moving violation citation. Removes maximum
9 elections for driver-improvement training. Requires that
certain persons who are involved in certain crashes or
10 are convicted of or plead nolo contendere to certain
noncriminal traffic offenses complete a mandatory
11 driver-improvement course. Requires persons 16 and 17
years old to complete a basic driver-improvement course
12 or a driver-education course to obtain an operator's
license.
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