Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 220
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì2566164Î256616                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  03/12/2015           .                                
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       The Committee on Transportation (Simpson) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Before line 16
    4  insert:
    5         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
    6  316.545, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         316.545 Weight and load unlawful; special fuel and motor
    8  fuel tax enforcement; inspection; penalty; review.—
    9         (2)(a) Whenever an officer of the Florida Highway Patrol or
   10  weight inspector of the Department of Transportation, upon
   11  weighing a vehicle or combination of vehicles with load,
   12  determines that the axle weight or gross weight is unlawful, the
   13  officer may require the driver to stop the vehicle in a suitable
   14  place and remain standing until a determination can be made as
   15  to the amount of weight thereon and, if overloaded, the amount
   16  of penalty to be assessed as provided herein. However, any gross
   17  weight over and beyond 6,000 pounds beyond the maximum herein
   18  set shall be unloaded and all material so unloaded shall be
   19  cared for by the owner or operator of the vehicle at the risk of
   20  such owner or operator. Except as otherwise provided in this
   21  chapter, to facilitate compliance with and enforcement of the
   22  weight limits established in s. 316.535, weight tables published
   23  pursuant to s. 316.535(7) shall include a 10-percent scale
   24  tolerance and shall thereby reflect the maximum scaled weights
   25  allowed any vehicle or combination of vehicles. As used in this
   26  section, scale tolerance means the allowable deviation from
   27  legal weights established in s. 316.535. Notwithstanding any
   28  other provision of the weight law, if a vehicle or combination
   29  of vehicles does not exceed the gross, external bridge, or
   30  internal bridge weight limits imposed in s. 316.535 and the
   31  driver of such vehicle or combination of vehicles can comply
   32  with the requirements of this chapter by shifting or equalizing
   33  the load on all wheels or axles and does so when requested by
   34  the proper authority, the driver shall not be held to be
   35  operating in violation of said weight limits. When a driver is
   36  issued a citation for exceeding weight limits established in s.
   37  316.535 as determined by means of portable scales, the driver
   38  may request to proceed to the nearest fixed scale at an official
   39  weigh station or at a certified public scale for verification of
   40  weight. The officer who issued the citation must escort the
   41  driver at all times and must attend the reweighing. If the
   42  vehicle or combination of vehicles is found to be in compliance
   43  with the weight requirements of this chapter at the fixed scale,
   44  the citation is void.
   45  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   46  And the title is amended as follows:
   47         Delete line 3
   48  and insert:
   49         Board; amending s. 316.545, F.S.; authorizing a driver
   50         to request to proceed to the nearest fixed scale at an
   51         official weigh station or a certified public scale
   52         when he or she is issued a citation for exceeding
   53         weight limits; requiring the officer issuing the
   54         citation to escort the driver and attend the
   55         reweighing; voiding the citation if the vehicle or
   56         combination of vehicles is found to be in compliance
   57         with certain weight requirements; revising the