Senate committee adopts tougher penalties for devices that obscure license plates

Senator Rodriguez, sponsor of SB 44, told the Senate Committee on Transportation that the bill would raise penalties related to devices or substances that obscure or interfere with the legibility and detectability of license plates.

The amendment adopted in committee lowers the base penalty from the bill's original third-degree felony proposal to a second-degree misdemeanor for knowingly using a license-plate obscuring device or otherwise interfering with a plate's readability. The amendment also creates separate penalties for purchasing, possessing, manufacturing, or selling obscuring devices, and preserves a third-degree felony when a device is used during the commission of another crime. Sponsor Rodriguez said, “It provides penalties for the purchase or possession and the manufacture and sale of a license plate obscuring device.”

Why it matters: Committee members and law enforcement witnesses said obscured plates undermine tolling, criminal investigations and public safety. Senator Martin described the scope of the problem as statewide and said she collected hundreds of photos showing obscured plates. Seminole County Sheriff's Office representative Bob Cortez and William B. Smith of the Florida PBA signaled support for the bill in committee paperwork or waived in support during the hearing.

Committee debate and clarifications focused on scope and courtroom enforcement. Senator Martin said obscuring often appears along the Turnpike and there is “a domino effect of many problems” when plates cannot be read. Senator Davis asked about fiscal or criminal-justice costs if the offense were upgraded; Rodriguez said she did not have a cost estimate on hand but would obtain one. Senator Davis noted past cases in which courts rejected stops based on plate-covering statutes when used as probable cause; she asked whether the courts might similarly reject enforcement of the new law. Rodriguez replied the bill also sends a message to people who use devices for nefarious purposes and that enhanced penalties apply when used to facilitate other crimes or to evade tolls.

Formal action: The committee adopted the amendment and then voted to report CS for SB 44 favorably. The clerk recorded all members present voting in favor during the roll call: Senators Arrington, Davis, Jones, Martin, Trunnell, Wright, Vice Chair Avila and Chair Collins.

What remains unclear: The amendment requires law-enforcement and prosecutors to apply the new elements in court; committee discussion acknowledged uncertainty about how courts will treat the enhanced penalties in individual cases. Rodriguez said she would follow up on cost questions requested by committee members.

Closing: Rodriguez waived final remarks and the committee advanced the bill as amended to the next stage of the legislative process.