Senate Bill sb0258c1

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 258

    By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Alexander





    596-890-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to farm labor vehicles;

  3         amending s. 316.003, F.S.; providing

  4         definitions; repealing s. 316.620, F.S.,

  5         relating to transportation of migrant farm

  6         workers; creating s. 316.622, F.S.; requiring

  7         owners and operators of farm labor vehicles to

  8         conform such vehicles to certain standards;

  9         requiring seat belts at each passenger position

10         in certain vehicles; requiring certain

11         operators to display prescribed stickers on

12         their vehicles; requiring a certain sign to be

13         displayed in such vehicles; providing a

14         penalty; requiring the Department of Highway

15         Safety and Motor Vehicles to provide copies of

16         accident reports to the Department of Business

17         and Professional Regulation; amending ss.

18         320.38, 322.031, and 450.181, F.S.; conforming

19         provisions; amending s. 450.28, F.S.; revising

20         a definition; amending s. 450.33, F.S.;

21         conforming a cross-reference; requiring the

22         department to issue a vehicle authorization

23         sticker denoting the authorization of a vehicle

24         to transport farm workers; requiring the

25         display of the sticker; providing an effective

26         date.

27  

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

29  

30         Section 1.  Subsections (61) and (62) of section

31  316.003, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 258
    596-890-06




 1         316.003  Definitions.--The following words and phrases,

 2  when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings

 3  respectively ascribed to them in this section, except where

 4  the context otherwise requires:

 5         (61)  MIGRANT OR SEASONAL FARM WORKER.--Any person

 6  employed in hand labor operations in the planting,

 7  cultivation, or harvesting of agricultural crops who is not

 8  indigenous to, or domiciled in, the locale where so employed.

 9         (62)  FARM LABOR VEHICLE.--Any vehicle designed, used,

10  or maintained for the transportation of nine or more migrant

11  or seasonal farm workers, in addition to the driver, to or

12  from a place of employment or employment-related activities.

13  The term does not include:

14         (a)  Any vehicle carrying only members of the immediate

15  family of the owner or driver.

16         (b)  Any vehicle being operated by a common carrier of

17  passengers.

18         (c)  Any carpool as defined in s. 450.28(3). MIGRANT

19  FARM WORKER CARRIER.--Any person who transports, or who

20  contracts or arranges for the transportation of, nine or more

21  migrant farm workers to or from their employment by motor

22  vehicle other than a passenger automobile or station wagon,

23  except a migrant farm worker transporting himself or herself

24  or the migrant farm worker's immediate family.

25         Section 2.  Section 316.620, Florida Statutes, is

26  repealed.

27         Section 3.  Section 316.622, Florida Statutes, is

28  created to read:

29         316.622  Farm labor vehicles.--

30         (1)  Each owner or operator of a farm labor vehicle

31  that is operated on the public highways of this state shall

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 258
    596-890-06




 1  ensure that such vehicle conforms to vehicle safety standards

 2  prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under s. 401(b) of the

 3  Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 29

 4  U.S.C. s. 1841(b), and other applicable federal and state

 5  safety standards.

 6         (2)  On or after January 1, 2008, a farm labor vehicle

 7  having a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less

 8  must be equipped at each passenger position with a seat belt

 9  assembly that meets the requirements established under Federal

10  Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, 49 C.F.R. s. 571.208.

11         (3)  A farm labor contractor may not transport migrant

12  or seasonal farm workers in a farm labor vehicle unless the

13  display sticker described in s. 450.33 is clearly displayed on

14  the vehicle.

15         (4)  The owner or operator of a farm labor vehicle must

16  prominently display in the vehicle standardized notification

17  instructions requiring passengers to fasten their seatbelts.

18  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall

19  create standard notification instructions.

20         (5)  A violation of this section is a noncriminal

21  traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as

22  provided in chapter 318.

23         (6)  The department shall provide to the Department of

24  Business and Professional Regulation each quarter a copy of

25  each accident report involving a farm labor vehicle, as

26  defined in s. 316.003(62), commencing with the first quarter

27  of the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

28         Section 4.  Section 320.38, Florida Statutes, is

29  amended to read:

30         320.38  When nonresident exemption not allowed.--The

31  provisions of s. 320.37 authorizing the operation of motor

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 258
    596-890-06




 1  vehicles over the roads of this state by nonresidents of this

 2  state when such vehicles are duly registered or licensed under

 3  the laws of some other state or foreign country do not apply

 4  to any nonresident who accepts employment or engages in any

 5  trade, profession, or occupation in this state, except a

 6  nonresident migrant or seasonal farm worker as defined in s.

 7  316.003(61). In every case in which a nonresident, except a

 8  nonresident migrant or seasonal farm worker as defined in s.

 9  316.003(61), accepts employment or engages in any trade,

10  profession, or occupation in this state or enters his or her

11  children to be educated in the public schools of this state,

12  such nonresident shall, within 10 days after the commencement

13  of such employment or education, register his or her motor

14  vehicles in this state if such motor vehicles are proposed to

15  be operated on the roads of this state. Any person who is

16  enrolled as a student in a college or university and who is a

17  nonresident but who is in this state for a period of up to 6

18  months engaged in a work-study program for which academic

19  credits are earned from a college whose credits or degrees are

20  accepted for credit by at least three accredited institutions

21  of higher learning, as defined in s. 1005.02, is not required

22  to have a Florida registration for the duration of the

23  work-study program if the person's vehicle is properly

24  registered in another jurisdiction. Any nonresident who is

25  enrolled as a full-time student in such institution of higher

26  learning is also exempt for the duration of such enrollment.

27         Section 5.  Subsection (1) of section 322.031, Florida

28  Statutes, is amended to read:

29         322.031  Nonresident; when license required.--

30         (1)  In every case in which a nonresident, except a

31  nonresident migrant or seasonal farm worker as defined in s.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 258
    596-890-06




 1  316.003(61), accepts employment or engages in any trade,

 2  profession, or occupation in this state or enters his or her

 3  children to be educated in the public schools of this state,

 4  such nonresident shall, within 30 days after the commencement

 5  of such employment or education, be required to obtain a

 6  Florida driver's license if such nonresident operates a motor

 7  vehicle on the highways of this state. The spouse or dependent

 8  child of such nonresident shall also be required to obtain a

 9  Florida driver's license within that 30-day period prior to

10  operating a motor vehicle on the highways of this state.

11         Section 6.  Subsection (3) of section 450.181, Florida

12  Statutes, is amended to read:

13         450.181  Definitions.--As used in part II, unless the

14  context clearly requires a different meaning:

15         (3)  The term "migrant laborer" has the same meaning as

16  migrant or seasonal farm workers as defined in s. 316.003(61).

17         Section 7.  Subsection (3) of section 450.28, Florida

18  Statutes, is amended to read:

19         450.28  Definitions.--

20         (3)  "Carpool" means an arrangement made by the workers

21  using one worker's own vehicle reached by and between farm

22  workers for transportation to and from work and for which the

23  driver or owner of the vehicle is not paid by any third person

24  other than the members of the carpool.

25         Section 8.  Subsection (9) of section 450.33, Florida

26  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (12) is added to that

27  section, to read:

28         450.33  Duties of farm labor contractor.--Every farm

29  labor contractor must:

30         (9)  Produce evidence to the department that each

31  vehicle he or she uses for the transportation of employees

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 258
    596-890-06




 1  complies with the requirements and specifications established

 2  in chapter 316, s. 316.622 316.620, or Pub. L. No. 93-518 as

 3  amended by Pub. L. No. 97-470 meeting Department of

 4  Transportation requirements or, in lieu thereof, bears a valid

 5  inspection sticker showing that the vehicle has passed the

 6  inspection in the state in which the vehicle is registered.

 7         (12)  Clearly display on each vehicle used to transport

 8  farm workers a display sticker issued by the department, which

 9  states that the vehicle is authorized by the department to

10  transport farm workers and the expiration date of the

11  authorization.

12         Section 9.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

13  

14          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
15                         Senate Bill 258

16                                 

17  This CS requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
    Vehicles to submit quarterly accident reports to the
18  Department of Business and Professional Regulation for each
    crash involving a farm labor vehicle.
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