ENROLLED
       2014 Legislature             CS for CS for SB 754, 1st Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                              2014754er
    1  
    2         An act relating to certificates of title; amending s.
    3         319.23, F.S.; revising the required statement that is
    4         stamped on a certificate of title upon issuance of the
    5         certificate; requiring the department to provide a
    6         report regarding certificates of title for rebuilt
    7         motor vehicles; amending s. 319.30, F.S.; defining a
    8         term; revising requirements for the department to
    9         declare certain mobile homes and motor vehicles
   10         unrebuildable and to issue a certificate of
   11         destruction; requiring an owner of, or an insurance
   12         company for, a motor vehicle that is worth less than a
   13         specified amount or is above a certain age to obtain a
   14         certificate of destruction under certain
   15         circumstances; providing a criminal penalty; amending
   16         s. 860.146, F.S.; defining terms and redefining the
   17         term “fake airbag”; prohibiting the import,
   18         manufacture, offering for sale, or reinstallation of
   19         fake airbags; providing a criminal penalty; providing
   20         an effective date.
   21          
   22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   23  
   24         Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 319.23, Florida
   25  Statutes, is amended to read:
   26         319.23 Application for, and issuance of, certificate of
   27  title.—
   28         (2) The applicant for a certificate of title shall indicate
   29  on the application if the motor vehicle is to be used as a
   30  taxicab, police vehicle, or lease vehicle or if the motor
   31  vehicle or mobile home is a rebuilt vehicle, as those terms are
   32  defined in s. 319.14. Upon issuance of a certificate of title
   33  for such vehicle, the department shall stamp, in a conspicuous
   34  place on the title, words stating the nature of the proposed use
   35  of the vehicle or stating that the vehicle has been rebuilt and
   36  may have previously been declared a total loss vehicle due to
   37  damage. This subsection applies to a mobile home, travel
   38  trailer, camping trailer, truck camper, or fifth-wheel
   39  recreation trailer only when the mobile home or vehicle is a
   40  rebuilt vehicle as defined in s. 319.14.
   41         Section 2. On or before October 31, 2015, the Department of
   42  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall provide a summary report
   43  to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
   44  the House of Representatives regarding certificates of title for
   45  rebuilt vehicles. The summary report shall include the
   46  department’s recommendations to the Legislature to address any
   47  needed improvements to, and correct any problems with, the
   48  process used to issue certificates of title for rebuilt motor
   49  vehicles; and recommendations as to the need, and appropriate
   50  process, for inspecting the roadworthiness of rebuilt motor
   51  vehicles based on relevant data and data on crashes caused by
   52  vehicle defects involving rebuilt motor vehicles.
   53         Section 3. Present paragraphs (i) through (w) of subsection
   54  (1) of section 319.30, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
   55  paragraphs (j) through (x), respectively, a new paragraph (i) is
   56  added to that subsection, and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of
   57  that section is amended, to read:
   58         319.30 Definitions; dismantling, destruction, change of
   59  identity of motor vehicle or mobile home; salvage.—
   60         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   61         (i) “Late model vehicle” means a motor vehicle that has a
   62  manufacturer’s model year of 7 years or newer.
   63         (3)
   64         (b) The owner, including persons who are self-insured, of a
   65  any motor vehicle or mobile home that which is considered to be
   66  salvage shall, within 72 hours after the motor vehicle or mobile
   67  home becomes salvage, forward the title to the motor vehicle or
   68  mobile home to the department for processing. However, an
   69  insurance company that which pays money as compensation for the
   70  total loss of a motor vehicle or mobile home shall obtain the
   71  certificate of title for the motor vehicle or mobile home, make
   72  the required notification to the National Motor Vehicle Title
   73  Information System, and, within 72 hours after receiving such
   74  certificate of title, shall forward such title to the department
   75  for processing. The owner or insurance company, as applicable
   76  the case may be, may not dispose of a vehicle or mobile home
   77  that is a total loss before it obtains has obtained a salvage
   78  certificate of title or certificate of destruction from the
   79  department. When applying for a salvage certificate of title or
   80  certificate of destruction, the owner or insurance company must
   81  provide the department with an estimate of the costs of
   82  repairing the physical and mechanical damage suffered by the
   83  vehicle for which a salvage certificate of title or certificate
   84  of destruction is sought. If the estimated costs of repairing
   85  the physical and mechanical damage to the mobile home vehicle
   86  are equal to 80 percent or more of the current retail cost of
   87  the mobile home vehicle, as established in any official used car
   88  or used mobile home guide, the department shall declare the
   89  mobile home vehicle unrebuildable and print a certificate of
   90  destruction, which authorizes the dismantling or destruction of
   91  the motor vehicle or mobile home described therein. For a late
   92  model vehicle with a current retail cost of at least $7,500 just
   93  prior to sustaining the damage that resulted in the total loss,
   94  as established in any official used car guide or valuation
   95  service, if the owner or insurance company determines that the
   96  estimated costs of repairing the physical and mechanical damage
   97  to the vehicle are equal to 90 percent or more of the current
   98  retail cost of the vehicle, as established in any official used
   99  motor vehicle guide or valuation service, the department shall
  100  declare the vehicle unrebuildable and print a certificate of
  101  destruction, which authorizes the dismantling or destruction of
  102  the motor vehicle. However, if the damaged motor vehicle is
  103  equipped with custom-lowered floors for wheelchair access or a
  104  wheelchair lift, the insurance company may, upon determining
  105  that the vehicle is repairable to a condition that is safe for
  106  operation on public roads, submit the certificate of title to
  107  the department for reissuance as a salvage rebuildable title and
  108  the addition of a title brand of “insurance-declared total
  109  loss.” The certificate of destruction shall be reassignable a
  110  maximum of two times before dismantling or destruction of the
  111  vehicle is shall be required, and shall accompany the motor
  112  vehicle or mobile home for which it is issued, when such motor
  113  vehicle or mobile home is sold for such purposes, in lieu of a
  114  certificate of title., and, thereafter, The department may not
  115  issue a shall refuse issuance of any certificate of title for
  116  that vehicle. Nothing in This subsection is not shall be
  117  applicable if when a mobile home vehicle is worth less than
  118  $1,500 retail just prior to sustaining the damage that resulted
  119  in the total loss in undamaged condition in any official used
  120  motor vehicle guide or used mobile home guide or when a stolen
  121  motor vehicle or mobile home is recovered in substantially
  122  intact condition and is readily resalable without extensive
  123  repairs to or replacement of the frame or engine. If a motor
  124  vehicle has a current retail cost of less than $7,500 just prior
  125  to sustaining the damage that resulted in the total loss, as
  126  established in any official used motor vehicle guide or
  127  valuation service, or if the vehicle is not a late model
  128  vehicle, the owner or insurance company that pays money as
  129  compensation for the total loss of the motor vehicle shall
  130  obtain a certificate of destruction, if the motor vehicle is
  131  damaged, wrecked, or burned to the extent that the only residual
  132  value of the motor vehicle is as a source of parts or scrap
  133  metal, or if the motor vehicle comes into this state under a
  134  title or other ownership document that indicates that the motor
  135  vehicle is not repairable, is junked, or is for parts or
  136  dismantling only. A Any person who knowingly violates this
  137  paragraph or falsifies documentation any document to avoid the
  138  requirements of this paragraph commits a misdemeanor of the
  139  first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
  140  775.083.
  141         Section 4. Section 860.146, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  142  read:
  143         860.146 Fake airbags; junk-filled airbag compartment.—
  144         (1) As used in this section, the term:
  145         (a) Airbag” means a motor vehicle inflatable occupant
  146  restraint system, including all component parts, such as the
  147  cover, sensors, controllers, inflators, and wiring, that is
  148  designed in accordance with federal safety regulations for a
  149  given make, model, and year of a vehicle.
  150         (b) “Counterfeit airbag” means an airbag displaying a mark
  151  identical or similar to the genuine mark of a motor vehicle
  152  manufacturer without authorization from said manufacturer.
  153         (c) “Fake airbag” means any item other than an airbag that
  154  was designed in accordance with federal safety regulations for a
  155  given make, model, and year of motor vehicle as part of a motor
  156  vehicle inflatable restraint system including counterfeit or
  157  nonfunctioning airbags.
  158         (d)(b) “Junk-filled airbag compartment” means an airbag
  159  compartment that is filled with any substance that does not
  160  function in the same manner or to the same extent as an airbag
  161  to protect vehicle occupants in a vehicle crash. The term does
  162  not include a compartment from which an airbag has deployed if
  163  there is no concealment of the deployment.
  164         (e) “Nonfunctional airbag” means a replacement airbag that:
  165         1. Was previously deployed or damaged;
  166         2. Has an electric fault that is detected by the vehicle
  167  airbag diagnostic system after the installation procedure is
  168  completed; or
  169         3. Includes any part or object, including, but not limited
  170  to, a counterfeit or repaired airbag cover, installed in a motor
  171  vehicle to mislead the owner or operator of such motor vehicle
  172  into believing that a functional airbag has been installed.
  173         (2) It is unlawful for any person anyone to knowingly
  174  import, manufacture, purchase, sell, offer for sale, or install,
  175  or reinstall on a any vehicle a any fake airbag or junk-filled
  176  airbag compartment. Any person who violates this subsection
  177  commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in
  178  s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
  179         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.