Bill Text: FL H0027 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Disabled Parking Permits

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-06 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/SB 226 -HJ 1117 [H0027 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-H0027-Introduced.html
HB 27

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to disabled parking permits; amending
3s. 318.18, F.S.; providing for a parking enforcement
4specialist or agency to validate compliance for the
5disposition of a citation issued for illegally parking
6in a space provided for people who have disabilities;
7amending s. 320.0848, F.S.; revising requirements for
8renewal or replacement of a disabled parking permit;
9prohibiting applying for a new disabled parking permit
10for a certain period of time upon a second finding of
11guilt or plea of nolo contendere to unlawful use of
12such permit; requiring the Department of Highway
13Safety and Motor Vehicles to audit disabled parking
14permit holders, verify certain information, and
15invalidate the permit of a deceased permitholder;
16directing the department to implement a means for
17reporting abuse of disabled parking permits; providing
18for the department to conduct a public awareness
19campaign; providing an effective date.
20
21Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23     Section 1.  Subsection (6) of section 318.18, Florida
24Statutes, is amended to read:
25     318.18  Amount of penalties.-The penalties required for a
26noncriminal disposition pursuant to s. 318.14 or a criminal
27offense listed in s. 318.17 are as follows:
28     (6)  One hundred dollars or the fine amount designated by
29county ordinance, plus court costs for illegally parking, under
30s. 316.1955, in a parking space provided for people who have
31disabilities. However, this fine will be waived if a person
32provides to the law enforcement agency or parking enforcement
33specialist or agency that issued the citation for such a
34violation proof that the person committing the violation has a
35valid parking permit or license plate issued pursuant to s.
36316.1958, s. 320.0842, s. 320.0843, s. 320.0845, or s. 320.0848
37or a signed affidavit that the owner of the disabled parking
38permit or license plate was present at the time the violation
39occurred, and that such a parking permit or license plate was
40valid at the time the violation occurred. The law enforcement
41officer or agency or the parking enforcement specialist or
42agency, upon determining that all required documentation has
43been submitted verifying that the required parking permit or
44license plate was valid at the time of the violation, must sign
45an affidavit of compliance. Upon provision of the affidavit of
46compliance and payment of a dismissal fee of up to $7.50 to the
47clerk of the circuit court, the clerk shall dismiss the
48citation.
49     Section 2.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (1), paragraph (e)
50of subsection (2), and subsection (8) of section 320.0848,
51Florida Statutes, are amended, subsections (9) and (10) are
52renumbered as subsections (11) and (12), respectively, and new
53subsections (9) and (10) are added to that section, to read:
54     320.0848  Persons who have disabilities; issuance of
55disabled parking permits; temporary permits; permits for certain
56providers of transportation services to persons who have
57disabilities.-
58     (1)
59     (d)  Beginning October 1, 2012 April 1, 1999, the
60department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall renew the
61disabled parking permit of any person certified as permanently
62disabled on the application if the person applies for renewal in
63person and provides a current certificate of disability pursuant
64to this subsection.
65     (2)  DISABLED PARKING PERMIT; PERSONS WITH LONG-TERM
66MOBILITY PROBLEMS.-
67     (e)  To obtain a replacement for a disabled parking permit
68that has been lost or stolen, a person must appear in person,
69submit an application on a form prescribed by the department,
70and must pay a replacement fee in the amount of $1.00, to be
71retained by the issuing agency. If the person submits with the
72application a police report documenting that the permit was
73stolen, there is no replacement fee.
74     (8)  A law enforcement officer or a parking enforcement
75specialist may confiscate the disabled parking permit from any
76person who fraudulently obtains or unlawfully uses such a
77permit. A law enforcement officer or a parking enforcement
78specialist may confiscate any disabled parking permit that is
79expired, reported as lost or stolen, or defaced, or that does
80not display a personal identification number.
81     (a)  Beginning April 1, 1999, The permit number of each
82confiscated permit must be submitted to the department of
83Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the fact that the permit
84has been confiscated must be noted on the permitholder's record.
85If two permits issued to the same person have been confiscated,
86the department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall refer
87the information to the central abuse hotline of the Department
88of Children and Family Services for an investigation of
89potential abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the permit owner.
90     (b)  A confiscated permit must be held as evidence until a
91judicial decision about the violation has been made. After a
92finding of guilt has been made or a plea of nolo contendere has
93been entered, the charging agency shall destroy the confiscated
94permit. A confiscated permit may not, under any circumstances,
95be returned to its registered owner after a finding of guilt has
96been made or a plea of nolo contendere has been entered in
97court. If a finding of guilt has been made or a plea of nolo
98contendere has been entered for fraudulent or other unlawful use
99of a disabled parking permit after a prior finding of guilt or
100plea of nolo contendere for fraudulent or other unlawful use of
101a disabled parking permit issued to the same registered permit
102owner, the permit owner may not apply for a new disabled parking
103permit for a period of 4 years. The permit number of each
104destroyed permit must be reported to the department, and the
105department must record in the real-time disabled parking permit
106database that the permit has been invalidated.
107     (9)(a)  At least once every 6 months, the department shall
108randomly audit disabled parking permit holders to ensure that
109all required criteria for the ownership and possession of such
110permit are still valid. As a component of the audit, the
111department shall, at a minimum:
112     1.  Review death records maintained by the Department of
113Health to ensure that the permitholder has not died.
114     2.  Review the number of times the permit has been
115confiscated for fraudulent or unlawful use, if at all.
116     3.  Determine if the permit has ever been reported lost or
117stolen and, if so, determine the current status of the permit.
118     (b)  At least annually, the department shall verify that
119the owner of each disabled parking permit has not died. Such
120verification shall include, but is not limited to, consultation
121with death records maintained by the Department of Health. If a
122disabled parking permit owner is found to be deceased, the
123department shall promptly invalidate the decedent's disabled
124parking permit.
125     (10)  The department shall develop and implement a means by
126which persons can report abuse of disabled parking permits by
127telephone hotline or by submitting a form online or by mail.
128     Section 3.  (1)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
129Vehicles shall make a public announcement and conduct a public
130awareness campaign regarding the abuses of disabled parking
131permits and the burdens such abuses inflict on disabled persons
132throughout the state. The public awareness campaign shall also
133inform the public about:
134     (a)  The requirement to appear in person to renew an
135expired disabled parking permit or replace a lost or stolen
136disabled parking permit.
137     (b)  The implementation of the new periodic disabled
138parking permit audit system.
139     (c)  The implementation of the new complaint process for
140reporting abuses of disabled parking permits.
141     (2)  The public awareness campaign shall commence within 30
142days after the effective date of this act and shall continue for
143not less than 6 months.
144     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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