| 1 | The Transportation Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to driver licenses; amending s. 322.18, |
| 7 | F.S.; limiting the duration of licenses issued to certain |
| 8 | applicants; providing expiration, examination, and renewal |
| 9 | requirements for driver's licenses issued to persons over |
| 10 | a specified age; providing renewal fee waivers for certain |
| 11 | licenses; eliminating an age requirement relating to |
| 12 | vision tests; requiring a vision test for all renewals of |
| 13 | a license; providing for submission of test results by a |
| 14 | physician, ophthalmologist, or optometrist; requiring such |
| 15 | submission prior to a licensee using certain renewal |
| 16 | procedures; providing an effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) and |
| 21 | paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (5) of section 322.18, |
| 22 | Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (f) is added to |
| 23 | subsection (2) of that section, to read: |
| 24 | 322.18 Original applications, licenses, and renewals; |
| 25 | expiration of licenses; delinquent licenses.-- |
| 26 | (2) Each applicant who is entitled to the issuance of a |
| 27 | driver's license, as provided in this section, shall be issued a |
| 28 | driver's license, as follows: |
| 29 | (a) An applicant applying for an original issuance shall |
| 30 | be issued a driver's license which expires at midnight on the |
| 31 | licensee's birthday which next occurs on or after the sixth |
| 32 | anniversary of the date of issue. However, a driver's license |
| 33 | may not be issued for a period that exceeds an applicant's 80th |
| 34 | birthday, except as provided in paragraph (f). |
| 35 | (b) An applicant applying for a renewal issuance or |
| 36 | renewal extension shall be issued a driver's license or renewal |
| 37 | extension sticker which expires at midnight on the licensee's |
| 38 | birthday which next occurs 4 years after the month of expiration |
| 39 | of the license being renewed, except that a driver whose driving |
| 40 | record reflects no convictions for the preceding 3 years shall |
| 41 | be issued a driver's license or renewal extension sticker which |
| 42 | expires at midnight on the licensee's birthday which next occurs |
| 43 | 6 years after the month of expiration of the license being |
| 44 | renewed. However, a driver's license may not be issued for a |
| 45 | period that exceeds an applicant's 80th birthday, except as |
| 46 | provided in paragraph (f). |
| 47 | (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, |
| 48 | the driver's license of any person expires at midnight on the |
| 49 | licensee's 80th birthday. A license issued to a person after |
| 50 | that person's 80th birthday shall expire at midnight on the |
| 51 | licensee's birthday that next occurs 4 years after the month of |
| 52 | expiration of the license being renewed. A driver's license that |
| 53 | expires pursuant to this paragraph may be renewed up to 12 |
| 54 | months before the 80th birthday if the applicant applying for |
| 55 | renewal passes an eye and hearing examination as provided in s. |
| 56 | 322.121. Renewal fees for all driver's licenses that expire |
| 57 | pursuant to this paragraph are waived if the applicant has a |
| 58 | valid driver's license held for fewer than 4 years. |
| 59 | (5) All renewal driver's licenses may be issued after the |
| 60 | applicant licensee has been determined to be eligible by the |
| 61 | department. |
| 62 | (a) A licensee who is otherwise eligible for renewal and |
| 63 | who is over 79 years of age: |
| 64 | 1. Must submit to and pass a vision test administered at |
| 65 | any driver's license office; or |
| 66 | 2. Must, if the licensee applies for an extension by mail |
| 67 | as provided in subsection (8), must submit to a vision test |
| 68 | administered by a physician or ophthalmologist licensed under |
| 69 | chapter 458 or chapter 459, or an optometrist licensed under |
| 70 | chapter 463, no more than 12 months prior to the date of the |
| 71 | application for extension, must send the results of that test to |
| 72 | the department on a form obtained from the department and signed |
| 73 | by such health care practitioner, and must meet vision standards |
| 74 | that are equivalent to the standards for passing the |
| 75 | departmental vision test. The physician, ophthalmologist, or |
| 76 | optometrist may submit the results of a vision test by a |
| 77 | department-approved electronic means. |
| 78 | (b) A licensee who is over 79 years of age may not submit |
| 79 | an application for extension under subsection (8) by electronic |
| 80 | or telephonic means, unless the results of a vision test have |
| 81 | been electronically submitted in advance by the physician, |
| 82 | ophthalmologist, or optometrist. |
| 83 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |