Bill Text: FL S1238 | 2012 | Regular Session | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Low-speed Vehicles

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-09 - Died on Calendar, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/CS/HB 599 (Ch. [S1238 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-S1238-Comm_Sub.html
       Florida Senate - 2012                      CS for CS for SB 1238
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Budget Subcommittee on Transportation,
       Tourism, and Economic Development Appropriations; and
       Transportation; and Senator Hays
       
       
       606-04270-12                                          20121238c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to low-speed vehicles; amending s.
    3         319.14, F.S.; authorizing the conversion of a vehicle
    4         titled or branded and registered as a low-speed
    5         vehicle to a golf cart; providing procedures;
    6         providing for a fee; amending s. 320.01, F.S.;
    7         redefining the term “low-speed vehicle”; providing an
    8         effective date.
    9  
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Section 319.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   13  read:
   14         319.14 Sale of motor vehicles registered or used as
   15  taxicabs, police vehicles, lease vehicles, or rebuilt vehicles
   16  and nonconforming vehicles; conversion of low-speed vehicles.—
   17         (1)(a) No person shall knowingly offer for sale, sell, or
   18  exchange any vehicle that has been licensed, registered, or used
   19  as a taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle, or a
   20  vehicle that has been repurchased by a manufacturer pursuant to
   21  a settlement, determination, or decision under chapter 681,
   22  until the department has stamped in a conspicuous place on the
   23  certificate of title of the vehicle, or its duplicate, words
   24  stating the nature of the previous use of the vehicle or the
   25  title has been stamped “Manufacturer’s Buy Back” to reflect that
   26  the vehicle is a nonconforming vehicle. If the certificate of
   27  title or duplicate was not so stamped upon initial issuance
   28  thereof or if, subsequent to initial issuance of the title, the
   29  use of the vehicle is changed to a use requiring the notation
   30  provided for in this section, the owner or lienholder of the
   31  vehicle shall surrender the certificate of title or duplicate to
   32  the department prior to offering the vehicle for sale, and the
   33  department shall stamp the certificate or duplicate as required
   34  herein. When a vehicle has been repurchased by a manufacturer
   35  pursuant to a settlement, determination, or decision under
   36  chapter 681, the title shall be stamped “Manufacturer’s Buy
   37  Back” to reflect that the vehicle is a nonconforming vehicle.
   38         (b) No person shall knowingly offer for sale, sell, or
   39  exchange a rebuilt vehicle until the department has stamped in a
   40  conspicuous place on the certificate of title for the vehicle
   41  words stating that the vehicle has been rebuilt or assembled
   42  from parts, or is a kit car, glider kit, replica, or flood
   43  vehicle unless proper application for a certificate of title for
   44  a vehicle that is rebuilt or assembled from parts, or is a kit
   45  car, glider kit, replica, or flood vehicle has been made to the
   46  department in accordance with this chapter and the department
   47  has conducted the physical examination of the vehicle to assure
   48  the identity of the vehicle and all major component parts, as
   49  defined in s. 319.30(1), which have been repaired or replaced.
   50  Thereafter, the department shall affix a decal to the vehicle,
   51  in the manner prescribed by the department, showing the vehicle
   52  to be rebuilt.
   53         (c) As used in this section:
   54         1. “Police vehicle” means a motor vehicle owned or leased
   55  by the state or a county or municipality and used in law
   56  enforcement.
   57         2.a. “Short-term-lease vehicle” means a motor vehicle
   58  leased without a driver and under a written agreement to one or
   59  more persons from time to time for a period of less than 12
   60  months.
   61         b. “Long-term-lease vehicle” means a motor vehicle leased
   62  without a driver and under a written agreement to one person for
   63  a period of 12 months or longer.
   64         c. “Lease vehicle” includes both short-term-lease vehicles
   65  and long-term-lease vehicles.
   66         3. “Rebuilt vehicle” means a motor vehicle or mobile home
   67  built from salvage or junk, as defined in s. 319.30(1).
   68         4. “Assembled from parts” means a motor vehicle or mobile
   69  home assembled from parts or combined from parts of motor
   70  vehicles or mobile homes, new or used. “Assembled from parts”
   71  does not mean a motor vehicle defined as a “rebuilt vehicle” in
   72  subparagraph 3., which has been declared a total loss pursuant
   73  to s. 319.30.
   74         5. “Kit car” means a motor vehicle assembled with a kit
   75  supplied by a manufacturer to rebuild a wrecked or outdated
   76  motor vehicle with a new body kit.
   77         6. “Glider kit” means a vehicle assembled with a kit
   78  supplied by a manufacturer to rebuild a wrecked or outdated
   79  truck or truck tractor.
   80         7. “Replica” means a complete new motor vehicle
   81  manufactured to look like an old vehicle.
   82         8. “Flood vehicle” means a motor vehicle or mobile home
   83  that has been declared to be a total loss pursuant to s.
   84  319.30(3)(a) resulting from damage caused by water.
   85         9. “Nonconforming vehicle” means a motor vehicle which has
   86  been purchased by a manufacturer pursuant to a settlement,
   87  determination, or decision under chapter 681.
   88         10. “Settlement” means an agreement entered into between a
   89  manufacturer and a consumer that occurs after a dispute is
   90  submitted to a program, or an informal dispute settlement
   91  procedure established by a manufacturer or is approved for
   92  arbitration before the New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board as
   93  defined in s. 681.102.
   94         (2) No person shall knowingly sell, exchange, or transfer a
   95  vehicle referred to in subsection (1) without, prior to
   96  consummating the sale, exchange, or transfer, disclosing in
   97  writing to the purchaser, customer, or transferee the fact that
   98  the vehicle has previously been titled, registered, or used as a
   99  taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle or is a
  100  vehicle that is rebuilt or assembled from parts, or is a kit
  101  car, glider kit, replica, or flood vehicle, or is a
  102  nonconforming vehicle, as the case may be.
  103         (3) Any person who, with intent to offer for sale or
  104  exchange any vehicle referred to in subsection (1), knowingly or
  105  intentionally advertises, publishes, disseminates, circulates,
  106  or places before the public in any communications medium,
  107  whether directly or indirectly, any offer to sell or exchange
  108  the vehicle shall clearly and precisely state in each such offer
  109  that the vehicle has previously been titled, registered, or used
  110  as a taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle or
  111  that the vehicle or mobile home is a vehicle that is rebuilt or
  112  assembled from parts, or is a kit car, glider kit, replica, or
  113  flood vehicle, or a nonconforming vehicle, as the case may be.
  114  Any person who violates this subsection commits a misdemeanor of
  115  the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
  116  775.083.
  117         (4) When a certificate of title, including a foreign
  118  certificate, is branded to reflect a condition or prior use of
  119  the titled vehicle, the brand must be noted on the registration
  120  certificate of the vehicle and such brand shall be carried
  121  forward on all subsequent certificates of title and registration
  122  certificates issued for the life of the vehicle.
  123         (5) Any person who knowingly sells, exchanges, or offers to
  124  sell or exchange a motor vehicle or mobile home contrary to the
  125  provisions of this section or any officer, agent, or employee of
  126  a person who knowingly authorizes, directs, aids in, or consents
  127  to the sale, exchange, or offer to sell or exchange a motor
  128  vehicle or mobile home contrary to the provisions of this
  129  section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable
  130  as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
  131         (6) Any person who removes a rebuilt decal from a rebuilt
  132  vehicle with the intent to conceal the rebuilt status of the
  133  vehicle commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
  134  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
  135         (7) This section applies to a mobile home, travel trailer,
  136  camping trailer, truck camper, or fifth-wheel recreation trailer
  137  only when such mobile home or vehicle is a rebuilt vehicle or is
  138  assembled from parts.
  139         (8) No person shall be liable or accountable in any civil
  140  action arising out of a violation of this section if the
  141  designation of the previous use or condition of the motor
  142  vehicle is not noted on the certificate of title and
  143  registration certificate of the vehicle which was received by,
  144  or delivered to, such person, unless such person has actively
  145  concealed the prior use or condition of the vehicle from the
  146  purchaser.
  147         (9) Subsections (1), (2), and (3) do not apply to the
  148  transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle after the motor vehicle
  149  has ceased to be used as a lease vehicle and the ownership has
  150  been transferred to an owner for private use or to the transfer
  151  of ownership of a nonconforming vehicle with 36,000 or more
  152  miles on its odometer, or 34 months whichever is later and the
  153  ownership has been transferred to an owner for private use. Such
  154  owner, as shown on the title certificate, may request the
  155  department to issue a corrected certificate of title that does
  156  not contain the statement of the previous use of the vehicle as
  157  a lease vehicle or condition as a nonconforming vehicle.
  158         (10)(a) A vehicle titled or branded and registered as a
  159  low-speed vehicle may be converted to a golf cart pursuant to
  160  the following:
  161         1. The owner of the converted vehicle must contact the
  162  regional office of the department to verify the conversion,
  163  surrender the registration license plate and the current
  164  certificate of title, and pay the appropriate fee established
  165  under paragraph (b).
  166         2. Upon verification of the conversion, the department
  167  shall note in the vehicle record that the low-speed vehicle has
  168  been converted to a golf cart and cancel the certificate of
  169  title and registration of the vehicle.
  170         (b) The department shall establish a fee of $40 to cover
  171  the cost of verification and associated administrative costs for
  172  carrying out its responsibilities under this subsection.
  173         Section 2. Subsection (42) of section 320.01, Florida
  174  Statutes, is amended to read:
  175         320.01 Definitions, general.—As used in the Florida
  176  Statutes, except as otherwise provided, the term:
  177         (42) “Low-speed vehicle” means any four-wheeled electric
  178  vehicle whose top speed is greater than 20 miles per hour but
  179  not greater than 25 miles per hour, including, without
  180  limitation, neighborhood electric vehicles. Low-speed vehicles
  181  must comply with the safety standards in 49 C.F.R. s. 571.500
  182  and s. 316.2122.
  183         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.

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