Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 1378
By
Senator Martin
33-00629A-26 20261378__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to traffic enforcement; amending s.
3 316.194, F.S.; defining the term “abandoned vehicle”;
4 revising the circumstances under which law enforcement
5 officers and traffic accident investigation officers
6 may provide for the removal of an abandoned vehicle to
7 the nearest garage or place of safety; requiring that
8 a notice that contains certain information be placed
9 conspicuously on certain abandoned vehicles before
10 such removal; amending s. 320.261, F.S.; prohibiting a
11 person from operating a motor vehicle that the person
12 knows bears a registration license plate or validation
13 sticker that was not issued and assigned or lawfully
14 transferred to the motor vehicle; providing criminal
15 penalties; providing circumstances under which the
16 element of knowledge is satisfied; providing a
17 rebuttable presumption; amending s. 932.703, F.S.;
18 specifying that using a motor vehicle to flee or
19 attempt to elude a law enforcement officer is a
20 circumstance under which a seizure of the motor
21 vehicle may occur under the Florida Contraband
22 Forfeiture Act; providing an effective date.
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26 Section 1. Present subsections (1) through (4) of section
27 316.194, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (2)
28 through (5), respectively, a new subsection (1) is added to that
29 section, and paragraph (b) of present subsection (3) of that
30 section is amended, to read:
31 316.194 Stopping, standing or parking outside of
32 municipalities.—
33
(1)
As used in this section, the term “abandoned vehicle”
34
mean
s
a vehicle
that
is in a state of disuse, neglect, or
35
abandonment
. The term includes
a vehicle without a license
36
plate, a vehicle with a license plate that is not registered to
37
th
e
vehicle, a vehicle that does not have a registration sticker
38
affixed to the license plate, or a vehicle that has a
39
registration sticker affixed to the license plate which has been
40
expired for at least
90
days. Evidence of disuse, neglect
,
or
41
abandonment
includes
, but is not limited to,
the
vehicle being
42
wrecked and inoperative;
the vehicle being
inoperative as
43
evidenced by vegetation
growing under the vehicle
as high as the
44
vehicle body or frame; refuse or debris collected underneath
the
45
vehicle;
the vehicle being used solely for storage purposes;
the
46
vehicle
having major and visible parts
that
are dismantled;
if
47
the vehicle is partially dismantled, the vehicle having no
48
engine, transmission, or other major and visible parts;
the
49
vehicle being
incapable of functioning as a vehicle in its
50
present state;
the vehicle having
only nominal salvage value; or
51
the vehicle
being in any physical state rendering it
52
inoperative. If the primary apparent evidence of disuse,
53
neglect, or abandonment is vegetation growing under the vehicle,
54
an
enforcement officer
must use his or her
training and
55
experience to determine whether, under the totality of the
56
circumstances, the vehicle is in a state of evident disuse,
57
neglect
,
or abandonment
.
58
(4)
(3)
59 (b) Officers and traffic accident investigation officers
60 may provide for the removal of any abandoned vehicle to the
61 nearest garage or other place of safety, cost of such removal to
62 be a lien against
the
motor vehicle, when an abandoned vehicle
63 is found unattended upon a bridge or causeway or in
a
any
64 tunnel, or on
a
any
public highway in
any of
the following
65 instances:
66 1. Where
the
such
vehicle constitutes an obstruction of
67 traffic
or blocks visibility such that it is an egregious safety
68
hazard.
;
69 2. Where
the
such
vehicle
is inoperative and
has been
70 parked or stored on the public right-of-way for a period
71 exceeding 48 hours
.
, in other than designated parking areas, and
72
is within 30 feet of the pavement edge; and
73 3. Where an operative vehicle has been parked or stored on
74 the public right-of-way for a period exceeding 10 days
, in other
75
than designated parking areas, and is more than 30 feet from the
76
pavement edge
. However, the agency removing such vehicle
is
77
shall be
required to report same to the Department of Highway
78 Safety and Motor Vehicles within 24 hours of such removal.
79
80
Before
removal of a vehicle under subparagraph 2. or
81
subparagraph 3., a notice that describes the violation and
82
provides the time period after which the vehicle will be removed
83
must be attached to the vehicle in a conspicuous place.
84 Section 2. Section 320.261, Florida Statutes, is amended to
85 read:
86 320.261 Attaching registration license plate not assigned
87 unlawful; penalty.—
88
(1) A
Any
person
may not
who
knowingly
attach
attaches
to
a
89
any
motor vehicle or mobile home
a
any
registration license
90 plate
,
or
who
knowingly
attach a
attaches
any
validation sticker
91 or mobile home sticker to a registration license plate, which
92 plate or sticker was not issued and assigned or lawfully
93 transferred to such vehicle
or mobile home
. A person who
94
violates this subsection commits
,
is guilty of
a misdemeanor of
95 the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
96 775.083.
97
(2) A person who
operates a motor vehicle with knowledge
98
that the vehicle
bears
a
registration
license plate or
99
validation sticker
that was not
issued and assigned or lawfully
100
transferred to such vehicle
commits a misdemeanor of the first
101
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
102
(3)(a) For purposes of this section, the element of
103
knowledge is satisfied if the person
:
104
1.
A
dmit
s to knowingly attaching or knowing about the
105
attachment of the registration license plate, validation
106
sticker, or mobile home sticker; or
107
2. Has previously been charged with a violation of
108
subsection (1).
109
(b) There is a rebuttable presumption that the element of
110
knowledge is satisfied if the driver of the vehicle is a
111
registered owner of the vehicle.
112 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
113 932.703, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
114 932.703 Forfeiture of contraband article; exceptions.—
115 (1)(a) A contraband article, vessel, motor vehicle,
116 aircraft, other personal property, or real property used in
117 violation of any provision of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture
118 Act, or in, upon, or by means of which any violation of the
119 Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act has taken or is taking place,
120 may be seized and shall be forfeited subject to the Florida
121 Contraband Forfeiture Act. A seizure may occur only if the owner
122 of the property is arrested for a criminal offense that forms
123 the basis for determining that the property is a contraband
124 article under s. 932.701, or one or more of the following
125 circumstances apply:
126 1. The owner of the property cannot be identified after a
127 diligent search, or the person in possession of the property
128 denies ownership and the owner of the property cannot be
129 identified by means that are available to the employee or agent
130 of the seizing agency at the time of the seizure;
131 2. The owner of the property is a fugitive from justice or
132 is deceased;
133 3. An individual who does not own the property is arrested
134 for a criminal offense that forms the basis for determining that
135 the property is a contraband article under s. 932.701 and the
136 owner of the property had actual knowledge of the criminal
137 activity. Evidence that an owner received written notification
138 from a law enforcement agency and acknowledged receipt of the
139 notification in writing, that the seized asset had been used in
140 violation of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act on a prior
141 occasion by the arrested person, may be used to establish actual
142 knowledge;
143 4. The owner of the property agrees to be a confidential
144 informant as defined in s. 914.28. The seizing agency may not
145 use the threat of property seizure or forfeiture to coerce the
146 owner of the property to enter into a confidential informant
147 agreement. The seizing agency shall return the property to the
148 owner if criminal charges are not filed against the owner and
149 the active criminal investigation ends or if the owner ceases
150 being a confidential informant, unless the agency includes the
151 final forfeiture of the property as a component of the
152 confidential informant agreement;
or
153 5. The property is a monetary instrument. For purposes of
154 this subparagraph, the term “monetary instrument” means coin or
155 currency of the United States or any other country; a traveler’s
156 check; a personal check; a bank check; a cashier’s check; a
157 money order; a bank draft of any country; an investment security
158 or negotiable instrument in bearer form or in other form such
159 that title passes upon delivery; a prepaid or stored value card
160 or other device that is the equivalent of money and can be used
161 to obtain cash, property, or services; or gold, silver, or
162 platinum bullion or coins
; or
163
6. The property is a motor vehicle used in violation of s.
164
316.1935
.
165 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.