Toll Exemptions for Veterans:
HB 445 would expand Florida’s toll exemption law to include certain disabled veterans. Specifically, it amends section 338.155, Florida Statutes, to exempt from toll payment a person who has been determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or its predecessor, to have a service-connected 100-percent disability rating for compensation, or who has a service-connected 100-percent disability rating and receives disability retirement pay from a branch of the U.S. Armed Services. The bill leaves the existing toll exemptions in place for state employees on official business, military personnel on official business, persons with qualifying disabilities, law enforcement, fire and rescue vehicles, funeral processions, and other already-exempt categories.
The bill also reenacts section 316.1001(1), Florida Statutes, to conform cross-references to the amended toll exemption statute. That section continues to make nonpayment of tolls a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation, except where an exemption applies. The bill would take effect July 1, 2025, if enacted.
HB 445 would narrowingly but meaningfully change Florida’s toll statutes by adding a new exemption category for certain veterans with total service-connected disabilities. In practical terms, toll facility operators would be required to recognize this additional class of exempt users, and the state’s enforcement provisions for unpaid tolls would continue to apply only to non-exempt drivers. The bill does not alter the penalty structure itself, but it does expand the list of people who may lawfully use toll facilities without payment under section 338.155 and updates section 316.1001 to reflect that change.
The available record suggests generally favorable treatment of the bill, or at least no recorded opposition in the materials provided. The bill’s title and substance indicate a veterans’ benefit measure, which typically receives broad support, and there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes showing debate, amendments, or dissent. However, despite the favorable policy framing, the bill ultimately died in the Transportation & Economic Development Budget Subcommittee on June 16, 2025, indicating it did not advance through the process.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or vote history. The most likely policy issue would be the fiscal and administrative impact of expanding toll exemptions, including potential lost toll revenue and the need for toll operators to verify eligibility for the new exemption. Another possible area of concern is defining and administering the qualifying disability standard, since the bill limits the exemption to veterans with a 100-percent service-connected disability rating and, in one case, disability retirement pay. Because no committee discussion is included, it is not possible to attribute any objections to a particular legislator or stakeholder group.