Latest news with #TheNewsServiceofFlorida
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
License plates on front of Florida cars? What to know about SB 92
Floridians will need to buy and install license plates on the front of their vehicles as well as the rear if a proposal passes in the Florida Legislature. The bill, SB 92, also called the Lilly Glaubach Act after a 13-year-old Sarasota County girl killed in a hit-and-run, seeks to help law enforcement with hit-and-run investigations by requiring auto repair shops to collect and submit crash reports before repairing cars. An amendment to the bill proposed Monday by the bill's sponsor, Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, would make Florida the 30th state to require two license plates per vehicle, front and back. 'As people are speeding away from these scenes, there's a lot of cameras out there. And they can't always see the back of a (car),' Gruters said, according to The News Service of Florida. The suggestion came from Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, who said two plates could provide more accountability. 'The witnesses will many times see the front of the car, but not see the rear of the car,' Grall said. 'And sometimes there are repeat offenders who know exactly how to get away from an accident without having their plates seen.' The amendment, filed Monday, simply updates vehicle licensing requirements in Florida statutes to add "on the rear and the front of the vehicle." That has yet to be addressed. Gruters said he hopes to have costs before the bill goes to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee and wants to set 'the least amount of cost to motorists and the state.' Florida license plates currently run from $27.60 to $45.60 for cars and trucks and $24.10 for motorcycles, with various prices for motor homes, trailers, school buses and other vehicles. Personalized license plates have an additional $15 annual fee, specialty plates cost an additional $15-25. Many modern cars are not designed with a well for a front plate in mind, despite the number of states that require them. On higher-end cars, a bracket can be screwed into a hidden socket on the front used for towing. Otherwise, drivers would need to have holes drilled in the front of the car to mount the plate, often with a right-angle mount so that holes can be hidden. Vehicle manufacturers offer specialized brackets for each model to make installation easier and many modern cars have small dimples in the front bumper to show where screws could go. The bill would require auto body shops to require customers bringing in vehicles with damage from a collision to provide a written crash report from police before giving a written estimate. If the customer doesn't have one, the shop would have to write its own report on observable damage and what was fixed, which must be available to law enforcement within 24 hours. In 2022, David Chang struck and killed Glaubach, who was bicycling home from school in Osprey, and left her lying in the road to drive nearly 80 miles to an auto body shop in Tampa to have his car repaired and the damage obscured. He was arrested the next day anyway after a witness got a picture of his vehicle and notified police. Glaubach died 11 days later. Chang was sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaving the scene of a crash that caused great injury or death and five years for tampering with evidence, to run concurrently. Gruters filed a similar bill in 2023, but it died in committee in March 2024. Currently, 29 states require two license plates. California Colorado Hawaii Idaho Illinois Iowa Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Dakota Oregon Rhode Island South Dakota Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Wisconsin Wyoming Ohio dropped its front plate requirement in 2020. If passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron. DeSantis, SB 92 would become law on July 1, 2025. However, the license plate requirement change would not begin until Jan. 1, 2026. The News Service of Florida contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida bill could require front license plates on all vehicles
USA Today
27-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Immigration and other bills filed for special legislative session in Tallahassee
Jim Saunders The News Service of Florida On the eve of a special legislative session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican lawmakers Sunday filed a flurry of bills to crack down on undocumented immigrants and place additional restrictions on the ballot initiative process. The bills, in part, would end in-state tuition at colleges and universities for undocumented-immigrant students referred to as "Dreamers;" place new requirements on police to help with immigration-enforcement efforts; and dramatically change the petition process for proposed constitutional amendments. Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, and Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, had filed 11 bills as of Sunday evening, according to the Senate website. Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, and Rep. John Temple, R-Wildwood, had filed House versions that largely mirrored the Senate bills. DeSantis on Jan. 13 called the special session because he wants lawmakers to make changes to help carry out President Donald Trump's immigration policies. Other issues DeSantis wants lawmakers to take up include making changes in the ballot-initiative process, providing aid to hurricane victims and addressing issues that have increased costs for condominium associations and residents. The special session, however, has been surrounded by uncertainty because Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, and House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, raised objections. Among other things, they said the special session was 'premature' and pointed to the March 4 start of the regular legislative session. DeSantis, however, has made a series of appearances to try to pressure lawmakers into acting on the issues — particularly focusing on immigration issues. While the bills were filed Sunday, it remained unclear how the special session would play out. The Senate and House are scheduled to convene 10:30 a.m. Monday, but neither had scheduled committee meetings as of Sunday evening to consider the proposals. Among the proposals: Martin and Temple filed bills (SB 20-A and HB 19A) that would repeal a 2014 law that allows undocumented-immigrant students to avoid higher out-of-state tuition rates if they meet certain criteria. Albritton has suggested phasing out the law, taking into account students who already receive the tuition benefit or who are making plans to attend colleges or universities at the cheaper in-state rates. Ingoglia and Caruso filed bills (SB 4-A and HB 9A) that say law enforcement agencies in the state 'shall' support enforcement of federal immigration laws. Currently, a state law says agencies shall 'use best efforts' to support such enforcement. Also, under the bills, when counties receive notice that jail inmates have immigration detainers, they would be required to transport the inmates to federal facilities or to federal officials. Ingoglia and Caruso filed bills (SB 14-A and HB 11A) that would require state and county law-enforcement agencies and other police agencies with more than 25 officers to enter agreements with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to participate in a program that authorizes local officers to perform certain duties of federal immigration agents. The bills also would give the governor authority to suspend the head of a law-enforcement agency 'who, in the judgment of the governor, acts in bad faith and fails to comply with any provision' of the bill. Collins and Caruso filed bills (SB 18-A and HB 21A) that would overhaul the ballot-initiative process, including what appears to be elimination of the use of paid petition gatherers to collect signatures. Voters could request petition forms to be mailed to them by supervisors of elections; they could then mail back signed petitions. The proposals come after DeSantis led efforts to defeat ballot proposals in November that would have enshrined abortion rights in the state Constitution and allowed recreational use of marijuana. To read the filed bills, click here. ©2025 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved.
