Bill Text: FL S0590 | 2012 | Regular Session | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Noncriminal Traffic Infractions

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)

Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Budget Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development Appropriations, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/CS/HB 599 (Ch. [S0590 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-S0590-Comm_Sub.html
       Florida Senate - 2012                      CS for SB's 590 & 568
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Transportation; and Senators Garcia, Wise,
       and Evers
       
       
       
       596-03072-12                                           2012590c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to noncriminal traffic infractions;
    3         amending s. 316.0083, F.S., relating to use of a
    4         traffic infraction detector when a driver has failed
    5         to stop at a traffic control signal pursuant to
    6         specified provisions; revising procedures applied to a
    7         person identified by a motor vehicle owner as having
    8         care, custody, and control of the vehicle when a
    9         violation occurred; providing for notification and
   10         citation within certain time periods after receipt of
   11         an affidavit from the owner identifying such person;
   12         providing that the owner of a motor vehicle involved
   13         in a violation is responsible for paying the uniform
   14         traffic citation unless the motor vehicle’s owner was
   15         deceased on or before the date the uniformed traffic
   16         citation was issued; requiring the representative of
   17         the deceased owner to submit certain documentation to
   18         prove the death of the owner of the vehicle; providing
   19         for a traffic citation to be issued at the discretion
   20         of the reviewing traffic infraction enforcement
   21         officer for failure to stop before making a left-hand
   22         turn or right-hand turn where such turn is
   23         permissible; specifying factors for the reviewing
   24         traffic infraction enforcement officer to consider;
   25         requiring that the Department of Highway Safety and
   26         Motor Vehicles and counties and municipalities that
   27         install a traffic infraction detector to submit a
   28         report to the Department of Transportation which
   29         provides specified data; amending s. 316.075, F.S.;
   30         requiring the establishment of minimum yellow light
   31         change interval times for intersections where traffic
   32         infraction detectors are used; requiring notices of
   33         violation for violations at such intersections to
   34         contain specific information regarding the yellow
   35         light times; providing that such notices establish a
   36         presumption; requiring testing to such traffic control
   37         signals; requiring such signals to comply with certain
   38         standards; requiring that certain detectors be in
   39         compliance with the act by a specified date; amending
   40         s. 316.0776, F.S.; revising provisions to conform to
   41         changes made by the act; providing an effective date.
   42  
   43  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   44  
   45         Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 316.0083,
   46  Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (5) is added to
   47  that section, to read:
   48         316.0083 Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Program;
   49  administration; report.—
   50         (1)(a) For purposes of administering this section, the
   51  department, a county, or a municipality may authorize a traffic
   52  infraction enforcement officer under s. 316.640 to issue a
   53  traffic citation for a violation of s. 316.074(1) or s.
   54  316.075(1)(c)1. A notice of violation and a traffic citation may
   55  not be issued for failure to stop at a red light if the driver
   56  is making a right-hand turn in a careful and prudent manner at
   57  an intersection where right-hand turns are permissible. This
   58  paragraph does not prohibit a review of information from a
   59  traffic infraction detector by an authorized employee or agent
   60  of the department, a county, or a municipality before issuance
   61  of the traffic citation by the traffic infraction enforcement
   62  officer. This paragraph does not prohibit the department, a
   63  county, or a municipality from issuing notification as provided
   64  in paragraph (b) to the registered owner of the motor vehicle or
   65  to another person identified as having care, custody, and
   66  control of the motor vehicle involved in the violation of s.
   67  316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1.
   68         (b)1.a. Within 30 days after a violation, notification must
   69  be sent to the registered owner of the motor vehicle involved in
   70  the violation specifying the remedies available under s. 318.14
   71  and that the violator must pay the penalty of $158 to the
   72  department, county, or municipality, or furnish an affidavit in
   73  accordance with paragraph (d), within 30 days following the date
   74  of the notification in order to avoid court fees, costs, and the
   75  issuance of a traffic citation. The notification shall be sent
   76  by first-class mail.
   77         b. Included with the notification to the registered owner
   78  of the motor vehicle involved in the infraction must be a notice
   79  that the owner has the right to review the photographic or
   80  electronic images or the streaming video evidence that
   81  constitutes a rebuttable presumption against the owner of the
   82  vehicle. The notice must state the time and place or Internet
   83  location where the evidence may be examined and observed.
   84         2. Penalties assessed and collected by the department,
   85  county, or municipality authorized to collect the funds provided
   86  for in this paragraph, less the amount retained by the county or
   87  municipality pursuant to subparagraph 3., shall be paid to the
   88  Department of Revenue weekly. Payment by the department, county,
   89  or municipality to the state shall be made by means of
   90  electronic funds transfers. In addition to the payment, summary
   91  detail of the penalties remitted shall be reported to the
   92  Department of Revenue.
   93         3. Penalties to be assessed and collected by the
   94  department, county, or municipality are as follows:
   95         a. One hundred fifty-eight dollars for a violation of s.
   96  316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. when a driver has failed to
   97  stop at a traffic signal if enforcement is by the department’s
   98  traffic infraction enforcement officer. One hundred dollars
   99  shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into
  100  the General Revenue Fund, $10 shall be remitted to the
  101  Department of Revenue for deposit into the Department of Health
  102  Administrative Trust Fund, $3 shall be remitted to the
  103  Department of Revenue for deposit into the Brain and Spinal Cord
  104  Injury Trust Fund, and $45 shall be distributed to the
  105  municipality in which the violation occurred, or, if the
  106  violation occurred in an unincorporated area, to the county in
  107  which the violation occurred. Funds deposited into the
  108  Department of Health Administrative Trust Fund under this sub
  109  subparagraph shall be distributed as provided in s. 395.4036(1).
  110  Proceeds of the infractions in the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury
  111  Trust Fund shall be distributed quarterly to the Miami Project
  112  to Cure Paralysis and shall be used for brain and spinal cord
  113  research.
  114         b. One hundred fifty-eight dollars for a violation of s.
  115  316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. when a driver has failed to
  116  stop at a traffic signal if enforcement is by a county or
  117  municipal traffic infraction enforcement officer. Seventy
  118  dollars shall be remitted by the county or municipality to the
  119  Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund,
  120  $10 shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit
  121  into the Department of Health Administrative Trust Fund, $3
  122  shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into
  123  the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund, and $75 shall be
  124  retained by the county or municipality enforcing the ordinance
  125  enacted pursuant to this section. Funds deposited into the
  126  Department of Health Administrative Trust Fund under this sub
  127  subparagraph shall be distributed as provided in s. 395.4036(1).
  128  Proceeds of the infractions in the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury
  129  Trust Fund shall be distributed quarterly to the Miami Project
  130  to Cure Paralysis and shall be used for brain and spinal cord
  131  research.
  132         4. An individual may not receive a commission from any
  133  revenue collected from violations detected through the use of a
  134  traffic infraction detector. A manufacturer or vendor may not
  135  receive a fee or remuneration based upon the number of
  136  violations detected through the use of a traffic infraction
  137  detector.
  138         (c)1.a. A traffic citation issued under this section shall
  139  be issued by mailing the traffic citation by certified mail to
  140  the address of the registered owner of the motor vehicle
  141  involved in the violation when payment has not been made within
  142  30 days after notification under subparagraph (b)1.
  143         b. Delivery of the traffic citation constitutes
  144  notification under this paragraph.
  145         c. In the case of joint ownership of a motor vehicle, the
  146  traffic citation shall be mailed to the first name appearing on
  147  the registration, unless the first name appearing on the
  148  registration is a business organization, in which case the
  149  second name appearing on the registration may be used.
  150         d. The traffic citation shall be mailed to the registered
  151  owner of the motor vehicle involved in the violation no later
  152  than 60 days after the date of the violation.
  153         2. Included with the notification to the registered owner
  154  of the motor vehicle involved in the infraction shall be a
  155  notice that the owner has the right to review, either in person
  156  or remotely, the photographic or electronic images or the
  157  streaming video evidence that constitutes a rebuttable
  158  presumption against the owner of the vehicle. The notice must
  159  state the time and place or Internet location where the evidence
  160  may be examined and observed.
  161         (d)1. The owner of the motor vehicle involved in the
  162  violation is responsible and liable for paying the uniform
  163  traffic citation issued for a violation of s. 316.074(1) or s.
  164  316.075(1)(c)1. when the driver failed to stop at a traffic
  165  signal, unless the owner can establish that:
  166         a. The motor vehicle passed through the intersection in
  167  order to yield right-of-way to an emergency vehicle or as part
  168  of a funeral procession;
  169         b. The motor vehicle passed through the intersection at the
  170  direction of a law enforcement officer;
  171         c. The motor vehicle was, at the time of the violation, in
  172  the care, custody, or control of another person; or
  173         d. A uniform traffic citation was issued by a law
  174  enforcement officer to the driver of the motor vehicle for the
  175  alleged violation of s. 316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1; or.
  176         e. The motor vehicle’s owner was deceased on or before the
  177  date the uniformed traffic citation was issued, as established
  178  by an affidavit submitted by the representative of the motor
  179  vehicle owner’s estate, or other designated person or family
  180  member.
  181         2. In order to establish such facts, the owner of the motor
  182  vehicle shall, within 30 days after the date of issuance of the
  183  traffic citation, furnish to the appropriate governmental entity
  184  an affidavit setting forth detailed information supporting an
  185  exemption as provided in this paragraph.
  186         a. An affidavit supporting an exemption under sub
  187  subparagraph 1.c. must include the name, address, date of birth,
  188  and, if known, the driver driver’s license number of the person
  189  who leased, rented, or otherwise had care, custody, or control
  190  of the motor vehicle at the time of the alleged violation. If
  191  the vehicle was stolen at the time of the alleged offense, the
  192  affidavit must include the police report indicating that the
  193  vehicle was stolen.
  194         b. If a traffic citation for a violation of s. 316.074(1)
  195  or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. was issued at the location of the
  196  violation by a law enforcement officer, the affidavit must
  197  include the serial number of the uniform traffic citation.
  198         c. If the motor vehicle’s owner to whom a traffic citation
  199  has been issued is deceased, the affidavit must include a
  200  certified copy of the owner’s death certificate showing the date
  201  of death occurred on or before the issuance of the uniform
  202  traffic citation and one of the following:
  203         (I) A bill of sale or other document showing that the
  204  deceased owner’s motor vehicle was sold after his or her death;
  205         (II) Documentary proof that the registered license plate
  206  belonging to the deceased owner’s vehicle was turned in to the
  207  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, including any
  208  branch or authorized office thereof; or
  209         (III) A copy of a police report showing that the deceased
  210  owner’s registered license plate or motor vehicle was stolen
  211  after the owner’s death.
  212  
  213  Upon receipt of the affidavit and documentation required under
  214  this sub-subparagraph, the governmental entity shall dismiss the
  215  citation and provide proof of such dismissal to the person who
  216  submitted the affidavit.
  217         3. Upon receipt of an affidavit, the person designated as
  218  having care, custody, and control of the motor vehicle at the
  219  time of the violation may be issued a notice of violation
  220  pursuant to paragraph (b) traffic citation for a violation of s.
  221  316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. when the driver failed to stop
  222  at a traffic signal. The affidavit is admissible in a proceeding
  223  pursuant to this section for the purpose of providing proof that
  224  the person identified in the affidavit was in actual care,
  225  custody, or control of the motor vehicle. The owner of a leased
  226  vehicle for which a traffic citation is issued for a violation
  227  of s. 316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. when the driver failed to
  228  stop at a traffic signal is not responsible for paying the
  229  traffic citation and is not required to submit an affidavit as
  230  specified in this subsection if the motor vehicle involved in
  231  the violation is registered in the name of the lessee of such
  232  motor vehicle.
  233         4. Paragraphs (b) and (c) apply to the person identified on
  234  the affidavit, except that the notification under sub
  235  subparagraph (b)1.a. must be sent within 30 days after receipt
  236  of an affidavit and the traffic citation mailed pursuant to sub
  237  subparagraph (c)1.d. must be mailed no later than 60 days after
  238  the date of receipt of an affidavit.
  239         5.4. The submission of a false affidavit is a misdemeanor
  240  of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
  241  775.083.
  242         (e) The photographic or electronic images or streaming
  243  video attached to or referenced in the traffic citation is
  244  evidence that a violation of s. 316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1.
  245  when the driver failed to stop at a traffic signal has occurred
  246  and is admissible in any proceeding to enforce this section and
  247  raises a rebuttable presumption that the motor vehicle named in
  248  the report or shown in the photographic or electronic images or
  249  streaming video evidence was used in violation of s. 316.074(1)
  250  or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. when the driver failed to stop at a
  251  traffic signal.
  252         (2) A notice of violation and a traffic citation may not be
  253  issued for failure to stop at a red light if the driver is
  254  making a right-hand turn in a careful and prudent manner at an
  255  intersection where right-hand turns are permissible or when
  256  making a left-hand turn in a careful and prudent manner from a
  257  one-way street onto a one-way street where left-hand turns are
  258  permissible. A notice of violation or traffic citation for
  259  failure to stop at a red light before making a right or left
  260  turn shall be issued at the discretion of the reviewing traffic
  261  infraction enforcement officer, as if the citation had been
  262  issued by an officer at an intersection. When examining evidence
  263  for violations under this subsection, a traffic infraction
  264  enforcement officer shall consider one or more of the following
  265  factors that would indicate the turn was not made in careful or
  266  prudent manner:
  267         (a) The operator of the motor vehicle failed to yield to a
  268  pedestrian or bicyclist;
  269         (b) The operator of the motor vehicle put a pedestrian or
  270  bicyclist in danger of injury;
  271         (c) The operator of the motor vehicle failed to yield to
  272  another vehicle or oncoming traffic; or
  273         (d) The operator of the motor vehicle commenced the turn in
  274  disregard for the safety of a person or property.
  275  
  276  A citation may not be issued under this subsection if the driver
  277  of the vehicle came to a complete stop before turning right or
  278  left when permissible at a red light, but failed to achieve a
  279  stop before the point at which a stop is required.
  280         (5) Within 15 months or when 1 year of data is available
  281  following the date of installation of a traffic infraction
  282  detector, the department, each county, or each municipality
  283  shall submit a report to the Department of Transportation which
  284  includes a comparison and analysis of:
  285         (a) Month-to-month violations of ss. 316.074(1) and
  286  316.075(1)(c)1. which occur at the intersections where traffic
  287  infraction detectors are enforcing the law to stop at a red
  288  light; and
  289         (b) The number and type of related traffic collisions that
  290  occur at each intersection prior to and after the use of traffic
  291  infraction detectors.
  292  
  293  The report shall also describe instances when camera results are
  294  not used and other data, such as traffic crash reports, are used
  295  in the comparison and analysis by the department, county, or
  296  municipality.
  297         Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 316.075, Florida
  298  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (5) is added to that
  299  section, to read:
  300         316.075 Traffic control signal devices.—
  301         (4) A violation of subsection (1) or subsection (2) this
  302  section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable pursuant
  303  to chapter 318 as either a pedestrian violation or, if the
  304  infraction resulted from the operation of a vehicle, as a moving
  305  violation.
  306         (5)(a) Before initiating the use of a traffic infraction
  307  detector for any intersection approach pursuant to s. 316.0083,
  308  each jurisdiction shall establish minimum yellow light change
  309  interval time for the designated intersection approach in
  310  accordance with engineering standards set forth in the Institute
  311  of Transportation Engineers Traffic Engineering Handbook, as
  312  adopted by the Department of Transportation, and any such
  313  established time may not be less than the recognized national
  314  minimum standard. The Department of Transportation shall adopt
  315  the latest edition of Institute of Transportation Engineers
  316  Traffic Engineering Handbook for use in compliance with this
  317  subsection.
  318         (b) A jurisdiction issuing a notice of violation sent
  319  pursuant to s. 316.0083, must include the length of the yellow
  320  light time during the signal phase of the traffic control signal
  321  immediately before the violation on the notice or must maintain
  322  records of the most recent programmed yellow intervals for
  323  inspection in order to ensure compliance with this subsection.
  324         (c) Unless each notice of violation for a particular
  325  approach states the length of the yellow light duration, the
  326  yellow light interval shall be tested at least once during every
  327  calendar year beginning in 2013. A traffic infraction detector
  328  monitoring a traffic signal that is not in compliance with the
  329  Institute of Transportation Engineers Traffic Engineering
  330  Handbook standards, as adopted by the Department of
  331  Transportation, shall be disabled until that signal is brought
  332  into compliance with the standards.
  333         (d) Issuance of a notice stating the length of the yellow
  334  light duration, or annual testing of the yellow light change
  335  interval time according to this subsection, establishes a
  336  presumption that the yellow light cycle was operating in
  337  compliance with this subsection at the time the violation is
  338  alleged to have occurred. Production of a certificate, or a
  339  signed affidavit, showing that the yellow light cycle was tested
  340  in compliance with this subsection, establishes a presumption
  341  that the testing of the yellow light cycle was completed in
  342  compliance with this subsection and the certificate or affidavit
  343  is admissible as proof of such compliance.
  344         (e) A person raising the length of the yellow light cycle
  345  as an affirmative defense to the notice of violation must
  346  establish by clear and convincing evidence that the signal was
  347  not operating in compliance with the Institute of Transportation
  348  Engineers Traffic Engineering Handbook standards, as adopted by
  349  the Department of Transportation.
  350         (f) A traffic infraction detector that is operational on
  351  July 1, 2012, must be in compliance with this section by January
  352  1, 2013.
  353         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
  354  316.0776, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  355         316.0776 Traffic infraction detectors; placement and
  356  installation.—
  357         (2)(a) If the department, county, or municipality installs
  358  a traffic infraction detector at an intersection, the
  359  department, county, or municipality shall notify the public that
  360  a traffic infraction device may be in use at that intersection
  361  and must specifically include notification of camera enforcement
  362  of violations concerning right turns. Such signage used to
  363  notify the public must meet the specifications for uniform
  364  signals and devices adopted by the Department of Transportation
  365  pursuant to s. 316.0745.
  366         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.

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