February 17, 2026 • 10 mins
The Miami-area Republican has seen his bill pass its second and final committee in the state House, meanwhile the Senate has yet to take up its version of the bill. Fabricio joins us on The Brian Mudd Show to share details about HB-841 and says leaders in the Senate committees where the bill is expected to be heard have spoken favorably about it.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, good morning, Joel malkoln In For Brian. He's
enjoying the week off and he'll be back with us
on Monday. We do have his stories also, keeping you
updated on the news of the day. And this we're
gonna be joined here by South Florida Representative State Rep. Fabricio.
Tom Fabricio from Miami area. You know those little yellow
(00:21):
vehicle registration stickers we placed on our license plates. I
just think about this every year. I'm like, so careful,
Oh my gosh, did did I do it right? Is
it in the right place? Is it gonna stick enough
to where I don't have to worry about somebody taking it?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Anyway?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Those could be done away with if the bill gets
through the Florida legislature. Governor de Santis has publicly supported
State Rep. Fabricio's HB eight forty one, titled Motor Vehicle
Registration Renewal. Fabricio joining us now, Tom, thank you for
coming on with me.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hey, thank you so much for having me on. I
really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
So our folks here on wj NO may not be
as familiar with you, but you do serve in the
Miami area, and I know Brian has talked with you
plenty of times. He was on the other station down there, right.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, yes, member of the Florida Legislature, I represent areas
of northwest Miami.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Data and you introduced this bill, and the governor was
quick to tweet out or x out or whatever we're
calling it these days to get it done right.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
That's right, I still call it twitter. Yeah, So, yeah,
the bill is pretty easy. It basically says that we
don't need this antiquated proof of payment sticker on your
license plate, on your license tag anymore because police officers,
by their regular procedure, they checked your they run your
plate when they stop you, so they don't take your
(01:44):
work for it. And in the South Florida area, and
perhaps you know, and I'm hearing in other parts of
the state as well, sometimes, unfortunately, those stickers are stolen.
Sometimes they're not putting the right location. Sometimes people fraudulently
fabricate other stickers and they put them on there. So
is there really a reason for that anymore? When you
(02:07):
know the purpose of the sticker is all gone, So
you know, why do that? And by the way, this
is costing the state of Florida twenty four million dollars
a year to run this program. Wow, And so by
eliminating the yellow sticker, we're gonna be able to cut
twenty four million dollars out of the budget that we
need to do. So it's a good program. It's going
to save money for the state to not have to
(02:28):
do that, which ultimately means a leaner, meaner government.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Now this bill, your bill has gone through It was
favorable out of its first of two House committees. Going today,
I understand before the State Affairs Committee, you'll be speaking
on it.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
That's right. Actually at eight point thirty this morning, I'll
be presenting it in the in the big State Affairs Committee.
If we get it passed to that, we'll go to
the floor of the House.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Now, tell me what is going on with the Senate version,
because I just looked at Anna Maria Rodriguez, also from
the Miami area, sponsoring that one. But it's sitting there.
It hasn't gone through any of its committees yet. What
is the latest that you're hearing.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Sure, yeah, we love Senator Rodriguez. She is a phenomenal
advocate for the community and for the state of Florida.
We're not quite sure why it hasn't moved yet. We
are hearing favorable things from some of the chairs of
the committees, and I'll tell you there's a groundswell of
support for the bill. Everyone who I talk to tells
(03:32):
me they love the bill. Some folks ask questions like, Hey,
what happens if you drive into Georgia and you don't
have a sticker anymore, You're gonna get a ticket on it. No,
you're not going to get a ticket in Georgia. But
you know, those are the type of questions that I've heard.
But we've had unanimous support for the bill throughout, so
we are looking forward to our friends in the Senate
(03:53):
coming forth and supporting it. I'll tell you another another
comparison of things done in the House not done in
the Senate, but we expect there will be movement, is
in the In the House, we've talked about a bunch
of different ways of cutting property taxes. The property tax
reform package hasn't been released in the Senate yet, but
we do expect that something will be done on that
issue as well before the end of session. So it's
(04:15):
a timing issue. We have a we have a at
least a sixty day legislative session last year, it went
about one hundred and some days. So we are we
are in week six at this point, I believe if
I'm not mistaken, so there's still there's still time to
get this done. And I'm hopeful it's good policy. We
(04:36):
all agree it's good policy. So you know, I'm hopeful
we're going to be able to move it across the
finish line and get on the governor's desk. So you did.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
You made a statement there, and just I'm going to
ask you to expand on it a little bit because
you said people are concerned if I drive to another
state in your example, Georgia. So there you're saying that
there is some reciprocity. How does that work? Like? Why
set me in as far as why I'm not going
to get pulled over if I go into Georgia because
(05:04):
I and are there any other states that are already
doing what your bill would do?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Because I guess well, and not to get too deeply
in automobile laws and regulations and interstate issues, but what
happens is in under the federal law, the state law
for the state that you live in, purchase your vehicle
and operate your vehicle is a law that controls UH
(05:28):
and when you drive into another state, of course, you
can't violate their laws. You can't speed, you can't you
can't drive after consuming too much alcohol. All those type
of things apply. However, the laws for registering your vehicle
apply for the state from where you registered your vehicle,
So you cannot get ticketed in Georgia for not registering
your vehicle the way that Georgia wishes that they register
(05:51):
their own vehicles. That's the you know, the beauty of
our federal system. And you know, the interstate law is
allowed for you to have. It allows for the FIDA
legislature to control how sorta vehicles are registered. And that's
not going to be imputed by Georgia police in any way.
(06:12):
And if it is, that'll be kicked out immediately. I
don't expect there to be a problem again.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
South Florida State Repped Tom Fabricio talking about his bill
that would have us no longer having to pick up
those registration stickers and putting them on our cars every
year or every two years. You know, that brings me
to this question. Representative drivers had the option of renewing
(06:38):
their registrations for two years at a time, so they
would get a sticker if they got it right now.
Instead of saying that it expires in February, for example,
of twenty twenty seven, it would say twenty twenty eight.
They're paying double for that. I always said, I'm not
going to do that. If you're not giving me a discount,
I'll just deal with it again next year. But my
daughter's one who she likes to get it every you know,
(06:59):
for two years, just to not have the hassle of
it in another, you know, in another year. But what
would you recommend recommendation be for someone who might do that?
In case this bill becomes law, do you expect it
to bring down the price at all of registration?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
The price of registration at first, I don't expect to
come down. The state will be able to absorb the
savings and pass that down through the budgetary process. But
what happens is, yeah, by registering for one year or
two years, you're still going to have to register. Whether
you have a sticker on your car or not, you
still need to register to be able to drive your
(07:38):
car on the Florida on the floor of roads one
way or the other. So some folks like to pay
it two years in advance. I agree with you. I
believe I'd rather have the money sit in my bank
account rather than send it over to the State of Florida,
because that's the way I like to live my life.
And if there's no discount, why would there be any
kind of incentive in me doing that? Exactly the way
the process would right, The way the process work going
(08:00):
forward would be if the bill passes, you get your
notice that you have to pay your registration, you pay it,
and then your registration is activated for another year. And
if a police officer stops you and they run your
plate and you have not renewed, you will get that
additional violation for not having renewed your plate.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So you're saying, right now, they can do that anyway.
They don't need to see that sticker.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
That's correct. They actually they are doing it. And as
a matter of fact, somebody who said, well, you know
the troopers, I'll tell you that the for a highway patrol.
In last year's budget, we appropriated money to upgrade every trooper,
every police trooper car in the state of Florida to
have the license plate reader software and technology on those cars,
(08:43):
regardless of that technology. Every police car in the state
of Florida has the ability, through a regular computer that's
on their cars to dial in your license tag and
immediately know whether that's a registered plate or not, and
if that plate is registered to that particular vehicle.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And what is the savings that you're saying It would.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Be twenty four million dollars a year.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
It's pretty considerable, I would I would say, all right,
anything else to add again, you're going to be speaking
before the State Affairs Committee here in just a little
over a half hours. That we appreciate you joining us
to talk about this today.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Oh, thank you so much for having me on. I
really appreciate it. If you have any questions or anything,
please feel free to reach out to me, and I'm
happy to be on the show. Please feel free to
call me in again.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
All right, South Florida State Rep. Tom Fabricio, thank you
once again for joining us here on the Brian Much Show.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
All right. So that's that is interesting. You can let
us know how you feel about that getting rid of
those stickers. I really always worry about you know, am
I putting it in the right place? And you know,
is it going to stick? And do I have to
I do have thought about that, But anyway, you can
hit talkback or talkback feature at iHeartRadio. Just pull us
(09:58):
up w j O or Viro Patriot on iHeartRadio, click
the microphone button and let us know what you think.
All right, good morning, Joel malkoln In For Brian. He's
enjoying the week off and he'll be back with us
on Monday. We do have his stories also, keeping you
updated on the news of the day. And this we're
gonna be joined here by South Florida Representative State Rep. Fabricio.
Tom Fabricio from Miami area. You know those little yellow
(00:21):
vehicle registration stickers we placed on our license plates. I
just think about this every year. I'm like, so careful,
Oh my gosh, did did I do it right? Is
it in the right place? Is it gonna stick enough
to where I don't have to worry about somebody taking it?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Anyway?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Those could be done away with if the bill gets
through the Florida legislature. Governor de Santis has publicly supported
State Rep. Fabricio's HB eight forty one, titled Motor Vehicle
Registration Renewal. Fabricio joining us now, Tom, thank you for
coming on with me.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hey, thank you so much for having me on. I
really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
So our folks here on wj NO may not be
as familiar with you, but you do serve in the
Miami area, and I know Brian has talked with you
plenty of times. He was on the other station down there, right.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, yes, member of the Florida Legislature, I represent areas
of northwest Miami.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Data and you introduced this bill, and the governor was
quick to tweet out or x out or whatever we're
calling it these days to get it done right.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
That's right, I still call it twitter. Yeah, So, yeah,
the bill is pretty easy. It basically says that we
don't need this antiquated proof of payment sticker on your
license plate, on your license tag anymore because police officers,
by their regular procedure, they checked your they run your
plate when they stop you, so they don't take your
(01:44):
work for it. And in the South Florida area, and
perhaps you know, and I'm hearing in other parts of
the state as well, sometimes, unfortunately, those stickers are stolen.
Sometimes they're not putting the right location. Sometimes people fraudulently
fabricate other stickers and they put them on there. So
is there really a reason for that anymore? When you
(02:07):
know the purpose of the sticker is all gone, So
you know, why do that? And by the way, this
is costing the state of Florida twenty four million dollars
a year to run this program. Wow, And so by
eliminating the yellow sticker, we're gonna be able to cut
twenty four million dollars out of the budget that we
need to do. So it's a good program. It's going
to save money for the state to not have to
(02:28):
do that, which ultimately means a leaner, meaner government.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Now this bill, your bill has gone through It was
favorable out of its first of two House committees. Going today,
I understand before the State Affairs Committee, you'll be speaking
on it.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
That's right. Actually at eight point thirty this morning, I'll
be presenting it in the in the big State Affairs Committee.
If we get it passed to that, we'll go to
the floor of the House.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Now, tell me what is going on with the Senate version,
because I just looked at Anna Maria Rodriguez, also from
the Miami area, sponsoring that one. But it's sitting there.
It hasn't gone through any of its committees yet. What
is the latest that you're hearing.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Sure, yeah, we love Senator Rodriguez. She is a phenomenal
advocate for the community and for the state of Florida.
We're not quite sure why it hasn't moved yet. We
are hearing favorable things from some of the chairs of
the committees, and I'll tell you there's a groundswell of
support for the bill. Everyone who I talk to tells
(03:32):
me they love the bill. Some folks ask questions like, Hey,
what happens if you drive into Georgia and you don't
have a sticker anymore, You're gonna get a ticket on it. No,
you're not going to get a ticket in Georgia. But
you know, those are the type of questions that I've heard.
But we've had unanimous support for the bill throughout, so
we are looking forward to our friends in the Senate
(03:53):
coming forth and supporting it. I'll tell you another another
comparison of things done in the House not done in
the Senate, but we expect there will be movement, is
in the In the House, we've talked about a bunch
of different ways of cutting property taxes. The property tax
reform package hasn't been released in the Senate yet, but
we do expect that something will be done on that
issue as well before the end of session. So it's
(04:15):
a timing issue. We have a we have a at
least a sixty day legislative session last year, it went
about one hundred and some days. So we are we
are in week six at this point, I believe if
I'm not mistaken, so there's still there's still time to
get this done. And I'm hopeful it's good policy. We
(04:36):
all agree it's good policy. So you know, I'm hopeful
we're going to be able to move it across the
finish line and get on the governor's desk. So you did.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
You made a statement there, and just I'm going to
ask you to expand on it a little bit because
you said people are concerned if I drive to another
state in your example, Georgia. So there you're saying that
there is some reciprocity. How does that work? Like? Why
set me in as far as why I'm not going
to get pulled over if I go into Georgia because
(05:04):
I and are there any other states that are already
doing what your bill would do?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Because I guess well, and not to get too deeply
in automobile laws and regulations and interstate issues, but what
happens is in under the federal law, the state law
for the state that you live in, purchase your vehicle
and operate your vehicle is a law that controls UH
(05:28):
and when you drive into another state, of course, you
can't violate their laws. You can't speed, you can't you
can't drive after consuming too much alcohol. All those type
of things apply. However, the laws for registering your vehicle
apply for the state from where you registered your vehicle,
So you cannot get ticketed in Georgia for not registering
your vehicle the way that Georgia wishes that they register
(05:51):
their own vehicles. That's the you know, the beauty of
our federal system. And you know, the interstate law is
allowed for you to have. It allows for the FIDA
legislature to control how sorta vehicles are registered. And that's
not going to be imputed by Georgia police in any way.
(06:12):
And if it is, that'll be kicked out immediately. I
don't expect there to be a problem again.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
South Florida State Repped Tom Fabricio talking about his bill
that would have us no longer having to pick up
those registration stickers and putting them on our cars every
year or every two years. You know, that brings me
to this question. Representative drivers had the option of renewing
(06:38):
their registrations for two years at a time, so they
would get a sticker if they got it right now.
Instead of saying that it expires in February, for example,
of twenty twenty seven, it would say twenty twenty eight.
They're paying double for that. I always said, I'm not
going to do that. If you're not giving me a discount,
I'll just deal with it again next year. But my
daughter's one who she likes to get it every you know,
(06:59):
for two years, just to not have the hassle of
it in another, you know, in another year. But what
would you recommend recommendation be for someone who might do that?
In case this bill becomes law, do you expect it
to bring down the price at all of registration?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
The price of registration at first, I don't expect to
come down. The state will be able to absorb the
savings and pass that down through the budgetary process. But
what happens is, yeah, by registering for one year or
two years, you're still going to have to register. Whether
you have a sticker on your car or not, you
still need to register to be able to drive your
(07:38):
car on the Florida on the floor of roads one
way or the other. So some folks like to pay
it two years in advance. I agree with you. I
believe I'd rather have the money sit in my bank
account rather than send it over to the State of Florida,
because that's the way I like to live my life.
And if there's no discount, why would there be any
kind of incentive in me doing that? Exactly the way
the process would right, The way the process work going
(08:00):
forward would be if the bill passes, you get your
notice that you have to pay your registration, you pay it,
and then your registration is activated for another year. And
if a police officer stops you and they run your
plate and you have not renewed, you will get that
additional violation for not having renewed your plate.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So you're saying, right now, they can do that anyway.
They don't need to see that sticker.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
That's correct. They actually they are doing it. And as
a matter of fact, somebody who said, well, you know
the troopers, I'll tell you that the for a highway patrol.
In last year's budget, we appropriated money to upgrade every trooper,
every police trooper car in the state of Florida to
have the license plate reader software and technology on those cars,
(08:43):
regardless of that technology. Every police car in the state
of Florida has the ability, through a regular computer that's
on their cars to dial in your license tag and
immediately know whether that's a registered plate or not, and
if that plate is registered to that particular vehicle.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And what is the savings that you're saying It would.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Be twenty four million dollars a year.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
It's pretty considerable, I would I would say, all right,
anything else to add again, you're going to be speaking
before the State Affairs Committee here in just a little
over a half hours. That we appreciate you joining us
to talk about this today.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Oh, thank you so much for having me on. I
really appreciate it. If you have any questions or anything,
please feel free to reach out to me, and I'm
happy to be on the show. Please feel free to
call me in again.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
All right, South Florida State Rep. Tom Fabricio, thank you
once again for joining us here on the Brian Much Show.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
All right. So that's that is interesting. You can let
us know how you feel about that getting rid of
those stickers. I really always worry about you know, am
I putting it in the right place? And you know,
is it going to stick? And do I have to
I do have thought about that, But anyway, you can
hit talkback or talkback feature at iHeartRadio. Just pull us
(09:58):
up w j O or Viro Patriot on iHeartRadio, click
the microphone button and let us know what you think.
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