HB 0531 2004
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to highway safety; amending s. 316.650,
3	F.S.; providing for a parental notification form to be
4	issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
5	Vehicles; requiring the form to be completed by a traffic
6	enforcement officer who stops a vehicle driven by a person
7	under 21 years of age if the vehicle has a parental
8	notification decal; requiring the chief administrative
9	officer to provide parental notification as provided on
10	the parental notification decal; creating s. 322.093,
11	F.S.; providing for a traffic enforcement notification
12	form and a parental notification decal to be issued by the
13	department; providing an effective date.
14
15	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17	Section 1. Section 316.650, Florida Statutes, is amended
18	to read:
19	316.650 Traffic citations; parental notification forms.--
20	(1)(a) The department shall prepare, and supply to every
21	traffic enforcement agency in this state, an appropriate form
22	traffic citation containing a notice to appear (which shall be
23	issued in prenumbered books with citations in quintuplicate) and
24	meeting the requirements of this chapter or any laws of this
25	state regulating traffic, which form shall be consistent with
26	the state traffic court rules and the procedures established by
27	the department. Upon all future printings of the traffic
28	citation, the form shall include a special box which is to be
29	checked by the law enforcement officer when the officer believes
30	that the traffic violation or crash was due to aggressive
31	careless driving as defined in s. 316.1923.
32	(b) The department shall prepare, and supply to every
33	traffic enforcement agency in the state, an appropriate
34	affidavit-of-compliance form which shall be issued along with
35	the form traffic citation for any violation of s. 316.610 and
36	which shall indicate the specific defect which needs to be
37	corrected. However, such affidavit of compliance shall not be
38	issued in the case of a violation of s. 316.610 by a commercial
39	motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003(66). Such affidavit-of-
40	compliance form shall be distributed in the same manner and to
41	the same parties as is the form traffic citation.
42	(c) The department shall prepare, and supply to every
43	traffic enforcement agency in the state, an appropriate parental
44	notification form which shall be completed by any traffic
45	enforcement officer stopping a vehicle driven by a person under
46	21 years of age if the vehicle has a parental notification decal
47	affixed as provided in s. 322.093. The form shall be used to
48	record the time and date the vehicle was stopped, the reason for
49	stopping the vehicle, the number of people in the vehicle,
50	whether or not a citation was issued, the name of the person
51	stopped, the name and contact information of the person to be
52	contacted as that information appears on the decal, and the name
53	of the traffic enforcement officer who stopped the vehicle. The
54	parental notification form shall be distributed in the same
55	manner and to the same parties as is the form traffic citation.
56	(d)(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), and (b), and (c),a
57	traffic enforcement agency may produce uniform traffic citations
58	by electronic means. Such citations must be consistent with the
59	state traffic court rules and the procedures established by the
60	department; must be appropriately numbered and inventoried; and
61	may have fewer copies than the quintuplicate form. Affidavit-of-
62	compliance forms and parental notification formsmay also be
63	produced by electronic means.
64	(e)(d)The department must distribute to every traffic
65	enforcement agency and to any others who request it, a traffic
66	infraction reference guide describing the class of the traffic
67	infraction, the penalty for the infraction, the points to be
68	assessed on a driver's license, and any other information
69	necessary to describe a violation and the penalties therefor.
70	(2) Courts, enforcement agencies, and the department are
71	jointly responsible to account for all uniform traffic citations
72	in accordance with rules and procedures promulgated by the
73	department.
74	(3)(a) Except for a traffic citation issued pursuant to s.
75	316.1001, each traffic enforcement officer, upon issuing a
76	traffic citation to an alleged violator of any provision of the
77	motor vehicle laws of this state or of any traffic ordinance of
78	any city or town, shall deposit the original and one copy of
79	such traffic citation or, in the case of a traffic enforcement
80	agency which has an automated citation issuance system, shall
81	provide an electronic facsimile with a court having jurisdiction
82	over the alleged offense or with its traffic violations bureau
83	within 5 days after issuance to the violator.
84	(b) If a traffic citation is issued pursuant to s.
85	316.1001, a traffic enforcement officer may deposit the original
86	and one copy of such traffic citation or, in the case of a
87	traffic enforcement agency that has an automated citation
88	system, may provide an electronic facsimile with a court having
89	jurisdiction over the alleged offense or with its traffic
90	violations bureau within 45 days after the date of issuance of
91	the citation to the violator.
92	(4) The chief administrative officer of every traffic
93	enforcement agency shall require the return to him or her of the
94	department record copy of every traffic citation issued by an
95	officer under the chief administrative officer's supervision to
96	an alleged violator of any traffic law or ordinance and of all
97	copies of every traffic citation which has been spoiled or upon
98	which any entry has been made and not issued to an alleged
99	violator. In the case of a traffic enforcement agency which has
100	an automated citation issuance system, the chief administrative
101	officer shall require the return of all electronic traffic
102	citation records.
103	(5) Upon the deposit of the original and one copy of such
104	traffic citation or upon deposit of an electronic facsimile of
105	the traffic citation with respect to traffic enforcement
106	agencies which have an automated citation issuance system with a
107	court having jurisdiction over the alleged offense or with its
108	traffic violations bureau as aforesaid, the original, facsimile,
109	or copy of such traffic citation may be disposed of only by
110	trial in the court or other official action by a judge of the
111	court, including forfeiture of the bail, or by the deposit of
112	sufficient bail with, or payment of a fine to, the traffic
113	violations bureau by the person to whom such traffic citation
114	has been issued by the traffic enforcement officer.
115	(6) The chief administrative officer shall transmit, on a
116	form approved by the department, the department record copy of
117	the uniform traffic citation to the department within 5 days
118	after submission of the original and one copy to the court, or
119	citation and transmittal data may be transmitted to the
120	department in an automated fashion, in a form prescribed by the
121	department. A copy of such transmittal shall also be provided to
122	the court having jurisdiction for accountability purposes.
123	(7) The chief administrative officer shall also maintain
124	or cause to be maintained in connection with every traffic
125	citation issued by an officer under his or her supervision a
126	record of the disposition of the charge by the court or its
127	traffic violations bureau in which the original or copy of the
128	traffic citation was deposited.
129	(8) The chief administrative officer shall also notify or
130	cause to be notified in connection with every parental
131	notification form completed by an officer under his or her
132	supervision the parent or guardian of the driver in the manner
133	prescribed on the parental notification decal.
134	(9)(8)It is unlawful and official misconduct for any
135	traffic enforcement officer or other officer or public employee
136	to dispose of a traffic citation or copies thereof or of the
137	record of the issuance of the same in a manner other than as
138	required herein.
139	(10)(9)Such citations shall not be admissible evidence in
140	any trial.
141	(11)(10)If a uniform traffic citation has not been issued
142	with respect to a criminal traffic offense, or with respect to
143	an offense that requires mandatory revocation of the driver's
144	license or driving privilege pursuant to s. 322.26 upon
145	conviction of such offense, and the prosecution is by affidavit,
146	information, or indictment, the prosecutor shall direct the
147	arresting officer to prepare a citation. In the absence of an
148	arresting officer, the prosecutor shall prepare the citation.
149	For the purpose of this subsection, the term "arresting officer"
150	means the law enforcement officer who apprehended or took into
151	custody the alleged offender.
152	(12)(11)Driver information contained in a uniform traffic
153	citation, which includes but is not limited to, the accused
154	person's name and address, shall not be used for commercial
155	solicitation purposes. However, the use of such driver
156	information contained in a uniform traffic citation shall not be
157	considered a commercial purpose when used for publication in a
158	newspaper or other news periodical, when used for broadcast by
159	radio or television, or when used to inform a person of the
160	availability of driver safety training.
161	Section 2. Section 322.093, Florida Statutes, is created
162	to read:
163	322.093 Traffic enforcement notification form and parental
164	notification decal.--The department shall make available to the
165	parent or guardian of any person under 21 years of age and
166	licensed to drive a form requesting to be notified whenever a
167	traffic enforcement officer stops a vehicle driven by the
168	licensee. The parent or guardian shall choose to be notified at
169	home or work, or both, by mail or telephone, or both, and shall
170	provide the necessary contact information for each location. The
171	department shall issue a parental notification decal containing
172	the contact information to the parent or guardian which shall be
173	affixed to the vehicle driven by the licensee.
174	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.