Florida Senate - 2018 CS for SB 1414
By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Rouson
596-02948-18 20181414c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to specialty license plates; amending
3 s. 320.06, F.S.; providing an exception to the design
4 requirements of license plates issued for vehicles
5 taxed under a specified provision; amending s.
6 320.0657, F.S.; providing an exception to the design
7 requirements of fleet license plates; authorizing
8 fleet companies to purchase specialty license plates
9 in lieu of the standard fleet license plates for
10 additional fees; providing that fleet companies are
11 responsible for all costs associated with the
12 specialty license plate; amending s. 320.08, F.S.;
13 authorizing dealers to purchase specialty license
14 plates in lieu of the standard graphic dealer license
15 plates for additional fees; providing that dealers are
16 responsible for all costs associated with the
17 specialty license plate; amending s. 320.08056, F.S.;
18 authorizing the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
19 Vehicles to authorize dealer and fleet specialty
20 license plates; authorizing a dealer or fleet company,
21 with the permission of the sponsoring specialty
22 license plate organization, to purchase specialty
23 license plates to be used on dealer and fleet
24 vehicles; requiring a dealer or fleet specialty
25 license plate to include the letters “DLR” or “FLT” on
26 the right side of the license plate; requiring dealer
27 and fleet specialty license plates to be ordered
28 directly from the department; establishing an annual
29 use fee for the Highwaymen license plate; amending s.
30 320.08058, F.S.; directing the department to develop a
31 Highwaymen license plate; providing for distribution
32 and use of fees collected from the sale of the plate;
33 providing an effective date.
34
35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
38 320.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
39 320.06 Registration certificates, license plates, and
40 validation stickers generally.—
41 (3)(a) Registration license plates must be made of metal
42 specially treated with a retroreflection material, as specified
43 by the department. The registration license plate is designed to
44 increase nighttime visibility and legibility and must be at
45 least 6 inches wide and not less than 12 inches in length,
46 unless a plate with reduced dimensions is deemed necessary by
47 the department to accommodate motorcycles, mopeds, or similar
48 smaller vehicles. Validation stickers must also be treated with
49 a retroreflection material, must be of such size as specified by
50 the department, and must adhere to the license plate. The
51 registration license plate must be imprinted with a combination
52 of bold letters and numerals or numerals, not to exceed seven
53 digits, to identify the registration license plate number. The
54 license plate must be imprinted with the word “Florida” at the
55 top and the name of the county in which it is sold, the state
56 motto, or the words “Sunshine State” at the bottom. Apportioned
57 license plates must have the word “Apportioned” at the bottom
58 and license plates issued for vehicles taxed under s.
59 320.08(3)(d), (4)(m) or (n), (5)(b) or (c), or (14) must have
60 the word “Restricted” at the bottom. License plates issued for
61 vehicles taxed under s. 320.08(12) must be imprinted with the
62 word “Florida” at the top and the word “Dealer” at the bottom
63 unless the license plate is a specialty license plate as
64 authorized in s. 320.08056. Manufacturer license plates issued
65 for vehicles taxed under s. 320.08(12) must be imprinted with
66 the word “Florida” at the top and the word “Manufacturer” at the
67 bottom. License plates issued for vehicles taxed under s.
68 320.08(5)(d) or (e) must be imprinted with the word “Wrecker” at
69 the bottom. Any county may, upon majority vote of the county
70 commission, elect to have the county name removed from the
71 license plates sold in that county. The state motto or the words
72 “Sunshine State” shall be printed in lieu thereof. A license
73 plate issued for a vehicle taxed under s. 320.08(6) may not be
74 assigned a registration license number, or be issued with any
75 other distinctive character or designation, that distinguishes
76 the motor vehicle as a for-hire motor vehicle.
77 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
78 320.0657, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
79 320.0657 Permanent registration; fleet license plates.—
80 (2)
81 (b) The plates, which shall be of a distinctive color,
82 shall have the word “Fleet” appearing at the bottom and the word
83 “Florida” appearing at the top unless the license plate is a
84 specialty license plate as authorized in s. 320.08056. The
85 plates shall conform in all respects to the provisions of this
86 chapter, except as specified herein. For additional fees as set
87 forth in s. 320.08056, fleet companies may purchase specialty
88 license plates in lieu of the standard fleet license plates.
89 Fleet companies shall be responsible for all costs associated
90 with the specialty license plates, including all annual use
91 fees, processing fees, fees associated with switching license
92 plate types, and any other applicable fees.
93 Section 3. Subsection (12) of section 320.08, Florida
94 Statutes, is amended to read:
95 320.08 License taxes.—Except as otherwise provided herein,
96 there are hereby levied and imposed annual license taxes for the
97 operation of motor vehicles, mopeds, motorized bicycles as
98 defined in s. 316.003(3), tri-vehicles as defined in s. 316.003,
99 and mobile homes as defined in s. 320.01, which shall be paid to
100 and collected by the department or its agent upon the
101 registration or renewal of registration of the following:
102 (12) DEALER AND MANUFACTURER LICENSE PLATES.—A franchised
103 motor vehicle dealer, independent motor vehicle dealer, marine
104 boat trailer dealer, or mobile home dealer and manufacturer
105 license plate: $17 flat, of which $4.50 shall be deposited into
106 the General Revenue Fund. For additional fees as set forth in s.
107 320.08056, dealers may purchase specialty license plates in lieu
108 of the standard graphic dealer license plates. Dealers shall be
109 responsible for all costs associated with the specialty license
110 plates, including all annual use fees, processing fees, fees
111 associated with switching license plate types, and any other
112 applicable fees.
113 Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 320.08056, Florida
114 Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (ffff) is added to
115 subsection (4) of that section, to read:
116 320.08056 Specialty license plates.—
117 (2)(a) The department shall issue a specialty license plate
118 to the owner or lessee of any motor vehicle, except a vehicle
119 registered under the International Registration Plan, a
120 commercial truck required to display two license plates pursuant
121 to s. 320.0706, or a truck tractor, upon request and payment of
122 the appropriate license tax and fees.
123 (b) The department may authorize dealer and fleet specialty
124 license plates. With the permission of the sponsoring specialty
125 license plate organization, a dealer or fleet company may
126 purchase specialty license plates to be used on dealer and fleet
127 vehicles.
128 (c) Notwithstanding s. 320.08058, a dealer or fleet
129 specialty license plate must include the letters “DLR” or “FLT”
130 on the right side of the license plate. Dealer and fleet
131 specialty license plates must be ordered directly from the
132 department.
133 (4) The following license plate annual use fees shall be
134 collected for the appropriate specialty license plates:
135 (ffff) Highwaymen license plate, $25.
136 Section 5. Subsection (84) is added to section 320.08058,
137 Florida Statutes, to read:
138 320.08058 Specialty license plates.—
139 (84) HIGHWAYMEN LICENSE PLATES.—
140 (a) The department shall develop a Highwaymen license plate
141 as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The plate must
142 bear the colors and design approved by the department. The word
143 “Florida” must appear at the top of the plate, and the word
144 “Highwaymen” must appear at the bottom of the plate.
145 (b) The annual use fees shall be distributed to the City of
146 Fort Pierce, subject to a city resolution designating the city
147 as the fiscal agent of the license plate. The city may use up to
148 10 percent of the fees for administrative costs and marketing of
149 the plate, and shall use the remainder of the fees as follows:
150 1. Before completion of construction of the Highwaymen
151 Museum and African-American Cultural Center, the city shall
152 distribute a minimum of 15 percent to the St. Lucie Education
153 Foundation, Inc., to fund art education and art projects in
154 public schools within St. Lucie County. The remainder of the
155 fees shall be used by the city to fund the construction of the
156 Highwaymen Museum and African-American Cultural Center.
157 2. Upon completion of construction of the Highwaymen Museum
158 and African-American Cultural Center, the city shall distribute
159 a minimum of 10 percent to the St. Lucie Education Foundation,
160 Inc., to fund art education and art projects in public schools
161 within St. Lucie County. The remainder of the fees shall be used
162 by the city to fund the day-to-day operations of the Highwaymen
163 Museum and African-American Cultural Center.
164 Section 6. This act shall take effect October 1, 2018.