florida digital license plate bill draws severe criticism by senate committee

Senator George Gainer

Under current law, PRIDE, Inc., manufactures all license plates and validation stickers for FLDHSMV and FLDHSMV is not required by statute to obtain competitive bids in order to contract with that corporation. 
The ‘Digital License Plate Pilot Program’ bill, CS/SB 862, sponsored by Senator Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota), a CPA, was brought up before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development, chaired by Senator George B Gainer (R-Panama City) an automobile dealer, on April 8, 2021 and the bill language was amended to conform to the current House version of the bill (CS/HB 695), however, it was met with a very hostile reception and the bill narrowly passed by a 7-4 vote, with some Senators stating that although they were supporting it in that Committee, they would "need substantial convincing to further support it" in the next and final Committee stop, Appropriations.

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SB 676, sponsored by Senator Dennis Baxley, (R-Lady Lake) creating a number of new specialty plates was passed quickly and unanimously (11-0), including an amendment to add two new specialty plates – ‘Florida Swims’ and ‘30A.com/Scenic Walton’ to the other 11 proposed new plates. 
​Following on from that well-received bill presentation, Senator Gruters provided a quick summary of the strike all amendment of CS/SB 862 and a brief description of the ‘pilot program’, stating that the Department would try 5-10 digital plates on state owned vehicles for one year before the plates would be made available to Florida vehicle owners. He explained that the digital plates could only be purchased after a customer had purchased a regular metal plate from the DMV. Then came the onslaught of questions from the Committee members.

Senator Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville), a paralegal and PR liaison in her twentieth year as a Florida legislator, was the first to question Gruters on the issue of whether the bill was limited to a sole vendor – namely Reviver, (or Reviver Auto or ReviverMX). Senator Gruters responded by stating that there were “multiple vendors out there” and when Senator Gibson asked him where Reviver were based out of, he responded “I’m not sure where that particular vendor is from,” which seems to contradict his recent statement in Reviver’s press release of February 9, 2021, wherein he is personally cited as quoting:
'"We look forward to working with Reviver and the ecosystem of vehicle compliance their platform and digital license plates will provide our DMV and our citizens. The expressive nature of their digital plates provides untapped opportunities for valuable communications." said Senator Joe Gruters, (R – Sarasota).'
The House bill sponsor, Representative Nick Duran (D–Miami), Executive Director of Florida Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, is also quoted in that same press release: "Bringing digital license plates to Florida helps to pave the way into a more connected future. Florida has always been on the cutting-edge of technology and allowing the use of this technology can bring large-scale efficiency and savings to the over 17 million registered vehicles in our state."

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Senator Gruters stated that the Reviver plate is the “same technology as an iPad." He also stated that “a single vendor will do the pilot program” and then it “will open up to all vendors as long as they meet the requirements.” And that “there are at least three vendors, so they will be ready when the pilot program ends.”
Senator Janet Cruz (D-Tampa), an optician/healthcare executive in her tenth year as a Florida legislator, questioned the single vendor sense of the bill and Senator Debbie Mayfield (R-Melbourne), a retired banking executive in her thirteenth year as a Florida legislator and the Senate Majority Leader, stated that there is only one vendor and they "only have plates on sale in two states, California and Arizona, and have only sold a total of 4,000 plates" and questioned that at a time when the legislature is focusing on numerous bills that seek to protect privacy, “how are you protecting privacy from a private company?” and that it clearly sounds like a “big vendor bill.”
The FCC Notice Compliance on the Reviver website states: “This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules.  Operation is subject to the following two conditions:  1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and 2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.”
Senator Gruters again reiterated that there are “multiple vendors” and that he had “personally talked to multiple vendors about this,” but did not disclose the names of those multiple vendors.

​Senator Annetee Taddeo (D-Miami), founder and CEO of LanguageSpeak, expressed her concern that although it was labelled as a pilot program, in year two, the bill provides that it automatically expands to the general public, no matter what the result of the one-year ‘pilot program’ was. So, it was not technically a pilot program.
Senator Ed Hooper, (R-Palm Harbor), a retired firefighter and a partner with Consus Group, LLC and Vice Chair of the Committee, had clearly done some homework prior to the hearing and stated that “Reviver is the sole manufacturer” and he said that the “RPlate is $500 plus $18 a month and the RPlatePro was $600 with $25 a month and a 3 year agreement.” He also stated that if the vehicle stops for 4 seconds, it displays advertisements which would distract everyone. He stated that “there is an odor to this” and said it “smells like a 3-day dead raccoon.” and that it is nothing more than “a sweetheart deal for someone and the PRIDE dollars does not impress me.”
​Apparently, a dead raccoon is a bad omen since it foretells that you are about to receive some bad news – it could be regarding a family member in trouble or a break-up. It could also mean that you are going to discover some harsh truths regarding how you have hurt others, or about some illness. (courtesy: TheAstrologyWeb.com)

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Robert Wood, CEO of Reviver

Senator Mayfield concurred and said that if “it doesn’t smell right, it usually means we are not feeling right and that she would vote for it today, but would not vote for it in Appropriations, unless the sponsor explains it better, “It smells like a vendor bill to me.” Senator Cruz concurred that she would also have trouble voting for it in Appropriations.
Senator Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton), whose occupation is insurance and investments and in his eleventh year as a Florida legislator, stepped up to Senator Gruters aid and stated that he "would not vote for exclusively voting for one vendor but if the DMV approves it, it will open up to other vendors" and so it did not appear to him to be a one vendor bill and therefore would support it.
Senator Loranne Ausley (D-Quincy) an attorney with Holliman, PA, who was first elected to the House in 2000, also showed concern regarding the label ‘pilot program’ and said “normally for a pilot program, there is information that comes back before it is opened up to the public – but this is automatic.” She also questioned that if it is a great deal for PRIDE, then it should be a great deal for the inmates who make the plates who want to change their lives. She also stated that the digital billboard offended her and stated “I call it visual pollution’ and said she has a “lot of questions and concerns before Appropriations and I need answers.” “I will support it today but may have more questions in the future.” 
Senator Taddeo stated that she “votes for all tech, but I have a problem with one vendor and that it automatically expands to consumers.” She was concerned with the privacy issues and “a lot more needs to be massaged and it is not ready and I will vote against it today.”

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​Incidentally, the much discussed $4.00 payment to PRIDE was in a previous iteration of the bill and was deleted and is not contained in either the Senate amendment or the House version, a fact that even the bill sponsor was apparently not aware of, given the extended discussions on that subject, which arose after he raised the issue in support of garnering approval for the bill. That happens sometimes when lobbyists provide the amendment for their Principals and staffers file them and don’t advise their members fully or update the member’s one sheet for the bill presentation. It may have shortened the bill discussion by a full ten minutes.

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Senator Gruters summed up by stating that he had “personally talked to other vendors” and had received calls from other companies. He stated that he believes that manufacturers will ultimately incorporate the digital plate into the vehicle, that “the tech is to broaden our spectrum and it is time to move with the times and understand the tech is here.” He ended with stating that he was “so glad we had so many questions on this bill.”

Cory and Gary Guzzo, Floridian Partners

As of today, the only lobbyist firm that had registered regarding SB 862 was Ted Smith for the Florida Automobile Dealers Association. On the House side, for HB 695, Jorge Chamizo and Cory Guzzo of Floridian Partners had registered on behalf of Reviver Auto. Cory Guzzo does have SB 862 in parentheses.
Reviver Auto are registered as a principal on the lobbyist registration website, with an address of 4000 E 3Rd Ave, Suite 150, Foster City, CA 94404-4829. Industry Code: 423120 Automobile accessories (except tires, tubes) merchant wholesalers, which was filed on 1/4/2021. 
SB 862 was filed by Senator Gruters on 1/27/21.
HB 695 was filed by Rep Nicholas Duran (R-Miami), on 2/2/21 and is cosponsored by Rep Alison Tant (D-Tallahassee) an Independent Education Management Professional in her first term as a legislator. 

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Senator Joe Gruters (right)

On 4/8/21, The house bill was added to the Special Order Calendar for 4/15/21. There is no requirement for a $4.00 payment to PRIDE in the house bill and on 4/9/21 a Floor amendment has been timely filed to add “By July 1, 2022, the department shall allow a motor vehicle registered under this chapter to be equipped with a digital license plate in lieu of a physical license plate issued under s. 320.06 upon a determination that the information on the digital license plate display is readable by current automated license plate recognition hardware and software. However, the purchaser of a digital license plate must first obtain a physical license plate from the department before obtaining a digital license plate from a digital license plate provider.”
The Senate Appropriations Committee is the next scheduled stop for the Senate bill and is chaired by Senator Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland), an investment property manager in her thirteenth year as a Florida legislator and the vice-chair is Senator Aaron Bean (R-Jacksonville), a Relationship Development Officer for UF Health Jacksonville and a licensed auctioneer, who was first elected to the House in 2000. Senators Gainer, Gibson, Hooper, Mayfield and Perry are also Appropriations Committee members. There  are 12 Republicans and 8 Democrats on the Committee.
Whether the Senate bill will be carried by partisan politics in deference to Senator Gruters will remain to be seen. 

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