2019 Voting Record

Wireless Communications While Driving House Bill 107 & Companion Senate Bill 76

PASSED AARP Supported

Autonomous Vehicles House Bill 311 and Companion Senate Bill 932 Florida law currently contains general requirements related to autonomous vehicles. The legislation establishes that an “On-demand Autonomous Vehicle Network” using a digital means to connect passengers to fully autonomous vehicles for-hire must have specific insurance coverage. It authorizes operation of fully autonomous vehicles on Florida roads regardless of whether human operators are in the vehicle. The legislation considers an automated driving system to be the operator of an autonomous vehicle while operating in autonomous mode, regardless of whether a person is physically present in the vehicle. The legislation is now Chapter No. 2019-101, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2019. Orange Alert Senate Bill 844 and Companion House Bill 305 The legislation would have created the Orange Alert. To trigger the alert, a person 18 and older had to have an irreversible cognitive disorder, syndrome or brain injury. The person’s disappearance had to pose a credible threat to the person’s safety and did not meet the criteria for the activation of the Silver Alert (only applies to 60 and older). The current “Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law” (TWD) prohibits a person from texting, emailing and instant messaging while driving, but the ban can only be enforced as a secondary action. This means a law enforcement officer must detain a driver for another traffic offense in order to cite the driver for texting while driving. The legislation changes TWD to a primary offense, which means an officer will be able to ticket a driver solely for TWD. It requires a law enforcement officer to record the race and ethnicity of a person issued a citation for TWD. The legislation is now Chapter No. 2019-44, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2019.