Just when a lot of Floridians thought it was OK to crank up the volume in their cars, now theres a new effort in the state Legislature to ban loud car stereos.
A proposed bill, SB 634,would ban car music that can be heard from 25 feet or more. The penalty for an offense? A law enforcement officer could impose a $30 citation.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committeepassed the bill Monday.
The Florida Supreme Court struck down a similar law last year. Justices ruled the law was unconstitutional because it made exceptions for blasting business or political content. So the proposed bill eliminates those exceptions and just bans all sound that can be heard 25 feet or mo re from a vehicle.
Under the bill, an officer has discretion to pull over a vehicle blasting the stereo and can issue tickets to the driver and all passengers as well.
Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, voted against the measure.
I like my music loud and I dont think I should have a ticket if my windows are up and Im bobbin like I usually do down the Interstate," Gibson said. "Thats my enjoyment and its not offensive to anyone that I know of.
Explained Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, one of four pro-ban senators on the committee, All this does is clean up those portions of an existing law that have been deemed unconstitutional. So this is a clean-up measure.
Car stereo shops are lining up against the legislation. Jason Brown, owner of Audio Addictions in Tallahassee, said the loud music ban would hurt business.
When the law was repealed, we definitely saw a very positive gain from it," said Brown. "There were definitely customers that came in just for that reason. They felt a lot more comfortable having a loud system. So in that way, its going to negatively impact us.
The House version of the bill, HB 1019, is scheduled for a hearing Tuesday in the junior chamber's Economic Affairs Committee.
Dave Heller is a Tallahassee freelance reporter/videographer.
