Bill Text: GA SB239 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: License Plates; unregistered vehicle; presumption of residency under certain circumstances; displaying out-of-state license plate
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-22 - Senate Tabled [SB239 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-SB239-Comm_Sub.html
12 LC
39 0115S
The
Senate Transportation Committee offered the following substitute to SB
239:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 2 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to registration and licensing of motor vehicles, so as to provide for an
inference of residency under certain circumstances for drivers of vehicles
displaying a license plate not issued by this state; to provide for exceptions
to such inference; to provide for instances for issuing uniform traffic
citations for resident drivers with licenses plates not issued by this state; to
provide for motor vehicle insurers to submit information regarding out of state
insurance coverage transfers to the Department of Driver Services; to provide
for an effective date and applicability; to provide for related matters; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
2 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
registration and licensing of motor vehicles, is amended in subsection (a) of
Code Section 40-2-8, relating to the operation of an unregistered vehicle or
vehicle without a current license plate, revalidation decal, or county decal, as
follows:
"(a)(1)
Any person owning or operating any vehicle described in Code Section 40-2-20 on
any public highway or street without complying with that Code section shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, provided that a person shall register his or her motor
vehicle within 30 days after becoming a resident of this state.
(2)
Any person
renting,
or
leasing, or
loaning any vehicle described in Code
Section 40-2-20 which is being used on any public highway or street without
complying with that Code section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
and,
(3)
In any criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts alleged to have been
committed by any person in violation of this subsection, the trier of fact may,
in its discretion, infer that the driver of a vehicle displaying a license plate
not issued by this state has violated this subsection if the person operating
the vehicle presents a Georgia driver's license that was issued more than 30
days prior to the date of the stop; provided, however, that no such inference
may be drawn if the driver presented at the time of arrest or
citation:
(A)
A valid military identification card;
(B)
A current student identification card for attendance in a postsecondary school
of this state;
(C)
Documentation evidencing that the driver owns or leases a residence outside this
state;
(D)
Documentation evidencing that the driver temporarily borrowed the vehicle from a
nonresident owner; or
(E)
Documentation evidencing that the vehicle is owned or leased by a corporation
incorporated outside this state.
(4)
An initial uniform traffic citation may be issued for an alleged violation of
this subsection when the vehicle is stopped by a law enforcement officer to
enforce any other traffic laws and ordinances in effect in this state. If the
vehicle remains unregistered after 30 days have passed since the issuance of an
initial citation for a violation of this subsection, a law enforcement officer
may initiate a stop of a vehicle alleged to be in violation of this subsection
on such basis alone.
(5)
upon
A
conviction
thereof,
under this
subsection shall be punished by a fine of
$100.00 for each violation; and each day that such vehicle is operated in
violation of Code Section 40-2-20 shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct
offense.
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended in subparagraph (b)(1)(B) of Code Section 40-2-137,
relating to notice and electronic transmission of insurance coverage and
termination by insurers, as follows:
"(B)
In cases in which the minimum motor vehicle insurance coverage required by
Chapter 34 of Title 33 terminates
or is
transferred to another state, the insurer
shall by electronic transmission notify the department of such coverage
termination on or before the date coverage ends or,
in cases of a
transfer request or if termination is at
the request of the insured, then on the date such request is processed by the
insurer. Insurance coverage termination
or
transfer information included in such
notice shall include
the
vehicle identification number and the date of coverage termination
or
transfer. For the purposes of this Code
section, the Commissioner of Insurance shall furnish such notices to the
department upon termination
or
transfer of a certificate of
self-insurance."
SECTION
3.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, and shall apply to offenses
committed on or after such date.
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are
repealed.