| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to traffic offenses; amending s. 316.027, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing penalties for a person who commits a |
| 4 | traffic infraction resulting in death or serious bodily |
| 5 | injury; amending ss. 318.14 and 318.18, F.S.; conforming |
| 6 | provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 318.19, |
| 7 | F.S.; providing for the rights of a victim of a crash that |
| 8 | causes death or serious bodily injury to be informed of |
| 9 | and present at judicial hearings and to be heard at such |
| 10 | hearings; requiring the state attorney to consult the |
| 11 | victim about disposition of any such case; providing an |
| 12 | effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 316.027, Florida |
| 17 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 18 | 316.027 Crash involving death or personal injuries.-- |
| 19 | (4) A person whose commission of a noncriminal traffic |
| 20 | infraction or any violation of this chapter or s. 1006.66 causes |
| 21 | or results in the death or serious bodily injury, as defined in |
| 22 | s. 316.1933(1), of another person shall may, in addition to any |
| 23 | other civil, criminal, or administrative penalty imposed, be |
| 24 | required by the court to complete an 8-hour driver improvement |
| 25 | course and serve not less than 15 but not more than 120 |
| 26 | community service hours in a trauma center or hospital that |
| 27 | regularly receives victims of vehicle accidents, under the |
| 28 | supervision of a registered nurse, an emergency room physician, |
| 29 | or an emergency medical technician pursuant to a voluntary |
| 30 | community service program operated by the trauma center or |
| 31 | hospital. |
| 32 | Section 2. Subsections (1) and (5) of section 318.14, |
| 33 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 34 | 318.14 Noncriminal traffic infractions; exception; |
| 35 | procedures.-- |
| 36 | (1) Except as provided in ss. 318.17 and 320.07(3)(c), any |
| 37 | person cited for a violation of chapter 316, s. 320.0605, s. |
| 38 | 320.07(3)(a) or (b), s. 322.065, s. 322.15(1), s. 322.16(2) or |
| 39 | (3), s. 322.161(5), s. 322.19, or s. 1006.66(3) is charged with |
| 40 | a noncriminal infraction and must be cited for such an |
| 41 | infraction and cited to appear before an official. If another |
| 42 | person dies as a result of the noncriminal infraction, the |
| 43 | person cited may be required to perform 120 community service |
| 44 | hours under s. 316.027(4), in addition to any other penalties. |
| 45 | (5) Any person electing to appear before the designated |
| 46 | official or who is required so to appear shall be deemed to have |
| 47 | waived his or her right to the civil penalty provisions of s. |
| 48 | 318.18. The official, after a hearing, shall make a |
| 49 | determination as to whether an infraction has been committed. If |
| 50 | the commission of an infraction has been proven, the official |
| 51 | may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $500, except that in |
| 52 | cases involving unlawful speed in a school zone or involving |
| 53 | unlawful speed in a construction zone, the civil penalty may not |
| 54 | exceed $1,000; or require attendance at a driver improvement |
| 55 | school, or both. If the person is required to appear before the |
| 56 | designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1)(a) and is found to |
| 57 | have committed the infraction, the designated official shall |
| 58 | impose a civil penalty of $1,000 in addition to any other |
| 59 | penalties and the person's driver's license shall be suspended |
| 60 | for 6 months. If the person is required to appear before the |
| 61 | designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1)(b) (2) and is found |
| 62 | to have committed the infraction, the designated official shall |
| 63 | impose a civil penalty of $500 in addition to any other |
| 64 | penalties and the person's driver's license shall be suspended |
| 65 | for 3 months. If the official determines that no infraction has |
| 66 | been committed, no costs or penalties shall be imposed and any |
| 67 | costs or penalties that have been paid shall be returned. Moneys |
| 68 | received from the mandatory civil penalties imposed pursuant to |
| 69 | this subsection upon persons required to appear before a |
| 70 | designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1)(a) or (b) (2) shall |
| 71 | be remitted to the Department of Revenue and deposited into the |
| 72 | Department of Health Administrative Trust Fund to provide |
| 73 | financial support to certified trauma centers to assure the |
| 74 | availability and accessibility of trauma services throughout the |
| 75 | state. Funds deposited into the Administrative Trust Fund under |
| 76 | this section shall be allocated as follows: |
| 77 | (a) Fifty percent shall be allocated equally among all |
| 78 | Level I, Level II, and pediatric trauma centers in recognition |
| 79 | of readiness costs for maintaining trauma services. |
| 80 | (b) Fifty percent shall be allocated among Level I, Level |
| 81 | II, and pediatric trauma centers based on each center's relative |
| 82 | volume of trauma cases as reported in the Department of Health |
| 83 | Trauma Registry. |
| 84 | Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of section |
| 85 | 318.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 86 | 318.18 Amount of penalties.--The penalties required for a |
| 87 | noncriminal disposition pursuant to s. 318.14 or a criminal |
| 88 | offense listed in s. 318.17 are as follows: |
| 89 | (8) |
| 90 | (c) If the noncriminal infraction has caused or resulted |
| 91 | in the death of another, the person who committed the infraction |
| 92 | may perform 120 community service hours under s. 316.027(4), in |
| 93 | addition to any other penalties. |
| 94 | Section 4. Section 318.19, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 95 | read: |
| 96 | 318.19 Infractions requiring a mandatory hearing.-- |
| 97 | (1) Any person cited for the infractions listed in this |
| 98 | section shall not have the provisions of s. 318.14(2), (4), and |
| 99 | (9) available to him or her but must appear before the |
| 100 | designated official at the time and location of the scheduled |
| 101 | hearing: |
| 102 | (a)(1) Any infraction which results in a crash that causes |
| 103 | the death of another; |
| 104 | (b)(2) Any infraction which results in a crash that causes |
| 105 | "serious bodily injury" of another as defined in s. 316.1933(1); |
| 106 | (c)(3) Any infraction of s. 316.172(1)(b); |
| 107 | (d)(4) Any infraction of s. 316.520(1) or (2); or |
| 108 | (e)(5) Any infraction of s. 316.183(2), s. 316.187, or s. |
| 109 | 316.189 of exceeding the speed limit by 30 m.p.h. or more. |
| 110 | (2) A victim of a crash that causes death or serious |
| 111 | bodily injury as provided in paragraph (1)(a) or paragraph |
| 112 | (1)(b) or the victim's lawful representative, including the next |
| 113 | of kin if the victim is deceased, is entitled to be informed of, |
| 114 | to be present at, and to be heard when relevant at all crucial |
| 115 | stages of a judicial hearing to the extent that such rights do |
| 116 | not interfere with the constitutional rights of the accused. The |
| 117 | state attorney, when applicable, shall consult the victim or the |
| 118 | victim's lawful representative about the disposition of any such |
| 119 | case. |
| 120 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |