Florida Senate - 2016 CS for SB 1584
By the Committee on Transportation; and Senators Smith and
Thompson
596-02695-16 20161584c1
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 has elapsed, the person has completed any required
44 course or program as described in paragraph (4)(c), and the
45 person is otherwise eligible for reinstatement of his or her
46 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 or administratively
51 established child support obligations;
52 (b) The person’s driver license is under suspension or has
53 been revoked for a violation under s. 316.193, Florida Statutes,
54 involving driving 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 has been revoked 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.