Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles:
SB 1348 revises a broad set of motor vehicle and driver licensing provisions administered by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and county tax collectors. A major component of the bill expands alternatives for distracted-driving citations: drivers cited under the handheld wireless device ban in general traffic, school zones, or work zones may elect to complete an approved distracted driving safety program, after which specified fines and costs may be waived and points on the driver license must be waived. The bill also directs the department to create a 4-hour distracted driving course and requires all basic driver improvement courses to include at least one hour on distracted driving, including testimonials from people affected by crashes caused by distracted driving.
The bill also creates a new first-degree misdemeanor for selling or offering to sell appointments for department or tax collector services without written authorization. In addition, it expands the role of tax collectors as agents of the department by allowing them to process more title, registration, and driver-license transactions, deliver certain documents by mail or in person, and use the department’s online portal for some services. It also authorizes tax collectors to offer a round-up donation option for certain transactions to benefit registered charities.
Several provisions update disability-related vehicle and parking benefits. The bill allows disabled veterans to receive a “DV” designation plate in lieu of the current disabled veteran plate, requires certain specialty plate requests to be processed under existing specialty-plate procedures, and extends renewal of disabled parking permits for permanently disabled persons for a 4-year period without requiring repeat disability documentation. It also clarifies that some disabled veterans may use a DV plate instead of a disabled parking permit.
The bill makes additional licensing changes, including requiring applicants who cheated on an examination to retake it, allowing certain temporarily disqualified commercial drivers to receive a Class E license if eligible, and requiring stricter consequences if a restricted driving privilege is violated after revocation. It also updates rules for duplicate titles and registration documents, and it authorizes tax collectors to fulfill duplicate title applications and mail title documents. The act is set to take effect July 1, 2026.
Overall, the bill’s impact is to modernize DHSMV and tax collector operations, strengthen distracted-driving enforcement through education-based alternatives, and streamline several driver, title, and disability-permit processes. The bill was ultimately laid on the table because companion bills passed, and the available record shows no committee transcript debate or recorded votes in the provided materials.
SB 1348 amends multiple chapters of Florida Statutes governing traffic offenses, driver licensing, vehicle titles and registration, specialty plates, and disabled parking permits. It increases administrative authority for county tax collectors acting as agents of the department, creates a new criminal offense for unauthorized sale of service appointments, and changes penalties and point-assessment rules for distracted-driving violations. It also updates procedures for disabled veteran plates, duplicate titles, and permit renewals, and modifies licensing and revocation provisions affecting Class E and commercial drivers.
The available legislative record suggests generally favorable treatment of the bill as a package of administrative modernization and distracted-driving safety measures. The bill advanced through multiple committee substitutes and was ultimately laid on the table because companion measures passed, indicating the underlying policy concepts were accepted and incorporated elsewhere. No committee transcript or vote record was provided showing organized opposition or recorded floor debate in the materials supplied.
The most likely points of contention are the new criminal penalty for selling service appointments, the expansion of tax collector authority over driver-license and title transactions, and the stricter consequences for violating restricted driving privileges. The distracted-driving provisions may also have drawn policy discussion because they replace monetary and point penalties with an education-based option, while still mandating course content changes. Disabled veteran plate and parking-permit changes are comparatively technical, but they alter eligibility and administrative procedures that could affect veterans, drivers with disabilities, county tax collectors, courts, and DHSMV staff.