Senate Bill sb2114e1

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




    CS for CS for CS for SB 2114                   First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to motor vehicle insurance;

  3         amending s. 316.068, F.S.; specifying

  4         information to be included in a crash report;

  5         creating a rebuttable presumption regarding the

  6         existence of passengers; specifying conditions

  7         relating to reporting passengers; amending s.

  8         322.26, F.S.; providing an additional

  9         circumstance relating to insurance crimes for

10         mandatory revocation of a person's driver's

11         license; amending s. 817.234, F.S.; revising

12         provisions specifying material omission and

13         insurance fraud; prohibiting scheming to create

14         documentation of a motor vehicle crash that did

15         not occur; providing a criminal penalty;

16         amending s. 817.2361, F.S.; providing that

17         creating, marketing, or presenting fraudulent

18         proof of motor vehicle insurance is a felony of

19         the third degree; providing appropriations;

20         authorizing positions and a salary rate;

21         abrogating the repeal of provisions pertaining

22         to the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law;

23         providing an effective date.

24  

25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

26  

27         Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 316.068, Florida

28  Statutes, is amended to read:

29         316.068  Crash report forms.--

30         (2)  Every crash report required to be made in writing

31  must be made on the appropriate form approved by the


                                  1

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






    CS for CS for CS for SB 2114                   First Engrossed



 1  department and must contain all the information required

 2  therein to include:

 3         (a)  The date, time, and location of the crash;

 4         (b)  A description of the vehicles involved;

 5         (c)  The names and addresses of the parties involved;

 6         (d)  The names and addresses of all drivers and

 7  passengers in the vehicles involved;

 8         (e)  The names and addresses of witnesses;

 9         (f)  The name, badge number, and law enforcement agency

10  of the officer investigating the crash; and

11         (g)  The names of the insurance companies for the

12  respective parties involved in the crash unless not available.

13  

14  The absence of information in such written crash reports

15  regarding the existence of passengers in the vehicles involved

16  in the crash constitutes a rebuttable presumption that no such

17  passengers were involved in the reported crash.

18  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, a crash

19  report produced electronically by a law enforcement officer

20  must, at a minimum, contain the same information as is called

21  for on those forms approved by the department.

22         Section 2.  Subsection (9) is added to section 322.26,

23  Florida Statutes, to read:

24         322.26  Mandatory revocation of license by

25  department.--The department shall forthwith revoke the license

26  or driving privilege of any person upon receiving a record of

27  such person's conviction of any of the following offenses:

28         (9)  Conviction in any court having jurisdiction over

29  offenses committed under s. 817.234(8) or (9) or s. 817.505.

30  

31  


                                  2

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






    CS for CS for CS for SB 2114                   First Engrossed



 1         Section 3.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) and

 2  subsection (9) of section 817.234, Florida Statutes, are

 3  amended to read:

 4         817.234  False and fraudulent insurance claims.--

 5         (7)(a)  It shall constitute a material omission and

 6  insurance fraud, punishable as provided in subsection (11),

 7  for any service physician or other provider, other than a

 8  hospital, to engage in a general business practice of billing

 9  amounts as its usual and customary charge, if such provider

10  has agreed with the insured patient or intends to waive

11  deductibles or copayments, or does not for any other reason

12  intend to collect the total amount of such charge. With

13  respect to a determination as to whether a service physician

14  or other provider has engaged in such general business

15  practice, consideration shall be given to evidence of whether

16  the physician or other provider made a good faith attempt to

17  collect such deductible or copayment. This paragraph does not

18  apply to physicians or other providers who waive deductibles

19  or copayments or reduce their bills as part of a bodily injury

20  settlement or verdict.

21         (9)  A person may not organize, plan, or knowingly

22  participate in an intentional motor vehicle crash or a scheme

23  to create documentation of a motor vehicle crash that did not

24  occur for the purpose of making motor vehicle tort claims or

25  claims for personal injury protection benefits as required by

26  s. 627.736. Any person who violates this subsection commits a

27  felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.

28  775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. A person who is convicted

29  of a violation of this subsection shall be sentenced to a

30  minimum term of imprisonment of 2 years.

31  


                                  3

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






    CS for CS for CS for SB 2114                   First Engrossed



 1         Section 4.  Section 817.2361, Florida Statutes, is

 2  amended to read:

 3         817.2361  False or fraudulent proof of motor vehicle

 4  insurance card.--Any person who, with intent to deceive any

 5  other person, creates, markets, or presents a false or

 6  fraudulent proof of motor vehicle insurance card commits a

 7  felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s.

 8  775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

 9         Section 5.  For the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the sums of

10  $510,276 in recurring funds and $111,455 in nonrecurring funds

11  are appropriated from the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund of

12  the Department of Financial Services to the Division of

13  Insurance Fraud within the department for the purpose of

14  providing a new fraud unit within the division consisting of

15  six sworn law enforcement officers, one non-sworn

16  investigator, one crime analyst, and one clerical position. A

17  total of nine full-time equivalent positions and associated

18  salary rate of 381,500 are authorized. This appropriation is

19  for the purposes provided in s. 626.989, Florida Statutes.

20         Section 6.  For the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the sums of

21  $415,291 in recurring funds and $52,430 in nonrecurring funds

22  are appropriated from the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund of

23  the Department of Financial Services to the Division of

24  Insurance Fraud within the department and 10 full-time

25  equivalent positions and associated salary rate of 342,500 are

26  authorized. This appropriation is for the purposes provided in

27  s. 626.989, Florida Statutes.

28         Section 7.  Effective January 1, 2009, sections

29  627.730, 627.731, 627.732, 627.733, 627.734, 627.736, 627.737,

30  627.739, 627.7401, 627.7403, and 627.7405, Florida Statutes,

31  constituting the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, are


                                  4

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






    CS for CS for CS for SB 2114                   First Engrossed



 1  repealed, unless reviewed and reenacted by the Legislature

 2  before that date.

 3         Section 8.  Section 19 of chapter 2003-411, Laws of

 4  Florida, is repealed.

 5         Section 9.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2006.

 6  

 7  

 8  

 9  

10  

11  

12  

13  

14  

15  

16  

17  

18  

19  

20  

21  

22  

23  

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  


                                  5

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