Florida Senate - 2025                       CS for CS for SB 824
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; and Transportation; and
       Senator Pizzo
       
       
       
       
       594-03703-25                                           2025824c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to specialty license plates; amending
    3         s. 320.08056, F.S.; increasing the annual use fee for
    4         the Florida Wildflower license plate and providing a
    5         discount for owners purchasing the plate for more than
    6         a specified number of vehicles; amending s. 320.08058,
    7         F.S.; directing the Department of Highway Safety and
    8         Motor Vehicles to develop certain specialty license
    9         plates; providing for distribution and use of fees
   10         collected from the sale of the plates; providing an
   11         effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Paragraph (p) of subsection (4) of section
   16  320.08056, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   17         320.08056 Specialty license plates.—
   18         (4) The following license plate annual use fees shall be
   19  collected for the appropriate specialty license plates:
   20         (p) Florida Wildflower license plate, $25, except that for
   21  an owner purchasing the specialty plate for more than 10
   22  vehicles registered to that owner, the annual use fee shall be
   23  $15 per plate.
   24         Section 2. Subsections (136) through (145) are added to
   25  section 320.08058, Florida Statutes, to read:
   26         320.08058 Specialty license plates.—
   27         (136)SUPPORTING FHP TROOPERS LICENSE PLATES.—
   28         (a)The department shall develop a Supporting FHP Troopers
   29  license plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The
   30  plate must bear the colors and design approved by the
   31  department. The word “Florida” must appear at the top of the
   32  plate, and the words “Supporting FHP Troopers” must appear at
   33  the bottom of the plate.
   34         (b)The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be
   35  distributed to the Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council,
   36  Inc., a nonprofit organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the
   37  Internal Revenue Code, which may use up to 10 percent of the
   38  fees for administrative costs and marketing of the plate. The
   39  Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council, Inc., must use the
   40  remaining fees to fund scholarships, based on the council’s
   41  established criteria, for current members of the Florida Highway
   42  Patrol and their family members who are attending a vocational
   43  school, technical school, college, or university. For purposes
   44  of this paragraph, the term “family member” means a spouse,
   45  child, stepchild, or legally adopted child of the Florida
   46  Highway Patrol member or a child raised in the home and claimed
   47  by the Florida Highway Patrol member as a dependent under the
   48  federal income tax code before the child’s 18th birthday.
   49         (137) MIAMI DADE COLLEGE LICENSE PLATES.—
   50         (a) The department shall develop a Miami Dade College
   51  license plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The
   52  plate must bear the colors and design approved by the
   53  department. The word “Florida” must appear at the top of the
   54  plate, and the words “Miami Dade College” must appear at the
   55  bottom or side of the plate.
   56         (b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate shall be
   57  distributed to the Miami Dade College Foundation, Inc., which
   58  may use up to 10 percent of the fees for administrative costs
   59  and marketing of the plate. The balance of the fees must be used
   60  by the Miami Dade College Foundation, Inc., to fund student
   61  scholarships.
   62         (138) ST. PETERSBURG COLLEGE LICENSE PLATES.—
   63         (a) The department shall develop a St. Petersburg College
   64  license plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The
   65  plate must bear the colors and design approved by the
   66  department. The word “Florida” must appear at the top of the
   67  plate, and the words “St. Petersburg College” must appear at the
   68  bottom of the plate.
   69         (b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be
   70  distributed to the St. Petersburg College Foundation, Inc., and
   71  allocated as follows:
   72         1. Ten percent may be used for administrative costs related
   73  to the promotion and marketing of the plate.
   74         2. Forty percent must be dedicated to funding student
   75  scholarships to ensure access to quality education for students
   76  in need.
   77         3. Fifty percent must be used to fund initiatives that
   78  embolden student success, particularly in emerging technologies
   79  and workforce development programs, to prepare students for
   80  high-demand careers and the future economy.
   81         (139) MIAMI NORTHWESTERN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION LICENSE
   82  PLATES.—
   83         (a) The department shall develop a Miami Northwestern
   84  Alumni Association license plate as provided in this section and
   85  s. 320.08053. The plate must bear the colors and design approved
   86  by the department. The word “Florida” must appear at the top of
   87  the plate, and the words “Miami Northwestern Alumni Association”
   88  must appear at the bottom of the plate.
   89         (b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be
   90  distributed to the Miami Northwestern Alumni Association, Inc.,
   91  which may use up to 10 percent of the fees for administrative
   92  costs and marketing of the plate. The balance of the fees must
   93  be used by the Miami Northwestern Alumni Association, Inc., to
   94  fund need-based scholarships, academic programs, and athletic
   95  programs for the benefit of Miami Northwestern Senior High
   96  School students and the Miami Northwestern Senior High School
   97  Performing and Visual Arts Center.
   98         (140) UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY LICENSE PLATES.—
   99         (a) The department shall develop a United States Naval
  100  Academy license plate as provided in this section and s.
  101  320.08053. The plate must bear the colors and design approved by
  102  the department. The word “Florida” must appear at the top of the
  103  plate, and the words “Go Navy, Beat Army!” must appear at the
  104  bottom of the plate.
  105         (b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate shall be
  106  distributed to the Blue Angels Foundation, Inc., which may use
  107  up to 10 percent of the fees for administrative costs related to
  108  the promotion and marketing of the plate. The balance of the
  109  fees must be used by the Blue Angels Foundation, Inc., to
  110  provide funding to wounded veterans for critical services, with
  111  a focus on transitional housing, posttraumatic stress disorder
  112  treatment, and suicide prevention.
  113         (141) UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY LICENSE PLATES.—
  114         (a) The department shall develop a United States Military
  115  Academy license plate as provided in this section and s.
  116  320.08053. The plate must bear the colors and design approved by
  117  the department. The word “Florida” must appear at the top of the
  118  plate, and the words “Go Army, Beat Navy!” must appear at the
  119  bottom of the plate.
  120         (b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be
  121  distributed to Home Base Florida, which may use up to 10 percent
  122  of the fees for administrative costs related to promotion and
  123  marketing of the plate. The balance of the fees must be used by
  124  Home Base Florida to assist in world-class clinical care,
  125  wellness, education, and research for veterans, service members,
  126  and their family members who need more complex care.
  127         (142) SAVE COASTAL WILDLIFE LICENSE PLATES.—
  128         (a) The department shall develop a Save Coastal Wildlife
  129  license plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The
  130  plate must bear the colors and design approved by the
  131  department. The word “Florida” must appear at the top of the
  132  plate, and the words “Save Coastal Wildlife” must appear at the
  133  bottom of the plate. The plate must include the image of an
  134  American flamingo.
  135         (b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be
  136  distributed to the Zoo Miami Foundation, a nonprofit
  137  organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
  138  for conservation of imperiled coastal wildlife and ecosystems in
  139  this state through field conservation and mission-focused
  140  research. Up to 10 percent of the annual use fees may be used
  141  for costs associated with the design and creation of the license
  142  plate, annual administrative costs directly associated with the
  143  administration of the Save Coastal Wildlife program, and
  144  marketing of the license plate. Of the remaining funds:
  145         1. Eighty-five percent must be used to maintain programs at
  146  the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Institute at Zoo Miami which
  147  conserve imperiled coastal wildlife and ecosystems.
  148         2. Fifteen percent must be distributed to eligible Florida
  149  based nonprofit organizations to conserve native imperiled
  150  coastal wildlife and ecosystems.
  151         (143)BROWARD COLLEGE LICENSE PLATES.
  152         (a)The department shall develop a Broward College license
  153  plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The plate
  154  must bear the colors and design approved by the department. The
  155  word “Florida” must appear at the top of the plate, and the
  156  words “Broward College” must appear at the bottom of the plate.
  157         (b)The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be
  158  distributed to the Broward College Foundation, Inc., and
  159  allocated as follows:
  160         1.Ten percent may be used for administrative costs related
  161  to the promotion and marketing of the plate.
  162         2.Forty percent must be dedicated to funding student
  163  scholarships to ensure access to quality education for students
  164  in need.
  165         3.Fifty percent must be used to fund initiatives that
  166  embolden student success, particularly in emerging technologies
  167  and workforce development programs, to prepare students for
  168  high-demand careers and the future economy.
  169         (144)TAMPA THEATRE LICENSE PLATES.
  170         (a)The department shall develop a Tampa Theatre license
  171  plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The plate
  172  must bear the colors and design approved by the department. The
  173  word “Florida” must appear at the top of the plate, and the
  174  words “Historic Tampa Theatre” must appear at the bottom of the
  175  plate.
  176         (b)The annual use fees from the sale of the plate shall be
  177  distributed to Tampa Theatre, Inc., a Florida nonprofit
  178  corporation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
  179  which may use up to 10 percent of the fees for the
  180  administration, promotion, and marketing of the plate. The
  181  remaining fees must be used by Tampa Theatre, Inc., to fund its
  182  efforts to preserve and program the historic Tampa Theatre.
  183         (145)THE FLORIDA AQUARIUM LICENSE PLATES.
  184         (a)The department shall develop a The Florida Aquarium
  185  license plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The
  186  plate must bear the colors and design approved by the
  187  department. The word “Florida” must appear at the top of the
  188  plate, and the words “The Florida Aquarium” must appear at the
  189  bottom of the plate.
  190         (b)The annual use fees from the sale of the plate shall be
  191  distributed to The Florida Aquarium, Inc., a Florida nonprofit
  192  corporation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
  193  which may use up to 10 percent of the fees for the
  194  administration, promotion, and marketing of the plate. The
  195  remaining fees must be used by The Florida Aquarium, Inc., to
  196  fund its efforts to save marine wildlife, provide environmental
  197  education, and inspire conservation action.
  198         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2025.