Assigned to TRANS & APPROP                                                                                       AS PASSED BY THE SENATE

 

 


 

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Phoenix, Arizona

 

REVISED

FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2001

 

vehicle registration; plate to owner

commercial vehicles; plate to owner

 

Purpose

 

Expands the “plate to owner” system to all licensed vehicles and appropriates $900,600 from the state highway fund in FY 2000-2001 to the Arizona Department of Transportation for the implementation of the plate to owner license system.

 

Background

 

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 appropriates $900,600 from the state highway fund to ADOT in FY 2000-2001 for the expanded implementation of the “plate to owner” license plate system to all licensed vehicles.

 

Provisions

 

1.      Appropriates $900,600 from the state highway fund in FY 2000-2001 to ADOT for the implementation of the “plate to owner” license plate system. 

 

2.      Requires the owner of a vehicle to retain the license plates when the owner transfers the vehicle to another person.

 

3.      Allows ADOT to assign retained license plates to another same type vehicle belonging to the same owner upon application and payment of a $12 transfer fee. 

 

4.      Requires the owner to pay the additional fees and taxes after subtracting any credit difference between the two vehicles.

 

5.      Requires the owner to surrender the license plates to ADOT or a third party or submit an affidavit of license plate destruction if the vehicle is not of the same vehicle type as the licensed vehicle.

 

6.      Requires ADOT to provide new license plates of the proper vehicle type to the owner and credit the owner with an amount equal to the unexpended portion of fees and taxes paid by the owner toward fees and taxes for registration of the appropriate new vehicle type.

 

7.      Allows the owner to obtain credit for the unexpended portion of the fees and taxes on the vehicle to be used toward fees and taxes for the registration of a new vehicle.  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.

 

8.      Requires ADOT to carry forward to a subsequent registration period excess credit if the existing credit exceeds the amount of fees and taxes due at the time of ownership transfer.

 

9.      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.

 

10.  Allows the owner to apply to ADOT for a refund of the unexpired portion of fees and taxes paid if the owner surrenders the license plate or submits an affidavit of license plate destruction if the owner does forward credit to another vehicle and the refund is more than $350.

 

11.  Requires ADOT to compute the refund.

 

12.  Requires the owner to transfer the license plates, surrender the license plates to ADOT or a third party or submit an affidavit of license plate destruction within 30 days after transfer of title. 

 

13.  Requires the acquiring owner to apply for registration and/or title within 15 days after relinquishing title.

 

14.  Allows the ADOT Director to prorate the registration period to coincide with emissions inspection requirements.

 

15.  Requires the acquiring owner to display a temporary registration plate, permit or a valid license plate until ADOT records contain transfer information unless the acquiring owner is an insurer who acquires the vehicle pursuant to a claim settlement..

 

16.  Requires a fleet registrant to notify ADOT that the license plate has been removed from the vehicle to delete a vehicle from a fleet. 

 

17.  Authorizes ADOT to allow a fleet registrant to retain a license plate that is not transferred to another vehicle. Requires the fleet registrant to surrender the license plate to ADOT or a third party or submit an affidavit of license plate destruction upon denial of ADOT.

 

18.  Allows a person to relinquish the special plate to the new owner if a person sells, trades or releases ownership of the vehicle. Stipulates that the person releases priority to the special plate display. 

 

19.  Requires the new owner of the vehicle to apply to ADOT for issuance of the special plate.

 

20.  Eliminates the requirement that the license plate assigned to the vehicle remains on the vehicle.

 

21.  Decreases the number of days from 30 to 15 that a person is required to apply for certificate after the date of purchase or transfer of the vehicle.

 

22.  Stipulates that an owner 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.

 

23.  Requires the ADOT Director to adopt rules to administer the “plate to owner” system.

 

24.  Makes technical and conforming changes.

 

25.  Contains a delayed effective date of January 1, 2002 for all provisions except the appropriation.

 

Amendments Adopted by Transportation Committee

 

1.  Makes technical changes.

 

Amendments Adopted by Appropriations Committee

 

1.      Appropriates $849,800 from the state highway fund in FY 2000-2001 to ADOT to implement the plate to owner system.

 

Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole

 

1.      Expands the plate to owner system to all licensed vehicles.

 

2.      Increases the appropriation to $900,600.

 

House Action                                                              Senate Action                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

TRANS           1/11/00            DPA    9-0-0-0                        TRANS           2/17/00            DPA  6-0-1-0

3rd Read           1/18/00            DPA    58-0-2-0          APPROP         3/8/00              DPA  9-1-4-0

                                                                                    3rd Read           3/30/00                      30-0-0-0

 

 

Prepared by Senate Staff

March 31, 2000