Bill Text: HI HB1590 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mopeds

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-01-28 - (H) Referred to TRN, JUD, referral sheet 3 [HB1590 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2011-HB1590-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1590
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to mopeds.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  Section 249-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§249-2  Imposition of tax.  Except as otherwise provided in sections 249-1 to 249-13, and except in the case of antique motor vehicles which shall be subject to an annual tax of $10 in lieu of the annual tax otherwise imposed by this section, all vehicles, mopeds, and motor vehicles as defined in section 249-1, shall be subject to an annual tax, computed, except for the minimum tax provided for in section 249-13 according to the net weight of each vehicle at a rate determined as hereinafter provided in section 249-13.  The tax shall be paid by the owner of each vehicle in the county in which the vehicle is located at the time of registration, whether the original registration or any subsequent registration, and shall be collected by the director of finance of such county; provided that if a vehicle is transported to another county after the payment of the tax, no additional tax shall be imposed on the vehicle for the remaining period of the year for which the tax has been paid."

     SECTION 2.  Section 249-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§249-4  Exemptions for new vehicles and official vehicles.  All new vehicles and mopeds, otherwise taxable under sections 249-1 to 249-13, in stock for purposes of sale, shall be exempt from the tax herein provided, and number plates for all these vehicles and mopeds may be issued as now and hereafter provided by ordinance of the county.  All motor vehicles owned or leased for twelve months or longer by the State or any county and all motor vehicles and motorcycles owned or leased for twelve months or longer by police officers of the State or any county that actually are used by them in their travel on official business shall be exempt from the tax herein provided, and number plates for all these vehicles may be issued as provided by ordinance of the county; provided that the director of finance may charge the State an amount equal to the cost to the county of the number plates issued to the State."

     SECTION 3.  Section 249-5.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§249-5.5  Stored vehicles.  (a)  All vehicles and mopeds taxable under sections 249-1, 249-2, 249-4 and 249-6 to 249-13, which are stored so that they are not used for transportation, or for the other purposes covered by section 249-2, shall be exempt from the tax for the period of storage; provided that the owner of each vehicle shall first present to the director of finance a signed statement of the fact of the storage, together with other relevant facts as may be required by the director of finance and shall surrender the last issued certificate of registration, license plates, and emblem for the vehicle and mopeds.  If the affidavit, certificate of registration, license plates, and emblem are presented to the director of finance after the expiration of the vehicle's registration period, then the unpaid tax for each month the license plates could have been validated with an emblem plus the fee for the currently issued license plates and emblem shall be paid in full upon presenting the affidavit.

     (b)  The director of finance may dispose of the license plates for any vehicle or moped whose registration has expired and the owner shall be required to purchase new license plates and a new emblem upon removing the vehicle or moped from storage.

     (c)  As a condition precedent to the removal of the vehicle or moped from storage, the owner of the vehicle or moped shall present to the director of finance a certificate of inspection that was issued after the recording of the storage with the director of finance if the certificate of inspection expired during the period of storage."

     SECTION 4.  Section 249-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§249-7  Number plates.  (a)  Upon receipt of the tax the director of finance shall number and register the vehicle or moped in the owner's name in a permanent record or book to be kept by the director for this purpose, and shall furnish the owner thereof with a receipt showing upon its face the license number issued for the vehicle or moped and the fact that the license tax has been paid thereon for the whole or the remainder of the current year in which the receipt is issued.  The director of finance shall also furnish the owner, upon the original registration of the vehicle or moped, two number plates for the vehicle or one plate in the case of trailers, semitrailers, mopeds, or motorcycles with the registration number marked thereon.  Upon the payment of the tax for each year a tag or emblem bearing a serial number and the month and year of expiration shall be provided to the owner.  Transfer of current number plates, tag, or emblem, except as authorized by this chapter or by chapter 286, is punishable by a fine of not more than $50 for each offense.

     (b)  Upon an original registration the director of finance shall fix, and shall charge to the owner, a fee equal to the cost of the number plate and tag or emblem plus the administrative cost of furnishing the plate and tag or emblem and effecting the registration.  Upon the issuance of a new series of number plates as determined by the directors of finance of each county through majority consent, the director of finance shall charge the owner a fee equal to the costs of the number plate plus the administrative cost of furnishing the plates.  Upon issuing a tag or emblem, the director of finance shall charge the owner a fee of 50 cents.  The owner shall securely fasten the number plates on the vehicle, one on the front and the other on the rear, at a location provided by the manufacturer or in the absence of such a location upon the bumpers of the vehicle and in conformance with section 291-31, in such a manner as to prevent the plates from swinging.  Number plates shall at all times be displayed entirely unobscured and be kept reasonably clean.  In the case of trailers, semitrailers, mopeds, or motorcycles, one plate shall be used and it shall be fastened to the rear thereof at a location provided by the manufacturer or in the absence of such a location at the rear thereof, and in the case of motorcycles in conformance with section 291-31.

     (c)  Upon the issuance of the tag or emblem the owner shall affix the tag or emblem to the top right portion of the rear number plate, except that all vehicles owned by the State, any county government, any board of water supply, and official representatives of any foreign governments shall be issued registrations which need be renewed only in the new plate issue year.

     (d)  After the initial payment of the tax and the original registration of a vehicle or moped as herein specified, a motor vehicle shall not be required to be reweighed in any succeeding year unless it has been so altered or changed as to increase or diminish its weight.  No new number plates shall, however, be issued to a new owner except as provided in sections 249-7.5 and 249-8.

     (e)  If an owner of a vehicle or moped registered in any county, upon the disposition of the vehicle or moped, requests that the license plates furnished to the owner with respect to the registration of the vehicle or moped be assigned to another vehicle or moped subsequently acquired by the owner, the assignment may be made by the director of finance at the director's discretion.  To defray additional administrative costs incurred by acceding to those requests, the director of finance shall charge a fee of $5 for each reassignment of license plates, in addition to the fee for registration.  The procedure for registering the vehicles shall otherwise be identical with that provided by this section."

     SECTION 5.  Section 249-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§249-8  Replacements for lost or damaged plates, tags, or emblems.  Upon the loss, defacement, or destruction of a number plate or plates, tag or emblem issued upon any vehicle or moped, or where the number plate, tag, or emblem has become illegible or is in such condition as to be difficult to read, the owner of the vehicle shall make application for a new number plate or plates, tag, or emblem upon such form as shall be prescribed by the county director of finance.  The owner shall be required, in addition to other requirements, to make a complete statement as to the cause of the loss, defacement, or destruction of the original number plate or plates, tag, or emblem.  Upon the filing of such form, the director of finance shall issue a new number plate or plates, tag, or emblem and shall charge the owner a fee to be fixed by the director of finance equal to the costs of the number plate, tag, or emblem, plus the administrative cost of furnishing the plate, tag, or emblem and effecting the replacement."

     SECTION 6.  Section 249-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "§249-9  Number plates; purchase.  (a)  The number plates hereinabove referred to shall be used upon all vehicles or mopeds for which a tax has been paid pursuant to sections 249-1 to 249-13.  All such plates shall:

     (1)  Bear the word "Hawaii" along the upper portion of the plate and the words "Aloha State" along the lower portion of the plate;

     (2)  Have a distinct contrast between the color of the plate and the numerals and letters thereon; and

     (3)  Be of such shape, size, and color, and with such arrangements of letters and numbers as may, subject to sections 249-1 to 249-13, be determined by the directors of finance of each county through majority consent.

The numerals on all such plates shall be not less than three inches in height and the strokes thereof not less than three- eighths inch in width, except in the case of motorcycles, in which case the numerals shall not be less than one inch in height and the strokes thereof not less than one-eighth inch in width.

     The director of finance of the city and county of Honolulu shall contract annually on behalf of the counties for the purchase of all number plates, tags, or emblems required.  The council of each county shall appropriate and cause to be paid over to the party with whom the director of finance of the city and county of Honolulu shall contract, or to the director of finance of the city and county of Honolulu as the director may direct, such sum or sums as the director of finance of the city and county of Honolulu shall determine to be the county's proportionate share of the expense of such contract and the charges connected therewith.  The contract shall be made by the director of finance of the city and county of Honolulu as agent of the several counties, and the proportionate liability of each county shall be stated in the contract.  Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, the contract shall constitute a valid obligation of each county for its proportionate share."

     SECTION 7.  Section 249-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "§249-11  Fraudulent use of plates, tags, or emblems and other misdemeanors; penalties.  (a)  Any person who manufactures, sells, or distributes vehicle or moped number plates, tags, or emblems of a design and size similar to the currently issued series of number plates, tags, or emblems authorized by the director of finance, or who attaches to and uses on any vehicle or moped plates, tags, or emblems not furnished in accordance with sections 249-1 to 249-13 or 286-53, or who fraudulently uses such number plates, tags, or emblems upon any vehicle other than the one for which the number plates, tags, or emblems were issued, or who molests or disturbs any vehicle which has been seized pursuant to sections 249-1 to 249-13, or any person who knowingly uses a motor vehicle or moped, the tax upon which is delinquent, upon public highways of this State, or any director of finance who issues a certificate of registration or number plates, tags, or emblems to any person who has not paid the tax required by sections 249-1 to 249-13, or any person who violates any of the provisions of such sections, shall be fined not more than $500."

     SECTION 8.  Section 249-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "§249-13  Determination of rate.  (a)  The council shall determine the rate and the minimum tax at which all vehicles, mopeds, and motor vehicles in each respective county shall be taxed as provided by section 249-2.  In making the determination, the rate and minimum tax on trucks or noncommercial motor vehicles shall be in accordance with subsection (b).  The rate and minimum tax shall be established by ordinance, provided that prior to final action thereon a public hearing shall be held on the proposed rate.  Public notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given at least ten days prior to the hearing in the county.  After the public hearing the council may fix the rate and the minimum tax at any amount deemed necessary, but the rate and the minimum shall not be higher than that originally proposed when the notice of public hearing was given.  Any rate and minimum tax so established shall be effective as of January 1 of the year following the date of enactment of the ordinance."

     SECTION 9.  Section 249-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  An owner of a bicycle having two tandem wheels that are less than twenty inches in diameter is not required to register such bicycle, but may do so to facilitate the return of recovered stolen bicycles by payment of the registration fee.  The fee collected shall not be refunded or prorated.  Upon receipt of the fee, the director of finance shall number and register each bicycle and moped for which the fee is paid, in the owner's name and furnish the owner with a metallic tag or decal for each bicycle or moped which shall be attached to the bicycle or moped.  On bicycles the decal shall be affixed to the upright post attached to the sprocket facing in the forward direction.  [On mopeds the decal shall be affixed to the lower portion of the rear fender facing rearward.]  Upon initial registration by an owner or transferee, the director of finance shall require proof of ownership and require the owner to furnish verification of the serial number and description contained in the proof of ownership and application for registration.  The metallic tags or decals shall be in a form as the director of finance shall from time to time prescribe.  It shall be the duty of the director of finance of each county to purchase a sufficient number of these tags or decals."

     SECTION 10.  Section 249-14.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§249-14.5  New bicycles and mopeds.  All new bicycles and mopeds, otherwise requiring the payment of fees under section 249-14, held in stock for purposes of sale shall be exempt from the fee.  At the time of first sale, the dealer selling the new bicycle or moped shall:

     (1)  Require the buyer to complete a license application form furnished by the director of finance;

     (2)  Issue a copy of the completed form to the buyer; and

     (3)  Transmit a copy of the completed form to the director of finance with the required fees which the dealer has collected from the buyer.

Upon receipt of the fee and the completed license application form, the director of finance shall mail a tag or decal and certificate of registration to the registered owner of a bicycle.  Until the tag or decal is received, the bicycle [or moped] owner shall keep a copy of the completed application form upon the owner's person when riding the bicycle [or moped] on a public street."

     SECTION 11.  Section 249-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§249-15  Seizure and sale.  The directors of finance, any person authoritatively acting on behalf of the director of finance, or any member of a police force of the several counties of the State may seize any bicycle or moped liable for the payment of the required fees or which has no tag or decal or license plate affixed as required by section 249-7 or 249-14, and may hold the bicycle or moped for a period of ten days, during which time it shall be subject to redemption by its owner on payment of the fee due and a penalty of $1.  All bicycles and mopeds not so redeemed shall be sold by the county chief of police or director of finance or their authorized representative, at public auction after first giving five days public notice of the time and place of sale in the county where the sale is to be held.  Sale shall be made for the best price obtainable, which amount shall be forthwith paid over to the director of finance, accompanied by a statement containing a description of the bicycles or mopeds, their serial number, makes, and any other marks of identification.  The director of finance, after deducting from the amount so received the amount of the fee and penalty due and costs of giving public notice, shall pay any surplus to the previous registered owners of the bicycles or mopeds.  If at the expiration of ninety days the previous registered owners remain unknown, the surplus shall be paid into the treasury of the county, as a government realization, and all claims to the sums shall be forever barred."

     SECTION 12.  Section 249-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§249-16  Duplicate bicycle and moped tags and certificates of registration.  In the event that a bicycle [or moped] tag or certificate of registration furnished under section 249-14 or 249-14.2 is lost, stolen, or mutilated, or becomes illegible, the person to whom it was furnished may obtain a duplicate thereof by presenting to the county director of finance the number and registration of the bicycle [or moped] involved.  There shall be a charge of $2 for the duplicate tag and $5 for the duplicate certificate of registration."

     SECTION 13.  Section 249-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§249-17  False tag, bicycle or moped, penalty.  Any person who uses a tag not furnished in accordance with section 249-14, or who counterfeits any such tag or who fraudulently removes such a tag from any bicycle [or moped,] shall be fined not more than $500."

     SECTION 14.  Section 291C-195, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:

     "(e)  [Three-wheeled mopeds] Mopeds, as defined in section 286-2, shall be insured for liability and property damage, excluding personal injury protection.  The moped liability and property damage insurance shall have a coverage of not less than $5,000 per occurrence."

     SECTION 15.  Section 291C-196, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  Every person driving a moped, [except a three-wheeled moped,] as defined in section 286-2, upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at such time shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction, except under any of the following situations:

     (1)  When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway, except where prohibited by official traffic-control devices;

     (2)  When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge; and

     (3)  When a roadway is designated and signposted to carry traffic in one direction only and has two or more marked traffic lanes, a person operating a moped may ride as near to the left-hand side of the roadway as practicable."

     SECTION 16.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 17.  This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2012.

 

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Mopeds

 

Description:

Requires mopeds to have license plates, similar to motorcycles, as opposed to tags.  Treats mopeds like motor vehicles instead of bicycles for registration purposes.  Provides for liability and property damage insurance for two-wheeled mopeds.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.