Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1224
By Senator Burgess
23-01148A-23 20231224__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to motor vehicles and driver licenses;
3 amending s. 218.12, F.S.; requiring certain moneys
4 from reductions in ad valorem tax revenue to be
5 distributed to tax collectors for the provision of
6 state driver license services; amending s. 319.28,
7 F.S.; authorizing an additional method for transfer of
8 ownership of a motor vehicle if a motor vehicle owner
9 dies testate; amending s. 319.29, F.S.; clarifying a
10 provision related to lost or destroyed certificates of
11 title for motor vehicles; amending s. 320.06, F.S.;
12 specifying that a license plate with reduced
13 dimensions is only required for small vehicles
14 weighing less than a specified weight; amending s.
15 320.084, F.S.; authorizing disabled veterans to choose
16 any plate, rather than a disabled veteran plate, if
17 required fees are paid; amending s. 322.141, F.S.;
18 requiring certain information regarding sex offenders
19 and predators to be printed in a distinct format and
20 in the color red; requiring, upon the request of
21 certain persons, sexual predators and sexual offenders
22 to remove their driver license or identification card
23 from wallets or similar cases before presenting them;
24 providing an effective date.
25
26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
27
28 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 218.12, Florida
29 Statutes, is amended to read:
30 218.12 Appropriations to offset reductions in ad valorem
31 tax revenue in fiscally constrained counties.—
32 (1) Beginning in fiscal year 2008-2009, the Legislature
33 shall appropriate moneys to offset the reductions in ad valorem
34 tax revenue experienced by fiscally constrained counties, as
35 defined in s. 218.67(1), which occur as a direct result of the
36 implementation of revisions of Art. VII of the State
37 Constitution approved in the special election held on January
38 29, 2008. The moneys appropriated for this purpose shall be
39 distributed in January of each fiscal year among the fiscally
40 constrained counties based on each county’s proportion of the
41 total reduction in ad valorem tax revenue resulting from the
42 implementation of the revision. Five percent of the moneys
43 appropriated for this purpose shall be distributed to the tax
44 collectors within the various counties for the provision of
45 state driver license services at the local level.
46 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
47 319.28, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
48 319.28 Transfer of ownership by operation of law.—
49 (1)
50 (b) When the application for a certificate of title is made
51 by an heir of a previous owner who died intestate, it is shall
52 not be necessary for to accompany the application to be
53 accompanied by with an order of a probate court if the applicant
54 files with the department an affidavit that the estate is not
55 indebted and the surviving spouse, if any, and the heirs, if
56 any, have amicably agreed among themselves upon a division of
57 the estate. If the previous owner died testate, the application
58 must shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the will, if
59 probated, and an affidavit that the estate is solvent with
60 sufficient assets to pay all just claims or, if the will is not
61 being probated, by a sworn copy of the will and an affidavit
62 that the estate is not indebted, or an affidavit on a form
63 prescribed by the department completed by a licensed Florida
64 attorney and signed by the heirs, under penalties of perjury,
65 indicating the heirs and that such heirs are legally entitled to
66 apply for title under s. 319.28, s. 319.32(7), s. 320.0609(7),
67 s. 732.507(2), s. 732.515, s. 732.802, or s. 733.615.
68 Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 319.29, Florida
69 Statutes, is amended to read:
70 319.29 Lost or destroyed certificates.—
71 (3) If, following the issuance of an original, duplicate,
72 or corrected certificate of title by the department or tax
73 collector, the certificate is lost in transit and is not
74 delivered to the addressee, the owner of the motor vehicle or
75 mobile home, or the holder of a lien thereon, may, within 180
76 days after of the date of issuance of the title, apply to the
77 department for reissuance of the certificate of title. No
78 additional fee shall be charged for reissuance under this
79 subsection.
80 Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
81 320.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
82 320.06 Registration certificates, license plates, and
83 validation stickers generally.—
84 (3)(a) Registration license plates must be made of metal
85 specially treated with a retroreflection material, as specified
86 by the department. The registration license plate is designed to
87 increase nighttime visibility and legibility and must be at
88 least 6 inches wide and not less than 12 inches in length,
89 unless a plate with reduced dimensions is deemed necessary by
90 the department to accommodate motorcycles, mopeds, or similar
91 smaller vehicles weighing less than 4,999 pounds. Validation
92 stickers must also be treated with a retroreflection material,
93 must be of such size as specified by the department, and must
94 adhere to the license plate. The registration license plate must
95 be imprinted with a combination of bold letters and numerals or
96 numerals, not to exceed seven digits, to identify the
97 registration license plate number. The license plate must be
98 imprinted with the word “Florida” at the top and the name of the
99 county in which it is sold, the state motto, or the words
100 “Sunshine State” at the bottom. Apportioned license plates must
101 have the word “Apportioned” at the bottom, and license plates
102 issued for vehicles taxed under s. 320.08(3)(d), (4)(m) or (n),
103 (5)(b) or (c), or (14) must have the word “Restricted” at the
104 bottom. License plates issued for vehicles taxed under s.
105 320.08(12) must be imprinted with the word “Florida” at the top
106 and the word “Dealer” at the bottom unless the license plate is
107 a specialty license plate as authorized in s. 320.08056.
108 Manufacturer license plates issued for vehicles taxed under s.
109 320.08(12) must be imprinted with the word “Florida” at the top
110 and the word “Manufacturer” at the bottom. License plates issued
111 for vehicles taxed under s. 320.08(5)(d) or (e) must be
112 imprinted with the word “Wrecker” at the bottom. Any county may,
113 upon majority vote of the county commission, elect to have the
114 county name removed from the license plates sold in that county.
115 The state motto or the words “Sunshine State” shall be printed
116 in lieu thereof. A license plate issued for a vehicle taxed
117 under s. 320.08(6) may not be assigned a registration license
118 number, or be issued with any other distinctive character or
119 designation, that distinguishes the motor vehicle as a for-hire
120 motor vehicle.
121 Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
122 320.084, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
123 320.084 Free motor vehicle license plate to certain
124 disabled veterans.—
125 (4)
126 (b) There shall be a service charge in accordance with the
127 provisions of s. 320.04 for each initial application or renewal
128 of registration and an additional sum of 50 cents on each
129 license plate and validation sticker as provided in s.
130 320.06(3)(b). An applicant may choose any license plate in
131 exchange for a disabled veteran plate at the same rate as
132 described in this section. However, the applicant must pay any
133 other required fees for the plate that the applicant chooses in
134 exchange for the disabled veteran plate.
135 Section 6. Present subsection (4) of section 322.141,
136 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (5), a new
137 subsection (4) is added to that section, and subsection (3) of
138 that section is amended, to read:
139 322.141 Color or markings of certain licenses or
140 identification cards.—
141 (3) All licenses for the operation of motor vehicles or
142 identification cards originally issued or reissued by the
143 department to persons who are designated as sexual predators
144 under s. 775.21 or subject to registration as sexual offenders
145 under s. 943.0435 or s. 944.607, or who have a similar
146 designation or are subject to a similar registration under the
147 laws of another jurisdiction, must shall have on the front of
148 the license or identification card in a distinctive format and
149 printed in the color red all of the following information:
150 (a) For a person designated as a sexual predator under s.
151 775.21 or who has a similar designation under the laws of
152 another jurisdiction, the marking “SEXUAL PREDATOR.”
153 (b) For a person subject to registration as a sexual
154 offender under s. 943.0435 or s. 944.607, or subject to a
155 similar registration under the laws of another jurisdiction, the
156 marking “943.0435, F.S.”
157 (4) If asked to do so by a law enforcement officer, school
158 resource officer, daycare operator, or government official, an
159 offender whose license is required to comply with paragraph
160 (3)(a) or paragraph (3)(b), must remove the driver license or
161 identification card from any wallet or similar case before
162 presenting the driver license or identification card.
163 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.