Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
CS for SB 1054
By
the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Martin
596-02240-26 20261054c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to traffic infractions resulting in a
3 crash with another vehicle; amending s. 318.14, F.S.;
4 requiring the imposition of specified civil penalties
5 and periods of driver license suspension on a person
6 found at a mandatory hearing to have committed certain
7 traffic infractions that resulted in a crash with
8 another vehicle, in addition to any other penalties;
9 amending s. 318.19, F.S.; requiring persons cited for
10 specified infractions that result in a crash with
11 another vehicle to appear at a certain mandatory
12 hearing; amending s. 324.023, F.S.; requiring certain
13 owners and operators of motor vehicles to establish
14 and maintain the ability to respond in damages for
15 liability on account of certain accidents; requiring
16 certain owners and operators of motor vehicles to
17 maintain the ability to respond in damages for certain
18 liability in certain amounts for a specified minimum
19 period; providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 318.14, Florida
24 Statutes, is amended to read:
25 318.14 Noncriminal traffic infractions; exception;
26 procedures.—
27 (5)
A
Any
person
who elects
electing
to appear before the
28 designated official or who is required to appear
is
shall be
29 deemed to have waived his or her right to the civil penalty
30 provisions of s. 318.18. The official, after a hearing, shall
31 make a determination as to whether an infraction has been
32 committed. If the commission of an infraction has been proven,
33 the official may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $500,
34 except that in cases involving unlawful speed in a school zone
35 or involving unlawful speed in a construction zone, the civil
36 penalty may not exceed $1,000; or require attendance at a driver
37 improvement school, or both. If the person is required to appear
38 before the designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1) and is
39 found to have committed the infraction, the designated official
40
must
shall
impose a civil penalty of $1,000 in addition to any
41 other penalties and the person’s driver license
must
shall
be
42 suspended for 6 months. If the person is required to appear
43 before the designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(1) and is
44 found to have committed the infraction against a vulnerable road
45 user as defined in s. 316.027(1), the designated official
must
46
shall
impose a civil penalty of not less than $5,000 in addition
47 to any other penalties, the person’s driver license
must
shall
48 be suspended for 1 year, and the person
must
shall
be required
49 to attend a department-approved driver improvement course
50 relating to the rights of vulnerable road users relative to
51 vehicles on the roadway as provided in s. 322.0261(2). If the
52 person is required to appear before the designated official
53 pursuant to s. 318.19(2) and is found to have committed the
54 infraction, the designated official
must
shall
impose a civil
55 penalty of $500 in addition to any other penalties and the
56 person’s driver license
must
shall
be suspended for 3 months. If
57 the person is required to appear before the designated official
58 pursuant to s. 318.19(2) and is found to have committed the
59 infraction against a vulnerable road user as defined in s.
60 316.027(1), the designated official
must
shall
impose a civil
61 penalty of not less than $1,500 in addition to any other
62 penalties, the person’s driver license
must
shall
be suspended
63 for 3 months, and the person
must
shall
be required to attend a
64 department-approved driver improvement course relating to the
65 rights of vulnerable road users relative to vehicles on the
66 roadway as provided in s. 322.0261(2).
If the person is required
67
to appear before the designated official pursuant to s.
68
318.19(
7
) and is found to have committed an infraction of s.
69
316.074(1) or s. 316.123(2)
which
result
ed
in a crash with
70
another vehicle as defined in s. 316.003, the designated
71
official
must
impose a civil penalty of $500 in addition to any
72
other penalties
. I
f the person is required to appear before the
73
designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(
7
) for an infraction
74
and is found to have committed a second infraction of s.
75
316.074(1) or s. 316.123(2)
which
result
ed
in a crash with
76
another vehicle as defined in s. 316.003, the designated
77
official
must
impose a civil penalty of $1
,
000 in addition to
78
any other penalties and the person’s driver license
must
be
79
suspended for 6 months
.
I
f the person is required to appear
80
before the designated official pursuant to s. 318.19(
7
) for an
81
infraction and is found to have committed a third
or subsequent
82
infraction of s. 316.074(1) or s. 316.123(2)
which
result
ed
in a
83
crash with another vehicle as defined in s. 316.003, the
84
designated official
must
impose a civil penalty of $1
,
000 in
85
addition to any other penalties and the person’s driver license
86
must
be suspended for
1
year.
If the official determines that no
87 infraction has been committed, no costs or penalties
may
shall
88 be imposed and any costs or penalties that have been paid
must
89
shall
be returned. Moneys received from the mandatory civil
90 penalties imposed pursuant to this subsection upon persons
91 required to appear before a designated official pursuant to s.
92 318.19(1) or (2) shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue
93 and deposited into the Department of Health Emergency Medical
94 Services Trust Fund to provide financial support to certified
95 trauma centers to assure the availability and accessibility of
96 trauma services throughout the state. Funds deposited into the
97 Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund under this section shall
98 be allocated as follows:
99 (a) Fifty percent shall be allocated equally among all
100 Level I, Level II, and pediatric trauma centers in recognition
101 of readiness costs for maintaining trauma services.
102 (b) Fifty percent shall be allocated among Level I, Level
103 II, and pediatric trauma centers based on each center’s relative
104 volume of trauma cases as calculated using the hospital
105 discharge data collected pursuant to s. 408.061.
106 Section 2. Section 318.19, Florida Statutes, is amended to
107 read:
108 318.19 Infractions requiring a mandatory hearing.—Any
109 person cited for the infractions listed in this section
does
110
shall
not have the provisions of s. 318.14(2), (4), and (9)
111 available to him or her but must appear before the designated
112 official at the time and location of the scheduled hearing:
113 (1) Any infraction which results in a crash that causes the
114 death of another;
115 (2) Any infraction which results in a crash that causes
116 “serious bodily injury” of another as defined in s. 316.1933(1);
117 (3) Any infraction of s. 316.172(1)(b);
118 (4) Any infraction of s. 316.520(1) or (2);
119 (5) Any infraction of s. 316.183(2), s. 316.187, or s.
120 316.189 of exceeding the speed limit by 30 mph or more;
or
121 (6) Any infraction of s. 316.1926(2)
; or
122
(7)
Any infraction of s. 316.074(1) or s. 316.123(2)
which
123
results in a crash with another vehicle as defined in s.
124
316.003
.
125 Section 3. Section 324.023, Florida Statutes, is amended to
126 read:
127 324.023 Financial responsibility for bodily injury or
128 death.—
129
(1)
In addition to any other financial responsibility
130 required by law, every owner or operator of a motor vehicle that
131 is required to be registered in this state, or that is located
132 within this state, and who
:
,
133
(a)
Regardless of adjudication of guilt, has been found
134 guilty of or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a
135 charge of driving under the influence under s. 316.193 after
136 October 1, 2007
; or
137
(b) I
s found to have committed an infraction of s.
138
316.07
5
(1)
(c)
or s. 316.123(2) which resulted in a crash with
139
another vehicle as defined in s. 316.003
,
140
141 shall, by one of the methods established in s. 324.031(1) or
142 (2), establish and maintain the ability to respond in damages
143 for liability on account of accidents arising out of the use of
144 a motor vehicle in the amount of $100,000 because of bodily
145 injury to, or death of, one person in any one crash and, subject
146 to such limits for one person, in the amount of $300,000 because
147 of bodily injury to, or death of, two or more persons in any one
148 crash and in the amount of $50,000 because of property damage in
149 any one crash. If the owner or operator chooses to establish and
150 maintain such ability by furnishing a certificate of deposit
151 pursuant to s. 324.031(2), such certificate of deposit must be
152 at least $350,000.
An owner or operator described in paragraph
153
(a) must carry
such higher limits
must be carried
for
at least
a
154
minimum period of
3 years.
An owner or operator described in
155
paragraph (b) must carry such higher limits for at least 1 year.
156
(2)
If
an
the
owner or operator
described in paragraph
157
(1)(a)
has not been convicted of driving under the influence or
158 a felony traffic offense for
at least
a period of
3 years
after
159
from
the date of reinstatement of driving privileges for a
160 violation of s. 316.193, the owner or operator
is
shall be
161 exempt from this section.
162 Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2026.