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The Florida Senate

CS/CS/HB 725 — Commercial Motor Vehicles

by State Affairs Committee; Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee; and Rep. Payne (CS/CS/SB 1638 by Rules Committee; Infrastructure and Security Committee; and Senator Lee)

This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.

Prepared by: Infrastructure and Security Committee (IS)

The bill relates to commercial motor vehicles (CMV) and:

  • Updates CMV regulations to address compatibility concerns with federal regulations;
  • Removes exceptions regarding the visibility of headlamps and turn signals by waste collection vehicles under specified circumstances;
  • Provides an effective date for certain requirements relating to the use of electronic logging devices and hours of service support documents;
  • Removes language requiring intrastate CMVs that are not carrying hazardous materials to comply with certain federal regulations providing maximum drive time requirements;
  • Removes a duplicative $100 fine for falsifying hours of service records;
  • Amends a provision to correct a federal regulations reference that allows certain short-haul drivers to be exempt from maintaining records of duty status;
  • Conforms to federal regulation by adding the terms “gross vehicle weight rating” and “gross combined vehicle weight rating” for determining which vehicles, not transporting hazardous materials, meet the 26,001 pound threshold requirement for select intrastate commerce exemptions;
  • Removes an exemption from federal regulations for transporting petroleum products due to the inclusion of flammable liquids that could require a hazardous material placard;
  • Requires charter buses operating interstate to register as apportionable vehicles;
  • Authorizes the transport of general freight on a return trip by an automobile transporter, as long as the vehicle still complies with Interstate System weight restrictions;
  • Prohibits the state from imposing a length limitation of less than 80 feet and extends the front bumper overhang allowance on a stinger-steered automobile transporter from the current three feet to the federal allowance of four feet;
  • Creates a definition for “towaway trailer transporter combinations” that is consistent with provisions contained in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act;
  • Provides that an unlawful weight and load calculation may be calculated by reducing the actual gross vehicle weight by the certified weight difference between the electric battery system and fueling system and a comparable diesel tank and fueling system; and
  • Creates a five year program for permitting certain combinations of truck tractor, semitrailer, and trailer combinations operating as a single unit to transport farm products within the Everglades Agricultural Area.

If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect October 1, 2019.

Vote: Senate 39-0; House 111-0