Florida Senate - 2015 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE Bill No. CS for SB 282 Ì692926EÎ692926 595-03737-15 Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Rules (Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice) 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to tracking devices or tracking 3 applications; creating s. 934.425, F.S.; defining 4 terms; prohibiting the installation of a tracking 5 device or tracking application without a person’s 6 consent; creating a presumption that consent is 7 revoked upon initiation of specified proceedings; 8 providing exceptions to the prohibition on 9 installation of tracking devices or tracking 10 applications; providing criminal penalties; amending 11 s. 493.6118, F.S.; providing that violations of the 12 prohibition on installation of tracking devices and 13 tracking applications by private investigative, 14 private security, and repossession services are 15 grounds for disciplinary action, to which penalties 16 apply; providing an effective date. 17 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19 20 Section 1. Section 934.425, Florida Statutes, is created to 21 read: 22 934.425 Installation of tracking devices or tracking 23 applications; exceptions; penalties.— 24 (1) As used in this section, the term: 25 (a) “Business entity” means any form of corporation, 26 partnership, association, cooperative, joint venture, business 27 trust, or sole proprietorship that conducts business in this 28 state. 29 (b) “Person” means an individual and does not mean a 30 business entity. 31 (c) “Tracking application” means any software program whose 32 primary purpose is to track or identify the location or movement 33 of an individual. 34 (d) “Tracking device” means any device whose primary 35 purpose is to reveal its location or movement by the 36 transmission of electronic signals. 37 (2) Except as provided in subsection (4), a person may not 38 knowingly install a tracking device or tracking application on 39 another person’s property without the other person’s consent. 40 (3) For purposes of this section, a person’s consent is 41 presumed to be revoked if: 42 (a) The consenting person and the person to whom consent 43 was given are lawfully married and one person files a petition 44 for dissolution of marriage from the other; or 45 (b) The consenting person or the person to whom consent was 46 given files an injunction for protection against the other 47 person pursuant to s. 741.30, s. 741.315, s. 784.046, or s. 48 784.0485. 49 (4) This section does not apply to: 50 (a) A law enforcement officer as defined in s. 943.10, or 51 any local, state, federal, or military law enforcement agency, 52 that lawfully installs a tracking device or tracking application 53 on another person’s property as part of a criminal 54 investigation. 55 (b) A parent or legal guardian of a minor child that 56 installs a tracking device or tracking application on the minor 57 child’s property if: 58 1. The parents or legal guardians are lawfully married to 59 each other and are not separated or otherwise living apart, and 60 either parent or legal guardian consents to the installation of 61 the tracking device or tracking application; 62 2. The parent or legal guardian is the sole surviving 63 parent or legal guardian of the minor child; 64 3. The parent or legal guardian has sole custody of the 65 minor child; or 66 4. The parents or legal guardians are divorced, separated, 67 or otherwise living apart and both consent to the installation 68 of the tracking device or tracking application. 69 (c) A caregiver of an elderly person or disabled adult, as 70 those terms are defined in s. 825.101, if the elderly person’s 71 or disabled adult’s treating physician certifies that the 72 installation of a tracking device or tracking application onto 73 the elderly person’s or disabled adult’s property is necessary 74 to ensure the safety of the elderly person or disabled adult. 75 (d) A person acting in good faith on behalf of a business 76 entity for a legitimate business purpose. This paragraph does 77 not apply to a person engaged in private investigation, as 78 defined in s. 493.6101, on behalf of another person unless such 79 activities would otherwise be exempt under this subsection if 80 performed by the person engaging the private investigator. 81 (e) An owner or lessee of a motor vehicle that installs, or 82 directs the installation of, a tracking device or tracking 83 application on such vehicle during the period of ownership or 84 lease, provided that: 85 1. The tracking device or tracking application is removed 86 before the vehicle’s title is transferred or the vehicle’s lease 87 expires; 88 2. The new owner of the vehicle, in the case of a sale, or 89 the lessor of the vehicle, in the case of an expired lease, 90 consents in writing to the nonremoval of the tracking device or 91 tracking application; or 92 3. The owner of the vehicle at the time of the installation 93 of the tracking device or tracking application was the original 94 manufacturer of the vehicle. 95 (5) A person who violates this section commits a 96 noncriminal infraction, punishable by a $250.00 fine, for a 97 first violation. A person who commits a second or subsequent 98 violation commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable 99 as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 100 Section 2. Paragraph (y) is added to subsection (1) of 101 section 493.6118, Florida Statutes, to read: 102 493.6118 Grounds for disciplinary action.— 103 (1) The following constitute grounds for which disciplinary 104 action specified in subsection (2) may be taken by the 105 department against any licensee, agency, or applicant regulated 106 by this chapter, or any unlicensed person engaged in activities 107 regulated under this chapter. 108 (y) Installation of a tracking device or tracking 109 application in violation of s. 934.425. 110 Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2015.