Florida Senate - 2021                                     SB 884
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       
       39-00957-21                                            2021884__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to tax collector and license plate
    3         agency operations; amending s. 320.01, F.S.; defining
    4         the term “license plate agency”; amending s. 320.03,
    5         F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
    6         act; requiring certain operational requirements to be
    7         the same for governmentally and privately managed
    8         license plate agencies; amending s. 322.02, F.S.;
    9         requiring transition of specified driver license
   10         services to tax collectors and license plate agencies
   11         on a limited basis by a certain date; amending ss.
   12         212.1832, 320.04, 320.06, 320.0894, 681.117, and
   13         1002.40, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made
   14         by the act; providing an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Subsection (46) is added to section 320.01,
   19  Florida Statutes, to read:
   20         320.01 Definitions, general.—As used in the Florida
   21  Statutes, except as otherwise provided, the term:
   22         (46)“License plate agency” means an office equipped with
   23  the department’s computer systems and network connections which
   24  is managed by a governmental or private entity to process
   25  transactions related to driver license services on behalf of the
   26  department.
   27         Section 2. Subsections (4) and (8) of section 320.03,
   28  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   29         320.03 Registration; duties of tax collectors;
   30  International Registration Plan.—
   31         (4)(a) Each tax collector or license plate agency license
   32  tag agent who has online computer access to the department data
   33  center or other reasonable access thereto shall, except when the
   34  department has issued a registration renewal notice, upon
   35  receipt of an application for the registration of a any motor
   36  vehicle, determine from the driver file of the applicant whether
   37  the applicant’s driver license has been canceled, suspended, or
   38  revoked and, if so, whether the applicant has surrendered his or
   39  her license to the department as required by s. 322.251. If the
   40  applicant has not surrendered his or her license in accordance
   41  with s. 322.251 the provisions of that section, the tax
   42  collector shall refuse to register the vehicle until such time
   43  as the applicant surrenders his or her driver license to the
   44  department.
   45         (b) The Florida Real Time Vehicle Information System shall
   46  be installed in every tax collector’s office and license plate
   47  agency tag agent’s office in accordance with a schedule
   48  established by the department in consultation with the tax
   49  collectors and contingent upon funds being made available for
   50  the system by the state.
   51         (c)Operational requirements for license plate agencies
   52  which are established by department policies and procedures,
   53  including, but not limited to, purchases of equipment, license
   54  plates, and validation stickers and other costs incurred by the
   55  department, shall be the same for both governmentally and
   56  privately managed license plate agencies.
   57         (8) If the applicant’s name appears on the list referred to
   58  in s. 316.1001(4), s. 316.1967(6), s. 318.15(3), or s.
   59  713.78(13), a license plate or revalidation sticker may not be
   60  issued until that person’s name no longer appears on the list or
   61  until the person presents a receipt from the governmental entity
   62  or the clerk of court that provided the data showing that the
   63  fines outstanding have been paid. This subsection does not apply
   64  to the owner of a leased vehicle if the vehicle is registered in
   65  the name of the lessee of the vehicle. The tax collector and the
   66  clerk of the court are each entitled to receive monthly, as
   67  costs for implementing and administering this subsection, 10
   68  percent of the civil penalties and fines recovered from such
   69  persons. As used in this subsection, the term “civil penalties
   70  and fines” does not include a wrecker operator’s lien as
   71  described in s. 713.78(13). If the tax collector has private
   72  license plate agencies tag agents, such license plate agencies
   73  tag agents are entitled to receive a pro rata share of the
   74  amount paid to the tax collector, based upon the percentage of
   75  license plates and revalidation stickers issued by the license
   76  plate agency tag agent compared to the total issued within the
   77  county. The authority of a any private license plate agent to
   78  issue license plates shall be revoked, after notice and a
   79  hearing as provided in chapter 120, if he or she issues a any
   80  license plate or revalidation sticker contrary to the provisions
   81  of this subsection. This section applies only to the annual
   82  renewal in the owner’s birth month of a motor vehicle
   83  registration and does not apply to the transfer of a
   84  registration of a motor vehicle sold by a motor vehicle dealer
   85  licensed under this chapter, except for the transfer of
   86  registrations which includes the annual renewals. This section
   87  does not affect the issuance of the title to a motor vehicle,
   88  notwithstanding s. 319.23(8)(b).
   89         Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 322.02, Florida
   90  Statutes, is amended to read:
   91         322.02 Legislative intent; administration.—
   92         (1) The Legislature finds that over the past several years
   93  the department and individual county tax collectors have entered
   94  into contracts for the delivery of full and limited driver
   95  license services where such contractual relationships best
   96  served the public interest through state administration and
   97  enforcement and local government implementation. It is the
   98  intent of the Legislature that the complete transition of all
   99  driver license issuance services to tax collectors who are
  100  constitutional officers under s. 1(d), Art. VIII of the State
  101  Constitution be completed no later than June 30, 2015. The
  102  transition of services to appointed charter county tax
  103  collectors and their license plate agencies as defined in s.
  104  320.01(46) shall may occur on a limited basis by October 31,
  105  2021, as directed by the department. Such services shall
  106  include:
  107         (a)Renewal of a driver license using a convenience
  108  service.
  109         (b)Replacement of a driver license or an identification
  110  card.
  111         (c)Update of address on a driver license or an
  112  identification card.
  113         (d)Reinstatement of a suspended driver license when the
  114  only condition of such reinstatement is payment of fees.
  115         Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 212.1832, Florida
  116  Statutes, is amended to read:
  117         212.1832 Credit for contributions to eligible nonprofit
  118  scholarship-funding organizations.—
  119         (1) The purchaser of a motor vehicle shall be granted a
  120  credit of 100 percent of an eligible contribution made to an
  121  eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization under s.
  122  1002.40 against any tax imposed by the state under this chapter
  123  and collected from the purchaser by a dealer, designated agent,
  124  or private license plate agency tag agent as a result of the
  125  purchase or acquisition of a motor vehicle, except that a credit
  126  may not exceed the tax that would otherwise be collected from
  127  the purchaser by a dealer, designated agent, or private license
  128  plate agency tag agent. For purposes of this subsection, the
  129  term “purchase” does not include the lease or rental of a motor
  130  vehicle.
  131         Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
  132  320.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  133         320.04 Registration service charge.—
  134         (1)
  135         (b) A service charge of $1 shall also be imposed for the
  136  issuance of each license plate validation sticker, vessel decal,
  137  and mobile home sticker issued from an automated vending
  138  facility or printer dispenser machine. This service charge is
  139  payable to the department and shall be used to provide for
  140  automated vending facilities or printer dispenser machines that
  141  are used to dispense such stickers and decals by each tax
  142  collector’s or license plate agency’s tag agent’s employee.
  143         Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 320.06, Florida
  144  Statutes, is amended to read:
  145         320.06 Registration certificates, license plates, and
  146  validation stickers generally.—
  147         (2) The department shall provide the several tax collectors
  148  and license plate agencies agents with the necessary number of
  149  validation stickers.
  150         Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
  151  320.0894, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  152         320.0894 Motor vehicle license plates to Gold Star family
  153  members.—The department shall develop a special license plate
  154  honoring the family members of servicemembers who have been
  155  killed while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.
  156  The license plate shall be officially designated as the Gold
  157  Star license plate and shall be developed and issued as provided
  158  in this section.
  159         (4)
  160         (b) The applicant must provide documentation of the fact
  161  that the servicemember was killed while serving and proof of
  162  relationship to the servicemember to the tax collector or
  163  license plate agency agent before being issued a Gold Star
  164  license plate. The tax collector or license plate agent may
  165  waive the requirement for such documentation and proof if he or
  166  she has actual knowledge of the family relationship and that the
  167  servicemember was killed while serving.
  168         Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 681.117, Florida
  169  Statutes, is amended to read:
  170         681.117 Fee.—
  171         (1) A $2 fee shall be collected by a motor vehicle dealer,
  172  or by a person engaged in the business of leasing motor
  173  vehicles, from the consumer at the consummation of the sale of a
  174  motor vehicle or at the time of entry into a lease agreement for
  175  a motor vehicle. Such fees shall be remitted to the county tax
  176  collector or private license plate tag agency acting as agent
  177  for the Department of Revenue. If the purchaser or lessee
  178  removes the motor vehicle from the state for titling and
  179  registration outside this state, the fee shall be remitted to
  180  the Department of Revenue. All fees, less the cost of
  181  administration, shall be transferred monthly to the department
  182  for deposit into the Motor Vehicle Warranty Trust Fund.
  183         Section 9. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (g) of subsection
  184  (13) of section 1002.40, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  185         1002.40 The Hope Scholarship Program.—
  186         (13) SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING TAX CREDITS.—
  187         (a) A tax credit is available under s. 212.1832(1) for use
  188  by a person that makes an eligible contribution. Eligible
  189  contributions shall be used to fund scholarships under this
  190  section and may be used to fund scholarships under s. 1002.395.
  191  Each eligible contribution is limited to a single payment of
  192  $105 per motor vehicle purchased at the time of purchase of a
  193  motor vehicle or a single payment of $105 per motor vehicle
  194  purchased at the time of registration of a motor vehicle that
  195  was not purchased from a dealer, except that a contribution may
  196  not exceed the state tax imposed under chapter 212 that would
  197  otherwise be collected from the purchaser by a dealer,
  198  designated agent, or private license plate agency tag agent.
  199  Payments of contributions shall be made to a dealer at the time
  200  of purchase of a motor vehicle or to a designated agent or
  201  private license plate agency tag agent at the time of
  202  registration of a motor vehicle that was not purchased from a
  203  dealer. An eligible contribution shall be accompanied by a
  204  contribution election form provided by the Department of
  205  Revenue. The form shall include, at a minimum, the following
  206  brief description of the Hope Scholarship Program and the
  207  Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program: “THE HOPE SCHOLARSHIP
  208  PROGRAM PROVIDES A PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT WHO WAS SUBJECTED TO AN
  209  INCIDENT OF VIOLENCE OR BULLYING AT SCHOOL THE OPPORTUNITY TO
  210  APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP TO ATTEND AN ELIGIBLE PRIVATE SCHOOL
  211  RATHER THAN REMAIN IN AN UNSAFE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT. THE FLORIDA
  212  TAX CREDIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM PROVIDES A LOW-INCOME STUDENT THE
  213  OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP TO ATTEND AN ELIGIBLE
  214  PRIVATE SCHOOL.” The form shall also include, at a minimum, a
  215  section allowing the consumer to designate, from all
  216  participating scholarship funding organizations, which
  217  organization will receive his or her donation. For purposes of
  218  this subsection, the term “purchase” does not include the lease
  219  or rental of a motor vehicle.
  220         (b) A dealer, designated agent, or private license plate
  221  agency tag agent shall:
  222         1. Provide the purchaser the contribution election form, as
  223  provided by the Department of Revenue, at the time of purchase
  224  of a motor vehicle or at the time of registration of a motor
  225  vehicle that was not purchased from a dealer.
  226         2. Collect eligible contributions.
  227         3. Using a form provided by the Department of Revenue,
  228  which shall include the dealer’s or agency’s agent’s federal
  229  employer identification number, remit to an organization no
  230  later than the date the return filed pursuant to s. 212.11 is
  231  due the total amount of contributions made to that organization
  232  and collected during the preceding reporting period. Using the
  233  same form, the dealer or agency agent shall also report this
  234  information to the Department of Revenue no later than the date
  235  the return filed pursuant to s. 212.11 is due.
  236         4. Report to the Department of Revenue on each return filed
  237  pursuant to s. 212.11 the total amount of credits granted under
  238  s. 212.1832 for the preceding reporting period.
  239         (c) An organization shall report to the Department of
  240  Revenue, on or before the 20th day of each month, the total
  241  amount of contributions received pursuant to paragraph (b) in
  242  the preceding calendar month on a form provided by the
  243  Department of Revenue. Such report shall include:
  244         1. The federal employer identification number of each
  245  designated agent, private license plate agency tag agent, or
  246  dealer who remitted contributions to the organization during
  247  that reporting period.
  248         2. The amount of contributions received from each
  249  designated agent, private license plate agency tag agent, or
  250  dealer during that reporting period.
  251         (g) A Any dealer, designated agent, private license plate
  252  agency tag agent, or organization that fails to timely submit
  253  reports to the Department of Revenue as required in paragraphs
  254  (b) and (c) is subject to a penalty of $1,000 for every month,
  255  or part thereof, the report is not provided, up to a maximum
  256  amount of $10,000. Such penalty shall be collected by the
  257  Department of Revenue and shall be transferred into the General
  258  Revenue Fund. Such penalty must be settled or compromised if it
  259  is determined by the Department of Revenue that the
  260  noncompliance is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful
  261  negligence, willful neglect, or fraud.
  262         Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.