House Bill 0561

    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 561

        By Representative Cantens






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Florida Safety Belt Law;

  3         amending s. 316.614, F.S.; providing that the

  4         number of passengers of a motor vehicle

  5         required to wear a safety belt shall not exceed

  6         the number of safety belts which were installed

  7         in the motor vehicle by the manufacturer;

  8         revising the Florida Safety Belt Law to

  9         eliminate the requirement that the law be

10         enforced as a secondary action when a driver of

11         a motor vehicle has been detained for another

12         violation; providing restrictions on authority

13         to search based on a safety belt violation;

14         providing an effective date.

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16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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18         Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) and

19  subsection (8) of section 316.614, Florida Statutes, are

20  amended to read:

21         316.614  Safety belt usage.--

22         (6)

23         (b)  The number of front seat passengers of a motor

24  vehicle pickup truck required to wear a safety belt pursuant

25  to this section shall not exceed the number of safety belts

26  which were installed in the motor vehicle front seat of such

27  pickup truck by the manufacturer.

28         (8)  Any person who violates the provisions of this

29  section commits a nonmoving violation, punishable as provided

30  in chapter 318. A law enforcement officer may not search or

31  inspect a motor vehicle, its contents, the driver, or a

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 561

    702-108A-00






  1  passenger solely because of a violation of this section.

  2  However, except for violations of s. 316.613, enforcement of

  3  this section by state or local law enforcement agencies must

  4  be accomplished only as a secondary action when a driver of a

  5  motor vehicle has been detained for a suspected violation of

  6  another section of this chapter, chapter 320, or chapter 322.

  7         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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10                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      Revises the provisions of the Florida Safety Belt Law to
12    provide that the number of passengers of a motor vehicle
      required to wear a safety belt shall not exceed the
13    number of safety belts which were installed in the motor
      vehicle by the manufacturer and to remove the requirement
14    that the law be enforced as a secondary action when the
      driver of a motor vehicle has been detained for a
15    suspected violation of chapter 316, 320, or 322, F.S.
      Provides restrictions on the authority to search based
16    upon a safety belt violation.

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