Act No. 165 Page 1 of 3
2024
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. 165 (S.309). An act relating to miscellaneous changes to laws related to the
Department of Motor Vehicles, motor vehicles, and vessels
Subjects: Motor vehicles; law enforcement; registration; Department of Motor
Vehicles; fire extinguishers; signal lamps; certificates of title; vessels; motorboats;
car seats; child restraint systems; commercial driver’s licenses; commercial
learner’s permits; transporters; all-surface vehicles; residents; low-number plates;
weight limitations; sirens; motorboat numbering; record keeping; emergency
warning lamps; masking violations; airbags; automobile supplemental restraint
systems; tinted windows; veterans’ license plates; vulnerable users
This act amends the statutory definition of a transporter of motor vehicles to include
persons who sell or exchange new or used motor vehicles but do not sell or exchange
enough of them to meet the threshold to be a dealer. It also allows transporters to register
with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) by self-certifying that they have
insurance and a Vermont business location, rather than requiring proof. The act allows
for all-surface vehicles to have up to eight wheels and specifies how motor vehicle title
records must be stored. The act allows temporary residents to register motor vehicles in
Vermont under certain circumstances and allows low-number plates on trucks registered
for less than 26,001 pounds. It addresses the return of prorated registration fees for
registrations cancelled before the beginning of the second, third, fourth, and fifth years of
a five-year registration fee, which applies to some trailers.
Beginning on July 1, 2026, the act allows for tinted windows in motor vehicles only if
the visible light transmission through the window is not less than the level required under
federal regulations for pleasure cars. The act expresses legislative intent that a vehicle
with windows tinted in excess of the amended statute pose a danger to the operator,
passengers, and other highway users and the vehicle should fail the annual safety
inspection. The act requires the DMV to update its Periodic Inspection Manual to reflect
the updated statute and legislative intent and directs the DMV, in consultation with the
Department of Public Safety, to conduct public outreach regarding window tinting to
provide information on what will be permitted and prohibited beginning on July 1, 2026,
under the amended statute and the Periodic Inspection Manual.
The act expresses legislative intent that the DMV should provide information on what
is rust, for purposes of failing the annual safety inspection, to all certified inspection
mechanics and that surface rust should not be sufficient for a motor vehicle to fail
inspection because that rust does not cause diminished braking performance that prevents
a motor vehicle from adequately stopping. The act requires the DMV to issue a
clarifying administrative bulletin to all certified inspection mechanics that details the
rejection criteria for rotors and drums in the Periodic Inspection Manual, explains the
difference between surface rust and rust that is considerable for purposes of the rejection
criteria, and provides information that an inspection mechanic must give to the owner of
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a motor vehicle that fails the annual safety inspection due to rusting on rotors and drums.
It also requires that contact information for the DMV be included on all notices of failure
issued by certified inspection mechanics. The act allows sirens and emergency warning
lamps to be used on certain government owned motor vehicles without a permit but
explicitly prohibits other motor vehicles from using blue lights and flashing lights in a
color other than amber, with an exception for motorcycle headlamp modulation systems
that meet federal standards.
The act modifies Vermont’s child restraint system (commonly known as car seat)
statutes to be more consistent with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2018 Policy
Statement, including requiring a child to be in a rear-facing car seat with a five-point
harness until two years of age, then in a front-facing car seat with a five-point harness
until five years of age or until the child meets the weight and height limit of the seat as
set by the manufacturer, then in a booster seat until eight years of age. The act also
requires any child under 18 years of age who is not required to be in a car seat or booster
seat to be restrained with a safety belt and specifies that a child under 13 years of age
must always, if practical, ride in the rear seat of a motor vehicle. The act requires the
Department of Health to conduct a public outreach campaign to educate Vermonters on
the changes in the law, the Policy Statement, and car seat safety.
The act amends the existing exemption from the certificate of title requirement
vehicles that are more than 15 years old on January 1, 2024, to apply only as long as the
vehicle has been registered in Vermont and has not had a change in ownership since
January 1, 2024; this amendment is retroactive to January 1, 2024. The act modifies the
requirements for carrying fire extinguishers on motorboats to align with federal law and
adds a new allowance, pursuant to federal law, for previously approved fire extinguishers
on a motorboat with a model year between 1953 and 2017 to continue to be used until
they are no longer in good and serviceable condition. The act requires that a motorboat
in Vermont have a Vermont number once it has been in Vermont for more than 60 days,
rather than 90 days, as required by federal law. It also updates Vermont law to align with
a federal prohibition on states allowing anyone to mask or enter into a diversion program
that would prevent a commercial learner’s permit holder’s or commercial driver’s license
holder’s conviction for any violation other than parking, vehicle weight, or vehicle defect
violations from appearing on the Commercial Driver’s License Information System
driver record.
The act maintains existing crime and criminal penalty provisions for knowingly
installing, reinstalling, or causing to be installed or reinstalled an object in lieu of a
vehicle airbag, but expands upon the prohibition to apply to the knowing manufacturing,
importing, distributing, offering for sale, selling, leasing, transferring, installing,
reinstalling, causing to be installed, or causing to be reinstalled a counterfeit automobile
supplemental restraint component or a nonfunctional airbag or to the knowing installation
or reinstallation as an automobile supplemental restraint system component anything that
causes the diagnostic system for the motor vehicle to fail to warn the operator that an
airbag is not installed or that a counterfeit automobile supplemental restraint system
component or nonfunctional airbag is installed in the motor vehicle. The act requires
licensed dealers to provide written disclosures to buyers of used motor vehicles about
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certain aspects of the vehicle’s inspection history and status and to retain a signed record
of the disclosure for two years after the transfer of ownership.
The act expresses legislative intent to properly honor veterans discharged or released
from active service under conditions other than dishonorable and for the DMV and
Vermont Office of Veterans’ Affairs to jointly determine which specialty plates should be
offered to veterans and to allow for new specialty plates for appropriate recognition under
certain circumstances; the act amends relevant statutes on driver’s licenses and license
plates accordingly. The act also directs the DMV Commissioner to create a conservation
plate for motorcycles. The act updates certain statutes relating to pedestrians, bicycle
operators, and vulnerable users, including requiring at least four feet of clearance to pass
a vulnerable user, eliminating the prohibition on walking along or on the roadway if
sidewalks are provided, and directing the Agency of Transportation to study and report
on “Idaho Stops” and other potential policy changes for bicycle operators and on
appropriate updates to laws on the rights and responsibilities of vulnerable road users.
The act identifies potential dangers that plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) pose to first
responders and firefighters when responding to crashes that may involve a PEV. It
requires the DMV to begin issuing PEV license plates not later than July 1, 2026, and to
require all registered PEVs to display PEV plates not later than July 1, 2028. The act also
directs the Community Justice Unit of the Office of the Attorney General to report on
whether and how Vermont should create a distracted driving diversion program as an
alternative to civil penalties and points for violations of the distracted driving laws,
including texting while driving and using a handheld device.
Multiple effective dates, beginning on January 1, 2024
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Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 23-491, 23-4(80), 23-4, 23-2017(c), 23-2017, 23-2027(c), 23-2027, 23-2092, 23-3810(b)(1), 23-3810, 23-3810(b), 23-3820(c), 23-3820, 23-301, 23-303(a), 23-303, 23-304(c), 23-304, 23-327, 23-1251, 23-1252, 23-1255(b), 23-1255, 23-4(1), 23-1050a(b), 23-1050a, 23-1258, 23-2001(15), 23-2001, 23-2002(a)(1), 23-2002, 23-2002(a), 23-2012, 23-2016, 23-2021, 23-3306, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-4122, 13-2026
As Passed By the Senate -- Official: 23-491, 23-4(80), 23-4, 23-2017(c), 23-2017, 23-2027(c), 23-2027, 23-2092, 23-3810(b)(1), 23-3810, 23-3810(b), 23-3820(c), 23-3820, 23-301, 23-303(a), 23-303, 23-304(c), 23-304, 23-327, 23-1251, 23-1252, 23-1255(b), 23-1255, 23-4(1), 23-1050a(b), 23-1050a, 23-1258, 23-2001(15), 23-2001, 23-2002(a)(1), 23-2002, 23-2002(a), 23-2012, 23-2016, 23-2021, 23-3306, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-4122, 13-2026, 23-1125
As Passed By the Senate -- Unofficial: 23-491, 23-4(80), 23-4, 23-2017(c), 23-2017, 23-2027(c), 23-2027, 23-2092, 23-3810(b)(1), 23-3810, 23-3810(b), 23-3820(c), 23-3820, 23-301, 23-303(a), 23-303, 23-304(c), 23-304, 23-327, 23-1125, 23-1251, 23-1252, 23-1255(b), 23-1255, 23-4(1), 23-1050a(b), 23-1050a, 23-1258, 23-2001(15), 23-2001, 23-2002(a)(1), 23-2002, 23-2002(a), 23-2012, 23-2016, 23-2021, 23-3306, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-4122, 13-2026
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Official: 23-491, 23-4(80), 23-4, 23-2017(c), 23-2017, 23-2027(c), 23-2027, 23-2092, 23-3810(b)(1), 23-3810, 23-3810(b), 23-3820(c), 23-3820, 23-301, 23-303(a), 23-303, 23-304(c), 23-304, 23-327, 23-1251, 23-1252, 23-1255(b), 23-1255, 23-4(1), 23-1050a(b), 23-1050a, 23-1258, 23-2001(15), 23-2001, 23-2002(a)(1), 23-2002, 23-2002(a), 23-2012, 23-2016, 23-2021, 23-3306, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-4122, 13-2026, 23-1125, 23-466, 23-7(b), 23-7, 23-115, 23-610(a), 23-610, 23-4111, 23-304b, 23-4(67), 23-1033, 23-1055
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Unofficial: 23-491, 23-4(80), 23-4, 23-2017(c), 23-2017, 23-2027(c), 23-2027, 23-2092, 23-3810(b)(1), 23-3810, 23-3810(b), 23-3820(c), 23-3820, 23-301, 23-303(a), 23-303, 23-304(c), 23-304, 23-327, 23-1125, 23-1251, 23-1252, 23-1255(b), 23-1255, 23-4(1), 23-1050a(b), 23-1050a, 23-1258, 23-2001(15), 23-2001, 23-2002(a)(1), 23-2002, 23-2002(a), 23-2012, 23-2016, 23-2021, 23-3306, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-4122, 13-2026, 23-466, 23-7(b), 23-7, 23-115, 23-610(a), 23-610, 23-4111, 23-304b, 23-4(67), 23-1033, 23-1055
As Enacted: 23-491, 23-4(80), 23-4, 23-2017(c), 23-2017, 23-2027(c), 23-2027, 23-2092, 23-3810(b)(1), 23-3810, 23-3810(b), 23-3820(c), 23-3820, 23-301, 23-303(a), 23-303, 23-304(c), 23-304, 23-327, 23-1125, 23-1251, 23-1252, 23-1255(b), 23-1255, 23-4(1), 23-1050a(b), 23-1050a, 23-1258, 23-2001(15), 23-2001, 23-2002(a)(1), 23-2002, 23-2002(a), 23-2012, 23-2016, 23-2021, 23-3306, 23-3307(a), 23-3307, 23-4122, 13-2026, 23-466, 23-7(b), 23-7, 23-115, 23-610(a), 23-610, 23-4111, 23-304b, 23-4(67), 23-1033, 23-1055