Senate Bill sb0644

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 644

    By Senator Wise





    5-669-05                                            See HB 115

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to highway safety; amending s.

  3         316.650, F.S.; providing for a parental

  4         notification system to be developed by the

  5         Department of Highway Safety and Motor

  6         Vehicles; requiring notification to the parent,

  7         guardian, or other responsible adult who signed

  8         the driver license application of a person

  9         under 18 years of age when a written warning or

10         citation has been issued to that person for a

11         violation of traffic law; providing for content

12         of the notification; amending s. 322.09, F.S.;

13         requiring a parent, guardian, or other

14         responsible adult signing the driver license

15         application of a minor to provide certain

16         contact information; providing an effective

17         date.

18  

19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

20  

21         Section 1.  Section 316.650, Florida Statutes, is

22  amended to read:

23         316.650  Traffic citations; parental notification

24  system.--

25         (1)(a)  The department shall prepare, and supply to

26  every traffic enforcement agency in this state, an appropriate

27  form traffic citation containing a notice to appear (which

28  shall be issued in prenumbered books with citations in

29  quintuplicate) and meeting the requirements of this chapter or

30  any laws of this state regulating traffic, which form shall be

31  consistent with the state traffic court rules and the

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 644
    5-669-05                                            See HB 115




 1  procedures established by the department. Upon all future

 2  printings of the traffic citation, the form shall include a

 3  special box which is to be checked by the law enforcement

 4  officer when the officer believes that the traffic violation

 5  or crash was due to aggressive careless driving as defined in

 6  s. 316.1923.

 7         (b)  The department shall prepare, and supply to every

 8  traffic enforcement agency in the state, an appropriate

 9  affidavit-of-compliance form which shall be issued along with

10  the form traffic citation for any violation of s. 316.610 and

11  which shall indicate the specific defect which needs to be

12  corrected. However, such affidavit of compliance shall not be

13  issued in the case of a violation of s. 316.610 by a

14  commercial motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003(66). Such

15  affidavit-of-compliance form shall be distributed in the same

16  manner and to the same parties as is the form traffic

17  citation.

18         (c)  The department shall develop a notification system

19  that shall be used by traffic law enforcement officers to

20  assist in the notification of the parent, guardian, or other

21  responsible adult who signed the application for a driver

22  license of a person under 18 years of age when the officer

23  cites or warns such person of a violation of traffic law. The

24  notification shall include the time and date the motor vehicle

25  was stopped, the reason the motor vehicle was stopped, the

26  number of people in the motor vehicle, the name of the driver

27  stopped, and the name of the officer who issued the citation

28  or warning. Such notifications shall be mailed by the

29  department to the address provided by the parent, guardian, or

30  other responsible adult in compliance with s. 322.09(1)(b). If

31  no address is on file pursuant to s. 322.09(1)(b), the

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 644
    5-669-05                                            See HB 115




 1  department shall mail the notification to the address on

 2  record for the driver.

 3         (d)(c)  Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), and (b), and

 4  (c), a traffic enforcement agency may produce uniform traffic

 5  citations by electronic means. Such citations must be

 6  consistent with the state traffic court rules and the

 7  procedures established by the department; must be

 8  appropriately numbered and inventoried; and may have fewer

 9  copies than the quintuplicate form. Affidavit-of-compliance

10  forms and any form required by the parental notification

11  system may also be produced by electronic means.

12         (e)(d)  The department must distribute to every traffic

13  enforcement agency and to any others who request it, a traffic

14  infraction reference guide describing the class of the traffic

15  infraction, the penalty for the infraction, the points to be

16  assessed on a driver's license, and any other information

17  necessary to describe a violation and the penalties therefor.

18         (2)  Courts, enforcement agencies, and the department

19  are jointly responsible to account for all uniform traffic

20  citations in accordance with rules and procedures promulgated

21  by the department.

22         (3)(a)  Except for a traffic citation issued pursuant

23  to s. 316.1001, each traffic enforcement officer, upon issuing

24  a traffic citation to an alleged violator of any provision of

25  the motor vehicle laws of this state or of any traffic

26  ordinance of any city or town, shall deposit the original and

27  one copy of such traffic citation or, in the case of a traffic

28  enforcement agency which has an automated citation issuance

29  system, shall provide an electronic facsimile with a court

30  having jurisdiction over the alleged offense or with its

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 644
    5-669-05                                            See HB 115




 1  traffic violations bureau within 5 days after issuance to the

 2  violator.

 3         (b)  If a traffic citation is issued pursuant to s.

 4  316.1001, a traffic enforcement officer may deposit the

 5  original and one copy of such traffic citation or, in the case

 6  of a traffic enforcement agency that has an automated citation

 7  system, may provide an electronic facsimile with a court

 8  having jurisdiction over the alleged offense or with its

 9  traffic violations bureau within 45 days after the date of

10  issuance of the citation to the violator.

11         (4)  The chief administrative officer of every traffic

12  enforcement agency shall require the return to him or her of

13  the department record copy of every traffic citation issued by

14  an officer under the chief administrative officer's

15  supervision to an alleged violator of any traffic law or

16  ordinance and of all copies of every traffic citation which

17  has been spoiled or upon which any entry has been made and not

18  issued to an alleged violator.  In the case of a traffic

19  enforcement agency which has an automated citation issuance

20  system, the chief administrative officer shall require the

21  return of all electronic traffic citation records.

22         (5)  Upon the deposit of the original and one copy of

23  such traffic citation or upon deposit of an electronic

24  facsimile of the traffic citation with respect to traffic

25  enforcement agencies which have an automated citation issuance

26  system with a court having jurisdiction over the alleged

27  offense or with its traffic violations bureau as aforesaid,

28  the original, facsimile, or copy of such traffic citation may

29  be disposed of only by trial in the court or other official

30  action by a judge of the court, including forfeiture of the

31  bail, or by the deposit of sufficient bail with, or payment of

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 644
    5-669-05                                            See HB 115




 1  a fine to, the traffic violations bureau by the person to whom

 2  such traffic citation has been issued by the traffic

 3  enforcement officer.

 4         (6)  The chief administrative officer shall transmit,

 5  on a form approved by the department, the department record

 6  copy of the uniform traffic citation to the department within

 7  5 days after submission of the original and one copy to the

 8  court, or citation and transmittal data may be transmitted to

 9  the department in an automated fashion, in a form prescribed

10  by the department. A copy of such transmittal shall also be

11  provided to the court having jurisdiction for accountability

12  purposes.

13         (7)  The chief administrative officer shall also

14  maintain or cause to be maintained in connection with every

15  traffic citation issued by an officer under his or her

16  supervision a record of the disposition of the charge by the

17  court or its traffic violations bureau in which the original

18  or copy of the traffic citation was deposited.

19         (8)  It is unlawful and official misconduct for any

20  traffic enforcement officer or other officer or public

21  employee to dispose of a traffic citation or copies thereof or

22  of the record of the issuance of the same in a manner other

23  than as required herein.

24         (9)  Such citations shall not be admissible evidence in

25  any trial.

26         (10)  If a uniform traffic citation has not been issued

27  with respect to a criminal traffic offense, or with respect to

28  an offense that requires mandatory revocation of the driver's

29  license or driving privilege pursuant to s. 322.26 upon

30  conviction of such offense, and the prosecution is by

31  affidavit, information, or indictment, the prosecutor shall

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 644
    5-669-05                                            See HB 115




 1  direct the arresting officer to prepare a citation.  In the

 2  absence of an arresting officer, the prosecutor shall prepare

 3  the citation.  For the purpose of this subsection, the term

 4  "arresting officer" means the law enforcement officer who

 5  apprehended or took into custody the alleged offender.

 6         (11)  Driver information contained in a uniform traffic

 7  citation, which includes but is not limited to, the accused

 8  person's name and address, shall not be used for commercial

 9  solicitation purposes. However, the use of such driver

10  information contained in a uniform traffic citation shall not

11  be considered a commercial purpose when used for publication

12  in a newspaper or other news periodical, when used for

13  broadcast by radio or television, or when used to inform a

14  person of the availability of driver safety training.

15         Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 322.09, Florida

16  Statutes, is amended to read:

17         322.09  Application of minors; responsibility for

18  negligence or misconduct of minor.--

19         (1)(a)  The application of any person under the age of

20  18 years for a driver's license must be signed and verified

21  before a person authorized to administer oaths by the father,

22  mother, or guardian, or, if there is no parent or guardian, by

23  another responsible adult who is willing to assume the

24  obligation imposed under this chapter upon a person signing

25  the application of a minor. This section does not apply to a

26  person under the age of 18 years who is emancipated by

27  marriage.

28         (b)  The parent, guardian, or other responsible adult

29  signing the application of a minor pursuant to this section

30  must furnish an address with the application for the purpose

31  of being contacted in the event that the minor applicant is

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 644
    5-669-05                                            See HB 115




 1  issued a written warning or a citation for a violation of

 2  traffic law.

 3         (c)(b)  There shall be submitted with each application

 4  a certified copy of a United States birth certificate, a valid

 5  United States passport, an alien registration receipt card

 6  (green card), an employment authorization card issued by the

 7  United States Department of Homeland Security, or proof of

 8  nonimmigrant classification provided by the United States

 9  Department of Homeland Security, for an original license.

10         Section 3.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2005.

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