| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the impoundment or immobilization of |
| 3 | vehicles; amending s. 316.193, F.S.; providing that for a |
| 4 | first conviction for driving under the influence of |
| 5 | alcohol or a controlled substance, in addition to other |
| 6 | penalties imposed by the court, the court must order that |
| 7 | the person's vehicle be impounded or immobilized for 10 |
| 8 | days and that the person pay an immobilization fee of no |
| 9 | more than $200; providing that for a second conviction for |
| 10 | driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled |
| 11 | substance, the court must order that the person's vehicle |
| 12 | be impounded or immobilized for 30 days and that the |
| 13 | offender pay an immobilization fee of no more than $300 |
| 14 | per vehicle; providing that for a third or subsequent |
| 15 | conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol or a |
| 16 | controlled substance, the court must order that the |
| 17 | person's vehicle be impounded or immobilized for 90 days |
| 18 | and that the offender pay an immobilization fee of no more |
| 19 | than $400 per vehicle; requiring the court to include the |
| 20 | name and address of approved vendors in the order |
| 21 | impounding or immobilizing the vehicle; requiring the |
| 22 | person whose vehicle is impounded or immobilized to pay an |
| 23 | administration fee to the impoundment agency; establishing |
| 24 | professional criteria for persons who are engaged in the |
| 25 | business of immobilizing vehicles in judicial circuits |
| 26 | where personnel of the court or sheriff do not immobilize |
| 27 | vehicles; providing that a person commits a misdemeanor of |
| 28 | the first degree if he or she violates the provisions to |
| 29 | qualify a person to immobilize a vehicle; authorizing a |
| 30 | person to initiate a civil suit against a person who fails |
| 31 | to comply with requirements for qualifying to immobilize a |
| 32 | vehicle; providing for attorney's fees and costs; defining |
| 33 | the terms "immobilization," "immobilize," and |
| 34 | "immobilizing," and "impound," "impounding," and |
| 35 | "impoundment"; providing an effective date. |
| 36 |
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| 37 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 38 |
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| 39 | Section 1. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), and (i) of |
| 40 | subsection (6) of section 316.193, Florida Statutes, are |
| 41 | amended, and subsections (13) and (14) are added to that |
| 42 | section, to read: |
| 43 | 316.193 Driving under the influence; penalties.-- |
| 44 | (6) With respect to any person convicted of a violation of |
| 45 | subsection (1), regardless of any penalty imposed pursuant to |
| 46 | subsection (2), subsection (3), or subsection (4): |
| 47 | (a) For the first conviction, the court shall place the |
| 48 | defendant on probation for a period not to exceed 1 year and, as |
| 49 | a condition of such probation, shall order the defendant to |
| 50 | participate in public service or a community work project for a |
| 51 | minimum of 50 hours; or the court may order instead, that any |
| 52 | defendant pay an additional fine of $10 for each hour of public |
| 53 | service or community work otherwise required, if, after |
| 54 | consideration of the residence or location of the defendant at |
| 55 | the time public service or community work is required, payment |
| 56 | of the fine is in the best interests of the state. However, the |
| 57 | total period of probation and incarceration may not exceed 1 |
| 58 | year. The court must also, as a condition of probation, order |
| 59 | the impoundment or immobilization of the vehicle that was |
| 60 | operated by or in the actual control of the defendant or any one |
| 61 | vehicle registered in the defendant's name at the time of |
| 62 | impoundment or immobilization, for a period of 10 days or for |
| 63 | the unexpired term of any lease or rental agreement that expires |
| 64 | within 10 days. The fee for a 10-day period of immobilization |
| 65 | shall be no more than $200, plus an annual percentage increase |
| 66 | based on the Annual Consumer Price Index compiled by the United |
| 67 | States Department of Labor, beginning with the Annual Consumer |
| 68 | Price Index announced by the United States Department of Labor |
| 69 | for 2010. The impoundment or immobilization must not occur |
| 70 | concurrently with the incarceration of the defendant. The |
| 71 | impoundment or immobilization order may be dismissed in |
| 72 | accordance with paragraph (e), paragraph (f), paragraph (g), or |
| 73 | paragraph (h). |
| 74 | (b) For the second conviction for an offense that occurs |
| 75 | within a period of 5 years after the date of a prior conviction |
| 76 | for violation of this section, the court shall order |
| 77 | imprisonment for not less than 10 days. The court must also, as |
| 78 | a condition of probation, order the impoundment or |
| 79 | immobilization of all vehicles owned by the defendant at the |
| 80 | time of impoundment or immobilization, for a period of 30 days |
| 81 | or for the unexpired term of any lease or rental agreement that |
| 82 | expires within 30 days. The fee for a 30-day period of |
| 83 | immobilization shall be no more than $300 per vehicle, plus an |
| 84 | annual percentage increase based on the Annual Consumer Price |
| 85 | Index compiled by the United States Department of Labor, |
| 86 | beginning with the Annual Consumer Price Index announced by the |
| 87 | United States Department of Labor for 2010. The impoundment or |
| 88 | immobilization must not occur concurrently with the |
| 89 | incarceration of the defendant and must occur concurrently with |
| 90 | the driver's license revocation imposed under s. 322.28(2)(a)2. |
| 91 | The impoundment or immobilization order may be dismissed in |
| 92 | accordance with paragraph (e), paragraph (f), paragraph (g), or |
| 93 | paragraph (h). At least 48 hours of confinement must be |
| 94 | consecutive. |
| 95 | (c) For the third or subsequent conviction for an offense |
| 96 | that occurs within a period of 10 years after the date of a |
| 97 | prior conviction for violation of this section, the court shall |
| 98 | order imprisonment for not less than 30 days. The court must |
| 99 | also, as a condition of probation, order the impoundment or |
| 100 | immobilization of all vehicles owned by the defendant at the |
| 101 | time of impoundment or immobilization, for a period of 90 days |
| 102 | or for the unexpired term of any lease or rental agreement that |
| 103 | expires within 90 days. The fee for a 90-day period of |
| 104 | immobilization shall be no more than $400 per vehicle, plus an |
| 105 | annual percentage increase based on the Annual Consumer Price |
| 106 | Index compiled by the United States Department of Labor, |
| 107 | beginning with the Annual Consumer Price Index announced by the |
| 108 | United States Department of Labor for 2010. The impoundment or |
| 109 | immobilization must not occur concurrently with the |
| 110 | incarceration of the defendant and must occur concurrently with |
| 111 | the driver's license revocation imposed under s. 322.28(2)(a)3. |
| 112 | The impoundment or immobilization order may be dismissed in |
| 113 | accordance with paragraph (e), paragraph (f), paragraph (g), or |
| 114 | paragraph (h). At least 48 hours of confinement must be |
| 115 | consecutive. |
| 116 | (d) The court must at the time of sentencing the defendant |
| 117 | issue an order for the impoundment or immobilization of a |
| 118 | vehicle. The order must include the name and telephone numbers |
| 119 | of all approved vendors. Within 7 business days after the date |
| 120 | that the court issues the order of impoundment or |
| 121 | immobilization, the clerk of the court must send notice by |
| 122 | certified mail, return receipt requested, to the registered |
| 123 | owner of each vehicle, if the registered owner is a person other |
| 124 | than the defendant, and to each person of record claiming a lien |
| 125 | against the vehicle. |
| 126 | (i) All costs and fees for the impoundment or |
| 127 | immobilization, including the cost of notification and a $50 |
| 128 | administrative cost payable to the impoundment agency, must be |
| 129 | paid by the owner of the vehicle or, if the vehicle is leased or |
| 130 | rented, by the person leasing or renting the vehicle, unless the |
| 131 | impoundment or immobilization order is dismissed. All provisions |
| 132 | of s. 713.78 shall apply. |
| 133 |
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| 134 | For the purposes of this section, any conviction for a violation |
| 135 | of s. 327.35; a previous conviction for the violation of former |
| 136 | s. 316.1931, former s. 860.01, or former s. 316.028; or a |
| 137 | previous conviction outside this state for driving under the |
| 138 | influence, driving while intoxicated, driving with an unlawful |
| 139 | blood-alcohol level, driving with an unlawful breath-alcohol |
| 140 | level, or any other similar alcohol-related or drug-related |
| 141 | traffic offense, is also considered a previous conviction for |
| 142 | violation of this section. However, in satisfaction of the fine |
| 143 | imposed pursuant to this section, the court may, upon a finding |
| 144 | that the defendant is financially unable to pay either all or |
| 145 | part of the fine, order that the defendant participate for a |
| 146 | specified additional period of time in public service or a |
| 147 | community work project in lieu of payment of that portion of the |
| 148 | fine which the court determines the defendant is unable to pay. |
| 149 | In determining such additional sentence, the court shall |
| 150 | consider the amount of the unpaid portion of the fine and the |
| 151 | reasonable value of the services to be ordered; however, the |
| 152 | court may not compute the reasonable value of services at a rate |
| 153 | less than the federal minimum wage at the time of sentencing. |
| 154 | (13) If personnel of the circuit court or the sheriff do |
| 155 | not immobilize vehicles, the person responsible for immobilizing |
| 156 | vehicles in that judicial circuit is subject to strict |
| 157 | compliance with the following conditions and restrictions: |
| 158 | (a) Any person engaged in the business of immobilizing |
| 159 | vehicles shall: |
| 160 | 1. Have at least 1 year of verifiable experience in |
| 161 | immobilizing vehicles; and |
| 162 | 2. Maintain accurate and complete records of all payments |
| 163 | for the immobilization, copies of all documents pertaining to |
| 164 | the court's order of impoundment or immobilization, and any |
| 165 | other documents relevant to each immobilization. These records |
| 166 | must be maintained by the immobilization operator for at least 3 |
| 167 | years. |
| 168 | (b) The individual who immobilizes a vehicle must not have |
| 169 | been convicted of any felony or of driving or boating under the |
| 170 | influence of alcohol or controlled substances. |
| 171 | (c) A person who violates paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) |
| 172 | commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as |
| 173 | provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. |
| 174 | (d) Any person who is aggrieved by a person's violation of |
| 175 | paragraph (a) may bring a civil action against the person |
| 176 | seeking injunctive relief, actual damages, reasonable attorney's |
| 177 | fees and costs, and any other remedy available at law or in |
| 178 | equity. |
| 179 | (14) As used in this chapter, the terms: |
| 180 | (a) "Immobilization," "immobilizing," or "immobilize" mean |
| 181 | the act of installing a vehicle antitheft device on the steering |
| 182 | wheel of a vehicle, the act of placing a tire lock or wheel |
| 183 | clamp on a vehicle, or the act of taking physical possession of |
| 184 | the license tag and vehicle registration rendering a vehicle |
| 185 | legally inoperable to prevent any person from operating the |
| 186 | vehicle. |
| 187 | (b) "Impoundment," "impounding," or "impound" means the |
| 188 | act of storing a vehicle at a storage facility where the person |
| 189 | impounding the vehicle exercises control, supervision, and |
| 190 | responsibility over the vehicle. |
| 191 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |