License plates on front of Florida cars? What to know about SB 92
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
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