CHAPTER 317
SB 325 – FINAL VERSION
02/23/06 0998s
26Apr2006… 1600h
05/24/06…2331eba
2006 SESSION
03/09
SENATE BILL 325
AN ACT making technical corrections and other changes to motor vehicle laws.
SPONSORS: Sen. Letourneau, Dist 19; Sen. Morse, Dist 22; Sen. Clegg, Dist 14; Sen. Burling, Dist 5; Sen. Estabrook, Dist 21; Rep. Packard, Rock 3; Rep. Ferland, Sull 5
COMMITTEE: Transportation and Interstate Cooperation
This bill:
I. Corrects various obsolete or incorrect references in the motor vehicle laws.
II. Requires retail vehicle dealers to notify the department of safety of vehicle sales to Massachusetts residents.
III. Permits a person to receive multiple walking disability motorcycle plates.
IV. Establishes exceptions to vehicle width limitations for snowplows, motor homes, trailer coaches, and recreation vehicles.
V. Establishes disclosure requirements for title and registration recovery fees charged by rental companies.
VI. Clarifies certain vehicle registration requirements.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
02/23/06 0998s
26Apr2006… 1600h
05/24/06…2331eba
06-2025
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT making technical corrections and other changes to motor vehicle laws.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
317:1 Rulemaking; Reference Changed. Amend RSA 21-P:14, III(r) to read as follows:
(r) Exemption from the registration requirement for certain [highway building] construction equipment, as authorized by RSA 261:64.
317:2 Permits Required; Reference Changed. Amend RSA 261:42 to read as follows:
261:42 Permits Required. No vehicle owned by a nonresident and used for commercial or business purposes shall be registered under the provisions of this chapter until the owner thereof has obtained a permit from the department and has paid the required fee, provided, however, that no permit shall be required for the registration of [highway building] construction equipment as defined in RSA 259:42, or vehicles which because of their design, size, or weight are prohibited by law from ordinary or regular use upon the highways of the state, and provided further that no permit shall be required of a resident of a state, district, or country which grants to a resident of this state reciprocal privileges as determined by the director, whose determination shall be final.
317:3 Permits for Construction Equipment. Amend RSA 265:7 to read as follows:
265:7 Permits for [Highway Building] Construction Equipment. The board or officer having charge of a way or in the case of a state way or way determined by the state highway department to be a through route, the state highway commissioner may issue a permit for the use of [highway building] construction equipment upon such a way. Such permit shall limit the time within which it shall be in force and during which the ways may be used and shall contain any provisions or conditions necessary for the protection of such ways from injury.
317:4 Prerequisites to Tests; Reference Changed. Amend RSA 265:87, I-a to read as follows:
I-a. Before any post-arrest physical test specified in RSA [264:84] 265:84 is given, the law enforcement officer shall inform the defendant of the consequences of the defendant's refusal to comply with the law enforcement officer's instructions for a post-arrest physical test.
317:5 Exception for Construction Equipment. Amend RSA 266:20 to read as follows:
266:20 Exception for [Highway Building] Construction Equipment. The provisions of RSA 266:18 shall not prohibit the driving of [highway building] construction equipment and motor vehicles used in the construction or maintenance of highways, provided that such equipment is used within a highway construction zone or extensions thereof as prescribed by the commissioner of the department of transportation. The provisions of this section shall apply equally to all vehicles used for transporting distributable loads of construction materials within such zones.
317:6 Exception for Winter Highway Maintenance; Reference Changed. Amend RSA 266:21 to read as follows:
266:21 Exception for Winter Highway Maintenance. Any [highway building] construction equipment and motor vehicles used for the winter maintenance of ways that are owned, leased, or rented by the state or any political subdivision of the state are exempt from the limitations in RSA 266:18, [and] RSA 266:11, and [12] RSA 266:12.
317:7 Spillage of Material; Reference Changed. Amend RSA 266:72, V(a) to read as follows:
(a) The operation of [highway building] construction equipment as defined in RSA 259:42 and motor vehicles used in the construction of highways provided that such equipment or motor vehicle is used within a highway construction zone as prescribed by the commissioner of transportation, provided that the driver of any such vehicle shall not thereby be relieved of [his] the duty to exercise reasonable care;
317:8 New Section; General Registration; Vehicle Sold to a Massachusetts Resident. Amend RSA 261 by inserting after section 56 the following new section:
261:56-a Vehicle Sold to a Massachusetts Resident. A retail vehicle dealer selling a vehicle to a resident of Massachusetts shall complete a form designed by the director that provides notification of the sale to the department. The retail vehicle dealer shall provide a copy to the customer, retain a copy, and return the original to the director.
317:9 New Paragraph; Walking Disability Plates; Motorcycles. Amend RSA 261:88 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
II-a. A person with a walking disability may receive separate special number plates for each motorcycle owned by the person.
317:10 New Sections; Equipment of Vehicles; Width; Snowplows and Motor Homes. Amend RSA 266 by inserting after section 13 the following new sections:
266:13-a Snowplows; Exception. A truck used for snow plowing may be driven on the ways of this state with a plow not exceeding 108 inches in width.
266:13-b Appurtenances on Motor Homes, Trailer Coaches, and Recreation Vehicles. A motor home, trailer coach, or recreation vehicle may be driven on the ways of this state when the overall width is greater than 102 inches, provided the excess over 102 inches is solely due to a non-load-carrying appurtenance that extends no more than 6 inches beyond the body of the vehicle. The term “appurtenance” does not include any item that is temporarily affixed to the exterior of the vehicle by the vehicle’s owner for the purpose of transporting the item from one location to another, but does include an awning and its support hardware and other items that are intended to be an integral part of the vehicle and were installed by the motor vehicle manufacturer or dealer.
317:11 New Section; Motor Vehicles; Words and Phrases Defined; Motor Home. Amend RSA 259 by inserting after section 58 the following new section:
259:58-a Motor Home. “Motor home” shall mean a self-propelled, completely self-contained vehicle that includes the conveniences of a home, including cooking, sleeping, and permanent sanitary facilities, and a driver’s seat that is accessible in a walking position from the living quarters.
317:12 Administration of Motor Vehicle Laws; Records and Certification. Amend RSA 260:14, III-IV to read as follows:
III. Motor vehicle records may be made available pursuant to a court order or in response to a request from a state, a political subdivision of a state, [pursuant to a court order,] the federal government, or a law enforcement agency for use in official business. The request shall be on a case-by-case basis. Any records received pursuant to this [section] paragraph shall not be further transferred or otherwise made available to any other person or listed entity not authorized under this paragraph.
III-a. Except for a person's photograph, computerized image, and social security number, motor vehicle records may be made available to the department of transportation for the enforcement of the electronic toll collection, pursuant to RSA 236:31. Any records received under this [section] paragraph shall not be further transferred or otherwise made available to any non-governmental agency that is not a contracting agent of the department of transportation for the enforcement of electronic toll collection.
III-b. A corporation that is operating under an active DD Form 441 Department of Defense Security Agreement and has a facility located within the state may request that the commissioner grant a waiver to the corporation that would permit it to obtain the name and address of the owner of any motor vehicle that is on or adjacent to the corporation’s property within the state of New Hampshire. The corporation shall only use information received under this paragraph for security purposes. The commissioner may grant or renew the waiver for any period up to one year. During the period when the waiver is valid, the police department of jurisdiction shall, upon request, provide to the corporation’s security operations center supervisor, or equivalent person, the name and address of the owner of any motor vehicle on or adjacent to the corporation’s property within the state of New Hampshire.
IV.(a) Except for a person's photograph, computerized image, and social security number, motor vehicle records shall be made available, upon proof of the identity of the person requesting the records and representation by such person on a form satisfactory to the department that the records will be strictly limited to one of the following described uses:
(1) Motor vehicle manufacturers, or their authorized agents, for use in connection with matters of motor vehicle or driver safety and theft; motor vehicle emissions; motor vehicle product alterations, recalls, or advisories; performance monitoring of motor vehicles and dealers by motor vehicle manufacturers; and removal of non-owner records from the original owner records of motor vehicle manufacturers to carry out the purposes of the Automobile Information Disclosure Act, the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Saving Act, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, the Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992, and the Clean Air Act.
(2) Insurance companies authorized to write automobile and personal excess liability insurance policies, or by self-insured entities, or their authorized agents, for use in connection with claims investigation activities, anti-fraud activities, rating, or underwriting.
(b) No motor vehicle records made available under this [section] paragraph shall be sold, rented, transferred, or otherwise made available in whole or in part, in any form or format, directly or indirectly, to another person, except that an authorized agent may make such records available to any principal on whose behalf the records were sought if the name of that principal was provided to the department at the time the records were sought.
317:13 New Section; Rental Vehicle Title and Registration Recovery Fee. Amend RSA 261 by inserting after section 31 the following new section:
261:31-a Rental Vehicle Title and Registration Recovery Fee. A vehicle title and registration recovery fee charged to customers by a company engaged in the rental of motor vehicles shall be fully disclosed to the customer by being separately stated and identified on the rental agreement.
317:14 Registration Required. Amend RSA 261:40 to read as follows:
261:40 Registration Required. Except as otherwise provided, it is a violation for any person to drive or any owner or custodian to knowingly permit or cause to be driven on the ways of this state any vehicle [of a type required to be registered hereunder] which is not specifically exempt by statute or rule from the requirement of registration, unless the same has been registered and the appropriate fee paid in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The fine for a violation of this section shall be $100.
317:15 New Section; Proof of Valid Registration. Amend RSA 261 by inserting after section 59 the following new section:
261:59-a Proof of Valid Registration. No person shall be arrested for a violation of RSA 261:40, nor shall any person’s vehicle be towed on account of being unregistered, solely because a computer check indicates that the registration has expired, if the driver presents to the officer a facially legitimate, current registration certificate and the number plates have current, serially numbered decals attached, the serial numbers of which match the numbers on the registration certificate. This section shall not apply in any case where the certificate or decals appear to be counterfeit or altered or the computer check indicates that the plates have been suspended or revoked.
317:16 Registration Required. RSA 261:40 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
261:40 Registration Required. Except as otherwise provided, it is a violation for any person to drive or any owner or custodian to knowingly permit or cause to be driven on the ways of this state any vehicle which is not specifically exempt by statute or rule from the requirement of registration, unless the same has been registered and the appropriate fee paid in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The fine for a violation of this section shall be $72.
317:17 Contingency. If HB 1243-FN of the 2006 legislative session becomes law, section 16 of this act shall take effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day one day after the passage of the state operating budget for the biennium ending June 30, 2009. If HB 1243-FN does not become law, section 16 of this act shall not take effect.
317:18 Effective Date.
I. Section 16 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 17 of this act.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 19, 2006
Effective: I. Section 16 shall take effect as provided in section 17
II. Remainder shall take effect August 18, 2006