ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
commercial vehicles; plate
to owner
Expands application of the
“plate to owner” system to all commercial vehicles.
Laws 1995, Chapter 271
authorized the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) motor vehicle
division (MVD) to implement a “plate to owner” system for the vehicle
registration of interstate rental car and truck fleets. The plate to owner system also applies to
special (vanity) license plates. MVD
maintains both a plate to owner and a plate to vehicle license plate
system. H.B. 2001 requires a commercial
vehicle owner to retain the license plates upon ownership transfer of a
vehicle, and if applicable, transfer the license plates to another vehicle.
According to MVD, the fiscal
impact for implementation of the plate to owner license plate system is
$849,800 for FY 2000-2001.
1. Requires a commercial vehicle owner or lessee to retain the license plates when transferring the vehicle to another person.
2. Authorizes ADOT to assign a retained commercial license plate to another vehicle belonging to the owner if:
§
the
vehicle is of the same type and is subject to commercial registration and gross
weight fees,
§
the
owner or lessee makes proper application to ADOT or a 3rd party,
§
the
owner or lessee pays a transfer fee of $12, and
§
the
owner or lessee pays any applicable fees and taxes less any credit the owner is
entitle to receive
3. Requires the owner or lessee to surrender the license plate if the other vehicle is not of the same vehicle type as the licensed vehicle.
4. Allows the owner or lessee to obtain credit for the unexpended portion of the fees and taxes on the commercial vehicle to be used toward fees and taxes for the registration of a new vehicle, if the new vehicle is not of the same type. The credit for the not yet expired portion is reduced by 1/12th of the annual fees and taxes for each month of the registration year that has passed, or 1/24th for a vehicle that is registered biennially or permanently.
5. Prohibits ADOT from issuing a refund of any unexpended portion of the fees and taxes paid by the owner for the registration and license plates if the fees and taxes for the acquired vehicle are less than the unexpended portion of the fees and taxes of the previous vehicle.
6. Requires the owner or lessee to transfer the license plates, surrender the license plates to ADOT or a 3rd party or submit an affidavit of license plate destruction within 30 days after transfer of title.
7. Requires the acquiring owner or lessee to apply for registration and/or title within 15 days after transfer of title.
8. Requires the fleet registrant to notify ADOT that the license plate of the vehicle has been removed upon transfer of commercial vehicle license plate to another commercial vehicle.
9. Authorizes ADOT to determine if a fleet registrant shall retain a license plate that is not transferred to another vehicle or surrender or destroy the license plate.
10. Requires a fleet registrant to submit a sworn statement detaining the inability to retain, surrender or destroy the license plate if lost or stolen.
11. Stipulates that an owner or lessee who transfers license plates to another vehicle is subject to the same penalties for improper use of the plates as the owner would have been subject to for use of the plates on the vehicle to which the plates were assigned previously.
12. Requires the ADOT Director to adopt rules to administer the plate to owner system.
13. Contains technical and conforming changes.
14. Contains an effective date of January 1, 2002.
TRANS 1/11/00 DPA 9-0-0-0
3rd Read 1/18/00 DPA 58-0-2-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
February 15, 2000