Florida Senate - 2016                                    SB 1584
       
       
        
       By Senator Smith
       
       31-01608-16                                           20161584__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to suspended driver licenses;
    3         establishing a Driver License Reinstatement Days pilot
    4         program in certain counties to facilitate
    5         reinstatement of suspended driver licenses; specifying
    6         participants; providing duties of the clerks of court
    7         and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
    8         Vehicles; authorizing the clerk of court to compromise
    9         certain fees and costs; providing for program
   10         eligibility; directing the department to make a report
   11         to the Governor and Legislature; providing for future
   12         repeal; providing an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Driver License Reinstatement Days.—
   17         (1) There is established a Driver License Reinstatement
   18  Days pilot program in Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade,
   19  Orange, and Pinellas Counties for the purpose of reinstating
   20  suspended driver licenses. Participants within each county shall
   21  include the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the
   22  state attorney, the public defender’s office, the circuit and
   23  county courts, the clerk of court, and interested community
   24  organizations.
   25         (2) The clerk of court, in consultation with the other
   26  participants, shall select 1 or more days for an event at which
   27  persons with suspended driver licenses may have their licenses
   28  reinstated pursuant to this section. A person must pay the full
   29  reinstatement fee; however, the clerk may compromise or waive
   30  other fees and costs to facilitate the reinstatement.
   31         (3)(a) A person is eligible for reinstatement under the
   32  pilot program if the person’s driver license was suspended
   33  because the person:
   34         1. Was driving without a valid driver license;
   35         2. Was driving with a suspended license;
   36         3. Failed to make payments on penalties in collection;
   37         4. Failed to appear in court for a traffic violation; or
   38         5. Failed to comply with provisions of chapter 318, Florida
   39  Statutes, relating to disposition of a traffic citation, or
   40  chapter 322, Florida Statutes, relating to driver licenses.
   41         (b) Notwithstanding paragraphs (4)(a)-(c), a person is
   42  eligible for reinstatement under the pilot program if the period
   43  of suspension or revocation has elapsed, the person has
   44  completed any required course or program as described in
   45  paragraph (4)(c), and the person is otherwise eligible for
   46  reinstatement of his or her driver license.
   47         (4) A person is not eligible for reinstatement under the
   48  pilot program if:
   49         (a) The person’s driver license is under suspension because
   50  the person failed to fulfill court-ordered child support
   51  obligations;
   52         (b) The person’s driver license is under suspension for a
   53  violation under s. 316.193, Florida Statutes, involving driving
   54  under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
   55         (c) The person’s driver license is under suspension because
   56  the person has not completed a driver training program, driver
   57  improvement course, or alcohol or substance abuse education or
   58  evaluation program required under s. 316.192, s. 316.193, s.
   59  322.2616, s. 322.271, or s. 322.291, Florida Statutes;
   60         (d) The person’s driver license is under suspension for
   61  commission of a traffic-related felony;
   62         (e) The person’s driver license was revoked because the
   63  person is a habitual traffic offender under s. 322.264, Florida
   64  Statutes; or
   65         (f) The person’s driver license is under suspension for an
   66  offense committed outside a county in which the pilot program is
   67  being implemented.
   68         (5) The clerk of court and the Department of Highway Safety
   69  and Motor Vehicles shall verify any information necessary for
   70  reinstatement of a driver license under the pilot program.
   71         (6) By October 1, 2017, the Department of Highway Safety
   72  and Motor Vehicles shall report the results of the pilot program
   73  to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
   74  the House of Representatives. The report shall include any
   75  recommendation by the department to continue, discontinue, or
   76  expand the pilot program and any necessary legislative action to
   77  facilitate a continuation or expansion of the pilot program.
   78         (7) This section is repealed October 1, 2017.
   79         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.