Florida Senate - 2022 SB 812
By Senator Baxley
12-00756A-22 2022812__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to a digital license plate pilot
3 program; providing a short title; amending s. 320.06,
4 F.S.; requiring, rather than authorizing, the
5 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to
6 conduct a certain pilot program; requiring the
7 department to investigate the feasibility and use of
8 certain license plate technologies; defining the term
9 “digital license plate”; creating the Digital License
10 Plate Pilot Program within the department; providing
11 the purpose of the program; requiring the department
12 to allow government-owned motor vehicles to be
13 equipped with a digital license plate in lieu of a
14 metal or paper license plate; requiring the department
15 to contract with two or more digital license plate
16 providers; providing requirements for implementing the
17 program; requiring the department to make certain
18 recommendations to the Legislature by specified dates;
19 authorizing the department to adopt rules; providing
20 an effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “License Plate
25 Modernization Act of 2022.”
26 Section 2. Present subsection (6) of section 320.06,
27 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (7), a new
28 subsection (6) is added to that section, and subsection (5) of
29 that section is amended, to read:
30 320.06 Registration certificates, license plates, and
31 validation stickers generally.—
32 (5) The department shall may conduct a pilot program to
33 evaluate the designs, concepts, and technologies for alternative
34 digital license plates as provided for in subsection (6). For
35 purposes of the pilot program, the department shall investigate
36 the feasibility and use of alternative digital license plate
37 technologies that modernize license plates used in this state
38 and improve public safety, and the long-term cost impact to the
39 consumer. The pilot program shall be limited to license plates
40 that are used on government-owned motor vehicles as described in
41 s. 320.0655. Such license plates are exempt from the
42 requirements in paragraph (3)(a).
43 (6)(a) As used in this section, the term “digital license
44 plate” means an electronic display on a motor vehicle which is
45 designed to do all of the following:
46 1. Display the information required to be included on a
47 metal or paper license plate.
48 2. Display safety alerts issued by a governmental entity,
49 including, but not limited to, emergency alerts, Amber Alerts,
50 and Silver Alerts.
51 3. Display static logos, including unique displays for
52 fleet license plates, digital versions of specialty license
53 plates, and special license plates.
54 4. Display the registration status of the motor vehicle to
55 which the plate is affixed.
56 5. Display any other information that the department, in
57 consultation with law enforcement agencies, determines may
58 improve public safety.
59 6. Integrate with current toll collection systems.
60 7. Connect with the Internet.
61 8. Incorporate geotracking and collision detection
62 technology.
63 9. Use a mobile application and integrate with the
64 department’s information system for the purpose of renewing
65 digital license plate registrations.
66 (b) There is created within the department the Digital
67 License Plate Pilot Program. The purpose of the program is to
68 evaluate the feasibility of using digital license plates
69 throughout this state.
70 (c) Beginning July 1, 2022, the department shall administer
71 the pilot program and allow government-owned motor vehicles
72 registered under this chapter to be equipped with a digital
73 license plate in lieu of a metal or paper license plate issued
74 under this section.
75 (d) The department shall contract with two or more digital
76 license plate providers to participate in the pilot program.
77 (e) The pilot program must be implemented in at least two
78 geographic regions of this state, in at least one urban region
79 and one rural region, and use at least 25 digital license plates
80 in each region.
81 (f) At the conclusion of the pilot program, the department
82 shall make written recommendations to the President of the
83 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives regarding
84 the implementation and use of digital license plates statewide
85 on government-owned and commercial motor vehicles by July 1,
86 2023; on for-hire vehicles by July 1, 2024; and on all motor
87 vehicles by July 1, 2025.
88 (g) The department may adopt rules to implement this
89 subsection.
90 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.