Florida Senate - 2014 CS for SB 754
By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Bradley
597-02847-14 2014754c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to certificates of destruction;
3 amending s. 319.30, F.S.; defining a term; revising
4 requirements for the Department of Highway Safety and
5 Motor Vehicles to declare certain mobile homes and
6 motor vehicles unrebuildable and to issue a
7 certificate of destruction; requiring the department
8 to issue certificates of destruction for motor
9 vehicles that are worth less than a specified amount
10 and are above a certain age under certain
11 circumstances; providing an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Present paragraphs (o) through (w) of subsection
16 (1) of section 319.30, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
17 paragraphs (p) through (x), respectively, a new paragraph (o) is
18 added to that subsection, and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of
19 that section is amended, to read:
20 319.30 Definitions; dismantling, destruction, change of
21 identity of motor vehicle or mobile home; salvage.—
22 (1) As used in this section, the term:
23 (o) “Late model vehicle” means a motor vehicle that has a
24 manufacturer’s model year of 7 years or newer.
25 (3)
26 (b) The owner, including persons who are self-insured, of a
27 any motor vehicle or mobile home that which is considered to be
28 salvage shall, within 72 hours after the motor vehicle or mobile
29 home becomes salvage, forward the title to the motor vehicle or
30 mobile home to the department for processing. However, an
31 insurance company that which pays money as compensation for the
32 total loss of a motor vehicle or mobile home shall obtain the
33 certificate of title for the motor vehicle or mobile home, make
34 the required notification to the National Motor Vehicle Title
35 Information System, and, within 72 hours after receiving such
36 certificate of title, shall forward such title to the department
37 for processing. The owner or insurance company, as applicable
38 the case may be, may not dispose of a vehicle or mobile home
39 that is a total loss before it obtains has obtained a salvage
40 certificate of title or certificate of destruction from the
41 department. When applying for a salvage certificate of title or
42 certificate of destruction, the owner or insurance company must
43 provide the department with an estimate of the costs of
44 repairing the physical and mechanical damage suffered by the
45 vehicle for which a salvage certificate of title or certificate
46 of destruction is sought. If the estimated costs of repairing
47 the physical and mechanical damage to the mobile home vehicle
48 are equal to 80 percent or more of the current retail cost of
49 the mobile home vehicle, as established in any official used car
50 or used mobile home guide, the department shall declare the
51 mobile home vehicle unrebuildable and print a certificate of
52 destruction, which authorizes the dismantling or destruction of
53 the motor vehicle or mobile home described therein. For a late
54 model vehicle with a current retail cost of at least $7,500 just
55 prior to sustaining the damage that resulted in the total loss,
56 as established in any official used car guide, if the owner or
57 insurance company determines that the estimated costs of
58 repairing the physical and mechanical damage to the vehicle are
59 equal to 90 percent or more of the current retail cost of the
60 vehicle, as established in any official used motor vehicle
61 guide, the department shall declare the vehicle unrebuildable
62 and print a certificate of destruction, which authorizes the
63 dismantling or destruction of the motor vehicle. However, if the
64 damaged motor vehicle is equipped with custom-lowered floors for
65 wheelchair access or a wheelchair lift, the insurance company
66 may, upon determining that the vehicle is repairable to a
67 condition that is safe for operation on public roads, submit the
68 certificate of title to the department for reissuance as a
69 salvage rebuildable title and the addition of a title brand of
70 “insurance-declared total loss.” The certificate of destruction
71 shall be reassignable a maximum of two times before dismantling
72 or destruction of the vehicle is shall be required, and shall
73 accompany the motor vehicle or mobile home for which it is
74 issued, when such motor vehicle or mobile home is sold for such
75 purposes, in lieu of a certificate of title., and, thereafter,
76 The department may not issue a shall refuse issuance of any
77 certificate of title for that vehicle. Nothing in This
78 subsection is not shall be applicable if when a mobile home
79 vehicle is worth less than $1,500 retail just prior to
80 sustaining the damage that resulted in the total loss in
81 undamaged condition in any official used motor vehicle guide or
82 used mobile home guide or when a stolen motor vehicle or mobile
83 home is recovered in substantially intact condition and is
84 readily resalable without extensive repairs to or replacement of
85 the frame or engine. If a motor vehicle has a current retail
86 cost of less than $7,500 just prior to sustaining the damage
87 that resulted in the total loss, as established in any official
88 used motor vehicle guide, or if the vehicle is not a late model
89 vehicle, the owner or insurance company that pays money as
90 compensation for the total loss of the motor vehicle shall
91 obtain a certificate of destruction, if the motor vehicle is
92 damaged, wrecked, or burned to the extent that the only residual
93 value of the motor vehicle is as a source of parts or scrap
94 metal, or if the motor vehicle comes into this state under a
95 title or other ownership document that indicates that the motor
96 vehicle is not repairable, is junked, or is for parts or
97 dismantling only. A Any person who knowingly violates this
98 paragraph or falsifies documentation any document to avoid the
99 requirements of this paragraph commits a misdemeanor of the
100 first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
101 775.083.
102 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.