Florida Senate - 2017                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1118
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì580884JÎ580884                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/17/2017           .                                
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       Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and
       Economic Development (Artiles) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (744514) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 147 and 148
    5  insert:
    6         Section 7. Effective October 1, 2017, section 335.094,
    7  Florida Statutes, is created to read:
    8         335.094 Highway memorial markers; public safety awareness.—
    9         (1) In recognition of the department’s mission to provide a
   10  safe transportation system, the Legislature intends that the
   11  department allow the use of highway memorial markers at or near
   12  the location of traffic-related fatalities on the State Highway
   13  System to raise public awareness and remind motorists to drive
   14  safely by memorializing people who have died as a result of a
   15  traffic-related crash.
   16         (2) The department shall establish a process, including any
   17  forms deemed necessary by the department, for submitting
   18  applications for installation of a memorial marker as authorized
   19  in this section. Applications may be submitted to the department
   20  by:
   21         (a) A member of the decedent’s family, which includes the
   22  decedent’s spouse; a child, parent, or sibling of the decedent,
   23  whether biological, adopted, or step relation; and any lineal or
   24  collateral descendant of the decedent; or
   25         (b) Any individual who is responsible under the laws of
   26  this state for the disposition of the unclaimed remains of the
   27  decedent or for other matters relating to the interment or
   28  memorialization of the decedent.
   29         (3)The department shall establish criteria for the design
   30  and fabrication of memorial markers, including, but not limited
   31  to, marker components, fabrication material, and size.
   32         (4)(a)The department may install a round aluminum sign
   33  panel with white background and black letters uniformly
   34  inscribed “Drive Safely, In Memory Of” followed by the
   35  decedent’s name at no charge to the applicant.
   36         (b) Upon the request of the applicant and payment of a
   37  reasonable fee set by the department to offset production costs,
   38  memorial markers may incorporate the available emblems of belief
   39  approved by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
   40  National Cemetery Administration. For purposes of this section,
   41  an “emblem of belief” means an emblem that represents the
   42  decedent’s religious affiliation or sincerely held religious
   43  belief system, or a sincerely held belief system that was
   44  functionally equivalent to a religious belief system in the life
   45  of the decedent. The religion or belief system represented by an
   46  emblem need not be associated with or endorsed by a church,
   47  group, or organized denomination. The term does not include
   48  emblems, graphics, logos, or symbols that relate to social,
   49  cultural, ethnic, civic, fraternal, trade, commercial,
   50  political, professional, or military status.
   51         (c)An applicant may request a new emblem of belief not
   52  specifically approved by the United States Department of
   53  Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration for
   54  inscription on a memorial marker as follows:
   55         1. The applicant must certify that the proposed new emblem
   56  of belief represents the decedent’s religious affiliation or
   57  sincerely held religious belief system, or a sincerely held
   58  belief system that was functionally equivalent to a religious
   59  belief system in the life of the decedent.
   60         2. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the
   61  department shall accept as genuine an applicant’s statement of
   62  the religious or functionally equivalent belief system of a
   63  decedent.
   64         (d) If the department determines that any application under
   65  this section is incomplete, the department must notify the
   66  applicant in writing of any missing information and must notify
   67  the applicant in writing that no further action on the
   68  application will be taken until the missing information is
   69  provided.
   70         (5) The department shall place a memorial marker for any
   71  approved application at or near the location of the fatality in
   72  a fashion that reduces driver distraction and positions the
   73  marker as near the right-of-way line as possible.
   74         (6) Memorial markers are intended to remind passing
   75  motorists of the dangers of unsafe driving and are not intended
   76  for visitation. The department shall remove a memorial marker if
   77  the department determines the presence of the marker creates a
   78  safety hazard. In such cases, the department shall post a notice
   79  near where the marker was located indicating that the marker has
   80  been removed and provide contact information for pickup of the
   81  marker. The department shall store any removed markers for at
   82  least 60 days. If after 60 days the memorial is not claimed, the
   83  department may dispose of the marker as it deems necessary.
   84  
   85  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   86  And the title is amended as follows:
   87         Delete line 588
   88  and insert:
   89         by the Federal Highway Administration; creating s.
   90         335.094, F.S.; providing legislative intent; requiring
   91         the department to establish a process, including any
   92         forms deemed necessary by the department, for
   93         submitting applications for installation of a memorial
   94         marker; specifying persons who may submit such
   95         applications to the department; requiring the
   96         department to establish criteria for the design and
   97         fabrication of memorial markers; authorizing the
   98         department to install a certain sign at no charge to
   99         an applicant; providing that memorial markers may
  100         incorporate the available emblems of belief approved
  101         by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
  102         National Cemetery Administration upon the request of
  103         the applicant and payment of a reasonable fee set by
  104         the department to offset production costs; defining
  105         the term “emblem of belief”; authorizing an applicant
  106         to request a new emblem of belief not specifically
  107         approved by the United States Department of Veterans
  108         Affairs National Cemetery Administration for
  109         inscription on a memorial marker, subject to certain
  110         requirements; requiring the department, under certain
  111         circumstances, to notify an applicant of any missing
  112         information and that no further action on the
  113         application will be taken until the missing
  114         information is provided; providing requirements for
  115         placement of the memorial marker by the department;
  116         requiring the department to remove a memorial marker
  117         if the department determines the presence of the
  118         marker creates a safety hazard, subject to certain
  119         requirements; amending s.