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
HB 555 2022
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to private vendor license plate sales;
3 amending s. 320.06, F.S.; conforming provisions to
4 changes made by the act; creating s. 320.08049, F.S.;
5 requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
6 Vehicles to contract with a private vendor through
7 competitive solicitation by a certain date for a
8 specified purpose; specifying license plates that must
9 and may be marketed and sold through the private
10 vendor; specifying requirements for, and authorized
11 and prohibited provisions in, the contract;
12 prohibiting the private vendor from marketing and
13 selling certain specialty license plates; authorizing
14 the department to temporarily operate the program
15 under certain circumstances; amending s. 320.0805,
16 F.S.; specifying personalized prestige license pla te
17 application requirements for multiyear plates;
18 requiring a vendor processing fee for certain
19 personalized prestige license plate applications;
20 requiring the department to authorize persons issued
21 certain multiyear plates to transfer their license to
22 display alphanumeric patterns; authorizing the
23 department to provide by rule for a private vendor to
24 take specified actions relating to auctioning a
25 license to display an alphanumeric pattern; providing
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26 that certain licenses to display alphanumeric patterns
27 may be transferred; conforming provisions to changes
28 made by the act; amending s. 320.08053, F.S.;
29 authorizing the department and the Legislative Budget
30 Commission to jointly approve certain new specialty
31 license plates; requiring the department and the
32 commission to jointly develop a certain review process
33 within a certain timeframe; authorizing the department
34 to approve certain new specialty license plates at its
35 sole discretion; providing that the method for
36 specialty license plate presales must authorize the
37 private vendor to conduct presales; specifying the
38 minimum specialty license plate presale voucher
39 requirement for plates marketed and sold by a private
40 vendor; providing applicability; conforming provisions
41 to changes made by the act; amending s. 320.08056,
42 F.S.; authorizing the department to approve new
43 designs and color combinations for certain specialty
44 license plates; providing that certain design and
45 color combinations remain the property of the
46 department; authorizing the department to publicly
47 publish certain proposed designs or color combinations
48 in a certain manner; prohibiting the department from
49 restricting certain background colors, color
50 combinations, or color plate numbers; providing
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51 construction; requiring the department to approve
52 certain plates for issuance for a term within a
53 specified range; authorizing the department to cancel
54 a specialty license plate or require its
55 discontinuation under certain circumstances;
56 authorizing certain specialty license plate
57 organizations to have their plates marketed and sold
58 by the private vendor; requiring that certain paid
59 deposits and fees be credited toward the private
60 vendor; providing that certain dealer and fleet
61 specialty license plates may be ordered directly from
62 the private vendor; specifying requirements for
63 requests for multiyear plates; requiring a vendor
64 processing fee for certain requests; specifying
65 minimum specialty plate registrations for plates
66 marketed and sold by the private vendor; providing
67 applicability; conforming provisions to changes made
68 by the act; amending s. 320.08058, F.S.; conforming a
69 cross-reference; reenacting s. 320.08068(7), F.S.,
70 relating to motorcycle specialty license plates, to
71 incorporate the amendment to s. 320.0805, F.S., in a
72 reference thereto; providing an effective date.
73
74 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
75
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76 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
77 320.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
78 320.06 Registration certificates, license plates, and
79 validation stickers generally.—
80 (1)
81 (b)1. Except as provided in ss. 320.0805(1) and
82 320.08056(3), registration license plates bearing a graphic
83 symbol and the alphanumeric system of identification shall be
84 issued for a 10-year period. At the end of the 10-year period,
85 upon renewal, the plate shall be replaced. The department shall
86 extend the scheduled license plate replacement date from a 6 -
87 year period to a 10-year period. The fee for such replacement is
88 $28, $2.80 of which shall be paid each year before the plate is
89 replaced, to be credited toward the next $28 replacement fee.
90 The fees shall be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating
91 Trust Fund. A credit or refund may not be given for any prior
92 years' payments of the prorated replacement fee if the plate is
93 replaced or surrendered before the end of the 10-year period,
94 except that a credit may be given if a registrant is required by
95 the department to replace a license plate under s.
96 320.08056(11)(a) s. 320.08056(8)(a). With each license plate, a
97 validation sticker shall be issued showing the owner's birth
98 month, license plate number, and the year of expiration or the
99 appropriate renewal period if the owner is not a natural person.
100 The validation sticker shall be placed on the upper right corner
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101 of the license plate. The license plate and validation sticker
102 shall be issued based on the applicant's appropriate renewal
103 period. The registration period is 12 months, the extended
104 registration period is 24 months, and all expirations occur
105 based on the applicant's appropriate registration period. Rental
106 vehicles taxed pursuant to s. 320.08(6)(a) may elect a permanent
107 registration period, provided payment of the appropriate license
108 taxes and fees occurs annually. A vehicle that has an
109 apportioned registration shall be issued an annual license plate
110 and a cab card that denote the declared gross vehicle weight for
111 each apportioned jurisdiction in which the vehicle is authorized
112 to operate.
113 2. In order to retain the efficient administration of the
114 taxes and fees imposed by this chapter, the 80-cent fee increase
115 in the replacement fee imposed by chapter 2009-71, Laws of
116 Florida, is negated as provided in s. 320.0804.
117 Section 2. Section 320.08049, Florida Statutes, is created
118 to read:
119 320.08049 Marketing and sale of personalized prestige
120 license plates and specialty license plates through private
121 vendor; contract with department.—
122 (1) By January 1, 2023, the department shall enter into a
123 contract with a private vendor through the competitive
124 solicitation process pursuant to chapter 287, as determined from
125 competitive sealed proposals that satisfy the requirements of
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126 this section, for the marketing and sale through the private
127 vendor of personalized prestige license plates under s. 320.0805
128 and specialty license plates under s. 320.08056 issued for a
129 term of 1 to 10 years.
130 (2) Specialty license plates marketed and sold through the
131 private vendor must include specialty license plates approved
132 under s. 320.08053(1)(b) and those created under s. 320.08058 on
133 or after January 1, 2023; and, at the request of the sponsoring
134 specialty license plate organization, must include an existing
135 specialty license plate created in s. 320.08058 before January
136 1, 2023.
137 (3) The department's contract with the private vendor may
138 provide for the vendor to host all or some of the specialty
139 license plates on the vendor's website and process the purchase
140 of personalized prestige license plates and of specialty license
141 plates hosted on the vendor's website. The contract:
142 (a) Must comply with any law generally applicable to a
143 contract for services entered into by the department.
144 (b) Must establish reasonable vendor processing fees to be
145 retained by the private vendor pursuant to ss. 320.0805(2)(d)
146 and 320.08056(6)(e).
147 (c) Must require the private vendor to submit, at least
148 quarterly, to the department periodic accounts that accurately
149 detail all material transactions, including information
150 reasonably required by the department to verify fees collected
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151 by the vendor and the remittance of all money payable to the
152 department under the contract.
153 (d) Must allow or require the private vendor to establish
154 an electronic infrastructure, coordinated and compatible with
155 the department's registration system, by which motor vehicle
156 owners may electronically send and receive applications, other
157 documents, or required payments and which, when secure access is
158 necessary, can be electronically validated by the department.
159 (e) Must provide for the department to recover all costs
160 incurred by the department in implementing this section. Under
161 the contract, the department may require the private vendor to
162 reimburse the department in advance for up to 50 percent of the
163 department's anticipated costs in connection with the contract
164 and the department's anticipated costs in connection with the
165 introduction of a new specialty license plate.
166 (f) May not authorize the department to:
167 1. Unreasonably disapprove or limit any aspect of the
168 private vendor's marketing and sales plan;
169 2. Unreasonably interfere with the selection, assignment,
170 or management of the private vendor or the private vendor's
171 employees, agents, or subcontractors; or
172 3. Require the private vendor to market and sell a
173 specialty license plate or personalized prestige licens e plate.
174 (4) A contract under this section must be for an initial
175 term of at least 5 years from the effective date of the
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176 contract. The contract may provide, with the agreement of the
177 department and the private vendor, a second term or subsequent
178 terms at least equal in duration to the initial term of the
179 contract.
180 (5) The private vendor may not market or sell a specialty
181 license plate that competes directly for sales with another
182 specialty license plate unless approved by the department and
183 the sponsoring specialty license plate organization of the other
184 specialty license plate.
185 (6) If the private vendor ceases operations, the program
186 may be operated temporarily by the department under new
187 agreements with sponsoring specialty license plate organizations
188 until another private vendor is selected and begins operations.
189 Section 3. Section 320.0805, Florida Statutes, is amended
190 to read:
191 320.0805 Personalized prestige license plates.—
192 (1) The department shall issue a personalized prestige
193 license plate to the owner or lessee of any motor vehicle,
194 except a vehicle registered under the International Registration
195 Plan or a commercial truck required to display two license
196 plates pursuant to s. 320.0706, upon application and payment of
197 the appropriate license tax and fees. Pursuant to s. 320.08049,
198 the department shall enter into a contract with a private vendor
199 for the right to market and sell personalized prestige license
200 plates issued for a term of 1 to 10 years.
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201 (2) Each request for specific numbers or letters or
202 combinations thereof shall be submitted annually to the
203 department on an application form supplied by the department .
204 The request must be made annually for a single-year plate or in
205 the last year of the term for a multiyear plate sold by the
206 private vendor. The request must be, accompanied by the
207 following tax and fees:
208 (a) The license tax required for the vehicle, as set forth
209 in s. 320.08. For a multiyear plate sold by the private vendor,
210 the request must include the tax for each of the years of the
211