House Bill hb0601

    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                 HB 601

        By the Committee on Crime Prevention, Corrections & Safety
    and Representative Needelman





  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 and the Division of Motor Vehicles of

  6         the Department of Highway Safety and Motor

  7         Vehicles; providing legislative findings

  8         regarding records maintained by the divisions;

  9         providing legislative findings regarding the

10         missions of the divisions and the department;

11         providing legislative findings regarding the

12         application of the exclusionary rule;

13         prohibiting the exclusion of evidence in

14         certain circumstances; amending s. 322.20,

15         F.S.; providing that the records of the

16         Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

17         maintained and created pursuant to ch. 322,

18         F.S., shall not be considered law enforcement

19         functions; amending s. 320.05, F.S.; providing

20         that the records of the Department of Highway

21         Safety and Motor Vehicles maintained and

22         created pursuant to ch. 320, F.S., shall not be

23         considered law enforcement functions; providing

24         an effective date.

25

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

27

28         Section 1.  Section 90.959, Florida Statutes, is

29  created to read:

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                 HB 601

    189-918-02






  1         90.959  Admission of evidence obtained from the

  2  Division of Driver Licenses and the Division of Motor

  3  Vehicles.--

  4         (1)  The Legislature finds that the Division of Driver

  5  Licenses and the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department

  6  of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles are not law enforcement

  7  agencies.  The Legislature also finds that the divisions are

  8  not adjuncts of any law enforcement agency in that employees

  9  have no stake in particular prosecutions.  The Legislature

10  further finds that errors in records maintained by the

11  divisions are not within the collective knowledge of any law

12  enforcement agency.  The Legislature also finds that the

13  missions of the Division of Driver Licenses, the Division of

14  Motor Vehicles, and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor

15  Vehicles provide a sufficient incentive to maintain records in

16  a current and correct fashion.

17         (2)  The Legislature finds that the purpose of the

18  exclusionary rule is to deter misconduct on the part of law

19  enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies.

20         (3)  The Legislature finds that the application of the

21  exclusionary rule to cases in which a law enforcement officer

22  effects an arrest based on objectively reasonable reliance on

23  information obtained from the divisions is repugnant to the

24  purposes of the exclusionary rule and contrary to the

25  decisions of the United States Supreme Court in Arizona v.

26  Evans, 514 U.S. 1 (1995) and United States v. Leon, 468 U.S.

27  897 (1984).

28         (4)  In any case in which a law enforcement officer

29  effects an arrest based on objectively reasonable reliance on

30  information obtained from the divisions, evidence found

31  pursuant to such an arrest shall not be suppressed by

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                 HB 601

    189-918-02






  1  application of the exclusionary rule on the grounds that the

  2  arrest is subsequently determined to be unlawful due to

  3  erroneous information obtained from the divisions.

  4         Section 2.  Subsection (15) is added to section 322.20,

  5  Florida Statutes, to read:

  6         322.20  Records of the department; fees; destruction of

  7  records.--

  8         (15)  The creation and maintenance of records by the

  9  department and the Division of Driver Licenses pursuant to

10  this chapter shall not be regarded as law enforcement

11  functions of agency recordkeeping.

12         Section 3.  Subsection (5) is added to section 320.05,

13  Florida Statutes, to read:

14         320.05  Records of the department; inspection

15  procedure; lists and searches; fees.--

16         (5)  The creation and maintenance of records by the

17  department and the Division of Motor Vehicles pursuant to this

18  chapter shall not be regarded as law enforcement functions of

19  agency recordkeeping.

20         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

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23                          HOUSE SUMMARY

24
      Provides legislative findings regarding the Division of
25    Driver Licenses and the Division of Motor Vehicles of the
      Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles with
26    respect to records maintained by the divisions and the
      missions of the divisions and the department regarding
27    the application of the exclusionary rule. Prohibits the
      application of the exclusionary rule under described
28    circumstances. See bill for details.

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