Revision: Jan. 26, 2009, midnight
HB 629-FN-A – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
03/05
HOUSE BILL 629-FN-A
AN ACT revising certain motor vehicle laws.
SPONSORS: Rep. Drisko, Hills 5; Rep. Bergin, Hills 6
This bill:
I. Directs uniform carrier registration fees to the highway fund.
II. Establishes penalties for uniform carrier registration requirements.
III. Requires an identifying plate or decal for certain implements of husbandry.
IV. Establishes a fee for walking disability placards.
V. Prohibits travel in the breakdown lane on certain ways.
VI. Authorizes the use of alternate flashing headlamps by certain department of transportation vehicles.
This bill was requested by the department of safety.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0457
03/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT revising certain motor vehicle laws.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Duties of Commissioner; Fees. Amend RSA 21-P:4, XIV(d) to read as follows:
(d) To adopt rules, under RSA 541-A, as are necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this paragraph. Such rules may include, without limitation, rules establishing registration fees and other fees sufficient to cover the direct and indirect costs of administration and enforcement of this section. All fees collected under this section shall be deposited into the [general] highway fund.
2 Habitual Offender; Offenses Added. Amend RSA 259:39, I(r)-(s) to read as follows:
(r) Conviction of any offense specified in RSA 265:82; [or]
(s) Conviction of any offense specified in RSA 265:82-a;
(t) Conviction of any offense specified in RSA 262:23;
(u) Conviction of any offense specified in RSA 265-A:43; or
(v) Conviction of any offense specified in RSA 265:79-b.
3 Words and Phrases Defined; Implement of Husbandry. Amend RSA 259:44 to read as follows:
259:44 Implement of Husbandry. “Implement of husbandry” shall mean equipment designed[,] or adapted[,] and used exclusively for agricultural, horticultural, forestry, or livestock operations, for which use on a public way is incidental to its intended function. “Implement of husbandry” shall include a self-propelled custom harvester, sprayer, soil amendment spreader, or forage mower.
4 New Section; Unified Carrier Registration Required. Amend RSA 261 by inserting after section 40 the following new section:
261:40-a Unified Carrier Registration Required. It is a violation for any person to drive or for the owner or lessee to cause to be driven on the ways of this state a motor vehicle subject to registration under the provisions of the Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005, 49 U.S.C. section 14504a, as amended, unless the motor vehicle has been registered and the appropriate fee paid. The fine for a violation of this section shall be not more than $500 plus penalty assessment for a first offense and $1,000 plus penalty assessment for a subsequent offense in a 12-month period.
5 New Paragraph; Implements of Husbandry; Identification. Amend RSA 261:64 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
III. Implements of husbandry shall not be operated on toll roads or on the interstate and defense highway system. When implements of husbandry not meeting the definition of a tractor in RSA 259:108 are moved over any other way, the power unit shall display in a conspicuous location an identifying decal or plate issued by the division. The fee for each identifying decal or plate shall be $25 for an implement weighing no more than 15,000 pounds and $50 for an implement weighing 15,001 pounds or more. The director may adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A specifying the location for display of the identifying decal or plate, specifying such limitations as the director deems necessary for the safety of other highway users by restricting speeds of operation and operation after daylight hours, and specifying safety, conspicuity, and lighting equipment requirements.
6 Walking Disability Placard; Fee. Amend RSA 261:88, V-VI to read as follows:
V. Upon application and for a fee of $1, the department shall furnish a hanging windshield placard without charge to a person with a walking disability who satisfactorily furnishes proof of such disability to the director. Any nonprofit agency serving a person with a walking disability may apply to the department for a hanging windshield placard. An applicant for such placard shall furnish the director with satisfactory proof, as the director may require, that the applicant will use the placard solely for the transportation of a person with a walking disability. The quantity of placards issued under this paragraph shall be at the discretion of the director. This placard shall meet the standards set forth in 23 C.F.R. part 1235, appendix A. The removable windshield placard shall be displayed in such a manner that it may be viewed from the front and rear of the vehicle by hanging it from the front windshield rearview mirror of a vehicle utilizing a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities. When there is no rearview mirror, the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard. A request from any nonprofit agency for a placard shall be approved by the administrator of the nonprofit agency and any other application for such a placard shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician, podiatrist, or advanced registered nurse practitioner that the applicant has a walking disability as defined in paragraph I. The placard shall expire 5 years from the date of issuance, and the expiration date shall be noted on the placard. The placard shall be renewed, upon application on forms provided by the director, if the director determines that the disability which necessitated the issuance of the placard continues. Upon request of the applicant, the director shall issue one additional placard to the applicant if the applicant does not have special license plates.
VI. Upon the application of a person with a temporary walking disability and for a fee of $1, the director shall issue a temporary removable windshield placard. The placard shall comply with the standards set forth in 23 C.F.R. part 1235, appendix B. The temporary removable windshield placard shall be displayed in such a manner that it may be viewed from the front and the rear of the vehicle by hanging it from the front windshield rearview mirror of a vehicle utilizing a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities. When there is no rearview mirror, the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard. Upon request, the director shall issue one additional temporary removable windshield placard to applicants. Application for a temporary removable windshield placard shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician, podiatrist, or advanced registered nurse practitioner that the applicant has a walking disability as defined in paragraph I. The certification shall also include the period of time that the physician, podiatrist, or advanced registered nurse practitioner determines the applicant will have the disability, which period of time shall not exceed 6 months. The expiration date of the temporary placard shall be noted on the placard.
7 Highway Markings. Amend RSA 265:22 to read as follows:
265:22 Highway Markings.
I. The commissioner of transportation and, subject to his or her approval, selectmen or town council of any town or board of mayor and aldermen or city council or group having similar powers in any city, having control of any highway may order such marking of ways, by painted lines, as is deemed necessary to the safe and efficient use of any such way. In ordering or approving such marking the commissioner of transportation insofar as is practicable shall conform to nationally accepted standards and any marking of the way by painted lines shall prima facie be deemed to be approved or ordered by the commissioner of transportation. When the single center line highway marking method is used, no driver of a vehicle shall, while proceeding along a way, drive any part of such vehicle to the left of or across an unbroken painted line marked on the way by order of or with the approval of the said commissioner, except as herein otherwise provided and when the barrier line highway marking system is employed, no driver of a vehicle shall, while proceeding along a way, drive any part of such vehicle to the left of or across an unbroken painted line marked on the way in such driver’s lane by order of or with the approval of said commissioner except:
(a) In an emergency; or
(b) To permit ingress or egress to side roads or property adjacent to the highway; or
(c) In case such driver has an unobstructed view and can see the end of the [said] unbroken painted line.
II. With the exception of any state, federal, county, or municipal vehicle or any agent thereof, operating in furtherance of his or her official duties or any vehicle in an emergency, no vehicle shall be driven to the right of the unbroken painted line marking the barrier between the travel portion of a way and the emergency breakdown lane.
III. The fine for a violation of this section shall be $100 plus penalty assessment.
8 Spillage of Material; Farming Operations. Amend RSA 266:72, IV to read as follows:
IV. The provisions of paragraphs I, II, II-a, and III of this section shall not apply to a local farmer transporting his or her own farm products or materials incidental to [his] a local farming [operations] operation where such transporting requires incidental use of a way, provided that such farmer shall not thereby be relieved of his or her duty to exercise reasonable care [in carrying on such operations] to prevent hazardous spillage.
9 Flashing Lamps; Pavement Marking. Amend RSA 266:78-e to read as follows:
266:78-e Other Flashing Lamps Prohibited. Only authorized emergency vehicles and vehicles of the department of transportation when engaged in pavement marking and line striping operations may be equipped with a device that provides for alternate flashing of headlamps.
10 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
09-0457
01/22/09
HB 629-FN-A - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT revising certain motor vehicle laws.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant is unable to complete a fiscal note for this bill as it is awaiting information from the Department of Corrections. When completed, the fiscal note will be forwarded to the House Clerk's Office.