Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1178 By Senator Broxson 1-00013B-22 20221178__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to license plates; amending s. 320.06, 3 F.S.; requiring, rather than authorizing, the 4 corporation managing the correctional work programs of 5 the Department of Corrections to manufacture license 6 plates; deleting provisions relating to the authority 7 of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 8 to conduct a pilot program to evaluate the designs, 9 concepts, and technologies for alternative license 10 plates; amending s. 320.07, F.S.; exempting owners of 11 digital license plates from certain penalties if 12 certain conditions are met; creating s. 320.08069, 13 F.S.; defining terms; providing applicability; 14 authorizing motor vehicles to be equipped with digital 15 license plates by a specified date; specifying 16 requirements for digital license plate purchasers in 17 obtaining and renewing physical license plates; 18 authorizing the department to contract with digital 19 license plate providers; providing department 20 authority relating to the display and use of digital 21 license plates; specifying requirements for digital 22 license plates, digital license plate providers, and 23 digital license plate consumers; authorizing the 24 department to adopt rules; providing an effective 25 date. 26 27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28 29 Section 1.Subsections (4) and (5) of section 320.06, 30 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 31 320.06Registration certificates, license plates, and 32 validation stickers generally. 33 (4)The corporation organized under chapter 946 shall may 34 manufacture license plates and may produce, validation stickers, 35 and decals, as well as temporary tags, disabled hang tags, 36 vessel decals, and fuel use decals, for the Department of 37 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles as provided in this chapter 38 and chapter 327. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor 39 Vehicles is not required to obtain competitive bids in order to 40 contract with the corporation. 41 (5)The department may conduct a pilot program to evaluate 42 the designs, concepts, and technologies for alternative license 43 plates. For purposes of the pilot program, the department shall 44 investigate the feasibility and use of alternative license plate 45 technologies and the long-term cost impact to the consumer. The 46 pilot program shall be limited to license plates that are used 47 on government-owned motor vehicles as described in s. 320.0655. 48 Such license plates are exempt from the requirements in 49 paragraph (3)(a). 50 Section 2.Subsection (7) is added to section 320.07, 51 Florida Statutes, to read: 52 320.07Expiration of registration; renewal required; 53 penalties. 54 (7)An owner of a digital license plate as described in s. 55 320.08069 is not subject to the penalties in this section for 56 failure to display a validation sticker if the vehicle was 57 operated in compliance with this chapter and any rules adopted 58 by the department governing the placement of digital license 59 plates and registration renewal. 60 Section 3.Section 320.08069, Florida Statutes, is created 61 to read: 62 320.08069Digital license plates. 63 (1)DEFINITIONS.As used in this section, the term: 64 (a)Digital license plate means an electronic display 65 designed to: 66 1.Display the information required in this chapter to be 67 included on a physical license plate. 68 2.Be placed on a motor vehicle registered under this 69 chapter in lieu of a physical license plate. 70 (b)Digital license plate provider means a person or an 71 entity engaged in the business of providing digital license 72 plate hardware and services to motor vehicle owners. 73 (2)APPLICABILITY.Except as otherwise provided in this 74 section or a rule adopted under this section, a digital license 75 plate issued under this section is subject to the laws of this 76 state applicable to a physical license plate. However, digital 77 license plates issued under this section are exempt from s. 78 320.06(3)(a). 79 (3)DIGITAL LICENSE PLATE ISSUANCE. 80 (a)By August 1, 2022, the department shall allow a motor 81 vehicle registered under this chapter to be equipped with a 82 digital license plate in lieu of a physical license plate issued 83 under s. 320.06 upon a determination that the information on the 84 digital license plate display is readable by current automated 85 license plate recognition hardware and software. However, the 86 purchaser of a digital license plate must first obtain a 87 physical license plate from the department before obtaining a 88 digital license plate from a digital license plate provider. 89 Physical license plates must be renewed in accordance with the 90 requirements of s. 320.06 relating to all fees due on an annual 91 or semiannual basis. 92 (b)The department may contract with one or more digital 93 license plate providers for the issuance of digital license 94 plates, including any services related to the issuance of 95 digital license plates. The contract must include provisions 96 governing the protection of personal and motor vehicle 97 registration data obtained by a digital license plate provider 98 in the performance of its services. 99 (c)The department may authorize the display of the motor 100 vehicles validation on each digital license plate in lieu of 101 the validation sticker. The validation must display the owners 102 birth month, the license plate number, and the year of 103 expiration or appropriate renewal period if the owner is not a 104 natural person. The validation must be displayed in the upper 105 right corner of the digital license plate. 106 (d)The department may authorize the use of a digital 107 license plate for electronic toll collection, if such use has 108 been approved by the Department of Transportation or other 109 appropriate tolling authority, or to display a parking permit. 110 (e)The department may establish procedures for displaying 111 the following information on a digital license plate: 112 1.An emergency alert or other public safety alert issued 113 by a governmental entity, including an alert pursuant to s. 114 937.021. 115 2.Static logo displays, including unique displays for 116 fleet license plates as described in s. 320.0657 and digital 117 versions of specialty license plates as described in s. 118 320.08058, special license plates for military service as 119 authorized in s. 320.089, and special license plates for the 120 Governor and federal and state legislators as authorized in s. 121 320.0807. 122 3.Other displays that the department, in consultation with 123 law enforcement agencies, determines are in the interest of 124 public safety. 125 (4)DIGITAL LICENSE PLATE REQUIREMENTS.A digital license 126 plate issued under this section must: 127 (a)Meet the specifications and requirements adopted under 128 subsection (3). 129 (b)Include the same information required to be included on 130 a physical license plate and legibly display that information at 131 all times and in all light conditions. 132 (c)Have wireless connectivity capability. 133 (5)DIGITAL LICENSE PLATE PROVIDERS.A digital license 134 plate provider with whom the department contracts shall: 135 (a)Maintain an inventory of digital license plates issued 136 in this state by the digital license plate provider. 137 (b)Make available a digital version of each specialty 138 license plate authorized by the department. 139 (c)If a digital license plate displays a validation, 140 promptly update the display of the validation to reflect the 141 current registration period for the motor vehicle and, upon 142 request of the department, suspend the display of the validation 143 or indicate on the digital license plate that the registration 144 for the motor vehicle has expired. 145 (6)DIGITAL LICENSE PLATE CONSUMERS.A consumer who chooses 146 to purchase a digital license plate must purchase a digital 147 license plate directly from a digital license plate provider. In 148 addition to any fees associated with the purchase of a digital 149 license plate, the consumer is also responsible for paying to 150 the department all applicable motor vehicle fees required by 151 this chapter, including any annual use fees pursuant to s. 152 320.08056 associated with any specialty license plate the 153 consumer wishes to display on the digital license plate. 154 (7)RULEMAKING.The department may adopt rules to implement 155 this section. 156 Section 4.This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.