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

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

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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

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       Florida Senate - 2012                             CS for SB 1238
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Hays
       
       
       
       
       596-02048-12                                          20121238c1
    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; providing an effective date.
    7  
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Section 319.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   11  read:
   12         319.14 Sale of motor vehicles registered or used as
   13  taxicabs, police vehicles, lease vehicles, or rebuilt vehicles
   14  and nonconforming vehicles; conversion of low-speed vehicles.—
   15         (1)(a) No person shall knowingly offer for sale, sell, or
   16  exchange any vehicle that has been licensed, registered, or used
   17  as a taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle, or a
   18  vehicle that has been repurchased by a manufacturer pursuant to
   19  a settlement, determination, or decision under chapter 681,
   20  until the department has stamped in a conspicuous place on the
   21  certificate of title of the vehicle, or its duplicate, words
   22  stating the nature of the previous use of the vehicle or the
   23  title has been stamped “Manufacturer’s Buy Back” to reflect that
   24  the vehicle is a nonconforming vehicle. If the certificate of
   25  title or duplicate was not so stamped upon initial issuance
   26  thereof or if, subsequent to initial issuance of the title, the
   27  use of the vehicle is changed to a use requiring the notation
   28  provided for in this section, the owner or lienholder of the
   29  vehicle shall surrender the certificate of title or duplicate to
   30  the department prior to offering the vehicle for sale, and the
   31  department shall stamp the certificate or duplicate as required
   32  herein. When a vehicle has been repurchased by a manufacturer
   33  pursuant to a settlement, determination, or decision under
   34  chapter 681, the title shall be stamped “Manufacturer’s Buy
   35  Back” to reflect that the vehicle is a nonconforming vehicle.
   36         (b) No person shall knowingly offer for sale, sell, or
   37  exchange a rebuilt vehicle until the department has stamped in a
   38  conspicuous place on the certificate of title for the vehicle
   39  words stating that the vehicle has been rebuilt or assembled
   40  from parts, or is a kit car, glider kit, replica, or flood
   41  vehicle unless proper application for a certificate of title for
   42  a vehicle that is rebuilt or assembled from parts, or is a kit
   43  car, glider kit, replica, or flood vehicle has been made to the
   44  department in accordance with this chapter and the department
   45  has conducted the physical examination of the vehicle to assure
   46  the identity of the vehicle and all major component parts, as
   47  defined in s. 319.30(1), which have been repaired or replaced.
   48  Thereafter, the department shall affix a decal to the vehicle,
   49  in the manner prescribed by the department, showing the vehicle
   50  to be rebuilt.
   51         (c) As used in this section:
   52         1. “Police vehicle” means a motor vehicle owned or leased
   53  by the state or a county or municipality and used in law
   54  enforcement.
   55         2.a. “Short-term-lease vehicle” means a motor vehicle
   56  leased without a driver and under a written agreement to one or
   57  more persons from time to time for a period of less than 12
   58  months.
   59         b. “Long-term-lease vehicle” means a motor vehicle leased
   60  without a driver and under a written agreement to one person for
   61  a period of 12 months or longer.
   62         c. “Lease vehicle” includes both short-term-lease vehicles
   63  and long-term-lease vehicles.
   64         3. “Rebuilt vehicle” means a motor vehicle or mobile home
   65  built from salvage or junk, as defined in s. 319.30(1).
   66         4. “Assembled from parts” means a motor vehicle or mobile
   67  home assembled from parts or combined from parts of motor
   68  vehicles or mobile homes, new or used. “Assembled from parts”
   69  does not mean a motor vehicle defined as a “rebuilt vehicle” in
   70  subparagraph 3., which has been declared a total loss pursuant
   71  to s. 319.30.
   72         5. “Kit car” means a motor vehicle assembled with a kit
   73  supplied by a manufacturer to rebuild a wrecked or outdated
   74  motor vehicle with a new body kit.
   75         6. “Glider kit” means a vehicle assembled with a kit
   76  supplied by a manufacturer to rebuild a wrecked or outdated
   77  truck or truck tractor.
   78         7. “Replica” means a complete new motor vehicle
   79  manufactured to look like an old vehicle.
   80         8. “Flood vehicle” means a motor vehicle or mobile home
   81  that has been declared to be a total loss pursuant to s.
   82  319.30(3)(a) resulting from damage caused by water.
   83         9. “Nonconforming vehicle” means a motor vehicle which has
   84  been purchased by a manufacturer pursuant to a settlement,
   85  determination, or decision under chapter 681.
   86         10. “Settlement” means an agreement entered into between a
   87  manufacturer and a consumer that occurs after a dispute is
   88  submitted to a program, or an informal dispute settlement
   89  procedure established by a manufacturer or is approved for
   90  arbitration before the New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board as
   91  defined in s. 681.102.
   92         (2) No person shall knowingly sell, exchange, or transfer a
   93  vehicle referred to in subsection (1) without, prior to
   94  consummating the sale, exchange, or transfer, disclosing in
   95  writing to the purchaser, customer, or transferee the fact that
   96  the vehicle has previously been titled, registered, or used as a
   97  taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle or is a
   98  vehicle that is rebuilt or assembled from parts, or is a kit
   99  car, glider kit, replica, or flood vehicle, or is a
  100  nonconforming vehicle, as the case may be.
  101         (3) Any person who, with intent to offer for sale or
  102  exchange any vehicle referred to in subsection (1), knowingly or
  103  intentionally advertises, publishes, disseminates, circulates,
  104  or places before the public in any communications medium,
  105  whether directly or indirectly, any offer to sell or exchange
  106  the vehicle shall clearly and precisely state in each such offer
  107  that the vehicle has previously been titled, registered, or used
  108  as a taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle or
  109  that the vehicle or mobile home is a vehicle that is rebuilt or
  110  assembled from parts, or is a kit car, glider kit, replica, or
  111  flood vehicle, or a nonconforming vehicle, as the case may be.
  112  Any person who violates this subsection commits a misdemeanor of
  113  the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
  114  775.083.
  115         (4) When a certificate of title, including a foreign
  116  certificate, is branded to reflect a condition or prior use of
  117  the titled vehicle, the brand must be noted on the registration
  118  certificate of the vehicle and such brand shall be carried
  119  forward on all subsequent certificates of title and registration
  120  certificates issued for the life of the vehicle.
  121         (5) Any person who knowingly sells, exchanges, or offers to
  122  sell or exchange a motor vehicle or mobile home contrary to the
  123  provisions of this section or any officer, agent, or employee of
  124  a person who knowingly authorizes, directs, aids in, or consents
  125  to the sale, exchange, or offer to sell or exchange a motor
  126  vehicle or mobile home contrary to the provisions of this
  127  section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable
  128  as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
  129         (6) Any person who removes a rebuilt decal from a rebuilt
  130  vehicle with the intent to conceal the rebuilt status of the
  131  vehicle commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
  132  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
  133         (7) This section applies to a mobile home, travel trailer,
  134  camping trailer, truck camper, or fifth-wheel recreation trailer
  135  only when such mobile home or vehicle is a rebuilt vehicle or is
  136  assembled from parts.
  137         (8) No person shall be liable or accountable in any civil
  138  action arising out of a violation of this section if the
  139  designation of the previous use or condition of the motor
  140  vehicle is not noted on the certificate of title and
  141  registration certificate of the vehicle which was received by,
  142  or delivered to, such person, unless such person has actively
  143  concealed the prior use or condition of the vehicle from the
  144  purchaser.
  145         (9) Subsections (1), (2), and (3) do not apply to the
  146  transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle after the motor vehicle
  147  has ceased to be used as a lease vehicle and the ownership has
  148  been transferred to an owner for private use or to the transfer
  149  of ownership of a nonconforming vehicle with 36,000 or more
  150  miles on its odometer, or 34 months whichever is later and the
  151  ownership has been transferred to an owner for private use. Such
  152  owner, as shown on the title certificate, may request the
  153  department to issue a corrected certificate of title that does
  154  not contain the statement of the previous use of the vehicle as
  155  a lease vehicle or condition as a nonconforming vehicle.
  156         (10)(a) A vehicle titled or branded and registered as a
  157  low-speed vehicle may be converted to a golf cart pursuant to
  158  the following:
  159         1. The owner of the converted vehicle must contact the
  160  regional office of the department to verify the conversion,
  161  surrender the registration license plate and the current
  162  certificate of title, and pay the appropriate fee established
  163  under paragraph (b).
  164         2. Upon verification of the conversion, the department
  165  shall note in the vehicle record that the low-speed vehicle has
  166  been converted to a golf cart and cancel the certificate of
  167  title and registration of the vehicle.
  168         (b) The department shall establish a fee of $40 to cover
  169  the cost of verification and associated administrative costs for
  170  carrying out its responsibilities under this subsection.
  171         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.