| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to noncriminal traffic infractions; |
| 3 | amending s. 318.14, F.S.; revising a requirement that |
| 4 | persons required to appear before a designated official |
| 5 | for infractions that resulted in a crash that caused |
| 6 | serious bodily injury of another receive a specified fine |
| 7 | and a license suspension; providing an effective date. |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 318.14, Florida |
| 12 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 13 | 318.14 Noncriminal traffic infractions; exception; |
| 14 | procedures.-- |
| 15 | (5) Any person electing to appear before the designated |
| 16 | official or who is required so to appear shall be deemed to have |
| 17 | waived his or her right to the civil penalty provisions of s. |
| 18 | 318.18. The official, after a hearing, shall make a |
| 19 | determination as to whether an infraction has been committed. If |
| 20 | the commission of an infraction has been proven, the official |
| 21 | may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $500, except that in |
| 22 | cases involving unlawful speed in a school zone or involving |
| 23 | unlawful speed in a construction zone, the civil penalty may not |
| 24 | exceed $1,000; or require attendance at a driver improvement |
| 25 | school, or both. If the person is required to appear before the |
| 26 | designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1) and is found to |
| 27 | have committed the infraction, the designated official shall |
| 28 | impose a civil penalty of $1,000 in addition to any other |
| 29 | penalties and the person's driver's license shall be suspended |
| 30 | for 6 months. If the person is required to appear before the |
| 31 | designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(2) and is found to |
| 32 | have committed the infraction, the designated official may shall |
| 33 | impose a civil penalty of $500 in addition to any other |
| 34 | penalties and the person's driver's license may shall be |
| 35 | suspended for 3 months. If the official determines that no |
| 36 | infraction has been committed, no costs or penalties shall be |
| 37 | imposed and any costs or penalties that have been paid shall be |
| 38 | returned. Moneys received from the mandatory civil penalties |
| 39 | imposed pursuant to this subsection upon persons required to |
| 40 | appear before a designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1) or |
| 41 | (2) shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue and deposited |
| 42 | into the Department of Health Administrative Trust Fund to |
| 43 | provide financial support to certified trauma centers to assure |
| 44 | the availability and accessibility of trauma services throughout |
| 45 | the state. Funds deposited into the Administrative Trust Fund |
| 46 | under this section shall be allocated as follows: |
| 47 | (a) Fifty percent shall be allocated equally among all |
| 48 | Level I, Level II, and pediatric trauma centers in recognition |
| 49 | of readiness costs for maintaining trauma services. |
| 50 | (b) Fifty percent shall be allocated among Level I, Level |
| 51 | II, and pediatric trauma centers based on each center's relative |
| 52 | volume of trauma cases as reported in the Department of Health |
| 53 | Trauma Registry. |
| 54 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |