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