Downloads
CS/CS/HB 87 — Registration and Titling of Vehicles and Vessels
by State Affairs Committee; Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee; and Rep. Ponder and others (CS/CS/SB 234 by Judiciary Committee; Infrastructure and Security Committee; and Senator Baxley)
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Infrastructure and Security Committee (IS)
The bill authorizes a natural person who owns a heavy truck that weighs between 5,001 and 7,999 pounds to renew his or her registration during his or her birth month rather than exclusively in December, as currently required by law. To implement the change in renewal dates, the bill requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) to prorate registration renewal fees to give customers the option to renew their registrations on their dates of birth in 2021 or 2022. Customers whose dates of birth occur in the months of January through June may choose to renew for one to 18 months, and customers whose dates of birth occur in the months of July through December may choose to renew for seven to 24 months. The bill limits the option to prorate to renewal or unexpired registrations and registrations that have been expired for not more than 30 days.
This change will allow a person to renew registrations for other motor vehicles at the same time as the heavy truck registration and will also benefit the DHSMV and tax collector offices by reducing the workload on their staffs in December.
The bill expands the documentation that is acceptable for a surviving spouse or owner to rely upon when applying to transfer title to a motor vehicle or vessel from a deceased person. By authorizing the DHSMV and tax collector offices to use an electronic file of death records maintained by the Department of Health to verify information, applicants are no longer required to personally produce a certified death certificate to complete the transfer.
If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect July 1, 2019, with a later effective date of September 1, 2020, for the revised heavy truck registration periods.
Vote: Senate 40-0; House 109-0