Bill Text - SB457 (2010)

Authorizing identifying decals for custom vehicles.


Revision: April 27, 2010, midnight

SB 457-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

21Apr2010… 1255h

2010 SESSION

10-2896

03/05

SENATE BILL 457-FN

AN ACT authorizing identifying decals for custom vehicles.

SPONSORS: Sen. Hassan, Dist 23; Sen. Letourneau, Dist 19; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3

COMMITTEE: Transportation and Interstate Cooperation

ANALYSIS

This bill authorizes identifying decals for custom vehicles and requires that custom vehicles be inspected in April.

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

21Apr2010… 1255h

10-2896

03/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten

AN ACT authorizing identifying decals for custom vehicles.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Motor Vehicles; Words and Phrases Defined; Custom Vehicle. Amend RSA 259 by inserting after section 17 the following new section:

259:17-a Custom Vehicle. “Custom vehicle” shall mean any motor vehicle that is at least 30 model years old and has been altered from the manufacturer’s original design or has a body constructed from non-original materials, but which is not a street rod and does not weigh more than 6,000 pounds.

2 Vehicle Identification Number. Amend RSA 261:89-c to read as follows:

261:89-c Vehicle Identification Number for Street Rods and Custom Vehicles. The vehicle identification number or “VIN” for a street rod or custom vehicle shall be the number stamped on the frame of the vehicle, or if no such number, as established pursuant to RSA 261:22, I.

3 New Section; Identifying Decals for Vehicles Registered as Custom Vehicles. Amend RSA 261 by inserting after section 89-c the following new section:

261:89-d Identifying Decals for Vehicles Registered as Custom Vehicles. The director is hereby authorized to design and to issue, under such rules as the director deems appropriate, distinctive identifying decals to be placed on the windshield of a custom vehicles at the time of registration designating the vehicle as a custom vehicle. Such decal shall be issued only upon receipt of a duly executed certificate in a format designated by the director indicating the year and make of the body that the custom vehicle resembles or was based upon and verifying that the vehicle is garaged and maintained in the state, that the vehicle is in fact a custom vehicle as defined in RSA 259:17-a, and that the vehicle is not intended for daily commuting use. A special fee in the amount of $15 shall be paid for the identifying decal. This special fee shall be in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration fee and shall be paid to the state treasurer and credited to the highway fund. Any state trooper or any individual who is authorized by the director to perform motor vehicle inspections provided by RSA 266:1, V is hereby authorized to perform the verification required by this section. A certificate of verification and decal issued under this section shall be transferable in the event the vehicle described by such certificate is sold or the ownership is otherwise transferred or conveyed. A vehicle displaying a custom vehicle identifying decal shall not be required to display a number plate on the front of the vehicle.

4 Inspection of Custom Vehicles. Amend RSA 266:1, III to read as follows:

III. If the owner of the vehicle is a company or corporation or other than a natural person, the annual inspection shall be made during the month designated by the director as the registration month for such legal entity. Vehicles registered as antique motor vehicles and antique motorcycles and which are 40 years old and over shall be inspected biennially. Antique motor vehicles and custom vehicles shall be inspected in the month of April. Without regard to the owner's birth date or registration month, motorcycles and recreational vehicles shall be inspected annually by July 1.

5 New Subdivision; Custom Vehicles. Amend RSA 266 by inserting after section 114 the following new subdivision:

Custom Vehicles

266:115 Equipment Required of Custom Vehicles.

I. A vehicle registered as a custom vehicle shall be equipped as prescribed by RSA 266 and state of New Hampshire official inspection station rules adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A, as they may be applicable to such vehicles.

II. Notwithstanding paragraph I, custom vehicles shall be equipped with the following:

(a) Hydraulic service brakes on all wheels.

(b) Sealed beam or halogen headlamps or headlamps complying with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 108.

(c) Seat belts for all passengers.

(d) Turn signal lamps and switch.

(e) Safety glass or polycarbonate resin thermoplastic.

(f) Electric or vacuum windshield wipers located in front of the driver and front seat passenger.

(g) Parking brake operating on at least 2 wheels on the same axle.

(h) Headlamps, parking lamps, tail lamps, and brake lamps, which may include blue dot tail lamps.

(i) Bumpers, fenders, and hoods.

III. Exhaust systems discharging along the side of the vehicle shall be allowed on custom vehicles, provided the exhaust discharge point is to the rear of the rear edge of the front door and such system shall direct exhaust gas away from the vehicle.

IV. The ground clearance for a custom vehicle shall be such that the vehicle shall be able to be in motion and functional while on its 4 rims on a flat surface, and no part of the suspension, steering, or chassis shall touch that surface.

V. The director may adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, as are necessary to implement this subdivision.

6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.

LBAO

10-2896 Amended 04/26/10

SB 457 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT authorizing identifying decals for custom vehicles.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Department of Safety states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2010-1255h), will increase state restricted revenue and expenditures, and local revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no fiscal impact on county revenue, or county and local expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

    This Department of Safety states this bill would establish the designation of “custom vehicles”, and include the use of a distinctive identifying decal to be placed on the front windshield. The Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) states that any revenue generated by this bill cannot be estimated, since they cannot determine the number of owners of custom vehicles who might apply to receive the decal at $15 per decal. Any increase in state highway fund revenue would result in a corresponding increase in state highway fund expenditures for local highway aid of 12% of the highway fund revenue increase (pursuant to RSA 235:23). The impact on state highway fund expenditures would also include approximately $78,750 in computer programming costs (450 hours at $175 per hour) required to identify and track this vehicle type within the plate type being used. There would also be costs associated with decal material and printing which would be dependent on the size of the decal, the number of decals printed, and postage if the decals are sent to recipients. The exact fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time.