HB 0135

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

1	The Justice Council recommends the following:
2
3	Council/Committee Substitute
4	Remove the entire bill and insert:
5	A bill to be entitled
6	An act relating to liability of providers of streetlights;
7	creating s. 768.1382, F.S.; providing definitions;
8	including certain security or area lights within the
9	definition of the term "streetlight"; limiting liability
10	of a streetlight provider for injury or death or property
11	damage affected or caused by a malfunctioning streetlight;
12	providing procedures for notice and repair of
13	malfunctioning streetlights as a condition for limited
14	liability; providing that noncompliance with such
15	procedures does not create a presumption of negligence;
16	limiting liability of a public utility or electric utility
17	that discontinues service to a streetlight under certain
18	circumstances; limiting liability of a public utility or
19	electric utility for the design, layout, quantity, or
20	placement of streetlights or level of illumination
21	resulting from the proper operation of a streetlight or
22	series of streetlights; prohibiting certain findings of
23	fault of an entity not a party to litigation; providing
24	for conflict, effect, and application; providing an
25	effective date.
26
27	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29	Section 1.  Section 768.1382, Florida Statutes, is created
30	to read:
31	768.1382  Streetlights, security lights, and other similar
32	illumination; limitation on liability.--
33	(1)  As used in this section, the term:
34	(a)  "Actual notice" means notification to the streetlight
35	provider that is acknowledged by the streetlight provider in
36	accordance with its designated procedures by any person of an
37	inoperative or malfunctioning streetlight using the designated
38	procedures specified by the streetlight provider and containing
39	at least the following information:
40	1.  Identification of the streetlight location with such
41	specificity that the location of the streetlight can be
42	identified by the streetlight provider.
43	2.  A description of the nature of the malfunction or
44	failure of illumination of the streetlight.
45	3.  Appropriate contact information, as available,
46	sufficient for the streetlight provider to contact the person
47	making the notification, such as the name and address,
48	electronic mail address, or phone number of the person making
49	the notification.
50	(b)  "Designated procedures" means the procedures
51	designated by a streetlight provider to provide actual notice as
52	defined in paragraph (a).
53	(c)  "Person" means any legal or natural person as defined
54	in s. 1.01(3).
55	(d)  "Streetlight" means any streetlight, any outdoor
56	security light, or any outdoor area light that is owned or
57	maintained by or for a streetlight provider. The term
58	"streetlight" does not include any customer-owned or customer-
59	maintained streetlights, outdoor security lights, or outdoor
60	area lights of any type, regardless of their location.
61	(e)  "Streetlight provider" means the state or any of the
62	state's officers, agencies, or instrumentalities, any political
63	subdivision as defined in s. 1.01, any public utility as defined
64	in s. 366.02(1), or any electric utility as defined in s.
65	366.02(2).
66	(2)  A streetlight provider is not liable and may not be
67	held liable for any civil damages for personal injury, wrongful
68	death, or property damage affected or caused by the malfunction
69	or failure of illumination of such streetlight, regardless of
70	whether the malfunction or failure of illumination is alleged or
71	demonstrated to have contributed in any manner to the personal
72	injury, wrongful death, or property damage, unless the provider
73	failed to comply with the provisions of subsection (3).
74	(3)  In order for any streetlight provider to have the
75	benefit of the limitation on liability as set forth in
76	subsection (2), the streetlight provider must have complied with
77	the following:
78	(a)  The streetlight provider must disclose its designated
79	procedures for providing actual notice of an inoperative or
80	malfunctioning streetlight to its customers through annual
81	inserts in its customers' bills. The streetlight provider must
82	disclose its designated procedures for providing actual notice
83	of an inoperative or malfunctioning streetlight to the general
84	public, and to its customers if bill inserts are not used, in an
85	annual notice paid for by the streetlight provider and published
86	in the relevant newspapers of general circulation.
87	(b)  A streetlight provider must repair any inoperative or
88	malfunctioning streetlight within 60 days after receiving actual
89	notice that the streetlight is inoperative or malfunctioning.
90	(c)  If a streetlight provider repairs the inoperative or
91	malfunctioning streetlight and the streetlight subsequently
92	again becomes inoperative or malfunctioning, the streetlight
93	provider shall repair such inoperative or malfunctioning
94	streetlight within 60 days after receiving actual notice that
95	the streetlight is again inoperative or malfunctioning
96	subsequent to the prior repair.
97	(d)  After a streetlight provider receives actual notice,
98	investigates the report, and determines that the streetlight is
99	functioning properly, such information shall be noted in the
100	streetlight provider's business records. Upon receipt of any
101	subsequent actual notice that the streetlight is again
102	inoperative or malfunctioning, the streetlight provider shall
103	repair the streetlight within 60 days after receiving such
104	subsequent actual notice.
105	(e)  If, upon investigation by the streetlight provider
106	after receiving actual notice of any event described in
107	paragraph (b), paragraph (c), or paragraph (d), the streetlight
108	provider determines that the nature of the repair or replacement
109	cannot be achieved within the 60-day period, the streetlight
110	provider shall make a determination as to the time in which it
111	can complete the corrective action and denote such time in its
112	business records. Except as provided in paragraph (f), a
113	streetlight provider under this paragraph may not take more than
114	180 days to complete the corrective action after receiving
115	actual notice unless such longer delay is related to actions or
116	decisions made or required by the customer with the
117	responsibility for paying the utility bill for such streetlight
118	or related to a tornado, a severe weather event, or other
119	unforeseen event resulting in severe damage that does not give
120	rise to a declared state of emergency, in which case the
121	streetlight provider shall be subject to the time periods set
122	forth in paragraph (f).
123	(f)  For a streetlight provider operating in a county
124	affected by a state of emergency declared by federal, state, or
125	local authorities, the time periods in paragraph (b), paragraph
126	(c), paragraph (d), or paragraph (e) shall be extended to 365
127	days after the cessation of the emergency or such longer period
128	of time that may be dictated by the circumstances or 60 days
129	after receiving actual notice that the streetlight is
130	inoperative or malfunctioning, whichever is later.
131	(4)  Where the streetlight provider is a public utility or
132	an electric utility, the streetlight provider is not liable for
133	any civil damages for personal injury, wrongful death, or
134	property damage affected or caused by the failure of
135	illumination of such streetlights, regardless of whether the
136	failure of illumination is alleged or demonstrated to have
137	contributed in any manner to the personal injury, wrongful
138	death, or property damage, if the streetlight provider
139	disconnected electric or gas service to the streetlight upon the
140	streetlight customer's request or as a result of the streetlight
141	customer's failure to pay electric or gas bills when due or
142	other breach of the applicable streetlight agreement or upon
143	termination of the applicable streetlight agreement. In no event
144	shall a public utility or electric utility be liable or held
145	liable for civil damages for personal injury, wrongful death, or
146	property damage under any circumstance affected or caused by the
147	design, layout, quantity, or placement of streetlights or level
148	of illumination resulting from the proper operation of a
149	streetlight or series of streetlights.
150	(5)  In any civil action for damages arising out of
151	personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage when a
152	streetlight provider's fault regarding the provision or
153	maintenance of streetlights is at issue, if the streetlight
154	provider responsible for providing or maintaining the
155	streetlights is immune from liability pursuant to this section
156	or is not a party to the litigation, such streetlight provider
157	may not be named on the jury verdict form or be deemed or found
158	in such action to be in any way at fault or responsible for the
159	injury or death or damage that gave rise to the damages.
160	(6)  In no event shall a streetlight provider's
161	noncompliance with the provisions of subsection (3) create a
162	presumption of negligence on the part of the streetlight
163	provider in any civil action for damages arising out of personal
164	injury, wrongful death, or property damage.
165	(7)  In the event that there is any conflict between this
166	section and s. 768.81, or any other section of Florida Statutes,
167	this section shall control. Further, nothing in this section
168	shall impact or waive any provision of s. 768.28.
169	Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law
170	and shall apply to causes of action that accrue on or after the
171	effective date.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.