Act No. 41 Page 1 of 5
2023
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. 41 (S. 99). An act relating to miscellaneous changes to laws related to vehicles
Subjects: Motor vehicles; registration; abandoned motor vehicles; speed limits;
registration fees; all-terrain vehicles (ATVs); permits; snowmobiles; purchase and
use tax; title; mail; plug-in electric vehicles (PEV); towing; lemon law; New Motor
Vehicle Arbitration; total abstinence; commercial driver’s licenses; electronic mail;
validation stickers; Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse; gross vehicle weights; DMV
modernization project; motor vehicle noise; mobile identification; Vermont ATV
Sportsman’s Association (VASA); distracted driving; portable electronic devices
This act:
• New Motor Vehicle Arbitration. Amends 9 V.S.A. § 4173(d) to provide that a
consumer continues to have one year following the expiration of the express warranty
to recommence proceedings under the new motor vehicle arbitration law (“lemon
law”) if proceedings are terminated because the manufacturer performs corrective
work satisfactory to the consumer prior to scheduled hearing.
• Definition of Mail. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 4 (the definitions section for Title 23) to add
a definition of mail applicable to all of Title 23 that would give the Commissioner of
Motor Vehicles the authority to authorize methods of delivery.
• Mobile Identification. Adds 23 V.S.A. § 116 to create a mobile identification, which
the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may issue, in addition to and not in lieu of, to
an individual who holds a Department of Motor Vehicles credential.
• Validation Stickers. Amends multiple sections of codified law to eliminate the
annual (or biennial) validation sticker that the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles
currently issues to go on license plates (and makes related technical changes). Also
notwithstands portions of existing rules related to validation sticker requirements and
directs the Department of Motor Vehicles not to enforce or apply those rules and to
amend the rules accordingly the next time the rules are amended.
• Electronic Proof of Registration. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 307 to allow an operator to
show proof of registration electronically on a portable electronic device and to allow
an operator cited for failing to carry proof of registration to produce proof after-the-
fact within seven days after the traffic stop.
• Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) Registration Fees. Amends 23 V.S.A. §§ 361 and
362 to codify current Department of Motor Vehicles practice to charge the pleasure
car and motorcycle registration fees, respectively, for pleasure cars and motorcycles
that are plug-in electric vehicles, not the specialized motor vehicle registration fees
(1.75x the pleasure car or motorcycle registration fees, respectively).
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• Distracted Driving; Hands-Free Use. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 1095b to explicitly state
that holding a portable electronic device is a prohibited use of a portable electronic
device unless an exemption applies. Also amends the definition of securely mounted
(not obstructing windshield and either the mounting device is used in accordance with
manufacturer specifications or the mounting device causes the portable electronic
device to remain “completely stationary under typical driving conditions”) and
specifies that a hands-free use includes utilizing an internal feature of the portable
electronic device or motor vehicle, provided that the portable electronic device is not
held in one or more of the operator’s hands.
• Total Abstinence Program. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 1209a to define what “total
abstinence” from drugs and alcohol means for purposes of participating in the Total
Abstinence Program (TAP) and require from passage forward, without regard to
when the participant applies for or gets a license or privilege to operate reinstated
under TAP, that failure to maintain total abstinence precludes entrance into and
participation in TAP. Also requires the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to provide
written notice of the amendments to all TAP participants and applicants not later than
September 1, 2023, and dictates that the “total abstinence means total abstinence as
defined in statute” standard applies after passage to all existing and future TAP
participants.
• Overweight Permits. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 1392 to eliminate the milk hauler specific
permit structure and instead require milk haulers that carry milk at 90,000 lbs to
either register at 90,000 lbs or register at 80,000 lbs and get an all products permit to
carry at 90,000 lbs. Also amends 23 V.S.A. § 1392 to reduce the fee for the all
products permit to the current fee for the permit that is required of a milk hauler
registered at 80,000 lbs that only hauls milk at 90,000 lbs.
• Electronic Permits. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 1392 to repeal the one subdivision in the
subchapter on truck permits that requires permits be carried and adds 23 V.S.A.
§ 1455 to require that all permits issued under the subchapter on truck permits be
carried by the operator but allows that to be done in electronic form while also
preserving the applicable civil penalty from the repealed subdivision.
• Exempt Vehicle/Certificate of Title. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 2012 to grandfather in
motor vehicles that are more than 15 years old on January 1, 2024, from needing to
have a certificate of title (currently 15 years old in general); amends 23 V.S.A. § 2013
to repeal the exempt vehicle title for motor vehicles that are more than 15 years old;
amends 23 V.S.A. § 2017 to authorize the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to issue a
certificate of title for a motor vehicle without regard to the age of the motor vehicle
and issue electronic certificates of title if the applicant is entitled to a nonelectronic
certificate of title.
• Nonresident Certificate of Title. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 2020 so that the Commissioner
of Motor Vehicles can no longer register a motor vehicle and issue a certificate of
title to a nonresident based on the filing of a bond (and other related requirements)
when the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is not satisfied as to the ownership of the
motor vehicle or that there are no undisclosed security interests. Does not make any
amendments related to Vermont residents, and nonresidents will still be able to get a
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certificate of title if the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is satisfied as to the
ownership of the motor vehicle and that there are no undisclosed security interests.
• Towing. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 4 (the definitions section for Title 23) to add a
definition of towing business applicable to all of Title 23; amends 23 V.S.A. § 2151
to allow a vehicle to meet the definition of “abandoned” if a law enforcement officer
requests that the vehicle be removed by a towing business and define law
enforcement officer and what types of motor vehicles can be abandoned for purposes
of the abandoned motor vehicle subchapter; amends 23 V.S.A. § 2153 to clarify that
the landowner of the property where and abandoned motor vehicle is located—which
could be the towing business if the vehicle is relocated—can apply for an abandoned
motor vehicle certification and expands both the time to file the certification from 30
to 90 days and who can certify the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the
abandoned motor vehicle; and amends 23 V.S.A. § 2158 to increase the State-
reimbursement rate for towing an abandoned motor vehicle from public property
from $40.00 to $125.00 and eliminate the existing $16,000.00 cap for total
reimbursements in a fiscal year.
• Towing Practices Report. Requires the Office of the Attorney General to study motor
vehicle towing practices. As part of that study, the Office of the Attorney General is
required to consult with the Department of Financial Regulation, the Department of
Motor Vehicles, the Department of Public Safety, the Office of Professional
Regulation, and the Office of the Vermont State Treasurer; solicit input and public
comment from interested persons; and hold at least one public hearing. At a
minimum, the study needs to address (1) pricing of towing and recovery; (2) crash
site remediation; (3) storage practices; (4) practices relating to abandonment or
suspected abandonment; (5) best practices from other states, with a focus on
neighboring states and including on certain listed practices; (6) any applicable
recommendations for amendments to State statute; and (7) any other information that
the Office of the Attorney General deems pertinent to the study. Report, which must
balance consumer protections and the needs of towing businesses, reflecting the
necessary role towing businesses serve in maintaining the health, safety, and welfare
of Vermonters, is due by December 15, 2023, to the House Committees on
Commerce and Economic Development, on Government Operations and Military
Affairs, and on Transportation and the Senate Committees on Economic
Development, Housing and General Affairs, on Finance, on Government Operations,
and on Transportation.
• Proof of Snowmobile Insurance. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 3206 to require a snowmobile
operator to carry proof of insurance but allows that to be done electronically on a
portable electronic device and allows an operator cited for failing to carry proof of
insurance to produce proof after-the-fact within seven days after the traffic stop.
• Commercial Driver’s Licenses Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Amends 23 V.S.A.
§ 4108 to require the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to check the federal
Commercial Driver’s License Clearinghouse before issuing a commercial driver’s
license or commercial learner’s permit and establishes denial criteria based on that
search.
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• Purchase and Use Tax. Amends 32 V.S.A. § 8902 to allow the total taxable cost to
exclude the value of a vehicle that was previously titled (in addition to previously
registered) to account for the limited number of title-only transactions that also trigger
the payment of purchase and use tax and amends 32 V.S.A. § 8911 to expand the
exception for a motor vehicle registered to an applicant in a jurisdiction that imposes
a State sales and use tax on motor vehicles to apply if the motor vehicle has been
registered to the applicant in such a jurisdiction for any amount of time, as opposed to
three or more years.
• Gross Weight Limits on Highways Report. Requires the Secretary of Transportation
or designee, in consultation with other individuals, to examine adding one or more
special annual permits to statute to allow for the operation of motor vehicles over
99,000 pounds with a report due back to the House and Senate Committees on
Transportation by January 15, 2024. The report requirements include minimum areas
that need to be addressed, including a permit that allows 107,000 pounds on six axles
or 117,000 pounds on seven axles.
• Department of Motor Vehicles Core System Modernization Project. Includes
findings of fact on the specifics of the Department of Motor Vehicles Core System
Modernization project and how and why there might need to be involvement of and
partnership with the General Assembly during the approximately 18 months that the
driver services module is being designed and implemented to ensure that statute is
amended to allow for efficiencies and optimization that might otherwise be in conflict
with statute and also includes findings on how this project can be a model for other
modernization projects. Requires three reports to the Joint Transportation Oversight
Committee (JTOC), the Joint Fiscal Committee (JFC), and the House and Senate
Committees on Transportation that, to the extent practicable, include
recommendations on anticipated amendments to statute and are due by July 31, 2024,
October 15, 2024, and January 15, 2025. Also expresses an expectation that
committees that receive the reports will have an opportunity to (and therefore
hopefully will) comment on concerns with any of the recommendations on
anticipated amendments to statute.
• Excessive Motor Vehicle Noise Report. Requires the Commissioner of Motor
Vehicles, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Vermont
League of Cities and Towns, to report on current and potential enforcement practices
around excessive motor vehicle noise and make recommendations on ways to limit
excessive motor vehicle noise in Vermont. Minimum facets that need to be looked at
in the report include a recommendation on a noise standard, enforcement costs,
possible options to address excessive motor vehicle noise without utilizing noise
testing (such as visual inspection for modifications and labeling requirements), and
approaches from other states and requires that the report be submitted to the House
and Senate Committees on Transportation and on Judiciary by January 1, 2025.
• Outreach to Municipalities on Speed Limits. Requires the Agency of Transportation,
in consultation with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns and the regional
planning commissions, to design and implement a program to provide outreach to
municipalities on setting, posting, and enforcing speed limits on town highways.
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• All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV) Fees and Penalties Split. Amends 23 V.S.A. § 3513 to
preserve the current split of 90 percent of ATV fees and penalties to the Department
of Forests, Parks and Recreation and 10 percent of ATV fees and penalties to the
Transportation Fund, with the 90 percent share to the Department of Forests, Parks
and Recreation going to the Vermont ATV Sportsman’s Association (VASA) for
development and maintenance of a Statewide ATV Trail Program, for trail liability
insurance, and to contract for law enforcement services for purposes of trail
compliance, less $7,000.00 for administrative costs for the Department of Forests,
Parks and Recreation.
Effective Date: Multiple effective dates, beginning on June 1, 2023
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Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 9-4173(d), 9-4173, 23-305, 23-326, 23-364b, 23-453(f), 23-453, 23-457, 23-458, 23-459, 23-465, 23-494, 23-511, 23-307, 23-361, 23-362, 23-1081, 23-1209a, 23-1221, 23-1392, 23-2012, 23-2013, 23-2017, 23-2091(a), 23-2091, 23-2020, 23-2151, 23-2153(a), 23-2153, 23-2158, 9-51, 23-3206(b), 23-3206, 23-4108, 32-8902(5), 32-8902, 32-8911, 19-12b, 19-12b(c), 23-3513), 23-3513(a), 23-3513
As Passed By the Senate -- Official: 9-4173(d), 9-4173, 23-305, 23-326, 23-364b, 23-453(f), 23-453, 23-457, 23-458, 23-459, 23-465, 23-494, 23-511, 23-307, 23-361, 23-362, 23-1081, 23-1209a, 23-1221, 23-1392, 23-2012, 23-2013, 23-2017, 23-2091(a), 23-2091, 23-2020, 23-2151, 23-2153(a), 23-2153, 23-2158, 9-51, 23-3206(b), 23-3206, 23-4108, 32-8902(5), 32-8902, 32-8911, 19-12b, 19-12b(c), 23-3513), 23-3513(a), 23-3513
As Passed By the Senate -- Unofficial: 9-4173(d), 9-4173, 23-305, 23-326, 23-364b, 23-453(f), 23-453, 23-457, 23-458, 23-459, 23-465, 23-494, 23-511, 23-307, 23-361, 23-362, 23-1081, 23-1209a, 23-1221, 23-1392, 23-2012, 23-2013, 23-2017, 23-2091(a), 23-2091, 23-2020, 23-2151, 23-2153(a), 23-2153, 23-2158, 9-51, 23-3206(b), 23-3206, 23-4108, 32-8902(5), 32-8902, 32-8911, 23-3513), 23-3513(a), 23-3513
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Official: 9-4173(d), 9-4173, 23-305, 23-326, 23-364b, 23-453(f), 23-453, 2