1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to highway safety; amending s. 316.650, |
3 | F.S.; providing for a parental notification system to be |
4 | developed by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor |
5 | Vehicles; requiring notification to the parent, guardian, |
6 | or other responsible adult who signed the driver license |
7 | application of a person under 18 years of age when a |
8 | written warning or citation has been issued to that person |
9 | for a violation of traffic law; providing for content of |
10 | the notification; amending s. 322.09, F.S.; requiring a |
11 | parent, guardian, or other responsible adult signing the |
12 | driver license application of a minor to provide certain |
13 | contact information; providing an effective date. |
14 |
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15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
16 |
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17 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 316.650, Florida |
18 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
19 | 316.650 Traffic citations; parental notification system.-- |
20 | (1)(a) The department shall prepare, and supply to every |
21 | traffic enforcement agency in this state, an appropriate form |
22 | traffic citation containing a notice to appear (which shall be |
23 | issued in prenumbered books with citations in quintuplicate) and |
24 | meeting the requirements of this chapter or any laws of this |
25 | state regulating traffic, which form shall be consistent with |
26 | the state traffic court rules and the procedures established by |
27 | the department. Upon all future printings of the traffic |
28 | citation, the form shall include a special box which is to be |
29 | checked by the law enforcement officer when the officer believes |
30 | that the traffic violation or crash was due to aggressive |
31 | careless driving as defined in s. 316.1923. |
32 | (b) The department shall prepare, and supply to every |
33 | traffic enforcement agency in the state, an appropriate |
34 | affidavit-of-compliance form which shall be issued along with |
35 | the form traffic citation for any violation of s. 316.610 and |
36 | which shall indicate the specific defect which needs to be |
37 | corrected. However, such affidavit of compliance shall not be |
38 | issued in the case of a violation of s. 316.610 by a commercial |
39 | motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003(66). Such affidavit-of- |
40 | compliance form shall be distributed in the same manner and to |
41 | the same parties as is the form traffic citation. |
42 | (c) The department shall develop a notification system |
43 | that shall be utilized by traffic law enforcement officers to |
44 | assist in the notification of the parent, guardian, or other |
45 | responsible adult who signed the application for a driver |
46 | license of a person under 18 years of age when the officer cites |
47 | or warns such person of a violation of traffic law. The |
48 | notification shall include the time and date the motor vehicle |
49 | was stopped, the reason the motor vehicle was stopped, the |
50 | number of people in the motor vehicle, the name of the driver |
51 | stopped, and the name of the officer who issued the citation or |
52 | warning. Such notifications shall be mailed by the department to |
53 | the address provided by the parent, guardian, or other |
54 | responsible adult in compliance with s. 322.09(1)(b). If no |
55 | address is on file pursuant to s. 322.09(1)(b), the department |
56 | shall mail the notification to the address on record for the |
57 | driver. |
58 | (d)(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), and (b), and (c), a |
59 | traffic enforcement agency may produce uniform traffic citations |
60 | by electronic means. Such citations must be consistent with the |
61 | state traffic court rules and the procedures established by the |
62 | department; must be appropriately numbered and inventoried; and |
63 | may have fewer copies than the quintuplicate form. Affidavit-of- |
64 | compliance forms and any form required by the parental |
65 | notification system may also be produced by electronic means. |
66 | (e)(d) The department must distribute to every traffic |
67 | enforcement agency and to any others who request it, a traffic |
68 | infraction reference guide describing the class of the traffic |
69 | infraction, the penalty for the infraction, the points to be |
70 | assessed on a driver's license, and any other information |
71 | necessary to describe a violation and the penalties therefor. |
72 | Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 322.09, Florida |
73 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
74 | 322.09 Application of minors; responsibility for |
75 | negligence or misconduct of minor.-- |
76 | (1)(a) The application of any person under the age of 18 |
77 | years for a driver's license must be signed and verified before |
78 | a person authorized to administer oaths by the father, mother, |
79 | or guardian, or, if there is no parent or guardian, by another |
80 | responsible adult who is willing to assume the obligation |
81 | imposed under this chapter upon a person signing the application |
82 | of a minor. This section does not apply to a person under the |
83 | age of 18 years who is emancipated by marriage. |
84 | (b) The parent, guardian, or other responsible adult |
85 | signing the application of a minor pursuant to this section must |
86 | furnish an address with the application for the purpose of being |
87 | contacted in the event that the minor applicant is issued a |
88 | written warning or a citation for a violation of traffic law. |
89 | (c)(b) There shall be submitted with each application a |
90 | certified copy of a United States birth certificate, a valid |
91 | United States passport, an alien registration receipt card |
92 | (green card), an employment authorization card issued by the |
93 | United States Department of Homeland Security, or proof of |
94 | nonimmigrant classification provided by the United States |
95 | Department of Homeland Security, for an original license. |
96 | Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2005. |