Florida Senate - 2025                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1318
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì860910yÎ860910                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/01/2025           .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       The Committee on Rules (Grall) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete line 301
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 3. Subsection (5) of section 318.14, Florida
    6  Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         318.14 Noncriminal traffic infractions; exception;
    8  procedures.—
    9         (5)(a) Any person electing to appear before the designated
   10  official or who is required to appear is shall be deemed to have
   11  waived his or her right to the civil penalty provisions of s.
   12  318.18. The official, after a hearing, shall make a
   13  determination as to whether an infraction has been committed. If
   14  the commission of an infraction has been proven, the official
   15  may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $500, except that in
   16  cases involving unlawful speed in a school zone or involving
   17  unlawful speed in a construction zone, the civil penalty may not
   18  exceed $1,000; or require attendance at a driver improvement
   19  school, or both.
   20         (b)1. If the person is required to appear before the
   21  designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1) and is found to
   22  have committed the infraction, the designated official must
   23  shall impose a civil penalty of $1,000 in addition to any other
   24  penalties and the person’s driver license shall be suspended for
   25  6 months.
   26         2. If the person is required to appear before the
   27  designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1) and is found to
   28  have committed the infraction against a vulnerable road user as
   29  defined in s. 316.027(1), the designated official must shall
   30  impose a civil penalty of not less than $5,000 in addition to
   31  any other penalties, the person’s driver license must shall be
   32  suspended for 1 year, and the person must shall be required to
   33  attend a department-approved driver improvement course relating
   34  to the rights of vulnerable road users relative to vehicles on
   35  the roadway as provided in s. 322.0261(2).
   36         (c)1. If the person is required to appear before the
   37  designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(2) and is found to
   38  have committed the infraction, the designated official must
   39  shall impose a civil penalty of $500 in addition to any other
   40  penalties and the person’s driver license must shall be
   41  suspended for 3 months.
   42         2. If the person is required to appear before the
   43  designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(2) and is found to
   44  have committed the infraction against a vulnerable road user as
   45  defined in s. 316.027(1), the designated official must shall
   46  impose a civil penalty of not less than $1,500 in addition to
   47  any other penalties, the person’s driver license must shall be
   48  suspended for 3 months, and the person must shall be required to
   49  attend a department-approved driver improvement course relating
   50  to the rights of vulnerable road users relative to vehicles on
   51  the roadway as provided in s. 322.0261(2).
   52         (d) If the person is required to appear before the
   53  designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(6) and is found to
   54  have committed an infraction of s. 316.075(1)(c) or s.
   55  316.123(2):
   56         1. Except as provided in subparagraphs 2. and 3., the
   57  designated official must impose a civil penalty of $500 in
   58  addition to any other penalties.
   59         2. A second time, the designated official must impose a
   60  civil penalty of $1,000 in addition to any other penalties and
   61  the person’s driver license must be suspended for 6 months.
   62         3. A third or subsequent time, the designated official must
   63  impose a civil penalty of $1,000 in addition to any other
   64  penalties and the person’s driver license must be suspended for
   65  1 year.
   66         (e) If the official determines that no infraction has been
   67  committed, no costs or penalties may shall be imposed and any
   68  costs or penalties that have been paid must shall be returned.
   69         (f) Moneys received from the mandatory civil penalties
   70  imposed pursuant to this subsection upon persons required to
   71  appear before a designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1),
   72  (2), or (6) s. 318.19(1) or (2) shall be remitted to the
   73  Department of Revenue and deposited into the Department of
   74  Health Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund to provide
   75  financial support to certified trauma centers to assure the
   76  availability and accessibility of trauma services throughout the
   77  state. Funds deposited into the Emergency Medical Services Trust
   78  Fund under this section shall be allocated as follows:
   79         1.(a) Fifty percent shall be allocated equally among all
   80  Level I, Level II, and pediatric trauma centers in recognition
   81  of readiness costs for maintaining trauma services.
   82         2.(b) Fifty percent shall be allocated among Level I, Level
   83  II, and pediatric trauma centers based on each center’s relative
   84  volume of trauma cases as calculated using the hospital
   85  discharge data collected pursuant to s. 408.061.
   86         Section 4. Section 318.19, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   87  read:
   88         318.19 Infractions requiring a mandatory hearing.—Any
   89  person cited for the infractions listed in this section does
   90  shall not have the provisions of s. 318.14(2), (4), and (9)
   91  available to him or her but must appear before the designated
   92  official at the time and location of the scheduled hearing:
   93         (1) Any infraction which results in a crash that causes the
   94  death of another;
   95         (2) Any infraction which results in a crash that causes
   96  “serious bodily injury” of another as defined in s. 316.1933(1);
   97         (3) Any infraction of s. 316.172(1)(b);
   98         (4) Any infraction of s. 316.520(1) or (2); or
   99         (5) Any infraction of s. 316.183(2), s. 316.187, or s.
  100  316.189 of exceeding the speed limit by 30 mph or more; or
  101         (6) Any infraction of s. 316.075(1)(c) or s. 316.123(2)
  102  which results in a crash with another vehicle as defined in s.
  103  316.003.
  104         Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2025.
  105  
  106  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  107  And the title is amended as follows:
  108         Delete lines 2 - 16
  109  and insert:
  110         An act relating to traffic offenses; amending s.
  111         316.305, F.S.; revising a short title; revising
  112         legislative intent; defining terms; prohibiting a
  113         person from operating a motor vehicle while using a
  114         wireless communications device in a handheld manner;
  115         providing an exception; requiring that sustained use
  116         of a wireless communications device by a person
  117         operating a motor vehicle be conducted through a
  118         hands-free accessory until such use is terminated;
  119         revising exceptions to the prohibition; removing
  120         obsolete provisions; providing penalties; amending s.
  121         316.306, F.S.; revising penalty provisions relating to
  122         the use of wireless communications devices in a
  123         handheld manner in certain circumstances; conforming
  124         provisions to changes made by the act; amending s.
  125         318.14, F.S.; requiring the imposition of specified
  126         civil penalties and periods of driver license
  127         suspension, in addition to any other penalties, on a
  128         person found at a mandatory hearing to have committed
  129         certain traffic infractions that resulted in a crash
  130         with another vehicle; amending s. 318.19, F.S.;
  131         requiring persons cited for specified infractions that
  132         result in a crash with another vehicle to appear at a
  133         certain mandatory hearing; providing an