FLA. DHSMV v. Critchfield

842 So. 2d 782
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedMarch 13, 2003
DocketSC02-386
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 842 So. 2d 782 (FLA. DHSMV v. Critchfield) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
FLA. DHSMV v. Critchfield, 842 So. 2d 782 (Fla. 2003).

Opinion

842 So.2d 782 (2003)

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES, Appellant,
v.
Robert P. CRITCHFIELD, Appellee.

No. SC02-386.

Supreme Court of Florida.

March 13, 2003.
Rehearing Denied June 11, 2003.

*783 Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, and Charlie McCoy, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, for Appellant.

Michael J. Snure of Kirkconnell, Lindsey, Snure and Yates, P.A., Winter Park, FL, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

We have on appeal a decision of a district court of appeal declaring invalid a state statute. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.

The facts as stated by the Fifth District Court of Appeal are:

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) appeals from a final judgment entered in favor of Robert Critchfield. The trial court granted summary judgment for Critchfield, and held Chapter 98-223, Laws of Florida, violates the single subject rule in Article III, section 6 of the Florida Constitution. Based on this holding, Critchfield was found not legally barred from applying for a hardship driver's license despite four convictions for DUI.
Critchfield received his fourth DUI conviction in 1987. His driver's license was permanently revoked. At the time of sentencing, Critchfield was informed that he would be eligible for a hardship license after five years.
Critchfield applied in 1999 but was told he was no longer eligible due to a change in the law. That change was made by section 8 of Chapter 98-223, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 1998 which provided:
The department shall forthwith revoke the license or driving privilege of any person upon receiving a record of such person's conviction of any of the following offenses:
(1) (a) ... [A] fourth violation of s. 316.193 or former s. 316.1931. For such cases, the revocation of the driver's *784 license or driving privilege shall be permanent. (Emphasis original).
On April 4, 2000, Critchfield brought a two-count complaint for declaratory relief. Count two alleged Chapter 98-223 is unconstitutional as it encompassed more than one subject in violation of the single subject requirement of the Florida Constitution. The trial court granted Critchfield's motion for summary judgment on the basis of the single subject rule....
Chapter 98-223 contains 15 sections of which 13 are substantive.[n] Section 1 creates section 832.09, Florida Statutes to provide for suspension of a driver's license for failure to appear before the court in connection with prosecution for passing a worthless check. Section 2 creates section 832.10, Florida Statutes to provide that a payee on a worthless check may place the check for collection by a private debt collector prior to presenting the check to the state attorney for prosecution and that the payee may recover reasonable collection fees. Section 3 creates section 322.251, Florida Statutes to provide for notice to a licensee whose driving privilege is suspended pursuant to section 832.09. Section 4 adds a subsection to section 322.142, Florida Statutes to provide for the DHSMV to sell copies of photographs or digital imaged driver's licenses under certain circumstances. Section 6 amends section 318.18(3), Florida Statutes to increase the fines for speeding. Section 7 amends section 320.07(3), Florida Statutes which deals with expiration of license plates. Section 8 amends section 322.26, Florida Statutes which deals with mandatory revocation of driver's licenses. Section 9 amends section 322.271, Florida Statutes, which deals with petitions for reinstatement of driving privileges. Section 10 deals with amendments to section 322.28, Florida Statutes, concerning the period of suspensions and revocations of driver's licenses. Section 11 creates section 322.28, Florida Statutes relating to the commencement of the period of suspension or revocation of driver's licenses for incarcerated offenders while section 12 amends section 322.34, Florida Statutes dealing with driving while license suspended, revoked, canceled or disqualified. Section 13 creates section 322.341, Florida Statutes which makes it a third degree felony to drive while a license is permanently revoked. Finally, section 14 amends section 627.733, Florida Statutes which deals with suspension of a motor vehicle registration for lack of required security.
[n.] Section 5 appropriates $35,000; section 15 provides an effective date.

Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Critchfield, 805 So.2d 1034, 1035-36 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002).

The district court affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment for Critchfield. The district court found that the subject matter in chapter 98-223, Laws of Florida, involved "driver's licenses, vehicle registrations and operation of motor vehicles." Id. at 1038. The district court held, however, that "[s]ection 2 [of chapter 98-223, Laws of Florida] lacks a logical or natural connection to driver's licenses, registrations or operation of motor vehicles which are the subject matter of Chapter 98-223."[1]Id. Because section *785 2 lacked a logical or natural connection to the subject matter of chapter 98-223, the district court affirmed the trial court's judgment invalidating chapter 98-223 based upon a violation of the constitutional single subject requirement.[2]

Article III, section 6 of the Florida Constitution provides, in pertinent part, that "[e]very law shall embrace but one subject and matter properly connected therewith, and the subject shall be briefly expressed in the title." This portion of the Florida Constitution is referred to as "the single subject rule." In Martinez v. Scanlan, 582 So.2d 1167 (Fla.1991), this Court stated:

The purpose of this constitutional prohibition against a plurality of subjects in a single legislative act is to prevent "logrolling" where a single enactment becomes a cloak for dissimilar legislation having no necessary or appropriate connection with the subject matter. The act may be as broad as the legislature chooses provided the matters included in the act have a natural or logical connection.

Id. at 1172 (citation omitted).

We agree with the district court and circuit court below that chapter 98-223 violates the single subject rule. Section 2 of the law, which involves assigning bad check debt to a private debt collector, has no natural or logical connection to the law's subject matter, which is driver's licenses, operation of motor vehicles, and vehicle registrations. The subject matter of chapter 98-223 was defined in part by the substantial revisions to House Bill 3275, which created chapter 98-223. When House Bill 3275 was sent to the Senate for consideration, the substantive provisions of the bill related to worthless checks and drivers' licenses. See Fla. HB 3275 (1998) (Second Engrossed). The Senate returned the bill to the House after adopting an amendment, which added the language that eventually became sections 6 through 14 of chapter 98-223. See Fla. S. *786 Jour. 1163-66 (Reg.Sess.1998). Sections 6 through 14 involve vehicle registrations, drivers' licenses, and civil penalties for speeding fines.

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Bluebook (online)
842 So. 2d 782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fla-dhsmv-v-critchfield-fla-2003.