Florida Senate - 2014 CS for CS for SB 754
By the Committees on Transportation; and Banking and Insurance;
and Senator Bradley
596-03738-14 2014754c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to certificates of destruction for
3 motor vehicles; amending s. 319.23, F.S.; requiring
4 the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to
5 visually inspect a motor vehicle that an applicant for
6 a certificate of title has indicated is a rebuilt
7 motor vehicle; requiring the department to issue an
8 affidavit of compliance if the vehicle is not properly
9 equipped; requiring an applicant to have the repaired
10 vehicle inspected by a law enforcement agency in order
11 to receive a certificate of title; requiring the
12 department to provide a report regarding certificates
13 of title for rebuilt motor vehicles; amending s.
14 319.30, F.S.; defining a term; revising requirements
15 for the department to declare certain mobile homes and
16 motor vehicles unrebuildable and to issue a
17 certificate of destruction; requiring an owner of, or
18 an insurance company for, a motor vehicle that is
19 worth less than a specified amount or is above a
20 certain age to obtain a certificate of destruction
21 under certain circumstances; providing a criminal
22 penalty; amending s. 860.146, F.S.; defining terms and
23 redefining the term “fake airbag”; prohibiting the
24 import, manufacture, offering for sale, or
25 reinstallation of fake airbags; providing a criminal
26 penalty; providing an effective date.
27
28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 319.23, Florida
31 Statutes, is amended to read:
32 319.23 Application for, and issuance of, certificate of
33 title.—
34 (2) The applicant for a certificate of title shall indicate
35 on the application if the motor vehicle is to be used as a
36 taxicab, police vehicle, or lease vehicle or if the motor
37 vehicle or mobile home is a rebuilt vehicle, as those terms are
38 defined in s. 319.14. If the applicant indicates on the
39 application for a certificate of title that the motor vehicle is
40 a rebuilt vehicle, the department shall visually inspect the
41 vehicle. If, upon inspection, the department has reasonable
42 cause to believe that the vehicle is not equipped as required by
43 law, the department shall issue an affidavit of compliance and
44 the applicant must then make necessary repairs and present the
45 vehicle to a law enforcement agency for confirmation that any
46 defect has been corrected pursuant to s. 316.6105, before a
47 certificate of title may be issued for such vehicle. Upon
48 issuance of a certificate of title for such vehicle, the
49 department shall stamp, in a conspicuous place on the title,
50 words stating the nature of the proposed use of the vehicle or
51 stating that the vehicle has been rebuilt and may have
52 previously been declared a total loss vehicle due to damage.
53 This subsection applies to a mobile home, travel trailer,
54 camping trailer, truck camper, or fifth-wheel recreation trailer
55 only when the mobile home or vehicle is a rebuilt vehicle as
56 defined in s. 319.14.
57 Section 2. On or before December 31, 2015, the Department
58 of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall provide a summary
59 report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
60 Speaker of the House of Representatives regarding certificates
61 of title for rebuilt vehicles, along with the department’s
62 recommendations for any legislation necessary to address and
63 correct any needed improvements to the process used to issue
64 certificates of title for rebuilt motor vehicles. The summary
65 report must include, but is not limited to, a review of the
66 affidavits of compliance issued and submitted that evidence
67 corrections made to rebuilt salvage motor vehicles, and data on
68 crashes caused by vehicle defects involving rebuilt motor
69 vehicles.
70 Section 3. Present paragraphs (i) through (w) of subsection
71 (1) of section 319.30, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
72 paragraphs (j) through (x), respectively, a new paragraph (i) is
73 added to that subsection, and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of
74 that section is amended, to read:
75 319.30 Definitions; dismantling, destruction, change of
76 identity of motor vehicle or mobile home; salvage.—
77 (1) As used in this section, the term:
78 (i) “Late model vehicle” means a motor vehicle that has a
79 manufacturer’s model year of 7 years or newer.
80 (3)
81 (b) The owner, including persons who are self-insured, of a
82 any motor vehicle or mobile home that which is considered to be
83 salvage shall, within 72 hours after the motor vehicle or mobile
84 home becomes salvage, forward the title to the motor vehicle or
85 mobile home to the department for processing. However, an
86 insurance company that which pays money as compensation for the
87 total loss of a motor vehicle or mobile home shall obtain the
88 certificate of title for the motor vehicle or mobile home, make
89 the required notification to the National Motor Vehicle Title
90 Information System, and, within 72 hours after receiving such
91 certificate of title, shall forward such title to the department
92 for processing. The owner or insurance company, as applicable
93 the case may be, may not dispose of a vehicle or mobile home
94 that is a total loss before it obtains has obtained a salvage
95 certificate of title or certificate of destruction from the
96 department. When applying for a salvage certificate of title or
97 certificate of destruction, the owner or insurance company must
98 provide the department with an estimate of the costs of
99 repairing the physical and mechanical damage suffered by the
100 vehicle for which a salvage certificate of title or certificate
101 of destruction is sought. If the estimated costs of repairing
102 the physical and mechanical damage to the mobile home vehicle
103 are equal to 80 percent or more of the current retail cost of
104 the mobile home vehicle, as established in any official used car
105 or used mobile home guide, the department shall declare the
106 mobile home vehicle unrebuildable and print a certificate of
107 destruction, which authorizes the dismantling or destruction of
108 the motor vehicle or mobile home described therein. For a late
109 model vehicle with a current retail cost of at least $7,500 just
110 prior to sustaining the damage that resulted in the total loss,
111 as established in any official used car guide or valuation
112 service, if the owner or insurance company determines that the
113 estimated costs of repairing the physical and mechanical damage
114 to the vehicle are equal to 90 percent or more of the current
115 retail cost of the vehicle, as established in any official used
116 motor vehicle guide or valuation service, the department shall
117 declare the vehicle unrebuildable and print a certificate of
118 destruction, which authorizes the dismantling or destruction of
119 the motor vehicle. However, if the damaged motor vehicle is
120 equipped with custom-lowered floors for wheelchair access or a
121 wheelchair lift, the insurance company may, upon determining
122 that the vehicle is repairable to a condition that is safe for
123 operation on public roads, submit the certificate of title to
124 the department for reissuance as a salvage rebuildable title and
125 the addition of a title brand of “insurance-declared total
126 loss.” The certificate of destruction shall be reassignable a
127 maximum of two times before dismantling or destruction of the
128 vehicle is shall be required, and shall accompany the motor
129 vehicle or mobile home for which it is issued, when such motor
130 vehicle or mobile home is sold for such purposes, in lieu of a
131 certificate of title., and, thereafter, The department may not
132 issue a shall refuse issuance of any certificate of title for
133 that vehicle. Nothing in This subsection is not shall be
134 applicable if when a mobile home vehicle is worth less than
135 $1,500 retail just prior to sustaining the damage that resulted
136 in the total loss in undamaged condition in any official used
137 motor vehicle guide or used mobile home guide or when a stolen
138 motor vehicle or mobile home is recovered in substantially
139 intact condition and is readily resalable without extensive
140 repairs to or replacement of the frame or engine. If a motor
141 vehicle has a current retail cost of less than $7,500 just prior
142 to sustaining the damage that resulted in the total loss, as
143 established in any official used motor vehicle guide or
144 valuation service, or if the vehicle is not a late model
145 vehicle, the owner or insurance company that pays money as
146 compensation for the total loss of the motor vehicle shall
147 obtain a certificate of destruction, if the motor vehicle is
148 damaged, wrecked, or burned to the extent that the only residual
149 value of the motor vehicle is as a source of parts or scrap
150 metal, or if the motor vehicle comes into this state under a
151 title or other ownership document that indicates that the motor
152 vehicle is not repairable, is junked, or is for parts or
153 dismantling only. A Any person who knowingly violates this
154 paragraph or falsifies documentation any document to avoid the
155 requirements of this paragraph commits a misdemeanor of the
156 first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
157 775.083.
158 Section 4. Section 860.146, Florida Statutes, is amended to
159 read:
160 860.146 Fake airbags; junk-filled airbag compartment.—
161 (1) As used in this section, the term:
162 (a) “Airbag” means a motor vehicle inflatable occupant
163 restraint system, including all component parts, such as the
164 cover, sensors, controllers, inflators, and wiring, that is
165 designed in accordance with federal safety regulations for a
166 given make, model, and year of a vehicle.
167 (b) “Counterfeit airbag” means an airbag displaying a mark
168 identical or similar to the genuine mark of a motor vehicle
169 manufacturer without authorization from said manufacturer.
170 (c) “Fake airbag” means any item other than an airbag that
171 was designed in accordance with federal safety regulations for a
172 given make, model, and year of motor vehicle as part of a motor
173 vehicle inflatable restraint system including counterfeit or
174 nonfunctioning airbags.
175 (d)(b) “Junk-filled airbag compartment” means an airbag
176 compartment that is filled with any substance that does not
177 function in the same manner or to the same extent as an airbag
178 to protect vehicle occupants in a vehicle crash. The term does
179 not include a compartment from which an airbag has deployed if
180 there is no concealment of the deployment.
181 (e) “Nonfunctional airbag” means a replacement airbag that:
182 1. Was previously deployed or damaged;
183 2. Has an electric fault that is detected by the vehicle
184 airbag diagnostic system after the installation procedure is
185 completed; or
186 3. Includes any part or object, including, but not limited
187 to, a counterfeit or repaired airbag cover, installed in a motor
188 vehicle to mislead the owner or operator of such motor vehicle
189 into believing that a functional airbag has been installed.
190 (2) It is unlawful for any person anyone to knowingly
191 import, manufacture, purchase, sell, offer for sale, or install,
192 or reinstall on a any vehicle a any fake airbag or junk-filled
193 airbag compartment. Any person who violates this subsection
194 commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in
195 s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
196 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.