SB181

SECTION 1. Section 249-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§249-7 Number plates. (a) Upon receipt of the tax and proof of motor vehicle insurance, the director of finance shall number and register the vehicle in the owner's name, in a permanent record or book to be kept by the director for this purpose, and shall furnish the owner thereof with a receipt showing, upon its face, the license number issued for the vehicle and the fact that the license tax has been paid thereon for the whole or the remainder of the current year in which the receipt is issued. The director of finance shall also furnish the owner, upon the original registration of the vehicle, two number plates for the vehicle or one plate in the case of trailers, semitrailers, or motorcycles with the registration number marked thereon. Upon the payment of the tax for each year, a tag or emblem bearing a serial number and the month and year of expiration shall be provided to the owner. Transfer of current number plates, tag, or emblem, except as authorized by this chapter or by chapter 286, is punishable by a fine of not more than $50 for each offense.

(b) Upon an original registration, the director of finance shall fix, and shall charge to the owner, a fee equal to the cost of the number plate and tag or emblem plus the administrative cost of furnishing the plate and tag or emblem and effecting the registration. Upon the issuance of a new series of number plates as determined by the directors of finance of each county through majority consent, the director of finance shall charge the owner a fee equal to the costs of the number plate plus the administrative cost of furnishing the plates. Upon issuing a tag or emblem, the director of finance shall charge the owner a fee of 50 cents. The owner shall securely fasten the number plates on the vehicle, one on the front and the other on the rear, at a location provided by the manufacturer, or in the absence of such a location upon the bumpers of the vehicle and in conformance with section 291-31, in such a manner as to prevent the plates from swinging and at a minimum of twelve inches from the ground. Number plates shall at all times be displayed entirely unobscured and be kept reasonably clean. In the case of trailers, semitrailers, or motorcycles, one plate shall be used and it shall be fastened to the rear thereof at a location provided by the manufacturer, or in the absence of such a location at the rear thereof, and in the case of motorcycles in conformance with section 291-31.

(c) Upon the issuance of the tag or emblem the owner shall affix the tag or emblem to the top right portion of the rear number plate, except that all vehicles owned by the State, any county government, any board of water supply, and official representatives of any foreign governments shall be issued registrations [~~which~~] that need be renewed only in the new plate issue year.

(d) After the initial payment of the tax and the original registration of a vehicle as herein specified, a motor vehicle shall not be required to be reweighed in any succeeding year unless it has been so altered or changed as to increase or diminish its weight. No new number plates shall, however, be issued to a new owner except as provided in sections 249-7.5 and 249-8.

(e) If an owner of a vehicle registered in any county, upon the disposition of the vehicle, requests that the license plates furnished to the owner with respect to the registration of the vehicle be assigned to another vehicle subsequently acquired by the owner, the assignment may be made by the director of finance at the director's discretion. To defray additional administrative costs incurred by acceding to those requests, the director of finance shall charge a fee of $5 for each reassignment of license plates, in addition to the fee for registration. The procedure for registering the vehicles shall otherwise be identical with that provided by this section.

(f) Upon notice from an insurer that the owner has no insurance, and unless the owner has submitted proof of insurance by another insurer, the director of finance shall secure the return of the two number plates for the vehicle or one plate in the case of trailers, semitrailers, or motorcycles with the registration number marked thereon, through appropriate means."

SECTION 2. Section 286-26, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:

"(e) Upon application for a certificate of inspection to be issued for a vehicle, an inspection as prescribed by the director under subsection (g) shall be conducted on the vehicle, and if the vehicle is found to be in a safe operating condition, a certificate of inspection shall be issued upon payment of a fee to be determined by the director. The certificate shall state the effective date, the termination date, the name of the issuing insurance carrier, and the policy number of the motor vehicle insurance identification card for the inspected motor vehicle as specified by section 431:10C-107 or state the information contained in the proof of insurance card as specified by section 431:10G-106. A sticker, authorized by the director, shall be affixed to the vehicle on the inside of the top right hand corner of the rear window facing outward at the time a certificate of inspection is issued. An inspection sticker [~~which~~] that has been lost, stolen, or destroyed shall be replaced without reinspection by the inspection station that issued the original inspection sticker upon presentation of the vehicle's current certificate of inspection; provided that the current certificate of inspection and inspection sticker [~~shall~~] has not [~~have~~] expired at the time the replacement is requested. The director shall adopt rules to determine the fee for replacement of lost, stolen, or destroyed inspection stickers."

SECTION 3. Section 431:10C-114, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§431:10C-114 Insured's and insurer's obligations upon termination of insurance. (a) An owner of a motor vehicle registered in this State who fails to maintain insurance as required by section 431:10C-104 shall:

(1) Immediately surrender the registration certificate and license plates for the vehicle to the county director of finance; and

(2) Not operate or permit operation of the vehicle in this State until insurance has again been obtained.

(b) The insurer, upon the insured's failure to maintain insurance, shall notify the director of finance of the county in which the vehicle is registered of the insured's failure to maintain insurance on the vehicle."

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009, for grants-in-aid to the several counties for the costs involved in securing and storing numbered license plates under section 249-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes. The specific amounts appropriated for each county shall be as follows:

1. City and County of Honolulu $

2. County of Hawaii $

3. County of Kauai $

4. County of Maui $

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the counties for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	181
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII