Senate Bill sb1082
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1082
By Senator Villalobos
37-832-01 See HB
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the exclusionary rule;
3 creating s. 90.959, F.S.; providing legislative
4 findings regarding the Division of Driver
5 Licenses of the Department of Highway Safety
6 and Motor Vehicles; providing legislative
7 findings regarding records maintained by the
8 division; providing legislative findings
9 regarding the mission of the division and the
10 department; providing legislative findings
11 regarding the application of the exclusionary
12 rule; prohibiting the exclusion of evidence in
13 certain circumstances; amending s. 322.20,
14 F.S.; providing that the records of the
15 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
16 maintained and created pursuant to ch. 322,
17 F.S., shall not be considered law enforcement
18 functions; providing an effective date.
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20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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22 Section 1. Section 90.959, Florida Statutes, is
23 created to read:
24 90.959 Admission of evidence obtained from the
25 Division of Driver Licenses.--
26 (1) The Legislature finds that the Division of Driver
27 Licenses of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
28 Vehicles is not a law enforcement agency. The Legislature
29 also finds that the division is not an adjunct of any law
30 enforcement agency in that employees have no stake in
31 particular prosecutions. The Legislature further finds that
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1082
37-832-01 See HB
1 errors in records maintained by the division are not within
2 the collective knowledge of any law enforcement agency. The
3 Legislature also finds that the mission of the Division of
4 Driver Licenses and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
5 Vehicles provides a sufficient incentive to maintain records
6 in a current and correct fashion.
7 (2) The Legislature finds that the purpose of the
8 exclusionary rule is to deter misconduct on the part of law
9 enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies.
10 (3) The Legislature finds that the application of the
11 exclusionary rule to cases where a law enforcement officer
12 effects an arrest based on objectively reasonable reliance on
13 information obtained from the division is repugnant to the
14 purposes of the exclusionary rule and contrary to the
15 decisions of the United States Supreme Court in Arizona v.
16 Evans, 514 U.S. 1 (1995) and United States v. Leon, 468 U.S.
17 897 (1984).
18 (4) In any case where a law enforcement officer
19 effects an arrest based on objectively reasonable reliance on
20 information obtained from the division, evidence found
21 pursuant to such an arrest shall not be suppressed by
22 application of the exclusionary rule on the grounds that the
23 arrest is subsequently determined to be unlawful due to
24 erroneous information obtained from the division.
25 Section 2. Subsection (15) is added to section 322.20,
26 Florida Statutes, to read:
27 322.20 Records of the department; fees; destruction of
28 records.--
29 (15) Records of the department and the Division of
30 Driver Licenses created and maintained pursuant to chapter 322
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2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1082
37-832-01 See HB
1 shall not be regarded as law enforcement functions of agency
2 recordkeeping.
3 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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6 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Provides that in any case where a law enforcement officer
8 effects an arrest based on objectively reasonable
reliance on information obtained from the Division of
9 Driver Licenses of the Department of Highway Safety and
Motor Vehicles, evidence found pursuant to such arrest
10 shall not be suppressed by application of the
exclusionary rule on the grounds that the arrest is
11 subsequently determined to be unlawful due to erroneous
information obtained from the division.
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13 Provides that the records of the department maintained
and created pursuant to ch. 322, F.S., shall not be
14 considered law enforcement functions.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.