Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1912
By Senator Evers
2-01262-11 20111912__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to trucking; providing a short title;
3 defining the term “small trucking firm”; providing for
4 the county tax collector to act as an agent of the
5 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for
6 the issuance of certain commercial driver’s licenses
7 and registration tags; exempting trucks owned by small
8 trucking firms from laws that prohibit idling;
9 providing for a waiver from the Department of
10 Environmental Protection exempting such firms from
11 rules and regulations restricting truck washing;
12 providing such firms with a tax credit for the costs
13 of idling; providing penalties for theft from small
14 trucking firms; creating the Trucking Regulation
15 Workgroup to identify certain rules and regulations;
16 providing for membership of the workgroup; directing
17 the workgroup to make a report to the Governor and the
18 Legislature by a certain date; authorizing the
19 Department of Transportation to randomly inspect
20 trucks and prohibiting the use of target lists for
21 such inspections; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Small Trucker
26 Relief Act.”
27 Section 2. Small trucking firms.—
28 (1) As used in this section, the term “small trucking firm”
29 means a trucking enterprise that is family owned, has fewer than
30 30 employees, or has fewer than 10 trucks in operation.
31 (2) The county tax collector’s office shall act as agent
32 for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the
33 issuance and renewal issuance of:
34 (a) Registration license plates for trucks owned by small
35 trucking firms.
36 (b) Commercial driver’s licenses for employees of small
37 trucking firms.
38 (3) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a penalty or
39 fine may not be assessed for a truck idling, if that truck is
40 owned by a small trucking firm.
41 (4) Upon application by a small trucking firm, the
42 Department of Environmental Protection shall issue the firm a
43 waiver that exempts the firm from department rules and
44 regulations restricting truck washing and allows the firm to
45 wash trucks.
46 (5) An annual credit against the corporate tax imposed by
47 chapter 220, Florida Statutes, shall be granted to any small
48 trucking firm in an amount equal to the cost value of the time
49 and amount of fuel consumed while idling. A small trucking firm
50 may apply for the tax credit on forms furnished by the
51 Department of Revenue.
52 (6) A person who engages in the theft of cargo or equipment
53 from a small trucking firm commits a felony of the second
54 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
55 775.084, Florida Statutes, and, for each occurrence, shall be
56 sentenced to a minimum term of 5 years in prison and fined
57 $100,000.
58 Section 3. Trucking workgroup.—
59 (1) There is created the Trucking Regulation Workgroup.
60 (2) The workgroup shall consist of the following members:
61 (a) The Secretary of Transportation, or the secretary’s
62 representative.
63 (b) One member, appointed by the Governor, who shall be an
64 owner or employee of a small trucking firm as defined in section
65 2.
66 (c) One member, appointed by the Governor, who is a member
67 of the Florida Trucking Association.
68 (3) The workgroup shall identify rules and regulations that
69 can be removed without affecting public safety and provide a
70 report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
71 Speaker of the House of Representatives no later than October 1,
72 2011.
73 Section 4. Department of Transportation truck inspections.
74 The Department of Transportation may inspect trucks randomly but
75 may not use a target list to determine which trucks are
76 inspected.
77 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.