HB 1307

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the impoundment or immobilization of
3vehicles; amending s. 316.193, F.S.; providing that for a
4first conviction for driving under the influence of
5alcohol or a controlled substance, in addition to other
6penalties imposed by the court, the court must order that
7the person's vehicle be impounded or immobilized for 10
8days and that the person pay an impoundment or
9immobilization fee of $200 per vehicle; providing that for
10a second conviction for driving under the influence of
11alcohol or a controlled substance, the court must order
12that the person's vehicle be impounded or immobilized for
1330 days and that the offender pay an impoundment or
14immobilization fee of $300 per vehicle; providing that for
15a third or subsequent conviction for driving under the
16influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, the court
17must order that the person's vehicle be impounded or
18immobilized for 90 days and that the offender pay an
19impoundment or immobilization fee of $400 per vehicle;
20requiring the court to include the name and address of the
21impound or immobilization agency in the order impounding
22or immobilizing the vehicle; requiring the person whose
23vehicle is impounded or immobilized to pay an
24administration fee to the impoundment agency; establishing
25professional criteria for persons who are engaged in the
26business of impounding or immobilizing vehicles in
27judicial circuits where personnel of the court or sheriff
28do not impound or immobilize vehicles; providing that a
29person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if he or
30she violates the provisions to qualify a person to impound
31or immobilize a vehicle; authorizing a person to initiate
32a civil suit against a person who fails to comply with
33requirements for qualifying to impound or immobilize a
34vehicle; providing for attorney's fees and costs; defining
35the terms "immobilization," "immobilize," and
36"immobilizing," and "impound," "impounding," and
37"impoundment"; providing an effective date.
38
39Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
40
41     Section 1.  Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), and (i) of
42subsection (6) of section 316.193, Florida Statutes, are
43amended, and subsections (13) and (14) are added to that
44section, to read:
45     316.193  Driving under the influence; penalties.--
46     (6)  With respect to any person convicted of a violation of
47subsection (1), regardless of any penalty imposed pursuant to
48subsection (2), subsection (3), or subsection (4):
49     (a)  For the first conviction, the court shall place the
50defendant on probation for a period not to exceed 1 year and, as
51a condition of such probation, shall order the defendant to
52participate in public service or a community work project for a
53minimum of 50 hours; or the court may order instead, that any
54defendant pay an additional fine of $10 for each hour of public
55service or community work otherwise required, if, after
56consideration of the residence or location of the defendant at
57the time public service or community work is required, payment
58of the fine is in the best interests of the state. However, the
59total period of probation and incarceration may not exceed 1
60year. The court must also, as a condition of probation, order
61the impoundment or immobilization of the vehicle that was
62operated by or in the actual control of the defendant or any one
63vehicle registered in the defendant's name at the time of
64impoundment or immobilization, for a period of 10 days or for
65the unexpired term of any lease or rental agreement that expires
66within 10 days. The fee for a 10-day period of impoundment or
67immobilization shall be $200, plus an annual percentage increase
68based on the Annual Consumer Price Index compiled by the United
69States Department of Labor, beginning with the Annual Consumer
70Price Index announced by the United States Department of Labor
71for 2010. The impoundment or immobilization must not occur
72concurrently with the incarceration of the defendant. The
73impoundment or immobilization order may be dismissed in
74accordance with paragraph (e), paragraph (f), paragraph (g), or
75paragraph (h).
76     (b)  For the second conviction for an offense that occurs
77within a period of 5 years after the date of a prior conviction
78for violation of this section, the court shall order
79imprisonment for not less than 10 days. The court must also, as
80a condition of probation, order the impoundment or
81immobilization of all vehicles owned by the defendant at the
82time of impoundment or immobilization, for a period of 30 days
83or for the unexpired term of any lease or rental agreement that
84expires within 30 days. The fee for a 30-day period of
85impoundment or immobilization shall be $300 per vehicle, plus an
86annual percentage increase based on the Annual Consumer Price
87Index compiled by the United States Department of Labor,
88beginning with the Annual Consumer Price Index announced by the
89United States Department of Labor for 2010. The impoundment or
90immobilization must not occur concurrently with the
91incarceration of the defendant and must occur concurrently with
92the driver's license revocation imposed under s. 322.28(2)(a)2.
93The impoundment or immobilization order may be dismissed in
94accordance with paragraph (e), paragraph (f), paragraph (g), or
95paragraph (h). At least 48 hours of confinement must be
96consecutive.
97     (c)  For the third or subsequent conviction for an offense
98that occurs within a period of 10 years after the date of a
99prior conviction for violation of this section, the court shall
100order imprisonment for not less than 30 days. The court must
101also, as a condition of probation, order the impoundment or
102immobilization of all vehicles owned by the defendant at the
103time of impoundment or immobilization, for a period of 90 days
104or for the unexpired term of any lease or rental agreement that
105expires within 90 days. The fee for a 90-day period of
106impoundment or immobilization shall be $400 per vehicle, plus an
107annual percentage increase based on the Annual Consumer Price
108Index compiled by the United States Department of Labor,
109beginning with the Annual Consumer Price Index announced by the
110United States Department of Labor for 2010. The impoundment or
111immobilization must not occur concurrently with the
112incarceration of the defendant and must occur concurrently with
113the driver's license revocation imposed under s. 322.28(2)(a)3.
114The impoundment or immobilization order may be dismissed in
115accordance with paragraph (e), paragraph (f), paragraph (g), or
116paragraph (h). At least 48 hours of confinement must be
117consecutive.
118     (d)  The court must at the time of sentencing the defendant
119issue an order for the impoundment or immobilization of a
120vehicle which must include the name and telephone number of the
121impoundment or immobilization agency. Within 7 business days
122after the date that the court issues the order of impoundment or
123immobilization, the clerk of the court must send notice by
124certified mail, return receipt requested, to the registered
125owner of each vehicle, if the registered owner is a person other
126than the defendant, and to each person of record claiming a lien
127against the vehicle.
128     (i)  All costs and fees for the impoundment or
129immobilization, including the cost of notification and a $50
130administrative cost payable to the impoundment agency, must be
131paid by the owner of the vehicle or, if the vehicle is leased or
132rented, by the person leasing or renting the vehicle, unless the
133impoundment or immobilization order is dismissed. All provisions
134of s. 713.78 shall apply.
135
136For the purposes of this section, any conviction for a violation
137of s. 327.35; a previous conviction for the violation of former
138s. 316.1931, former s. 860.01, or former s. 316.028; or a
139previous conviction outside this state for driving under the
140influence, driving while intoxicated, driving with an unlawful
141blood-alcohol level, driving with an unlawful breath-alcohol
142level, or any other similar alcohol-related or drug-related
143traffic offense, is also considered a previous conviction for
144violation of this section. However, in satisfaction of the fine
145imposed pursuant to this section, the court may, upon a finding
146that the defendant is financially unable to pay either all or
147part of the fine, order that the defendant participate for a
148specified additional period of time in public service or a
149community work project in lieu of payment of that portion of the
150fine which the court determines the defendant is unable to pay.
151In determining such additional sentence, the court shall
152consider the amount of the unpaid portion of the fine and the
153reasonable value of the services to be ordered; however, the
154court may not compute the reasonable value of services at a rate
155less than the federal minimum wage at the time of sentencing.
156     (13)  If personnel of the circuit court or the sheriff do
157not impound or immobilize vehicles, the person responsible for
158impounding or immobilizing vehicles in that judicial circuit is
159subject to strict compliance with the following conditions and
160restrictions:
161     (a)  Any person engaged in the business of impounding or
162immobilizing vehicles shall:
163     1.  Have a class "R" license issued pursuant to part IV of
164chapter 493;
165     2.  Have at least 1 year of verifiable experience in
166immobilizing or impounding vehicles;
167     3.  Have a storage facility within the judicial circuit of
168not less than 10,000 square feet. However, if a judicial circuit
169has fewer than 1,000 convictions for driving under the influence
170based on the Florida Uniform Traffic Citations Statistic Report,
171beginning with the 2008 Florida Uniform Traffic Citations
172Statistic Report, the storage facility must be not less than
1735,000 square feet. The storage facility must be licensed in the
174name of the person who impounds or immobilizes vehicles by the
175local government where the storage facility is located; and
176     4.  Maintain accurate and complete records of all payments
177for the impoundment or immobilization, copies of all documents
178pertaining to the court's order of impoundment or
179immobilization, and any other documents relevant to each
180impoundment or immobilization. These records must be maintained
181by the impoundment or immobilization operator for at least 3
182years.
183     (b)  The individual who impounds or immobilizes a vehicle
184must not have been convicted of any felony or of driving or
185boating under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances.
186     (c)  A person who violates paragraph (a) or paragraph (b)
187commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
188provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
189     (d)  Any person who is aggrieved by a person's violation of
190paragraph (a) may bring a civil action against the person
191seeking injunctive relief, actual damages, reasonable attorney's
192fees and costs, and any other remedy available at law or in
193equity.
194     (14)  As used in this chapter, the terms:
195     (a)  "Immobilization," "immobilizing," or "immobilize" mean
196the act of installing a vehicle antitheft device on the steering
197wheel of a vehicle to prevent any person from operating the
198vehicle.
199     (b)  "Impoundment," "impounding," or "impound" means the
200act of storing a vehicle at a storage facility where the person
201impounding the vehicle exercises control, supervision, and
202responsibility over the vehicle.
203     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.


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