| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to contract carriers; amending s. 316.302, |
| 3 | F.S.; applying specific requirements to contract carriers |
| 4 | employed by railroad companies; providing requirements for |
| 5 | drug and alcohol testing and rest periods; requiring that |
| 6 | contract carriers keep logs and maintain certain insurance |
| 7 | coverage; requiring the Department of Transportation to |
| 8 | adopt rules regulating such contract carriers; requiring |
| 9 | the department to inform contract carriers and railroad |
| 10 | companies of applicable requirements and statutes; |
| 11 | providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Subsections (8) through (11) of section |
| 16 | 316.302, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (9) |
| 17 | through (12), respectively, present subsection (8) is amended, |
| 18 | and a new subsection (8) is added to that section, to read: |
| 19 | 316.302 Commercial motor vehicles; safety regulations; |
| 20 | transporters and shippers of hazardous materials; enforcement.-- |
| 21 | (8) This section applies only to contract carriers |
| 22 | transporting railroad employees within this state. |
| 23 | (a) Each driver for such contract carriers must hold a |
| 24 | commercial driver's license. |
| 25 | (b) Such contract carriers shall perform alcohol and drug |
| 26 | testing on drivers before employment, on suspicion of drug or |
| 27 | alcohol use, and randomly at least once every 365 days. |
| 28 | (c) Drivers employed by such contract carriers may not |
| 29 | perform duties in excess of 14 hours per shift, with a total |
| 30 | driving time of 12 hours, and shall have a minimum of 10 hours |
| 31 | of rest between shifts. |
| 32 | (d) Such contract carriers shall keep logs, signed by the |
| 33 | drivers and the employer on a weekly basis, showing hours of |
| 34 | service and recording time on duty, driving time, and total time |
| 35 | worked per shift. The logs shall be kept by the contract |
| 36 | carriers for a minimum of 3 years. |
| 37 | (e) Such contract carriers shall maintain a minimum |
| 38 | liability insurance coverage of $1.5 million per vehicle and |
| 39 | equivalent uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. |
| 40 | (f) The Department of Transportation may adopt rules to |
| 41 | administer this subsection. |
| 42 | (g) The Department of Transportation shall inform contract |
| 43 | carriers transporting railroad employees in this state of |
| 44 | applicable requirements and statutes. |
| 45 | (9)(8) For the purpose of enforcing this section, any law |
| 46 | enforcement officer of the Department of Transportation or duly |
| 47 | appointed agent who holds a current safety inspector |
| 48 | certification from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance may |
| 49 | require the driver of any commercial vehicle operated on the |
| 50 | highways of this state to stop and submit to an inspection of |
| 51 | the vehicle or the driver's records. If the vehicle or driver is |
| 52 | found to be operating in an unsafe condition, or if any required |
| 53 | part or equipment is not present or is not in proper repair or |
| 54 | adjustment, and the continued operation would present an unduly |
| 55 | hazardous operating condition, the officer may require the |
| 56 | vehicle or the driver to be removed from service pursuant to the |
| 57 | North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, until |
| 58 | corrected. However, if continuous operation would not present an |
| 59 | unduly hazardous operating condition, the officer may give |
| 60 | written notice requiring correction of the condition within 14 |
| 61 | days. |
| 62 | (a) Any member of the Florida Highway Patrol or any law |
| 63 | enforcement officer employed by a sheriff's office or municipal |
| 64 | police department authorized to enforce the traffic laws of this |
| 65 | state pursuant to s. 316.640 who has reason to believe that a |
| 66 | vehicle or driver is operating in an unsafe condition may, as |
| 67 | provided in subsection (11) (10), enforce the provisions of this |
| 68 | section. |
| 69 | (b) Any person who fails to comply with an officer's |
| 70 | request to submit to an inspection under this subsection commits |
| 71 | a violation of s. 843.02 if the person resists the officer |
| 72 | without violence or a violation of s. 843.01 if the person |
| 73 | resists the officer with violence. |
| 74 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |