HB 2111 Modifies several provisions of law relating to transportation and the regulation of motor vehicles

     Handler: Stouffer

Current Bill Summary

- Prepared by Senate Research -


SS/SCS/HB 2111 - This act modifies various provisions relating to transportation.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. MEMORIAL MILE - This act corrects a highway reference contained in the "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Mile" designation (Section 227.313). This provision is also contained in the truly agreed to version of HB 1941 (2010).

COUNTY HIGHWAY COMMISSION COMPENSATION - Under current law, members of the county highway commission receive $15 per day for the first meeting of the month and $5 for each meeting thereafter during the month. The current law also provides such members a mileage allowance of 8 cents per mile. Under this act, members of the county highway commission who are not also members of the county's governing body shall receive an attendance fee in an amount per meeting as established by the county's governing body. The mileage allowance for those members is changed from 8 cents per mile to the same amount per mile received by the members of the county's governing body (Section 230.220). This provision is contained in HCS/SB 716 (2010) and HB 1664 (2010).

TRANSPORTATION DEFINITIONS - The act makes technical modifications to the terms "scrap processor" and "vanpool" as used in Chapter 301 (Section 301.010 and 301.218). The act also modifies definition of recreational off-highway vehicle by increasing its maximum width from 60" to 64" (Section 301.010).

FLEET VEHICLE LICENSE PLATES - Under this act, a fleet owner of at least 50 fleet vehicles may apply for fleet license plates bearing a company name or logo. Under current law, any fleet owner could apply these types of plates regardless of how many fleet vehicles he or she owned (Section 301.032).

DRIVEAWAY LICENSE PLATES - This act places additional restrictions on the use of driveaway license plates. Under this act, driveaway license plates shall only be used by owners, corporate officers, or employees of the business to which the plates were issued. Under the act, an applicant for a driveaway plate must provide certain information such as the business name, address, and driver license number. The applicant must provide proof of financial responsibility. In addition, the applicant must provide a picture of his or her place of business. The applicant must maintain a landline telephone at his or her place of business during the registration period. The act makes the use of a revoked driveaway license plate a misdemeanor (Section 301.069).

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS - This act adds physician assistants to the list of other authorized health care practitioners that may furnish a physician's statement to obtain disabled license plates or placards (Section 301.142).

SALVAGE TITLE - This act removes the salvage title exclusion from the requirement of a seller to notify the Department of Revenue within 30 days of a sale. Thus, a seller of a motor vehicle with a salvage title must notify the department (Section 301.196).

MAINTENANCE OF VIN AND ODOMETER READINGS BY MOTOR VEHICLE DEALERS - Under this act, motor vehicle dealers and public garage operators must maintain a record of a vehicle's VIN number, odometer settings and other information for a period of 5 years (current law is 3 years). Under this act, any person who makes a false statement in a monthly sales report to the Department of Revenue is guilty of a class A misdemeanor (Section 301.280).

CORRECTIONAL ENTERPRISES AND PRODUCTION OF LICENSE PLATE TABS - This act allows correctional enterprises to continue making tabs for the Department of Revenue (under current law this power is set to expire on January 1, 2011)(Section 301.290).

MOTOR VEHICLE DEALERS BONA FIDE PLACE OF BUSINESS -This act requires every application for a motor vehicle franchise dealer shall include an annual certification that the applicant has a bona fide established place of business. The current law only requires this certification for the first 3 years and only for every other year thereafter (Section 301.560).

PERMANENT TELEPHONE IN MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER'S PLACE OF BUSINESS- Under this act, the requirement that a motor vehicle dealer's place of business contain a working telephone is repealed. In lieu of that requirement, the applicant shall possess a working telephone or cellular phone (Section 301.560).

TRAILER DEALERS - The act also exempts trailer dealers from furnishing copies of current dealer garage liability insurance policies when applying for a trailer dealer license (Section 301.560). This provision of the act is identical to the one contained in the truly agreed to version of HCS/SCS/SB 583 (2010), SB 464, SB 357 and HB 365 (2009).

The act also makes technical changes to various sections contained in Chapter 301 (Section 301.562 and Section 301.567).

OPERATING AS A MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER WITHOUT A LICENSE - Under this act, a second or subsequent violation of operating as a motor vehicle dealer without a license is a class D felony (Section 301.570).

REVOCATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER LICENSE FOR ABANDONED BUSINESS - This act allows the Department of Revenue to revoke a dealer license when the director determines that the dealer's place of business is uninhabited or abandoned (Section 301.571).

SPECIAL EVENT MOTOR VEHICLE AUCTION LICENSES - This act allows the Department of Revenue to issue a special event motor vehicle auction license to an applicant for the purpose of auctioning motor vehicles if 90% or more of the vehicles are at least 10 years old or older. Auctions can be held for no more than three consecutive days, but no more than two times in a calendar year by the same licensee. A report must be sent to the director within 10 days of the conclusion of the special event motor vehicle auction on a department-approved form specifying the make, model, year, and vehicle identification number of every vehicle included in the auction. Anyone violating this provision will be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and will be charged a $500 administrative fee payable to the department for each vehicle auctioned in violation of this provision. A special event motor vehicle auction will be considered a public motor vehicle auction for purposes of licensing and inspection of certain documents and odometer readings; however, the licensee will not be required to have a bona fide established place of business. Applications to hold a special event motor vehicle auction must be received by the department at least 90 days prior to the event. Applicants must be registered to conduct business in this state, pay a licensing fee of $1,000, and be bonded or have an irrevocable letter of credit in the amount of $100,000. Applicants will be responsible for ensuring that a sales tax license or special event sales tax license is obtained if required. The special event motor vehicle auction license provision is contained in SS/SCS/SB 781 (2010), SB 716 (2010) and HB 979 (2009)(Section 301.580).

PROPERTY-CARRYING COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE -Under this act, an applicant may receive two license plates for any property-carrying commercial motor vehicle, rather than the standard issuance of one plate, by paying an additional $15 fee. This provision is contained in SB 794 (2010)(Section 301.130).

ATV TITLES - This act requires a person when applying for an original certificate of ownership (no previous certificate of ownership has been issued for the vehicle) for an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) or a recreational off-highway vehicle to submit an affidavit explaining how the vehicle was acquired and a photocopy of the bill of sale establishing ownership of the vehicle. The applicant must also submit an inspection performed by law enforcement verifying that the all-terrain vehicle or recreational off-highway vehicle has not been reported stolen in the national crime information center and any appropriate statewide law enforcement computer. (Section 301.4020). This provision is similar to the one contained in HB 2043 (2010).

TEXT MESSAGING BAN - Under current law, drivers who are 21 years of age or younger are prohibited from text messaging while operating a motor vehicle. Under this act, the text messaging ban is applied universally so that all drivers, regardless of age, are prohibited from text messaging while operating a motor vehicle. The act allows any city or county to adopt ordinances or regulations which are equivalent to, but not more restrictive than, the state text message ban. Under the act, persons who use handheld mobile telephones in conjunction with voice-operated or hands-free devices to send text messages are exempt from the text message ban (Section 304.820).

LEFT LANE TRUCK PENALTY - This act increases the penalty for left lane truck violations in St. Charles County from an infraction to a class C misdemeanor. If the left lane violation causes the immediate threat of an accident, the penalty is increased from a Class C misdemeanor to a class B misdemeanor (Section 304.705). This provision may also be found in the perfected version of SB 781 (2010).

FRAUDULENT USE OF MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSES AND RELATED DOCUMENTS - Under this act, if the Director of Revenue reasonably believes a person has obtained a title, license plate, or license plate tab in a fraudulent manner, the person must surrender such items. A failure to do so constitutes a Class A misdemeanor (Section 301.423). Under this act, it is unlawful for any person to display, or to have in his or her possession, any nondriver identification card knowing that the card is fictitious or to have been canceled, suspended, revoked, disqualified or altered. Similarly, the act makes it unlawful for a person to lend or knowingly permit the use of nondriver identification card that is fictitious. The current law only applies to the fraudulent display, possession or use of a license (Section 302.220). This act ties the statute of limitations for a prosecution for making a false statement on a driver's license application to the discovery of the statement's falsity, rather than the time when the statement was made. A prosecution for a person who makes a false statement on a driver's license application may commence one year after the director first discovers the falsity of the statement or affidavit, however no prosecution shall commence more than 6 years after the statement or affidavit was made (Section 302.230). These provisions of the act can be found in SB 837 (2010) and the perfected version of SB 781 (2010).

MACKS CREEK LAW - This act modifies the "Macks Creek" law. Under current law, if any city receives more than 35% of its annual gross general operating revenue from fines and court costs for traffic violations occurring on state highways, all revenues in excess of the 35% threshold are distributed to the county schools. This act provides that traffic violations shall include moving and nonmoving violations and any moving violations that are pled or amended to nonmoving violations (Section 302.341). This provision may also be found in the perfected version of SB 781 (2010)and HCS/SS/SCS/SB 580 (2010).

SELLING OF DRIVER'S LICENSE INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL PURP0OSES - Under current law, the sale of driver's license application information to other organizations or states for commercial purposes is prohibited without the express permission of the driver's license applicant. This act specifies that "commercial purposes" shall not include driver's license application information used, compiled, or obtained solely for purposes expressly allowed under the Missouri or federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act (Section 302.183). This provision is also contained in HB 2161 (2010).

NONRESIDENT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY - Under this act, a nonresident shall not operate a motor vehicle in Missouri unless the nonresident maintains financial responsibility which conforms to the requirements of the laws of the nonresident's state of residence. A nonresident who fails to maintain financial responsibility is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor (Sections 303.025 and 303.080). Similar provisions can be found in the truly agreed to version of HCS/SCS/SB 583 (2010), SCS/SB 902 (2010)and the perfected version of SB 781 (2010).

ONE-PLATE ISSUANCE - Under this act, the state will only issue one license plate beginning August 28, 2010, to motorists unless the registered owner is eligible to receive a second plate (property-carrying commercial motor vehicle applicants can request 2 plates) (Sections 301.064, 301.120, 301.130 and 301.144).

PUBLIC MOTOR VEHICLE AUCTIONS - Under this act, a public motor vehicle auction may sell motor vehicles through an internet auction without the services of a licensed auctioneer. A public motor vehicle auction may auction motor vehicles that are not located at its licensed place of business through the Internet. Sales conducted through the Internet by a public motor vehicle auction are exempt from the normal signage requirements applicable to public motor vehicle auctions conducted through an auctioneer. The internet sale listing shall prominently display a disclosure statement which states: "Attention Buyers: Salvage or Salvage branded vehicles sold at this auction may not have had a safety inspection". (Section 301.561).

REPEAL OF BINDING ARBITRATION - This act repeals a provision of law which currently requires MoDOT to submit to binding arbitration upon the request of a plaintiff in a negligence action (Section 226.095).

MISSOURI STATE TRANSIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM - This act establishes the Missouri State Transit Assistance Program to be administered by the Department of Transportation to provide financial assistance to defray the operating and capital costs incurred by public mass transportation providers. The distribution of any appropriated funds shall be determined by evaluating certain factors of each service provider including population, ridership, cost and efficiency of the program, availability of alternative transportation in the area, and local efforts and tax support (Section 226.195).

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING AND DEVELOPING SPECIALTY LICENSE PLATES - This act changes the administrative procedures for issuing and developing specialty license plates. The act specifies that the Department of Revenue is not required to accept applications and issue specialty plates for a specific category or organization if no applications for the plate have been received within 4 years from the authorization of the plate or if the total number of specialty plates issued for a specific category is less than 200 plates for two consecutive years. The act further authorizes the department to discontinue the issuance and renewal of a specialty license plate if the organization has stopped providing services and the emblem-use authorization statements are no longer being issued by the organization. The organization must notify the department immediately to discontinue the issuance of a specialty plate. The discontinuance of specialty plate provisions do not apply to any military specialty license plates (Section 301.2998).

The act removes the July 1st deadline for the submission of certain documents and fees to the department of revenue regarding a special license application and allows an organization to submit the necessary documents at any time. Interested parties have 60 days from the filing of the proposal to submit testimony to the department in support of or opposition to the creation of a specialty plate. The act further requires the department, as soon as practicable after receiving the required documents and fees, to submit all applications for the development of a specialty plate to the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight for the committee to approve or deny. Current law requires the department to submit the applications to the committee during a regular session of the General Assembly (Section 301.3150). The specialty license plate provisions are similar to the ones contained in HB 2235 (2010).

COMBAT ACTION LICENSE PLATE - This act allows persons who have been awarded combat action badges to apply for a special license plate bearing the words "COMBAT ACTION" and an image of a combat action badge (Section 301.477). The language creating this specialized license plate may also be found in SCS/SB 812, 752 & 909 (2010).

LEGION OF MERIT LICENSE PLATE - This act creates the "LEGION OF MERIT" special license plate and allows any person who has been awarded this military service award to apply for it. To obtain the special license plate, a person must make application, furnish proof as a recipient of the Legion of Merit Medal, and pay a $15 fee to the Department of Revenue in addition to the registration fee and any other documents required by law (Section 301.3158). The language creating this specialized license plate may also be found in SCS/SB 812, 752 & 909 (2010).

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS LICENSE PLATE - This act allows motorists to obtain Multiple Sclerosis special license plates. In order to obtain the specialty plates, the motorist must pay an annual $25 emblem-use contribution to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a $25 specialty license plate fee, and regular registration fees. The specialty plates shall bear the words "JOIN THE MOVEMENT" in lieu of the words "SHOW-ME STATE". Before these specialty plates may be issued, the director must receive in receipt of a list of at least 200 potential applicants who plan to purchase the plate and an application fee to defray the cost for developing the specialty plate (section 301.3160). The language creating this specialized license plate may also be found in SCS/SB 812, 752 & 909 (2010).

LETTERED HIGHWAY SAFETY - Under this act, the director of the department of public safety is required to provide to the general assembly and the Missouri highways and transportation commission an annual report identifying all ten-mile segments of two-lane rural lettered highways without shoulders in Missouri where vehicle accidents have resulted in a total of 4 or more fatal accidents over the previous 7 years. This provision is similar to one found in SB 1029 (2010)(Section 227.700)(Senate Substitute Amendment for SA 1).

PHOTO RADAR DETECTION - This act prohibits political subdivisions from using photo radar speed detection to enforce speed limits on state highways (Section 304.125)(SA 2).

PAT JONES PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE LANE - This act designates a pedestrian and bicycle lane on the southern-most, down stream U.S. Highway 54 bridge, crossing the Missouri River at Jefferson City, Missouri, in Cole County, as the "Pat Jones Pedestrian/Bicycle Lane". The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs designating such pedestrian and bicycle lane, with the costs to be paid for by private donations (section 227.324)(SA 4). This provision is also contained in the truly agreed to version of HB 1941 (2010).

REPEAL OF STATE SAFETY INSPECTION - This act repeals the motor vehicles safety inspection program except for school buses, beginning January 1, 2011 (Sections 307.350, 307.353, 307.355, 307.360, 307.365, 307.370, 307.380, 307.385, 301.020, 301.132, 301.147, 301.190, 301.800, 307.375, 307.390, 643.303, 643.315, and section C)(SA 5). The provisions in this specific proposal are similar to the ones contained in SB 479 (2007).

AUTOMATED PHOTO RED LIGHT ENFORCEMENT SYSTEMS - This act prohibits political subdivisions from using automated photo red light enforcement systems to enforce red light violations (section 304.286). This provision is contained in SB 637 (2010)(SA 6).

STEPHEN WITTE


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