The House has approved a sweeping transportation package that touches nearly every corner of the state’s traffic and vehicle laws — from red-light camera timing and digital driver’s license privacy to school bus safety and loud vehicle enforcement.

Representatives ultimately voted 107-1 to pass HB 543 as amended. Sponsored by Sarasota Republican Rep. Fiona McFarland, the 68-page measure bundles together numerous transportation-related policy changes drawn from multiple bills and Committee amendments.

McFarland told lawmakers the bill addresses a wide breadth of transportation issues, but acknowledged that its strongest opposition comes from advocates for people with disabilities about one specific aspect of the bill.

“This is a really good bill, most of it,” McFarland said. “Is it perfect? Nope. But nothing that’s on a special order calendar today or tomorrow or next week will be perfect either. It will just be mostly good, which is all we can hope to do.”

Among the changes, the bill would require intersections equipped with red-light cameras to extend the duration of yellow lights by four-tenths of a second, establish new data privacy protections tied to Florida’s digital driver’s license program, limit how private businesses may handle information obtained from a digital ID, clarify which elements of a license plate must remain visible when frames are used, and prohibit license plate reader companies from sharing sensitive vehicle registration information with private parties.

“There’s a lot of provisions about the digital driver’s license,” McFarland said.

“Many of us, I’ve noticed, walk around without a wallet, a physical wallet. We have it all on our phone today. Other states have a digital driver’s license. It’s a convenience that I think we all want to enjoy in the state of Florida, I included, but we should make sure that there are significant data protections — whether it’s information communicating back to the government or information communicating between retailers.”

The bill would also allow local governments to designate residential districts with lower speed limits, and aims to make it easier for law enforcement to cite drivers operating excessively loud vehicles — including altered engines, revving and peel-outs — after local officers complained the existing decibel-based standard is difficult to enforce.

“We have a problem with loud vehicles in Sarasota County,” McFarland said, explaining that current law requires officers to sit 25 yards from the center line of traffic with a calibrated decibel meter before issuing a citation. 

“It is incredibly difficult for them to write a ticket, much less have it hold up in court,” she said.

The legislation also allows golf cart crossings on certain local highways with traffic signals, creates a clearer pathway for converting golf carts into low-speed vehicles, and directs a feasibility study examining whether the metropolitan planning organizations in Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties should be consolidated.

The bill would also expand school bus stop-arm camera enforcement to private and charter school buses, authorize certain traffic citations to be delivered by email and allow local hearing officers to assess costs up to $250 in related proceedings.

In addition, the measure would allow school speed detection systems to be positioned outside the physical boundaries of school zones when necessary to capture vehicles traveling through the zone. The bill also requires flashing yellow beacons to enforce reduced school speed limits, but gives local governments up to two years to install the equipment. It further extends the time drivers have to respond to certain traffic citations from 30 days to 60 days.

Despite the wide scope of the legislation, much of the debate focused on a provision allowing wheelchair-accessible vehicles with disabled parking permits to park in more than one regular parking space when necessary.

McFarland said the language is an amendment introduced by Longwood Republican Rep. Rachel Plakon in response to a handicapped constituent who was towed from the airport for parking in multiple spots.

“A constituent back home who is in a wheelchair, she parked her vehicle at an airport, went on her trip and when she came back her vehicle had been towed,” McFarland said. 

“She parked and took up two parking spots because the blue spots with the stripes on the side were all full. They weren’t available, so she double parked and was alarmed when her vehicle was gone when she came back. So we’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen again.” 

The change drew criticism from some lawmakers who argued it fails to address a broader dispute tied to a controversial law enacted last year allowing pregnant women to use disabled parking spaces. Delray Beach Democratic Rep. Kelly Skidmore said disability advocates do not view the new provision as an adequate solution, and her vote against the measure “is my protest vote for this disabled community.”

“The reality is that pregnant women are not disabled and the fact that we allow other people, against federal law, to use disabled parking spots as a pregnant person is not appropriate for the disabled community. They do not appreciate it.”

Supporters argued the provision provides a practical solution for drivers who need additional space to deploy wheelchair lifts or mobility equipment, and McFarland has indicated willingness to examine the broader concerns about pregnant women crowding handicapped spaces further with future legislation.

Weston Democratic Rep. Robin Bartleman said she had heard from constituents facing similar challenges when double-parked — noting that the change is a step in the right direction for some handicapped Florida residents as well.

“I’m going to tell you about Al,” Bartleman said. “A disabled veteran, he needed to go to an appointment — and I live in South Florida — and he needed to park in two spaces because he couldn’t get his wheelchair out because that was the most logical thing for him to do. Under this provision, Al wouldn’t have had to deal with that ticket.”

McFarland acknowledged the focus on the parking language and reiterated her commitment to continuing work to resolve remaining concerns, but urged lawmakers to consider the broad scope of the bill.

“Maybe the legislation doesn’t speak for every disabled person everywhere, but I don’t know how we’d do that,” McFarland said. “We should focus on solving problems, and if you tell me the problem is there aren’t enough handicap spots available then I will help you solve that problem.”

The measure cleared the chamber with overwhelming support. A companion bill (SB 1274) filed by St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Nick DiCeglie cleared its first of three Committees on Feb. 10, but has not moved in nearly a month. If approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, the measure would take effect July 1, with some exceptions.

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