Bill Text: FL S0876 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Motor Vehicle Crash Reports

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-28 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 863 (Ch. 2014-212), CS/CS/CS/HB 865 (Ch. 2014-213) [S0876 Detail]

Download: Florida-2014-S0876-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 876
       
       
        
       By Senator Galvano
       
       
       
       
       
       26-01206-14                                            2014876__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to motor vehicle crash reports;
    3         amending s. 316.066, F.S.; requiring a statement to be
    4         completed and sworn to for each confidential crash
    5         report requested within a certain time period;
    6         requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
    7         Vehicles to deliver a notice regarding unlawful
    8         solicitations to persons involved in certain motor
    9         vehicle crashes; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 316.066, Florida
   14  Statutes, is amended to read:
   15         316.066 Written reports of crashes.—
   16         (2)(a) Crash reports that reveal the identity, home or
   17  employment telephone number or home or employment address of, or
   18  other personal information concerning the parties involved in
   19  the crash and that are held by any agency that regularly
   20  receives or prepares information from or concerning the parties
   21  to motor vehicle crashes are confidential and exempt from s.
   22  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution for a
   23  period of 60 days after the date the report is filed.
   24         (b) Crash reports held by an agency under paragraph (a) may
   25  be made immediately available to the parties involved in the
   26  crash, their legal representatives, their licensed insurance
   27  agents, their insurers or insurers to which they have applied
   28  for coverage, persons under contract with such insurers to
   29  provide claims or underwriting information, prosecutorial
   30  authorities, law enforcement agencies, the Department of
   31  Transportation, county traffic operations, victim services
   32  programs, radio and television stations licensed by the Federal
   33  Communications Commission, newspapers qualified to publish legal
   34  notices under ss. 50.011 and 50.031, and free newspapers of
   35  general circulation, published once a week or more often,
   36  available and of interest to the public generally for the
   37  dissemination of news. For the purposes of this section, the
   38  following products or publications are not newspapers as
   39  referred to in this section: those intended primarily for
   40  members of a particular profession or occupational group; those
   41  with the primary purpose of distributing advertising; and those
   42  with the primary purpose of publishing names and other personal
   43  identifying information concerning parties to motor vehicle
   44  crashes.
   45         (c) Any local, state, or federal agency that is authorized
   46  to have access to crash reports by any provision of law shall be
   47  granted such access in the furtherance of the agency’s statutory
   48  duties.
   49         (d) As a condition precedent to accessing a crash report
   50  within 60 days after the date the report is filed, a person must
   51  present a valid driver license or other photographic
   52  identification, proof of status, or identification that
   53  demonstrates his or her qualifications to access that
   54  information, and file a written sworn statement with the state
   55  or local agency in possession of the information stating that
   56  information from a crash report made confidential and exempt by
   57  this section will not be used for any commercial solicitation of
   58  accident victims, or knowingly disclosed to any third party for
   59  the purpose of such solicitation, during the period of time that
   60  the information remains confidential and exempt. Such written
   61  sworn statement must be completed and sworn to by the requesting
   62  party for each individual crash report that is being requested
   63  within 60 days after the report is filed. In lieu of requiring
   64  the written sworn statement, an agency may provide crash reports
   65  by electronic means to third-party vendors under contract with
   66  one or more insurers, but only when such contract states that
   67  information from a crash report made confidential and exempt by
   68  this section will not be used for any commercial solicitation of
   69  accident victims by the vendors, or knowingly disclosed by the
   70  vendors to any third party for the purpose of such solicitation,
   71  during the period of time that the information remains
   72  confidential and exempt, and only when a copy of such contract
   73  is furnished to the agency as proof of the vendor’s claimed
   74  status.
   75         (e) This subsection does not prevent the dissemination or
   76  publication of news to the general public by any legitimate
   77  media entitled to access confidential and exempt information
   78  pursuant to this section.
   79         (f) A notice, the design of which shall be prescribed by
   80  the department, must be delivered by the department in person or
   81  by first-class mail to each party involved in a traffic crash
   82  for which a report is prepared pursuant to this section or when
   83  a crash report is not prepared but the law enforcement officer
   84  or traffic enforcement officer provides a short-form report to
   85  the parties to the crash pursuant to paragraph (1)(c). Such
   86  notice shall be 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches and shall state in
   87  uppercase and boldface type, red in color, the following:
   88  
   89         IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR AN ATTORNEY, PHYSICIAN,
   90         CHIROPRACTIC PHYSICIAN, MEDICAL FACILITY, OR OTHER
   91         PERSON OR ENTITY TO SOLICIT YOU TO SEEK MEDICAL
   92         TREATMENT UNDER YOUR PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION
   93         POLICY. IF YOU ARE UNLAWFULLY SOLICITED, YOU SHOULD
   94         CONTACT YOUR LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT OR SHERIFF’S
   95         OFFICE.
   96         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.