CS for SB 1500 - Transportation

• Requires drivers to change lanes when approaching road and bridge maintenance or construction vehicles displaying warning lights on roadsides, or reduce speed by 20 mph on multi-lane highways and to 5 mph on two-lane roads.

• Revises vehicle soundmaking device regulations by removing the 25-foot audibility standard and exception for business/political purposes, while authorizing local authorities to regulate the time, place, and manner of device operation.

• Establishes inspection and enforcement authority for nonpublic sector buses, allowing Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles personnel and certified agents to conduct compliance reviews, require vehicle inspections, and remove unsafe vehicles from service under specified conditions.

• Creates new investigative powers for the department regarding private rebuilt inspection providers, motor vehicle dealer licenses, and driver licenses, including authority to issue subpoenas, compel testimony, and petition courts for enforcement.

• Repeals Part III of chapter 343 (Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor Authority), dissolves the authority, and requires distribution of its assets proportionally to member local governments.

• Changes Central Florida Expressway Authority's Lake County expansion requirement from requiring the Secretary of Transportation's consent to only requiring prior consultation.

• Establishes new deadlines requiring dealers and manufacturers to deliver copies of renewed or new insurance policies and surety bonds to the department within 10 calendar days.