House Bill hb0661c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 2002              CS/HB 661

        By the Council for Ready Infrastructure and
    Representatives Wiles and Harrington





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to vehicle title certificates;

  3         amending s. 319.30, F.S.; redefining the term

  4         "total loss"; creating s. 319.41, F.S.;

  5         providing for a searchable database of title

  6         history; providing effective dates.

  7

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

  9

10         Section 1.  Paragraph (n) of subsection (1) of section

11  319.30, Florida Statutes, is reenacted, and subsection (3) of

12  said section is amended, to read:

13         319.30  Definitions; dismantling, destruction, change

14  of identity of motor vehicle or mobile home; salvage.--

15         (1)  As used in this section, the term:

16         (n)  "Salvage" means a motor vehicle or mobile home

17  which is a total loss as defined in paragraph (3)(a).

18         (3)(a)1.  As used in this section, a motor vehicle or

19  mobile home is a "total loss":

20         a.1.  When an insurance company pays the vehicle owner

21  to replace the wrecked or damaged vehicle with one of like

22  kind and quality or when an insurance company pays the owner

23  upon the theft of the motor vehicle or mobile home; a motor

24  vehicle or mobile home shall not be considered a "total loss"

25  if the insurance company and the owner agree to repair, rather

26  than to replace, the motor vehicle or mobile home; or

27         b.2.  When an uninsured motor vehicle or mobile home is

28  wrecked or damaged and the cost, at the time of loss, of

29  repairing or rebuilding the vehicle is 80 percent or more of

30  the cost to the owner of replacing the wrecked or damaged

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002              CS/HB 661

    401-132-02






  1  motor vehicle or mobile home with one of like kind and

  2  quality.

  3         2.  A motor vehicle or mobile home shall not be

  4  considered a "total loss" if the insurance company and owner

  5  of a motor vehicle or mobile home agree to repair, rather than

  6  to replace, the motor vehicle or mobile home.  However, if the

  7  actual cost to repair the motor vehicle or mobile home to the

  8  insurance company exceeds 100 percent of the cost of replacing

  9  the wrecked or damaged motor vehicle or mobile home with one

10  of like kind and quality, the owner shall forward to the

11  department, within 72 hours after the agreement, a request to

12  brand the certificate of title with the words "Total Loss

13  Vehicle."  Such a brand shall become a part of the vehicle's

14  title history.

15         (b)  The owner, including persons who are self-insured,

16  of any motor vehicle or mobile home which is considered to be

17  salvage shall, within 72 hours after the motor vehicle or

18  mobile home becomes salvage, forward the title to the motor

19  vehicle or mobile home to the department for processing.

20  However, an insurance company which pays money as compensation

21  for total loss of a motor vehicle or mobile home shall obtain

22  the certificate of title for the motor vehicle or mobile home

23  and, within 72 hours after receiving such certificate of

24  title, shall forward such title to the department for

25  processing. The owner or insurance company, as the case may

26  be, may not dispose of a vehicle or mobile home that is a

27  total loss before it has obtained a salvage certificate of

28  title or certificate of destruction from the department. When

29  applying for a salvage certificate of title or certificate of

30  destruction, the owner or insurance company must provide the

31  department with an estimate of the costs of repairing the

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002              CS/HB 661

    401-132-02






  1  physical and mechanical damage suffered by the vehicle for

  2  which a salvage certificate of title or certificate of

  3  destruction is sought. If the estimated costs of repairing the

  4  physical and mechanical damage to the vehicle are equal to 80

  5  percent or more of the current retail cost of the vehicle, as

  6  established in any official used car or used mobile home

  7  guide, the department shall declare the vehicle unrebuildable

  8  and print a certificate of destruction, which authorizes the

  9  dismantling or destruction of the motor vehicle or mobile home

10  described therein. This certificate of destruction shall be

11  reassignable a maximum of two times before dismantling or

12  destruction of the vehicle shall be required, and shall

13  accompany the motor vehicle or mobile home for which it is

14  issued, when such motor vehicle or mobile home is sold for

15  such purposes, in lieu of a certificate of title, and,

16  thereafter, the department shall refuse issuance of any

17  certificate of title for that vehicle. Nothing in this

18  subsection shall be applicable when a vehicle is worth less

19  than $1,500 retail in undamaged condition in any official used

20  motor vehicle guide or used mobile home guide or when a stolen

21  motor vehicle or mobile home is recovered in substantially

22  intact condition and is readily resalable without extensive

23  repairs to or replacement of the frame or engine. Any person

24  who willfully and deliberately violates this paragraph or

25  falsifies any document to avoid the requirements of this

26  paragraph commits a misdemeanor of the first degree,

27  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

28         Section 2.  Effective July 1, 2003, section 319.41,

29  Florida Statutes, is created to read:

30         319.41  Title history database.--The department shall

31  make available on the Internet a database of title

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002              CS/HB 661

    401-132-02






  1  transactions searchable by vehicle identification number.  In

  2  the Internet database, the department shall only provide

  3  access to information relating to the year, make, model, and

  4  mileage of the vehicle, along with the date of sales and any

  5  brands or outstanding liens on the title.

  6         Section 3.  Except as otherwise provided herein, this

  7  act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

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