Senate Bill sb1030c1
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    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 1030
    By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Campbell
    590-2349-05
  1                      A bill to be entitled
  2         An act relating to financial responsibility for
  3         operation of motor vehicles; amending s.
  4         324.021, F.S.; expanding the definition of
  5         "rental company" for purposes of an exclusion
  6         from an exemption from application of certain
  7         limits of liability provisions to include
  8         certain holders of a motor vehicle title or an
  9         equity interest in a motor vehicle title under
10         certain circumstances; providing an effective
11         date.
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13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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15         Section 1.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (9) of section
16  324.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
17         324.021  Definitions; minimum insurance required.--The
18  following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall,
19  for the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings
20  respectively ascribed to them in this section, except in those
21  instances where the context clearly indicates a different
22  meaning:
23         (9)  OWNER; OWNER/LESSOR.--
24         (c)  Application.--
25         1.  The limits on liability in subparagraphs (b)2. and
26  3. do not apply to an owner of motor vehicles that are used
27  for commercial activity in the owner's ordinary course of
28  business, other than a rental company that rents or leases
29  motor vehicles. For purposes of this paragraph, the term
30  "rental company" includes only an entity that is engaged in
31  the business of renting or leasing motor vehicles to the
                                  1
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    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 1030
    590-2349-05
 1  general public and that rents or leases a majority of its
 2  motor vehicles to persons with no direct or indirect
 3  affiliation with the rental company. The term also includes a
 4  motor vehicle dealer that provides temporary replacement
 5  vehicles to its customers for up to 10 days. The term also
 6  includes a related rental or leasing company that is a
 7  subsidiary of the same parent company that rented or leased
 8  the vehicle and the holder of a motor vehicle title or an
 9  equity interest in a motor vehicle title if the title or
10  equity interest is held pursuant to an asset-backed
11  securitization of a fleet of motor vehicles under the dominion
12  and control of a rental company, as described in this
13  subparagraph, in the operation of such rental company's
14  business.
15         2.  Furthermore, with respect to commercial motor
16  vehicles as defined in s. 627.732, the limits on liability in
17  subparagraphs (b)2. and 3. do not apply if, at the time of the
18  incident, the commercial motor vehicle is being used in the
19  transportation of materials found to be hazardous for the
20  purposes of the Hazardous Materials Transportation
21  Authorization Act of 1994, as amended, 49 U.S.C. ss. 5101 et
22  seq., and that is required pursuant to such act to carry
23  placards warning others of the hazardous cargo, unless at the
24  time of lease or rental either:
25         a.  The lessee indicates in writing that the vehicle
26  will not be used to transport materials found to be hazardous
27  for the purposes of the Hazardous Materials Transportation
28  Authorization Act of 1994, as amended, 49 U.S.C. ss. 5101 et
29  seq.; or
30         b.  The lessee or other operator of the commercial
31  motor vehicle has in effect insurance with limits of at least
                                  2
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    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 1030
    590-2349-05
 1  $5,000,000 combined property damage and bodily injury
 2  liability.
 3         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.
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 5          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 6                         Senate Bill 1030
 7                                 
 8  The committee substitute expands the definition of the term
    "rental company" to include a related rental or leasing
 9  company that is a subsidiary of the same parent company that
    rented or leased a rental vehicle.
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