Act No. 76 Page 1 of 3
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This act summary is provided for the convenience of the public and members of the General
Assembly. It is intended to provide a general summary of the act and may not be
exhaustive. It has been prepared by the staff of the Office of Legislative Counsel without
input from members of the General Assembly. It is not intended to aid in the interpretation
of legislation or to serve as a source of legislative intent.
Act No. 76 (S.86). Motor vehicles; all-terrain vehicles; snowmobiles; vessels
An act relating to miscellaneous changes to laws related to vehicles and
vessels
This act:
• Display of Plates. Adds a new subsection (e) to 23 V.S.A. § 511 to establish
how a temporary or in-transit registration plate shall be displayed, which
requires that the plate be displayed horizontally in a conspicuous place on the
rear of the vehicle, including in the rear window, and kept entirely unobscured
and plainly legible at all times.
• Temporary Plates. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 518, which was enacted in 2020 but
never implemented, to instead create a 60-day temporary plate and temporary
registration that can be applied for through the Department of Motor Vehicles’
website and printed by the applicant for a fee of $6.00.
• Accident to Crash. Replaces “accident” (and other iterations, like “accidents”
and “an accident”) with “crash” (and other iterations, like “crashes” and “a
crash”) throughout all of Title 23.
• Power of Enforcement Officers. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 1603 to specify when
“Commissioner” refers to the “Commissioner of Public Safety” and when it
refers to the “Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.”
• Certificate of Title. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 2015(c) to no longer require an in-
person inspection of the vehicle identification number (VIN) to determine if
the VIN matches the description of the vehicle given on the application for a
certificate of title.
• Calibration of Tank Vehicles. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 3104 to replace the non-
existent “director of weights and measures” with “Secretary of Agriculture,
Food and Markets.”
• Correction of Incorrect Citations and Capitalization. Amends 23 V.S.A.
§§ 3121, 3836, 4103, and 4116 to correct incorrect citations and
capitalization.
• Snowmobile Exhaust Systems. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 3205 to: require the
display of an unaltered marking of “SSCC Certified” issued by the
Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee (SSCC) on all critical
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components of the snowmobile exhaust system if the snowmobile was
manufactured after February 1, 2007 and is operated on the State Snowmobile
Trail System; prohibit the operation of a snowmobile with an exhaust system
that has been modified in a way that increases the noise emissions above that
of the snowmobile as originally constructed on the State Snowmobile Trail
System; and prohibit the sale of snowmobiles and components of an exhaust
system that do not meet the exhaust system requirements of the section or
include specifications as outlined by the SSCC.
• Vessels. Amends 23 V.S.A. chapter 29, subchapter 2 and 23 V.S.A. § 3801 to
make technical corrections and:
o modify definitions in 23 V.S.A. § 3302 in accordance with 33 C.F.R.
§§ 83.03 and 83.21 and to remove certain exemptions from the definition
of “motorboat,” which are instead added to 23 V.S.A. §§ 3305 (fees) and
3307 (numbering);
o update equipment (lights, personal flotation devices, and fire
extinguishers) requirements in 23 V.S.A. § 3306 in accordance with 33
C.F.R. §§ 83.22, 83.23, and 83.25, 46 C.F.R. § 25.30, and requests from
the U.S. Coast Guard;
o increase the length of time, pursuant to 23 V.S.A. § 3307a, that a
motorboat registered in another state or with a federal credential can be in
Vermont before it must get a validation sticker from 30 days in a calendar
year to 60 days in a calendar year in accordance with 33 C.F.R. § 173.17
and 46 U.S.C. § 12302;
o expand certain distance requirements in 23 V.S.A. § 3311(c) to also apply
to seaplanes, racing shells, and rowing sculls;
o update operational requirements in 23 V.S.A. §§ 3312 and 3312a in
accordance with 33 C.F.R. §§ 83.14–83.17 and requests from the U.S.
Coast Guard; and
o increase the threshold in 23 V.S.A. § 3313 for when a report of a crash
needs to be reported to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles from $100.00
to $2,000.00.
• Entry Level Driver Training Requirements. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 4108(b)(3)
to incorporate and require new federal requirements for entry level driver
training for commercial driver’s licenses required under 49 C.F.R. Part 380.
• Repeal. Repeals 23 V.S.A. § 1220, which is no longer applicable.
• Signal Lamps. Amends 23 V.S.A. §§ 1252 to: allow for the issuance of
permits by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to certain law enforcement
vehicles for a red signal lamp or an amber signal lamp, or a combination
thereof that is mounted so as to be visible primarily from the rear of the
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vehicle; allow for the issuance of permits by the Commissioner of Motor
Vehicles to certain emergency services vehicles for a blue signal lamp or an
amber signal lamp, or a combination thereof that is mounted so as to be
visible primarily from the rear of the vehicle; and eliminate the prohibition on
a vehicle equipped with an amber signal lamp also being issued a permit for a
siren.
• All-Terrain Vehicles. Eliminates the exemption in 23 V.S.A. § 3502(a) that
allows for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to be operated on a designated frozen
body of water without being registered—but ATVs operated on a designated
frozen body of water will continue to be exempt from headgear and trail
access decal (TAD) requirements—and specifies different headgear
requirements under 23 V.S.A. § 3506(b)(16) depending on whether or not the
ATV is equipped with manufacturer-installed rollover protection and safety
belts that have not been removed or modified.
Multiple effective dates, beginning retroactively on April 1, 2020
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Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 23-511, 23-518, 23-1203b, 23-1603, 23-2015(c), 23-2015, 23-3104, 23-3121, 23-3205, 23-3302, 23-3303, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-3307a, 23-3310(a), 23-3310, 23-3311(c), 23-3311, 23-3311(h), 23-3316(a), 23-3316, 23-3801, 23-4108(d)(1)(E), 23-4108, 23-4108(d), 23-4103(16)(E), 23-4103, 23-4103(16), 23-4116(a)(3), 23-4116, 23-4116(a), 23-4116(c)(2), 23-4116(c), 23-4116a(e), 23-4116a, 23-4108(b), 23-3836(a), 23-3836
As Passed By the Senate -- Official: 23-511, 23-518, 23-1203b, 23-1603, 23-2015(c), 23-2015, 23-3104, 23-3121, 23-3205, 23-3302, 23-3303, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-3307a, 23-3310(a), 23-3310, 23-3311(c), 23-3311, 23-3311(h), 23-3316(a), 23-3316, 23-3801, 23-4108(d)(1)(E), 23-4108, 23-4108(d), 23-4103(16)(E), 23-4103, 23-4103(16), 23-4116(a)(3), 23-4116, 23-4116(a), 23-4116(c)(2), 23-4116(c), 23-4116a(e), 23-4116a, 23-4108(b), 23-3836(a), 23-3836
As Passed By the Senate -- Unofficial: 23-511, 23-518, 23-1203b, 23-1603, 23-2015(c), 23-2015, 23-3104, 23-3121, 23-3205, 23-3302, 23-3303, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-3307a, 23-3310(a), 23-3310, 23-3311(c), 23-3311, 23-3311(h), 23-3316(a), 23-3316, 23-3801, 23-4108(d)(1)(E), 23-4108, 23-4108(d), 23-4103(16)(E), 23-4103, 23-4103(16), 23-4116(a)(3), 23-4116, 23-4116(a), 23-4116(c)(2), 23-4116(c), 23-4116a(e), 23-4116a, 23-4108(b), 23-3836(a), 23-3836, 23-1220, 23-1998)
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Official: 23-511, 23-518, 23-1203b, 23-1603, 23-2015(c), 23-2015, 23-3104, 23-3121, 23-3205, 23-3302, 23-3303, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-3307a, 23-3310(a), 23-3310, 23-3311(c), 23-3311, 23-3311(h), 23-3316(a), 23-3316, 23-3801, 23-4108(d)(1)(E), 23-4108, 23-4108(d), 23-4103(16)(E), 23-4103, 23-4103(16), 23-4116(a)(3), 23-4116, 23-4116(a), 23-4116(c)(2), 23-4116(c), 23-4116a(e), 23-4116a, 23-4108(b), 23-3836(a), 23-3836, 23-1220, 23-1998), 23-1252, 23-1255, 23-3502(a), 23-3502, 23-3506(b), 23-3506
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Unofficial: 23-511, 23-518, 23-1203b, 23-1603, 23-2015(c), 23-2015, 23-3104, 23-3121, 23-3205, 23-3302, 23-3303, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-3307a, 23-3310(a), 23-3310, 23-3311(c), 23-3311, 23-3311(h), 23-3316(a), 23-3316, 23-3801, 23-4108(d)(1)(E), 23-4108, 23-4108(d), 23-4103(16)(E), 23-4103, 23-4103(16), 23-4116(a)(3), 23-4116, 23-4116(a), 23-4116(c)(2), 23-4116(c), 23-4116a(e), 23-4116a, 23-4108(b), 23-3836(a), 23-3836, 23-1220, 23-1998), 23-1252, 23-1255, 23-3502(a), 23-3502, 23-3506(b), 23-3506
As Enacted: 23-511, 23-518, 23-1203b, 23-1603, 23-2015(c), 23-2015, 23-3104, 23-3121, 23-3205, 23-3302, 23-3303, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-3307a, 23-3310(a), 23-3310, 23-3311(c), 23-3311, 23-3311(h), 23-3316(a), 23-3316, 23-3801, 23-4108(d)(1)(E), 23-4108, 23-4108(d), 23-4103(16)(E), 23-4103, 23-4103(16), 23-4116(a)(3), 23-4116, 23-4116(a), 23-4116(c)(2), 23-4116(c), 23-4116a(e), 23-4116a, 23-4108(b), 23-3836(a), 23-3836, 23-1220, 23-1998), 23-1252, 23-1255, 23-3502(a), 23-3502, 23-3506(b), 23-3506