House Study Bill 262 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL BY CHAIRPERSON BLOOMINGDALE) A BILL FOR 1 An Act regarding the registration and titling of motor 2 vehicles, including by providing for registration and 3 titling by any county treasurer and by modifying related 4 fees and the amount of fees retained by county treasurers. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 2767YC (2) 89 th/ns H.F. _____ 1 Section 1. Section 321.20, subsection 1, unnumbered 2 paragraph 1, Code 2021, is amended to read as follows: 3 Except as provided in this chapter, an owner of a vehicle, 4 or a lessor of a vehicle pursuant to chapter 321F which has a 5 gross vehicle weight of less than ten thousand pounds, which 6 is subject to registration, shall make application to the any 7 county treasurer of the county of the owner’s residence, or 8 if a nonresident, to the county treasurer of the county where 9 the primary users of the vehicle are located, or if a lessor 10 of the vehicle pursuant to chapter 321F which vehicle has a 11 gross vehicle weight of less than ten thousand pounds, to the 12 county treasurer of the county of the lessee’s residence, 13 or if a firm, association, or corporation with vehicles in 14 multiple counties, the owner may make application to the 15 county treasurer of the county where the primary user of the 16 vehicle is located, for the registration and issuance of a 17 certificate of title for the vehicle upon the appropriate form 18 furnished by the department. However, upon the transfer of 19 ownership, the owner of a vehicle subject to the apportioned 20 registration provisions of chapter 326 shall make application 21 for issuance of a certificate of title to either the department 22 or the appropriate any county treasurer. The owner of a 23 vehicle purchased pursuant to section 578A.7 shall present 24 documentation that such sale was completed in compliance with 25 that section. The application shall be accompanied by a fee 26 of twenty twenty-five dollars, and shall bear the owner’s 27 signature. A nonresident owner of two or more vehicles subject 28 to registration may make application for registration and 29 issuance of a certificate of title for all vehicles subject to 30 registration to the any county treasurer of the county where 31 the primary user of any of the vehicles is located. The owner 32 of a mobile home or manufactured home shall make application 33 for a certificate of title under this section from the county 34 treasurer of the county where the mobile home or manufactured 35 home is located. The application shall contain: LSB 2767YC (2) 89 -1- th/ns 1/22 H.F. _____ 1 Sec. 2. Section 321.20, subsections 2, 3, and 4, Code 2021, 2 are amended to read as follows: 3 2. Notwithstanding contrary provisions of this chapter 4 or chapter 326 regarding titling and registration by means 5 other than electronic means, the department shall, by July 1, 6 2019, develop and implement a program to allow for electronic 7 applications, titling, registering, and funds transfers for 8 vehicles subject to registration in order to improve the 9 efficiency and timeliness of the processes and to reduce costs 10 for all parties involved. The program shall also provide for 11 the electronic submission of any statement required by this 12 section, except where prohibited by federal law. 13 3. The department shall adopt rules on pursuant to chapter 14 17A to administer this section, including rules relating to the 15 method for providing signatures for applications and statements 16 required by this section that are made by electronic means. 17 4. Notwithstanding this section or any other provision of 18 law to the contrary, if the program required by subsection 19 2 is not implemented by July 1, 2019, an owner of a vehicle 20 subject to registration may apply to the county treasurer of a 21 county contiguous to the county designated for the owner under 22 subsection 1 for registration and issuance of a certificate of 23 title. If a transaction occurs under the program established 24 pursuant to subsection 2, the required documentation shall 25 be electronically submitted to the county treasurer of the 26 county of the owner’s residence; or if a nonresident, to the 27 county treasurer of the county where the primary users of the 28 vehicle are located; or if a lessor of the vehicle pursuant to 29 chapter 321F which has a gross vehicle weight of less than ten 30 thousand pounds, to the county treasurer of the county of the 31 lessee’s residence; or if a firm, association, or corporation 32 with vehicles in multiple counties, the county treasurer of the 33 county where the primary user of the vehicle is located. 34 Sec. 3. Section 321.20A, subsection 1, Code 2021, is amended 35 to read as follows: LSB 2767YC (2) 89 -2- th/ns 2/22 H.F. _____ 1 1. Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, 2 the owner of a commercial vehicle subject to the apportioned 3 registration provisions of chapter 326 may make application 4 to the department or the appropriate any county treasurer 5 for a certificate of title. The owner of a commercial 6 vehicle purchased pursuant to section 578A.7 shall present 7 documentation that such sale was completed in compliance with 8 that section. The application for certificate of title shall 9 be made within thirty days of purchase or transfer and shall 10 be accompanied by a twenty dollar twenty-five-dollar title fee 11 and the appropriate fee for new registration. The department 12 or the county treasurer shall deliver the certificate of title 13 to the owner if there is no security interest. If there is a 14 security interest, the title, when issued, shall be delivered 15 to the first secured party. Delivery may be made using 16 electronic means. 17 Sec. 4. Section 321.23, subsections 3 and 4, Code 2021, are 18 amended to read as follows: 19 3. In the event an applicant for registration of a foreign 20 vehicle for which a certificate of title has been issued is 21 able to furnish evidence of being the registered owner of the 22 vehicle to the any county treasurer of the owner’s residence, 23 although unable to surrender such certificate of title, the 24 county treasurer may issue a registration receipt and plates 25 upon receipt of the required annual registration fee and the 26 fee for new registration but shall not issue a certificate of 27 title thereto. Upon surrender of the certificate of title 28 from the foreign state, the county treasurer shall issue a 29 certificate of title to the owner, or person entitled thereto, 30 of such vehicle as provided in this chapter. The owner 31 of a vehicle registered under this subsection shall not be 32 required to obtain a certificate of title in this state and may 33 transfer ownership of the vehicle to a motor vehicle dealer 34 licensed under chapter 322 if, at the time of the transfer, 35 the certificate of title is held by a secured party and the LSB 2767YC (2) 89 -3- th/ns 3/22 H.F. _____ 1 dealer has forwarded to the secured party the sum necessary to 2 discharge the security interest pursuant to section 321.48, 3 subsection 1. 4 4. A vehicle which does not meet the equipment requirements 5 of this chapter due to the particular use for which it is 6 designed or intended, may be registered by the department 7 upon payment of appropriate fees and after inspection and 8 certification by the department that the vehicle is not 9 in an unsafe condition. A person is not required to have 10 a certificate of title to register a vehicle under this 11 subsection. If the owner elects to have a certificate of 12 title issued for the vehicle, a fee of twenty twenty-five 13 dollars shall be paid by the person making the application 14 upon issuance of a certificate of title. If the department’s 15 inspection reveals that the vehicle may be safely operated only 16 under certain conditions or on certain types of roadways, the 17 department may restrict the registration to limit operation of 18 the vehicle to the appropriate conditions or roadways. This 19 subsection does not apply to snowmobiles as defined in section 20 321G.1. Section 321.382 does not apply to a vehicle registered 21 under this subsection which is operated exclusively by a person 22 with a disability who has obtained a persons with disabilities 23 parking permit as provided in section 321L.2, if the persons 24 with disabilities parking permit is carried in or on the 25 vehicle and shown to a peace officer on request. 26 Sec. 5. Section 321.34, subsection 1, Code 2021, is amended 27 to read as follows: 28 1. Plates issued. The county treasurer upon receiving 29 application, accompanied by proper fee, for registration of a 30 vehicle shall issue to the owner one registration plate for 31 a motorcycle, motorized bicycle, autocycle, truck tractor, 32 trailer, or semitrailer and two registration plates for every 33 other motor vehicle. The registration plates, including 34 special registration plates, shall be assigned to the owner of 35 a vehicle. When the owner of a registered vehicle transfers LSB 2767YC (2) 89 -4- th/ns 4/22 H.F. _____ 1 or assigns ownership of the vehicle to another person, the 2 owner shall remove the registration plates from the vehicle. 3 The owner shall forward the plates to the any county treasurer 4 where the vehicle is registered or the owner may have the 5 plates assigned to another vehicle within thirty days after 6 transfer, upon payment of the fees required by law. The 7 owner shall immediately affix registration plates retained 8 by the owner to another vehicle owned or acquired by the 9 owner, providing the owner complies with section 321.46. The 10 department shall adopt rules providing for the assignment of 11 registration plates to the transferee of a vehicle for which a 12 credit is allowed under section 321.46, subsection 6. 13 Sec. 6. Section 321.40, subsection 1, Code 2021, is amended 14 to read as follows: 15 1. Application for renewal for a vehicle registered under 16 this chapter shall be made on or after the first day of the 17 month prior to the month of expiration of registration and up 18 to and including the last day of the month following the month 19 of expiration of registration. The application for renewal 20 shall be submitted to the county treasurer of the county of 21 the owner’s residence; or if a nonresident, to the county 22 treasurer of the county where the primary users of the vehicle 23 are located; or if a lessor of the vehicle pursuant to chapter 24 321F which has a gross vehicle weight of less than ten thousand 25 pounds, to the county treasurer of the county of the lessee’s 26 residence; or if a firm, association, or corporation with 27 vehicles in multiple counties, to the county treasurer of the 28 county where the primary user of the vehicle is located. The 29 registration shall be renewed upon payment of the appropriate 30 annual registration fee. Application for renewal for a vehicle 31 registered under chapter 326 shall be made on or after the 32 first day of the month prior to the month of expiration of 33 registration and up to and including the last day of the month 34 of expiration of registration. 35 Sec. 7. Section 321.42, subsection 2, paragraphs a, c, and LSB 2767YC (2) 89 -5- th/ns 5/22 H.F. _____ 1 d, Code 2021, are amended to read as follows: 2 a. If a certificate of title is lost or destroyed, the 3 owner or lienholder shall apply for a replacement copy of the 4 original certificate of title. The owner or lienholder of a 5 motor vehicle may also apply for a replacement copy of the 6 original certificate of title upon surrender of the original 7 certificate of title with the application. The application 8 shall be made to the department or any county treasurer who 9 issued the original certificate of title. The application 10 shall be signed by the owner or lienholder and accompanied by a 11 fee of twenty twenty-five dollars. 12 c. If a security interest noted on the face of an original 13 certificate of title was released by the lienholder on a 14 separate form pursuant to section 321.50, subsection 5, and 15 the signature of the lienholder, or the person executing the 16 release on behalf of the lienholder, is notarized, but the 17 lienholder has not delivered the original certificate to the 18 appropriate party as provided in section 321.50, subsection 5, 19 the owner may apply for and receive a replacement certificate 20 of title without the released security interest noted thereon. 21 The lienholder shall return the original certificate of title 22 to the department or to the any county treasurer of the county 23 where the title was issued. 24 d. A new purchaser or transferee is entitled to receive 25 an original title upon presenting the assigned replacement 26 copy to the any county treasurer of the county where the new 27 purchaser or transferee resides. At the time of purchase, a 28 purchaser may require the seller to indemnify the purchaser and 29 all future purchasers of the vehicle against any loss which 30 may be suffered due to claims on the original certificate. A 31 person recovering an original certificate of title for which 32 a replacement has been issued shall surrender the original 33 certificate to the county treasurer or the department. 34 Sec. 8. Section 321.46, subsections 1, 2, and 5, Code 2021, 35 are amended to read as follows: LSB 2767YC (2) 89 -6- th/ns 6/22 H.F. _____ 1 1. The transferee shall, within thirty calendar days after 2 purchase or transfer, apply for and obtain from the any county 3 treasurer of the person’s residence, or if a nonresident, the 4 county treasurer of the county where the primary users of the 5 vehicle are located or the county where all other vehicles 6 owned by the nonresident are registered, or in the case of a 7 mobile home or manufactured home, the county treasurer of the 8 county where the mobile home or manufactured home is located, 9 or if a firm, association, or corporation with vehicles in 10 multiple counties, the transferee may apply for and obtain 11 from the county treasurer of the county where the primary 12 user of the vehicle is located, a new registration and a new 13 certificate of title for the vehicle, except as provided in 14 section 321.25, 321.48, or 322G.12, or when the transferee 15 obtains the vehicle pursuant to section 321.52, subsection 2, 16 paragraph “b”. In the case of a mobile home or manufactured 17 home, the transferee shall, within thirty calendar days after 18 purchase or transfer, apply for and obtain from the county 19 treasurer of the county where the mobile home or manufactured 20 home is located a new registration and a new certificate of 21 title. The transferee shall present with the application the 22 certificate of title endorsed and assigned by the previous 23 owner and shall indicate the name of the county in which the 24 vehicle was last registered and the registration expiration 25 date. 26 2. Upon filing the application for a new registration and 27 a new title, the applicant shall pay a title fee of twenty 28 twenty-five dollars, an annual registration fee prorated for 29 the remaining unexpired months of the registration year, and 30 a fee for new registration if applicable. A manufacturer 31 applying for a certificate of title pursuant to section 322G.12 32 shall pay a title fee of ten fifteen dollars. However, a 33 title fee shall not be charged to a manufactured or mobile 34 home retailer applying for a certificate of title for a used 35 mobile home or manufactured home, titled in Iowa, as required LSB 2767YC (2) 89 -7- th/ns 7/22 H.F. _____ 1 under section 321.45, subsection 4. The county treasurer, if 2 satisfied of the genuineness and regularity of the application, 3 and in the case of a mobile home or manufactured home, that 4 taxes are not owing under chapter 435, and that applicant has 5 complied with all the requirements of this chapter, shall issue 6 a new certificate of title and, except for a mobile home, 7 manufactured home, or a vehicle returned to and accepted by a 8 manufacturer as described in section 322G.12, a registration 9 card to the purchaser or transferee, shall cancel the prior 10 registration for the vehicle, and shall forward the necessary