ORLANDO, Fla. – Nearly 30 new Florida laws took effect earlier this month, including a law that sets more rules surrounding license plates.
That law — House Bill 253 — makes several changes to existing rules regarding motor vehicle crimes in the state.
For example, HB 253 sets up harsher penalties for drivers who try to mimic a police officer with red-and-white lights while trying to pull someone over.
But HB 253 also says that alterations to license plates now constitute a second-degree misdemeanor, rather than a noncriminal traffic violation.
[RELATED: Here are all the new Florida laws that took effect on July 1]
This applies to any of the following situations:
Mutilating or defacing a registered license plate
Changing the plate’s color
Applying reflective material, spray, covering or anything else that can obscure the plate
Attaching an illuminated device that can prevent someone from reading the plate
As such, anyone found liable under this law may face a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.
New crimes under HB 253
However, that’s not all. Under this law, people are also entirely prohibited from doing the following:
Buying or owning a “license plate obscuring device”
Creating or selling a “license plate obscuring device”
Using a “license plate obscuring device” in the commission of a crime
What counts as a “license plate obscuring device?”
HB 253 defines this term as follows:
“…A manual, electronic, or mechanical device designed or adapted to be installed on a motor vehicle for the purpose of:
House Bill 253
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