Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0449 Latest Draft

Bill / Comm Sub Version Filed 02/21/2024

                               
 
CS/CS/HB 449  	2024 
 
 
 
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P	R E S E N T A T I V E	S 
 
 
 
A bill to be entitled 1 
An act relating to motor vehicle racing penalties; 2 
amending s. 316.191, F.S.; increasing the fine for 3 
offenses of drag race, street takeover, stunt driving, 4 
competition, contest, test, or exhibition; increasing 5 
the criminal penalty and revising applicability of the 6 
criminal penalty for second offenses of drag race, 7 
street takeover, stunt driving, competition, contest, 8 
test, or exhibition occurring within a spe cified time 9 
period; increasing the fine for such violations; 10 
increasing the penalty for third or subsequent 11 
offenses of drag race, street takeover, stunt driving, 12 
competition, contest, test, or exhibition occurring 13 
within a specified time period; increasin g the fine 14 
for such violations; increasing the fine for acting as 15 
a spectator at a drag race, street takeover, stunt 16 
driving, competition, contest, test, or exhibition; 17 
providing penalties for impeding, obstructing, or 18 
interfering with an emergency vehicle while 19 
participating in a drag race, street takeover, stunt 20 
driving, competition, contest, test, or exhibition; 21 
providing an effective date. 22 
 23 
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24 
 25     
 
CS/CS/HB 449  	2024 
 
 
 
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P	R E S E N T A T I V E	S 
 
 
 
 Section 1.  Subsection (3), and paragraph (b) of subsection 26 
(4) of section 316.191, Florida Statutes, are amended, and 27 
subsection (2) and paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of that 28 
section are republished, to read: 29 
 316.191  Racing on highways, street takeovers, and stunt 30 
driving.— 31 
 (2)  A person may not: 32 
 (a)  Drive any motor vehicle in any street takeover, stunt 33 
driving, race, speed competition or contest, drag race or 34 
acceleration contest, test of physical endurance, or exhibition 35 
of speed or acceleration or for the purpose of making a speed 36 
record on any highway, roadway, or parking lot; 37 
 (b)  In any manner participate in, coordinate through 38 
social media or otherwise, facilitate, or collect moneys at any 39 
location for any such race, drag race, street takeover, stunt 40 
driving, competition, contest, test, or exhibition; 41 
 (c)  Knowingly ride as a passenger in any such race, drag 42 
race, street takeover, stunt driving, competition, contest, 43 
test, or exhibition; 44 
 (d)  Purposefully cause the movement of traffic, including 45 
pedestrian traffic, to slow, stop, or be im peded in any way for 46 
any such race, drag race, street takeover, stunt driving, 47 
competition, contest, test, or exhibition; 48 
 (e)  Operate a motor vehicle for the purpose of filming or 49 
recording the activities of participants in any such race, drag 50     
 
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P	R E S E N T A T I V E	S 
 
 
 
race, street takeover, stunt driving, competition, contest, 51 
test, or exhibition. This paragraph does not apply to bona fide 52 
members of the news media; or 53 
 (f)  Operate a motor vehicle carrying any amount of fuel 54 
for the purposes of fueling a motor vehicle involved i n any such 55 
race, drag race, street takeover, stunt driving, competition, 56 
contest, test, or exhibition. 57 
 (3)(a)  Except as provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d), 58 
any person who violates subsection (2) commits a misdemeanor of 59 
the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 60 
775.083. Any person who violates subsection (2) shall pay a fine 61 
of not less than $500 and not more than $2,000 $1,000, and the 62 
department shall revoke the driver license of a person so 63 
convicted for 1 year. A hearing may b e requested pursuant to s. 64 
322.271. 65 
 (b)  Any person who commits a second violation of 66 
subsection (2) within 1 year 5 years after the date of a prior 67 
violation that resulted in a conviction for a violation of 68 
subsection (2) commits a felony of the third de gree misdemeanor 69 
of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 , or s. 70 
775.083, or s. 775.084, and shall pay a fine of not less than 71 
$2,500 $1,000 and not more than $4,000 $3,000. The department 72 
shall also revoke the driver license of that perso n for 2 years. 73 
A hearing may be requested pursuant to s. 322.271. 74 
 (c)   Any person who commits a third or subsequent 75     
 
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violation of subsection (2) within 5 years after the date of a 76 
prior violation that resulted in a conviction for a violation of 77 
subsection (2) commits a felony misdemeanor of the third first 78 
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 , or s. 775.083, or 79 
s. 775.084, and shall pay a fine of not less than $3,500 $2,000 80 
and not more than $7,500 $5,000. The department shall also 81 
revoke the driver license of that person for 4 years. A hearing 82 
may be requested pursuant to s. 322.271. 83 
 (d)  Except as provided in paragraph (e), any person who 84 
violates subsection (2) and, in the course of committing the 85 
offense, knowingly impedes, obstructs, or interf eres with an 86 
authorized emergency vehicle, as defined in s. 316.003(1), that 87 
is on call and responding to an emergency other than a violation 88 
of this section, commits a felony of the third degree, 89 
punishable as provided in paragraph (b). 90 
 (e)  Any person who commits a second or subsequent 91 
violation of paragraph (d) commits a felony of the second 92 
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 93 
775.084. The department shall also revoke the driver license of 94 
that person for 4 years. A hearing may be requested pursuant to 95 
s. 322.271. 96 
 (f)(d) In any case charging a violation of subsection (2), 97 
the court shall be provided a copy of the driving record of the 98 
person charged and may obtain any records from any other source 99 
to determine if one or more prior convictions of the person for 100     
 
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a violation of subsection (2) have occurred within a specified 101 
period 5 years before the charged offense. 102 
 (4)(a)  A person may not be a spectator at any race, drag 103 
race, or street takeover prohibited u nder subsection (2). 104 
 (b)  A person who violates paragraph (a) commits a 105 
noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of $250 as 106 
a moving violation as provided in chapter 318 . 107 
 Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 108