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