Good Afternoon Fellow Car Owners:
Our House bill H 861 bill is coming up again and will be voted on in House the House Transportation Committee this Wednesday May 6, 2009 at 11 am. We support this bill. Here is the House Transportation Committee member list and links:
LINK
Our bill S820 (the Senate companion to H861) is coming up in the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday May 7, 2009 at 11 am. We support this bill. Here is the Senate Commerce Committee member list and links:
LINK
The NC DMV’s bill attempting to legalize and expand their inspections of our cars plus charge us an inspection fee is S476. It will be heard simultaneously with S820 on May 7, 2009. We oppose the DMV agencies’ own bill, S476.
Please come to the hearings, call and send emails. Many thanks for your assistance.
Jim Lore
919 349 2606 cell
:
Proposed Committee Substitute for HB 861 –FINAL
SECTION 1. G.S. 20-4.01 (43) reads as rewritten:
(43) Specially Constructed Vehicles. – Motor vehicles that may be registered under this Chapter and that fit within one of the following categories.
a. Replica vehicle. – A vehicle, excluding motorcycles, originally sold
unassembled and manufactured from a kit, which when assembled
replicates an earlier year, make, and model vehicle.
b. Street rod vehicle. – A vehicle, excluding motorcycles, manufactured
prior to 1949, which has been modernized from the manufacturer’s original design or has a body constructed from nonoriginal materials and to which the owner seeks a street rod registration classification.
c. Custom vehicle. – A vehicle, excluding motorcycles, manufactured
on or after 1949 which has been modernized from the manufacturer’s original design or has a body constructed from nonoriginal materials and to which the owner seeks a custom vehicle registration classification.
For a vehicle registered under this section, unless the presence of the equipment was specifically required by a statute of this State as a condition of sale in the model year listed on the certificate of title, the presence of any specific equipment is not required for the operation of a vehicle registered under this section. A vehicle registered under this section is exempt from any statute that requires periodic vehicle inspections and from any statute that requires the use and inspection of emission controls.
SECTION 2. Part 3 of Article 3 of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
§ 20-53.1. Specially constructed vehicle titles.
(a) Specially constructed vehicles shall be titled in the following manner:
(1) Replica vehicles shall be titled as the year, make, and model of the vehicle intended to be replicated. A label of 'Replica' shall be applied to the title and registration card. All replica vehicle titles shall be branded as 'Specially Constructed Vehicle.'
(2) The model year of a street rod vehicle shall continue to be recognized as
manufacturer's assigned model year. The manufacturer's name shall continue
to be used as the make with a label of 'Street Rod' applied to the title and
registration card. All street rod vehicle titles will be branded as 'Specially
Constructed Vehicle.'
(3) The model year of a custom vehicle shall continue to be recognized as the manufacturer's assigned model year. The manufacturer's name shall continue to be used as the make with the label of 'Custom' applied to the title and registration card. All modified vehicle titles shall be branded as 'Specially Constructed Vehicle.'
SECTION 3. G.S. 20-54 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(10) For specially constructed vehicles or vehicles originally built by a generally recognized manufacturer, certificates of title and registration shall not be denied or delayed on the grounds that the originating title is from out-of-state, the vehicle is of a certain age, or the vehicle has not been first inspected by a representative of the Division unless there is some probable cause to believe an individual vehicle has some issue particular to it that justifies an inspection before title and registration are issued."
SECTION 4. G.S. 20-70 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(c) The notification and registration requirements contained in G.S. 20-70 (a) and (b) regarding an engine change shall only be required if the motor vehicle into which a new engine is installed uses an engine number as the sole means to identify the vehicle."
SECTION 5. Sections 1 shall become effective October 1, 2009. Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4 shall become effective upon ratification.”
EXPLANATION OF COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL 861 – DMV TITLING CATEGORIES/ INSPECTIONS- – (REPRESENTATIVE GOODWIN) AND S820 (SENATORS HARTSELL AND BERGER/D)
History of the DMV Created Title /Vehicle Inspection Issue
Prior to January 1, 2008, if you purchased a vehicle manufactured 35 or more years ago with an out-of-state title you could obtain a NC title within the timeframes typical for any other vehicle. If the title number was not in the DMV computer you simply presented a pencil tracing of the vehicle’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and the title would be issued just as any other title. This procedure, which was working smoothly, was changed by the issuance of a January 2, 2008 DMV memorandum to its License and Theft Bureau. Without utilizing the required APA rule-making procedures and without any opportunity for public comment, that memo changed the rules so that all 35 years and older vehicles with out-of-state titles would be subject to a mandatory inspection program prior to title issuance, registration or tags. These rules were further amended by DMV Official Bulletin #206 dated August 13, 2008, once again without going through the mandatory APA ruling making process, to amend their previous rule change and allow these vehicles to qualify for registration and tags, but not a title, without an inspection. These rules ignore NCGS 20-183.2(a1), passed as SB 1083 in 2004 and effective January 1, 2005, which eliminated safety inspections for historic vehicles, defined as vehicles 35 years and older.
Current Problems Resulting From This Change in Titling Procedure by DMV
This unlawfully-initiated DMV inspection program has resulted in unnecessary:
• Delays of weeks or months to obtain NC titles and registration after application because of the time it takes to get an appointment for an inspection and the processing of the paperwork,
• Lost time from work by classic car owners of 1 to 2 days just to go through the new DMV onsite inspection and follow up interview processes at DMV License and Theft Bureau offices,
• Inspections of owner’s paperwork, even including EBay purchase papers,
• Damage to cars that sometimes results from the removal of paint or even the dismantling of the cars by inspectors who have no idea how to handle these rare cars,
• Inspections by DMV inspectors questioning the legitimacy of cars if vehicle part numbers, including those of engines, do not match,
• Questioning of non-material modification including upgraded brakes, suspension modifications, etc., resulting in threats of vehicle title reclassification.
Explanation of the Need for the Bill
This new provision ends the current unwarranted practice by the DMV of making title issuance conditioned on physical inspections of vehicles simply based on age, without any probable cause to believe there is an issue with the particular vehicle in question. DMV inspectors do not have the expertise to make vehicle title classification judgments under the current illusory standard of “material alteration”. Moreover, DMV field inspectors do not have anywhere close to the manpower necessary to perform the current mandatory inspections on a timely basis. Finally, the current policy of DMV, of implementing these new rules without complying with the APA, is in fundamental conflict with the general legislative intent and spirit of G.S. 20-183.2 (a1) and G.S. 20-79.4 (b) (55) which exempt historic vehicles from DMV safety inspection procedures.
More particularly this bill:
• Clarifies that replica cars titled in NC can be titled as the model year they replicate as opposed to the year they were built,
• For vehicles 35 years and older purchased from out-of-state, restricts and for most cases eliminates the current NC DMV practice of delaying the issuance of a NC car title until an employee of the NC Enforcement and Theft Office personally inspects them,
• Restricts and for the most part eliminates the current practice of the NC DMV of questioning the legitimacy of cars that have undergone a simple engine change and eliminates the current DMV practice of requiring these cars to be re-registered,
• Restricts and for the most part eliminates the NC DMV branding of NC car titles based on an individual DMV’s inspector’s opinion about whether a car has been materially modified.
Prepared By:
R. James Lore
Attorney at Law
102 I Commonwealth Court
Cary, N.C. 27511
919 469- 9103
You are also welcome to personally come to Raleigh next week and attend the hearings on these bills.
Jim Lore
919 349 2606 cell
Please note that our email address has changed.
Velda Wall
Asst. to Jim Lore
R. James Lore Attorney at Law
102-I Commonwealth Court
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 469-9103
Fax: (919) 469-9193
velda@jimlorelaw.com or
jim@jimlorelaw.com
.
May 13th, 2009
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