Florida Senate - 2024 CS for CS for SB 288
By the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and
Economic Development; the Committee on Transportation; and
Senators Rodriguez, Hooper, Wright, DiCeglie, and Broxson
606-03289-24 2024288c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to designation of a certain diagnosis
3 on motor vehicle registrations; providing a short
4 title; amending s. 320.02, F.S.; requiring the
5 application form for motor vehicle registration to
6 include certain language allowing an applicant to
7 indicate that he or she has been diagnosed with, or is
8 the parent or legal guardian of a child or ward who
9 has been diagnosed with, specified disabilities or
10 disorders; requiring a specified designation to be
11 included in a motor vehicle record; prohibiting
12 inclusion of specified information in a motor vehicle
13 record for certain purposes; requiring the Department
14 of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to allow
15 specified persons to update a motor vehicle
16 registration to include or remove the specified
17 designation at any time; amending s. 320.27, F.S.;
18 conforming a cross-reference; providing an effective
19 date.
20
21 WHEREAS, persons with special needs, including
22 developmental disabilities and mental illnesses, are among the
23 most vulnerable within their communities, and
24 WHEREAS, interacting with law enforcement officers or first
25 responders in an emergency, such as a motor vehicle crash or
26 other crisis situation, can be more complex for persons with
27 special needs, as language, physical, cognitive, learning, or
28 mental disabilities may create barriers to receiving immediate
29 and appropriate assistance, and
30 WHEREAS, providing law enforcement officers and first
31 responders with advance notice that a person with whom they are
32 about to interact has a developmental disability, mental
33 illness, or other special need will improve communication,
34 reduce unnecessary adverse actions, and ensure that the person
35 receives the specific response and care he or she requires, NOW,
36 THEREFORE,
37
38 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
39
40 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Safeguarding
41 American Families Everywhere (SAFE) Act.”
42 Section 2. Present subsections (15) through (20) of section
43 320.02, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (16)
44 through (21), respectively, and a new subsection (15) is added
45 to that section, to read:
46 320.02 Registration required; application for registration;
47 forms.—
48 (15) The application form for motor vehicle registration
49 must include language allowing an applicant to voluntarily
50 indicate that the applicant has been diagnosed with, or is the
51 parent or legal guardian of a child or ward who has been
52 diagnosed with, any of the following disabilities or disorders
53 by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459:
54 (a) Autism.
55 (b) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
56 (c) Down syndrome.
57 (d) Alzheimer’s disease.
58 (e) Traumatic brain injury.
59 (f) Posttraumatic stress disorder.
60 (g) Diabetes.
61 (h) An autoimmune disorder.
62 (i) Deafness.
63 (j) Blindness.
64 (k) Any other mentally or physically limiting disorder.
65
66 If the applicant indicates one of the diagnoses listed above on
67 the application, the department must include the designation
68 “SAFE” in the motor vehicle record. For purposes of this
69 subsection, the department may not include in the motor vehicle
70 record personal identifying information of or any diagnosis of a
71 person for whom a diagnosis is indicated. The department must
72 allow a motor vehicle owner or co-owner to update a motor
73 vehicle registration to include or remove the “SAFE” designation
74 under this subsection at any time.
75 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of section
76 320.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
77 320.27 Motor vehicle dealers.—
78 (9) DENIAL, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION.—
79 (b) The department may deny, suspend, or revoke any license
80 issued hereunder or under the provisions of s. 320.77 or s.
81 320.771 upon proof that a licensee has committed, with
82 sufficient frequency so as to establish a pattern of wrongdoing
83 on the part of a licensee, violations of one or more of the
84 following activities:
85 1. Representation that a demonstrator is a new motor
86 vehicle, or the attempt to sell or the sale of a demonstrator as
87 a new motor vehicle without written notice to the purchaser that
88 the vehicle is a demonstrator. For the purposes of this section,
89 a “demonstrator,” a “new motor vehicle,” and a “used motor
90 vehicle” shall be defined as under s. 320.60.
91 2. Unjustifiable refusal to comply with a licensee’s
92 responsibility under the terms of the new motor vehicle warranty
93 issued by its respective manufacturer, distributor, or importer.
94 However, if such refusal is at the direction of the
95 manufacturer, distributor, or importer, such refusal shall not
96 be a ground under this section.
97 3. Misrepresentation or false, deceptive, or misleading
98 statements with regard to the sale or financing of motor
99 vehicles which any motor vehicle dealer has, or causes to have,
100 advertised, printed, displayed, published, distributed,
101 broadcast, televised, or made in any manner with regard to the
102 sale or financing of motor vehicles.
103 4. Failure by any motor vehicle dealer to provide a
104 customer or purchaser with an odometer disclosure statement and
105 a copy of any bona fide written, executed sales contract or
106 agreement of purchase connected with the purchase of the motor
107 vehicle purchased by the customer or purchaser.
108 5. Failure of any motor vehicle dealer to comply with the
109 terms of any bona fide written, executed agreement, pursuant to
110 the sale of a motor vehicle.
111 6. Failure to apply for transfer of a title as prescribed
112 in s. 319.23(6).
113 7. Use of the dealer license identification number by any
114 person other than the licensed dealer or his or her designee.
115 8. Failure to continually meet the requirements of the
116 licensure law.
117 9. Representation to a customer or any advertisement to the
118 public representing or suggesting that a motor vehicle is a new
119 motor vehicle if such vehicle lawfully cannot be titled in the
120 name of the customer or other member of the public by the seller
121 using a manufacturer’s statement of origin as permitted in s.
122 319.23(1).
123 10. Requirement by any motor vehicle dealer that a customer
124 or purchaser accept equipment on his or her motor vehicle which
125 was not ordered by the customer or purchaser.
126 11. Requirement by any motor vehicle dealer that any
127 customer or purchaser finance a motor vehicle with a specific
128 financial institution or company.
129 12. Requirement by any motor vehicle dealer that the
130 purchaser of a motor vehicle contract with the dealer for
131 physical damage insurance.
132 13. Perpetration of a fraud upon any person as a result of
133 dealing in motor vehicles, including, without limitation, the
134 misrepresentation to any person by the licensee of the
135 licensee’s relationship to any manufacturer, importer, or
136 distributor.
137 14. Violation of any of the provisions of s. 319.35 by any
138 motor vehicle dealer.
139 15. Sale by a motor vehicle dealer of a vehicle offered in
140 trade by a customer prior to consummation of the sale, exchange,
141 or transfer of a newly acquired vehicle to the customer, unless
142 the customer provides written authorization for the sale of the
143 trade-in vehicle prior to delivery of the newly acquired
144 vehicle.
145 16. Willful failure to comply with any administrative rule
146 adopted by the department or the provisions of s. 320.131(8).
147 17. Violation of chapter 319, this chapter, or ss. 559.901
148 559.9221, which has to do with dealing in or repairing motor
149 vehicles or mobile homes. Additionally, in the case of used
150 motor vehicles, the willful violation of the federal law and
151 rule in 15 U.S.C. s. 2304, 16 C.F.R. part 455, pertaining to the
152 consumer sales window form.
153 18. Failure to maintain evidence of notification to the
154 owner or co-owner of a vehicle regarding registration or titling
155 fees owed as required in s. 320.02(18) s. 320.02(17).
156 19. Failure to register a mobile home salesperson with the
157 department as required by this section.
158 Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2024.