An Act To Amend the Motor Vehicle Laws
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §106, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
§ 106. Enforcement of laws pertaining to dealers, transporters and automobile graveyards
All state, county and local law enforcement officers and all investigators motor vehicle detectives appointed by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 152, subsection 2 shall expeditiously enforce the provisions of chapter 9; section 1612; Title 10, chapter 217; and Title 30-A, chapter 183, subchapter I 1 as it relates to automobile graveyards.
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §409, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2017, c. 67, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) The sales tax due has been collected by the dealer; or
(2) The sale of the vehicle is not subject to tax; or
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §409, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2017, c. 67, §1, is further amended to read:
Retained fees must be transmitted to the Treasurer of State and credited to the Highway Fund.
Taxes collected must be transmitted to the Treasurer of State and credited to the General Fund.
Sec. 4. 29-A MRSA §409, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
Sec. 5. 29-A MRSA §453, sub-§3-A, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 206, §2, is amended to read:
Sec. 6. 29-A MRSA §456-C, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. LLLL, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 7. 29-A MRSA §462, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2003, c. 132, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 8. 29-A MRSA §467, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 645, Pt. C, §7, is repealed.
Sec. 9. 29-A MRSA §468-A, sub-§10, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 383, §6, is amended to read:
Sec. 10. 29-A MRSA §512, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 776, §16, is amended to read:
Sec. 11. 29-A MRSA §523, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2013, c. 586, Pt. I, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 12. 29-A MRSA §532, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
Sec. 13. 29-A MRSA §652, sub-§18, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 88, §3, is amended to read:
Violation of this subsection is a traffic infraction.
This subsection applies only to vehicles that are scrapped. For purposes of this subsection, a government-issued photograph identification document or credential includes, but is not limited to, a current and valid United States passport, military identification, driver's license or nondriver identification card.
Sec. 14. 29-A MRSA §667, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
(1) If the vehicle was not insured, obtain the certificate of title from the owner; or
(2) If the vehicle was insured, obtain a certificate of salvage or a certificate of title from the insurer and apply for a certificate of salvage.
Sec. 15. 29-A MRSA §954, sub-§§6 and 7 are enacted to read:
Fees for trailer transit licenses and plates are established in section 852. Trailer transit licenses are exempt from section 951, subsection 6.
For purposes of this subsection, "business" means a corporation, firm, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship or other commercial entity. For the purposes of this subsection, "modular home" has the same meaning as in Title 30-A, section 4358, subsection 1, paragraph A, subparagraph (2).
A person who violates this subsection commits a traffic infraction.
Sec. 16. 29-A MRSA §1110, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
A licensed mobile crusher must maintain an operator log for each location. The log must contain the make, model, model year and vehicle identification number of each vehicle crushed and the date of that action.
A scrap processor is exempt from the requirements set forth in paragraph A A-1 for vehicles received that are already dismantled.
Sec. 17. 29-A MRSA §1110, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
Sec. 18. 29-A MRSA §1111, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is repealed.
Sec. 19. 29-A MRSA §1304, sub-§4-A, ¶G, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 381, Pt. B, §16, is amended to read:
Sec. 20. 29-A MRSA §1352, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2017, c. 229, §23, is further amended to read:
Sec. 21. 29-A MRSA §1354, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2011, c. 556, §20, is further amended to read:
Sec. 22. 29-A MRSA §1404, as amended by PL 2009, c. 598, §34, is further amended to read:
§ 1404. Design layout or marking of license of a minor
The Secretary of State shall provide that a license issued to a person less than 21 years of age bears a distinctive color code design layout or marking.
Sec. 23. 29-A MRSA §1404-A, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 123, §1, is amended to read:
§ 1404-A. Deaf or hard-of-hearing designation
The Secretary of State shall, at the request of a person who is deaf or hard-of-hearing, issue a sticker to that person to place in a location designated by the Secretary of State on the back of the person's print a driver's license or nondriver identification card with a distinctive marker or code to indicate that the person is deaf or hard-of-hearing. The Secretary of State may require appropriate documentation that a person is deaf or hard-of-hearing before issuing the sticker the driver's license or nondriver identification card. For purposes of this section, the terms "deaf person" and "hard-of-hearing person" have the same meanings as in section 1358, subsection 1.
Sec. 24. 29-A MRSA §1405, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2013, c. 381, Pt. B, §23, is further amended to read:
Sec. 25. 29-A MRSA §1410, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 51, §6, is further amended to read:
Sec. 26. 29-A MRSA §2054, sub-§1, ¶I, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
Sec. 27. PL 2007, c. 648, §6 is amended to read:
Sec. 6. Participation in verification program; report. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, section 1411, the The Secretary of State shall by December 1, 2009 participate in the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program maintained by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for the exclusive purpose of verifying the lawful presence of noncitizen applicants for driver's licenses or nondriver identification cards.
No later than January 30th of each year, beginning in 2010, the Secretary of State shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters regarding the operation and effectiveness of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program.
SUMMARY
This bill is the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles' omnibus bill. The bureau is recommending several changes to the motor vehicle laws to facilitate program administration and to bring administrative fees more in line with actual costs.
It amends the enforcement provision governing dealers, transporters and automobile graveyards to change investigators to motor vehicle detectives to match the current job title.
It replaces the requirement that an applicant for an original motor vehicle registration submit a dealer's certificate with the requirement that the applicant submit a properly completed bill of sale. It replaces the requirement that a municipal official retain from the use taxes collected a fee of $1.25 for each vehicle with a requirement that the Secretary of State be reimbursed by the State Tax Assessor $1.25 per use tax certificate processed. It requires registration certificates to be forwarded to the Secretary of State as well as the State Tax Assessor.
It amends the law allowing the Secretary of State to refuse to issue or to recall a vanity plate having language that encourages violence or may result in an act of violence or other unlawful activity to remove express language stating that it is the Secretary of State who makes the finding regarding the language.
It repeals the requirement that the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife submit a new sportsman registration plate design every 6 years.
It repeals the trailer transit plate provision from the law regarding temporary registration plates and enacts the language of the provision in the law regarding special dealer licenses and plates. It makes a violation of that provision a traffic infraction and specifies a trailer transit plate expires annually at the end of March.
It removes the 10-year authorization period for recognition license plates.
It reduces the minimum number of registrations required for eligibility for the 25-year permanent registration program for semitrailers from 30,000 to 20,000.
It repeals the moratorium on commemorative veteran decals, which ran from October 1, 2009 to October 1, 2014.
It clarifies that International Registration Plan credentials may be presented in electronic format.
It changes the retention period for information pertaining to a scrapped vehicle from one year to 5 years to bring it into compliance with the record requirements for salvage vehicle recyclers. It adds an accuracy requirement to allow for a penalty for recyclers who incorrectly record information for scrapped vehicles of model years 1995 to 1999 and makes a violation a traffic infraction.
It amends the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, section 667, regarding salvage vehicles, to change the reporting requirements due date in the provisions regarding surrender and cancellation of a certificate of title or certificate of salvage from "immediately" to within 30 days. It adds scrap processors to the list of persons to whom an owner must have transferred a vehicle for which a certificate of salvage has not been issued in order for that vehicle to be deemed declared by the owner to be a salvage vehicle. It also allows a salvage dealer, recycler or scrap processor to retain possession of a certificate of salvage until the recycler scraps or dismantles the vehicle and requires that 30 days after the scrapping or dismantling of the vehicle the certificate of title or certificate of salvage must be delivered to the Secretary of State for cancellation. It repeals the current requirement regarding the surrender of the certificate of title or certificate of salvage.
It requires a salvage dealer, recycler or scrap processor to obtain the vehicle seller's name and address from a government-issued photograph identification document or credential. It requires a licensed mobile crusher to maintain an operator log for each of its locations, which must include the make, model, model year and vehicle identification number of each vehicle crushed and the date of the action.
It adds the requirement for recyclers to use the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System as required by federal law and regulation.
It provides for the issuance of a commercial learner's permit for one year.
It provides a motorcycle driver education instructor a hearing pursuant to Title 29-A, chapter 23, subchapter 2, article 3 when refused an instructor's license or the instructor's license is suspended or revoked.
It allows the Secretary of State to suspend, revoke or refuse to issue or renew a driver education school or instructor license or deny a driver education program certificate of completion for just cause or for noncompliance with statutory or regulatory requirements.
It provides that a driver's license or nondriver identification card of a person under 21 years of age must bear a distinctive layout or marking rather than a distinctive color code.
It eliminates the sticker designation for a deaf or hard-of-hearing person and replaces it with a distinctive marker or code on the person's driver's license or nondriver identification card.
It clarifies that when any change is made to a driver's license, nondriver identification card, registration certificate or learner's permit that requires that an updated credential be issued, it is considered a duplicate for processing purposes.
It includes vehicles of the Attorney General's office and the Secretary of State's office in the definition of "police vehicle" in the law governing emergency and auxiliary lights.
It removes the requirement that the Secretary of State report annually to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters on the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program.