Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                                   S.B. 16
                            MOTOR VEHICLE ACT AMENDMENTS
                                           2024 GENERAL SESSION
                                                 STATE OF UTAH
                                       Chief Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper House Sponsor: Karen M. Peterson
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  LONG TITLE
  General Description:
      This bill amends provisions and definitions related to certain motor vehicles to clarify
  titling and registration requirements.
  Highlighted Provisions:
      This bill:
      ▸ allows the Division of Motor Vehicles to provide title to certain off-highway vehicles;
      ▸ defines terms and amends the definitions of certain motor vehicles;
      ▸ amends a provision to allow certain motor vehicles to emit visible contaminants; and
      ▸ makes technical changes.
  Money Appropriated in this Bill:
      None
  Other Special Clauses:
      This bill provides a special effective date.
  Utah Code Sections Affected:
  AMENDS:
      41-1a-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapters 33, 532
      41-1a-507, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 1992, Chapter 1
      41-6a-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapters 219, 532
      41-6a-1626, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 282
      41-22-2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 68, 88
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  Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 41-1a-102 is amended to read:
        41-1a-102 . Definitions.
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           As used in this chapter:
   (1) "Actual miles" means the actual distance a vehicle has traveled while in operation.
   (2) "Actual weight" means the actual unladen weight of a vehicle or combination of
       vehicles as operated and certified to by a weighmaster.
   (3) "All-terrain type I vehicle" means the same as that term is defined in Section 41-22-2.
   (4) "All-terrain type II vehicle" means the same as that term is defined in Section 41-22-2.
   (5) "All-terrain type III vehicle" means the same as that term is defined in Section 41-22-2.
   (6) "Alternative fuel vehicle" means:
       (a) an electric motor vehicle;
       (b) a hybrid electric motor vehicle;
       (c) a plug-in hybrid electric motor vehicle; or
       (d) a motor vehicle powered exclusively by a fuel other than:
             (i) motor fuel;
             (ii) diesel fuel;
             (iii) natural gas; or
             (iv) propane.
   (7) "Amateur radio operator" means a person licensed by the Federal Communications
       Commission to engage in private and experimental two-way radio operation on the
       amateur band radio frequencies.
   (8) "Autocycle" means the same as that term is defined in Section 53-3-102.
   (9) "Automated driving system" means the same as that term is defined in Section
       41-26-102.1.
   (10) "Branded title" means a title certificate that is labeled:
       (a) rebuilt and restored to operation;
       (b) flooded and restored to operation; or
       (c) not restored to operation.
   (11) "Camper" means a structure designed, used, and maintained primarily to be mounted
       on or affixed to a motor vehicle that contains a floor and is designed to provide a mobile
       dwelling, sleeping place, commercial space, or facilities for human habitation or for
       camping.
   (12) "Certificate of title" means a document issued by a jurisdiction to establish a record of
       ownership between an identified owner and the described vehicle, vessel, or outboard
       motor.
   (13) "Certified scale weigh ticket" means a weigh ticket that has been issued by a
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     Enrolled Copy                                                                                        S.B. 16
      weighmaster.
  (14) "Commercial vehicle" means a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer used or maintained
      for the transportation of persons or property that operates:
      (a) as a carrier for hire, compensation, or profit; or
      (b) as a carrier to transport the vehicle owner's goods or property in furtherance of the
          owner's commercial enterprise.
  (15) "Commission" means the State Tax Commission.
  (16) "Consumer price index" means the same as that term is defined in Section 59-13-102.
  (17) "Dealer" means a person engaged or licensed to engage in the business of buying,
      selling, or exchanging new or used vehicles, vessels, or outboard motors either outright
      or on conditional sale, bailment, lease, chattel mortgage, or otherwise or who has an
      established place of business for the sale, lease, trade, or display of vehicles, vessels, or
      outboard motors.
  (18) "Diesel fuel" means the same as that term is defined in Section 59-13-102.
  (19) "Division" means the Motor Vehicle Division of the commission, created in Section
      41-1a-106.
  (20) "Dynamic driving task" means the same as that term is defined in Section 41-26-102.1.
  (21) "Electric motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle that is powered solely by an electric
      motor drawing current from a rechargeable energy storage system.
  (22) "Essential parts" means the integral and body parts of a vehicle of a type required to be
      registered in this state, the removal, alteration, or substitution of which would tend to
      conceal the identity of the vehicle or substantially alter the vehicle's appearance, model,
      type, or mode of operation.
  (23) "Farm tractor" means a motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm
      implement for drawing plows, mowing machines, and other implements of husbandry.
  (24) (a) "Farm truck" means a truck used by the owner or operator of a farm solely for
      the owner's or operator's own use in the transportation of:
          (i) farm products, including livestock and its products, poultry and its products,
              floricultural and horticultural products;
          (ii) farm supplies, including tile, fence, and any other thing or commodity used in
              agricultural, floricultural, horticultural, livestock, and poultry production; and
          (iii) livestock, poultry, and other animals and things used for breeding, feeding, or
              other purposes connected with the operation of a farm.
      (b) "Farm truck" does not include the operation of trucks by commercial processors of
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      S.B. 16                                                                                  Enrolled Copy
           agricultural products.
   (25) "Fleet" means one or more commercial vehicles.
   (26) "Foreign vehicle" means a vehicle of a type required to be registered, brought into this
       state from another state, territory, or country other than in the ordinary course of
       business by or through a manufacturer or dealer, and not registered in this state.
   (27) "Gross laden weight" means the actual weight of a vehicle or combination of vehicles,
       equipped for operation, to which shall be added the maximum load to be carried.
   (28) "Highway" or "street" means the entire width between property lines of every way or
       place of whatever nature when any part of it is open to the public, as a matter of right,
       for purposes of vehicular traffic.
   (29) "Hybrid electric motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle that draws propulsion energy
       from onboard sources of stored energy that are both:
       (a) an internal combustion engine or heat engine using consumable fuel; and
       (b) a rechargeable energy storage system where energy for the storage system comes
           solely from sources onboard the vehicle.
   (30) (a) "Identification number" means the identifying number assigned by the
       manufacturer or by the division for the purpose of identifying the vehicle, vessel, or
       outboard motor.
       (b) "Identification number" includes a vehicle identification number, state assigned
           identification number, hull identification number, and motor serial number.
   (31) "Implement of husbandry" means a vehicle designed or adapted and used exclusively
       for an agricultural operation and only incidentally operated or moved upon the highways.
   (32) (a) "In-state miles" means the total number of miles operated in this state during the
       preceding year by fleet power units.
       (b) If a fleet is composed entirely of trailers or semitrailers, "in-state miles" means the
           total number of miles that those vehicles were towed on Utah highways during the
           preceding year.
   (33) "Interstate vehicle" means a commercial vehicle operated in more than one state,
       province, territory, or possession of the United States or foreign country.
   (34) "Jurisdiction" means a state, district, province, political subdivision, territory, or
       possession of the United States or any foreign country.
   (35) "Lienholder" means a person with a security interest in particular property.
   (36) "Manufactured home" means a transportable factory built housing unit constructed on
       or after June 15, 1976, according to the Federal Home Construction and Safety
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      Enrolled Copy                                                                                     S.B. 16
      Standards Act of 1974 (HUD Code), in one or more sections, which, in the traveling
      mode, is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length, or when
      erected on site, is 400 or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and
      designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when
      connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning,
      and electrical systems.
  (37) "Manufacturer" means a person engaged in the business of constructing,
      manufacturing, assembling, producing, or importing new or unused vehicles, vessels, or
      outboard motors for the purpose of sale or trade.
  (38) "Military vehicle" means a vehicle of any size or weight that was manufactured for use
      by armed forces and that is maintained in a condition that represents the vehicle's
      military design and markings regardless of current ownership or use.
  (39) "Mobile home" means a transportable factory built housing unit built prior to June 15,
      1976, in accordance with a state mobile home code which existed prior to the Federal
      Manufactured Housing and Safety Standards Act (HUD Code).
  (40) "Motor fuel" means the same as that term is defined in Section 59-13-102.
  (41) (a) "Motor vehicle" means a self-propelled vehicle intended primarily for use and
      operation on the highways.
      (b) "Motor vehicle" does not include:
          (i) an off-highway vehicle; or
          (ii) a motor assisted scooter as defined in Section 41-6a-102.
  (42) "Motorboat" means the same as that term is defined in Section 73-18-2.
  (43) "Motorcycle" means:
      (a) a motor vehicle having a saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not
          more than three wheels in contact with the ground; or
      (b) an autocycle.
  (44) "Natural gas" means a fuel of which the primary constituent is methane.
  (45) (a) "Nonresident" means a person who is not a resident of this state as defined by
      Section 41-1a-202, and who does not engage in intrastate business within this state
      and does not operate in that business any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer within
      this state.
      (b) A person who engages in intrastate business within this state and operates in that
          business any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer in this state or who, even though
          engaging in interstate commerce, maintains a vehicle in this state as the home station
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      S.B. 16                                                                                   Enrolled Copy
           of that vehicle is considered a resident of this state, insofar as that vehicle is
           concerned in administering this chapter.
   (46) "Odometer" means a device for measuring and recording the actual distance a vehicle
       travels while in operation, but does not include any auxiliary odometer designed to be
       periodically reset.
   (47) "Off-highway implement of husbandry" means the same as that term is defined in
       Section 41-22-2.
   (48) "Off-highway vehicle" means the same as that term is defined in Section 41-22-2.
   (49) (a) "Operate" means:
           (i) to navigate a vessel; or
           (ii) collectively, the activities performed in order to perform the entire dynamic
                driving task for a given motor vehicle by:
                (A) a human driver as defined in Section 41-26-102.1; or
                (B) an engaged automated driving system.
       (b) "Operate" includes testing of an automated driving system.
   (50) "Original issue license plate" means a license plate that is of a format and type issued
       by the state in the same year as the model year of a vehicle that is a model year 1973 or
       older.
   (51) "Outboard motor" means a detachable self-contained propulsion unit, excluding fuel
       supply, used to propel a vessel.
   (52) (a) "Owner" means a person, other than a lienholder, holding title to a vehicle,
       vessel, or outboard motor whether or not the vehicle, vessel, or outboard motor is
       subject to a security interest.
       (b) If a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or installment sale
           or mortgage of the vehicle with the right of purchase upon performance of the
           conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested
           in the conditional vendee or mortgagor, or if the vehicle is the subject of a security
           agreement, then the conditional vendee, mortgagor, or debtor is considered the owner
           for the purposes of this chapter.
       (c) If a vehicle is the subject of an agreement to lease, the lessor is considered the owner
           until the lessee exercises the lessee's option to purchase the vehicle.
   (53) "Park model recreational vehicle" means a unit that:
       (a) is designed and marketed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping,
           travel, or seasonal use;
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      Enrolled Copy                                                                                   S.B. 16
      (b) is not permanently affixed to real property for use as a permanent dwelling;
      (c) requires a special highway movement permit for transit; and
      (d) is built on a single chassis mounted on wheels with a gross trailer area not exceeding
          400 square feet in the setup mode.
  (54) "Personalized license plate" means a license plate that has displayed on it a
      combination of letters, numbers, or both as requested by the owner of the vehicle and
      assigned to the vehicle by the division.
  (55) (a) "Pickup truck" means a two-axle motor vehicle with motive power
      manufactured, remanufactured, or materially altered to provide an open cargo area.
      (b) "Pickup truck" includes a motor vehicle with the open cargo area covered with a
          camper, camper shell, tarp, removable top, or similar structure.
  (56) "Plug-in hybrid electric motor vehicle" means a hybrid electric motor vehicle that has
      the capability to charge the battery or batteries used for vehicle propulsion from an
      off-vehicle electric source, such that the off-vehicle source cannot be connected to the
      vehicle while the vehicle is in motion.
  (57) "Pneumatic tire" means a tire in which compressed air is designed to support the load.
  (58) "Preceding year" means a period of 12 consecutive months fixed by the division that is
      within 16 months immediately preceding the commencement of the registration or
      license year in which proportional registration is sought. The division in fixing the
      period shall conform it to the terms, conditions, and requirements of any applicable
      agreement or arrangement for the proportional registration of vehicles.
  (59) "Public garage" means a building or other place where vehicles or vessels are kept and
      stored and where a charge is made for the storage and keeping of vehicles and vessels.
  (60) "Receipt of surrender of ownership documents" means the receipt of surrender of
      ownership documents described in Section 41-1a-503.
  (61) "Reconstructed vehicle" means a vehicle of a type required to be registered in this state
      that is materially altered from its original construction by the removal, addition, or
      substitution of essential parts, new or used.
  (62) "Recreational vehicle" means the same as that term is defined in Section 13-14-102.
  (63) "Registration" means a document issued by a jurisdiction that allows operation of a
      vehicle or vessel on the highways or waters of this state for the time period for which the
      registration is valid and tha