HB 5501

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Department of Highway Safety and
3	Motor Vehicles; amending s. 20.24, F.S.; reorganizing the
4	department into two divisions; removing provisions for the
5	Divisions of Driver Licenses and Motor Vehicles;
6	establishing the Division of Motorist Services; creating
7	s. 218.337, F.S.; providing for a tax collector to
8	establish branch offices to conduct state or county
9	business; providing for approval of the tax collector's
10	budget by the Department of Financial Services; amending
11	ss. 288.816, 311.121, 316.1957, 316.613, 318.15, 320.05,
12	320.275, 322.20, and 413.012, F.S., relating to issuance
13	of special license plates to officials of foreign
14	governments, seaport security officer qualifications and
15	training coordinating council, parking violations, child
16	restraint devices, failure to comply or to appear,
17	creation and maintenance of records, appointments to the
18	Automobile Dealers Industry Advisory Board, records of the
19	department, and disclosure of confidential records,
20	respectively; conforming provisions to the reorganization
21	of the department; specifying that creation and
22	maintenance of records by the Division of Motorist
23	Services pursuant to specified provisions shall not be
24	regarded as law enforcement functions of agency
25	recordkeeping; amending s. 322.02, F.S.; providing for the
26	department to employ a director to serve as the executive
27	officer of the Division of Motorist Services for
28	administration of specified provisions relating to
29	driver's licenses; amending s. 322.135, F.S.; revising
30	provisions for the department to authorize tax collectors
31	to act as agents for the provision of driver's license
32	services; providing for certain tax collectors to assume
33	all driver's license issuance services; authorizing the
34	department to adopt rules to exempt certain counties from
35	providing such services; providing for a county tax
36	collector to provide driver's license services for another
37	county under an interlocal agreement; amending s. 322.202,
38	F.S.; providing legislative findings relating to arrests
39	based on information obtained from the Division of
40	Motorist Services; amending s. 322.21, F.S.; revising
41	distribution of certain fees collected for issuance of
42	replacement driver's licenses and identification cards;
43	revising certain duties to conform to the reorganization
44	of the department; providing an effective date.
45
46	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48	Section 1.  Section 20.24, Florida Statutes, is amended to
49	read:
50	20.24  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.-
51	There is created a Department of Highway Safety and Motor
52	Vehicles.
53	(1)  The head of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
54	Vehicles is the Governor and Cabinet.
55	(2)  The following divisions, and bureaus within the
56	divisions, of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
57	Vehicles are established:
58	(a)  Division of the Florida Highway Patrol.
59	(b)  Division of Motorist Services.
60	(b)  Division of Driver Licenses.
61	(c)  Division of Motor Vehicles.
62	Section 2.  Section 218.337, Florida Statutes, is created
63	to read:
64	218.337  Tax collectors; branch offices.-A tax collector
65	may establish one or more branch offices by acquiring title to
66	real property or by lease agreement. The tax collector may staff
67	and equip such branch offices to conduct state business only
68	upon execution of an interagency agreement or, if authorized to
69	do so by resolution of the county governing body, conduct
70	business pursuant to s. (1)(k), Art. VIII of the State
71	Constitution. The department shall rely on the tax collector's
72	determination that a branch office is necessary and shall base
73	its approval of the tax collector's budget in accordance with
74	the procedures of s. 195.087(2).
75	Section 3.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section
76	288.816, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
77	288.816  Intergovernmental relations.-
78	(2)  The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development
79	shall be responsible for all consular relations between the
80	state and all foreign governments doing business in Florida. The
81	office shall monitor United States laws and directives to ensure
82	that all federal treaties regarding foreign privileges and
83	immunities are properly observed. The office shall promulgate
84	rules which shall:
85	(e)  Verify entitlement to issuance of special motor
86	vehicle license plates by the Division of Motor Vehicles of the
87	Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to honorary
88	consuls or such other officials representing foreign governments
89	who are not entitled to issuance of special Consul Corps license
90	plates by the United States Government.
91	Section 4.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
92	311.121, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
93	311.121  Qualifications, training, and certification of
94	licensed security officers at Florida seaports.-
95	(3)  The Seaport Security Officer Qualification, Training,
96	and Standards Coordinating Council is created under the
97	Department of Law Enforcement.
98	(a)  The executive director of the Department of Law
99	Enforcement shall appoint 11 members to the council, to include:
100	1.  The seaport administrator of the Department of Law
101	Enforcement.
102	2.  The Commissioner of Education or his or her designee.
103	3.  The director of the Division of Licensing of the
104	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
105	4.  The administrator of the Florida Seaport Transportation
106	and Economic Development Council.
107	5.  Two seaport security directors from seaports designated
108	under s. 311.09.
109	6.  One director of a state law enforcement academy.
110	7.  One representative of a local law enforcement agency.
111	8.  Two representatives of contract security services.
112	9.  One representative of the Division of Driver Licenses
113	of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
114	Section 5.  Section 316.1957, Florida Statutes, is amended
115	to read:
116	316.1957  Parking violations; designated parking spaces for
117	persons who have disabilities.-When evidence is presented in any
118	court of the fact that any motor vehicle was parked in a
119	properly designated parking space for persons who have
120	disabilities in violation of s. 316.1955, it is prima facie
121	evidence that the vehicle was parked and left in the space by
122	the person, firm, or corporation in whose name the vehicle is
123	registered and licensed according to the records of the
124	department Division of Motor Vehicles.
125	Section 6.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
126	316.613, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
127	316.613  Child restraint requirements.-
128	(1)
129	(b)  The department Division of Motor Vehicles shall
130	provide notice of the requirement for child restraint devices,
131	which notice shall accompany the delivery of each motor vehicle
132	license tag.
133	Section 7.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
134	318.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
135	318.15  Failure to comply with civil penalty or to appear;
136	penalty.-
137	(1)(a)  If a person fails to comply with the civil
138	penalties provided in s. 318.18 within the time period specified
139	in s. 318.14(4), fails to enter into or comply with the terms of
140	a penalty payment plan with the clerk of the court in accordance
141	with ss. 318.14 and 28.246, fails to attend driver improvement
142	school, or fails to appear at a scheduled hearing, the clerk of
143	the court shall notify the Division of Driver Licenses of the
144	Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles of such failure
145	within 10 days after such failure. Upon receipt of such notice,
146	the department shall immediately issue an order suspending the
147	driver's license and privilege to drive of such person effective
148	20 days after the date the order of suspension is mailed in
149	accordance with s. 322.251(1), (2), and (6). Any such suspension
150	of the driving privilege which has not been reinstated,
151	including a similar suspension imposed outside Florida, shall
152	remain on the records of the department for a period of 7 years
153	from the date imposed and shall be removed from the records
154	after the expiration of 7 years from the date it is imposed.
155	Section 8.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) and subsection
156	(5) of section 320.05, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
157	320.05  Records of the department; inspection procedure;
158	lists and searches; fees.-
159	(3)
160	(b)  Fees therefor shall be charged and collected as
161	follows:
162	1.  For providing lists of motor vehicle or vessel records
163	for the entire state, or any part or parts thereof, divided
164	according to counties, a sum computed at a rate of not less than
165	1 cent nor more than 5 cents per item.
166	2.  For providing noncertified photographic copies of motor
167	vehicle or vessel documents, $1 per page.
168	3.  For providing noncertified photographic copies of
169	micrographic records, $1 per page.
170	4.  For providing certified copies of motor vehicle or
171	vessel records, $3 per record.
172	5.  For providing noncertified computer-generated printouts
173	of motor vehicle or vessel records, 50 cents per record.
174	6.  For providing certified computer-generated printouts of
175	motor vehicle or vessel records, $3 per record.
176	7.  For providing electronic access to motor vehicle,
177	vessel, and mobile home registration data requested by tag,
178	vehicle identification number, title number, or decal number, 50
179	cents per item.
180	8.  For providing electronic access to driver's license
181	status report by name, sex, and date of birth or by driver
182	license number, 50 cents per item.
183	9.  For providing lists of licensed mobile home dealers and
184	manufacturers and recreational vehicle dealers and
185	manufacturers, $15 per list.
186	10.  For providing lists of licensed motor vehicle dealers,
187	$25 per list.
188	11.  For each copy of a videotape record, $15 per tape.
189	12.  For each copy of the Division of Motorist Services
190	Motor Vehicles Procedures Manual, $25.
191	(5)  The creation and maintenance of records by the
192	Division of Motorist Services within the department and the
193	Division of Motor Vehicles pursuant to this chapter shall not be
194	regarded as law enforcement functions of agency recordkeeping.
195	Section 9.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) of
196	section 320.275, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
197	320.275  Automobile Dealers Industry Advisory Board.-
198	(2)  MEMBERSHIP, TERMS, MEETINGS.-
199	(a)  The board shall be composed of 12 members. The
200	executive director of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
201	Vehicles shall appoint the members from names submitted by the
202	entities for the designated categories the member will
203	represent. The executive director shall appoint one
204	representative of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
205	Vehicles, who must represent the Division of Motor Vehicles; two
206	representatives of the independent motor vehicle industry as
207	recommended by the Florida Independent Automobile Dealers
208	Association; two representatives of the franchise motor vehicle
209	industry as recommended by the Florida Automobile Dealers
210	Association; one representative of the auction motor vehicle
211	industry who is from an auction chain and is recommended by a
212	group affiliated with the National Auto Auction Association; one
213	representative of the auction motor vehicle industry who is from
214	an independent auction and is recommended by a group affiliated
215	with the National Auto Auction Association; one representative
216	from the Department of Revenue; a Florida tax collector
217	representative recommended by the Florida Tax Collectors
218	Association; one representative from the Better Business Bureau;
219	one representative from the Department of Agriculture and
220	Consumer Services, who must represent the Division of Consumer
221	Services; and one representative of the insurance industry who
222	writes motor vehicle dealer surety bonds.
223	(b)1.  The executive director shall appoint the following
224	initial members to 1-year terms: one representative from the
225	motor vehicle auction industry who represents an auction chain,
226	one representative from the independent motor vehicle industry,
227	one representative from the franchise motor vehicle industry,
228	one representative from the Department of Revenue, one Florida
229	tax collector, and one representative from the Better Business
230	Bureau.
231	2.  The executive director shall appoint the following
232	initial members to 2-year terms: one representative from the
233	motor vehicle auction industry who represents an independent
234	auction, one representative from the independent motor vehicle
235	industry, one representative from the franchise motor vehicle
236	industry, one representative from the Division of Consumer
237	Services, one representative from the insurance industry, and
238	one representative from the department Division of Motor
239	Vehicles.
240	3.  As the initial terms expire, the executive director
241	shall appoint successors from the same designated category for
242	terms of 2 years. If renominated, a member may succeed himself
243	or herself.
244	4.  The board shall appoint a chair and vice chair at its
245	initial meeting and every 2 years thereafter.
246	Section 10.  Subsection (3) of section 322.02, Florida
247	Statutes, is amended to read:
248	322.02  Legislative intent; administration.-
249	(3)  The department shall employ a director, who is charged
250	with the duty of serving as the executive officer of the
251	Division of Motorist Services Driver Licenses of the department
252	insofar as the administration of this chapter is concerned. He
253	or she shall be subject to the supervision and direction of the
254	department, and his or her official actions and decisions as
255	executive officer shall be conclusive unless the same are
256	superseded or reversed by the department or by a court of
257	competent jurisdiction.
258	Section 11.  Subsections (1) and (5) of section 322.135,
259	Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (7) is added to
260	that section, to read:
261	322.135  Driver's license agents.-
262	(1)  The department shall, upon application, authorize by
263	interagency agreement any or all of the tax collectors who are
264	constitutional officers under s. 1(d), Art. VIII of the State
265	Constitution in the several counties of the state, subject to
266	the requirements of law, in accordance with rules of the
267	department, to serve as its agent for the provision of specified
268	driver's license services.
269	(a)  These services shall be limited to the issuance of
270	driver's licenses and identification cards as authorized by this
271	chapter.
272	(b)  Each tax collector who is authorized by the department
273	to provide driver's license services shall bear all costs
274	associated with providing those services.
275	(c)  A service fee of $6.25 shall be charged, in addition
276	to the fees set forth in this chapter, for providing all
277	services pursuant to this chapter. The service fee may not be
278	charged:
279	1.  More than once per customer during a single visit to a
280	tax collector's office.
281	2.  For a reexamination requested by the Medical Advisory
282	Board or required pursuant to s. 322.221.
283	3.  For a voter registration transaction.
284	4.  In violation of any federal or state law.
285	(5)  All driver's license issuance services shall be
286	assumed by the tax collectors who are constitutional officers
287	under s. 1(d), Art. VIII of the State Constitution no later than
288	December 31, 2013. The department, in conjunction with the
289	Florida Tax Collectors Association and the Florida Association
290	of Counties, shall develop a plan to transition all driver's
291	license issuance services to the county tax collectors who are
292	constitutional officers under s. 1(d), Art. VIII of the State
293	Constitution. The transition plan must be submitted to the
294	President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
295	Representatives on or before February 1, 2011. The transition
296	plan must include a timeline to complete the full transition of
297	all driver's license issuance services no later than June 30,
298	2015, and may include, but is not limited to, recommendations on
299	the use of regional service centers, interlocal agreements, and
300	equipment.
301	(7)  The department may adopt rules to create exceptions
302	for counties that cannot provide full driver's license services
303	due to their small population. In addition, counties may enter
304	into interlocal agreements providing for a county tax collector
305	to provide driver's license services for another county.
306	Section 12.  Subsections (9), (10), (13), (14), and (16) of
307	section 322.20, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
308	322.20  Records of the department; fees; destruction of
309	records.-
310	(9)  The department may, upon application, furnish to any
311	person, from its records the records of the Division of Driver
312	Licenses, a list of the names, addresses, and birth dates of the
313	licensed drivers of the entire state or any portion thereof by
314	age group. In addition, the department may furnish to the
315	courts, for the purpose of establishing jury selection lists,
316	the names, addresses, and birth dates of the persons of the
317	entire state or any portion thereof by age group having
318	identification cards issued by the department. Each person who
319	requests such information shall pay a fee, set by the
320	department, of 1 cent per name listed, except that the
321	department shall furnish such information without charge to the
322	courts for the purpose of jury selection or to any state agency
323	or to any state attorney, sheriff, or chief of police. Such
324	court, state agency, state attorney, or law enforcement agency
325	may not sell, give away, or allow the copying of such
326	information. Noncompliance with this prohibition shall authorize
327	the department to charge the noncomplying court, state agency,
328	state attorney, or law enforcement agency the appropriate fee
329	for any subsequent lists requested. The department may adopt
330	rules necessary to implement this subsection.
331	(10)  The department Division of Driver Licenses is
332	authorized, upon application of any person and payment of the
333	proper fees, to search and to assist such person in the search
334	of the records of the department and make reports thereof and to
335	make photographic copies of the departmental records and
336	attestations thereof.
337	(13)  The department Division of Driver Licenses shall
338	implement a system that allows either parent of a minor, or a
339	guardian, or other responsible adult who signed a minor's
340	application for a driver's license to have Internet access
341	through a secure website to inspect the minor's driver history
342	record. Internet access to driver history records granted to a
343	minor's parents, guardian, or other responsible adult shall be
344	furnished by the department at no fee and shall terminate when
345	the minor attains 18 years of age.
346	(14)  The department is authorized in accordance with
347	chapter 257 to destroy reports, records, documents, papers, and
348	correspondence in the Division of Driver Licenses which are
349	considered obsolete.
350	(16)  The creation and maintenance of records by the
351	Division of Motorist Services within the department and the
352	Division of Driver Licenses pursuant to this chapter shall not
353	be regarded as law enforcement functions of agency
354	recordkeeping.
355	Section 13.  Section 322.202, Florida Statutes, is amended
356	to read:
357	322.202  Admission of evidence obtained from the Division
358	of Motorist Services Driver Licenses and the Division of Motor
359	Vehicles.-
360	(1)  The Legislature finds that the Division of Motorist
361	Services Driver Licenses and the Division of Motor Vehicles of
362	the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is are not a
363	law enforcement agency agencies. The Legislature also finds that
364	the division is not an adjunct divisions are not adjuncts of any
365	law enforcement agency in that employees have no stake in
366	particular prosecutions. The Legislature further finds that
367	errors in records maintained by the division divisions are not
368	within the collective knowledge of any law enforcement agency.
369	The Legislature also finds that the missions of the division of
370	Driver Licenses, the Division of Motor Vehicles, and the
371	department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles provide a
372	sufficient incentive to maintain records in a current and
373	correct fashion.
374	(2)  The Legislature finds that the purpose of the
375	exclusionary rule is to deter misconduct on the part of law
376	enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies.
377	(3)  The Legislature finds that the application of the
378	exclusionary rule to cases where a law enforcement officer
379	effects an arrest based on objectively reasonable reliance on
380	information obtained from the division divisions is repugnant to
381	the purposes of the exclusionary rule and contrary to the
382	decisions of the United States Supreme Court in Arizona v.
383	Evans, 514 U.S. 1 (1995) and United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897
384	(1984).
385	(4)  In any case where a law enforcement officer effects an
386	arrest based on objectively reasonable reliance on information
387	obtained from the division divisions, evidence found pursuant to
388	such an arrest shall not be suppressed by application of the
389	exclusionary rule on the grounds that the arrest is subsequently
390	determined to be unlawful due to erroneous information obtained
391	from the division divisions.
392	Section 14.  Paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (1) and
393	subsection (2) of section 322.21, Florida Statutes, are amended
394	to read:
395	322.21  License fees; procedure for handling and collecting
396	fees.-
397	(1)  Except as otherwise provided herein, the fee for:
398	(e)  A replacement driver's license issued pursuant to s.
399	322.17 is $25. Of this amount $7 shall be deposited into the
400	Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund if issued by the department
401	or retained by the tax collector if issued by the tax collector
402	and $18 shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
403	(f)  An original, renewal, or replacement identification
404	card issued pursuant to s. 322.051 is $25. Funds collected from
405	these fees shall be distributed as follows:
406	1.  For an original identification card issued pursuant to
407	s. 322.051 the fee is $25. This amount shall be deposited into
408	the General Revenue Fund.
409	2.  For a renewal identification card issued pursuant to s.
410	322.051 the fee is $25. Of this amount, $6 shall be deposited
411	into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund and $19 shall be
412	deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
413	3.  For a replacement identification card issued pursuant
414	to s. 322.051 the fee is $25. Of this amount, $9 shall be
415	deposited into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund if issued
416	by the department or retained by the tax collector if issued by
417	the tax collector and $16 shall be deposited into the General
418	Revenue Fund.
419	(2)  It is the duty of the Division of Motorist Services to
420	provide Director of the Division of Driver Licenses to set up a
421	division in the department with the necessary personnel to
422	perform the necessary clerical and routine work for the
423	department in issuing and recording applications, licenses, and
424	certificates of eligibility, including the receiving and
425	accounting of all license funds and their payment into the State
426	Treasury, and other incidental clerical work connected with the
427	administration of this chapter. The department may use such
428	electronic, mechanical, or other devices as necessary to
429	accomplish the purposes of this chapter.
430	Section 15.  Subsection (2) of section 413.012, Florida
431	Statutes, is amended to read:
432	413.012  Confidential records disclosure prohibited;
433	exemptions.-
434	(2)  It is unlawful for any person to disclose, authorize
435	the disclosure, solicit, receive, or make use of any list of
436	names and addresses or any record containing any information set
437	forth in subsection (1) and maintained in the division. The
438	prohibition provided for in this subsection shall not apply to
439	the use of such information for purposes directly connected with
440	the administration of the vocational rehabilitation program or
441	with the monthly dispatch to the Division of Driver Licenses of
442	the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles of the name
443	in full, place and date of birth, sex, social security number,
444	and resident address of individuals with central visual acuity
445	20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting glasses, or a
446	disqualifying field defect in which the peripheral field has
447	contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter or visual
448	field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees.
449	When requested in writing by an applicant or client, or her or
450	his representative, the Division of Blind Services shall release
451	confidential information to the applicant or client or her or
452	his representative.
453	Section 16.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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