HCS HB 725 & 684 -- MOTOR VEHICLES

SPONSOR:  Crawford

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on
Transportation and Motor Vehicles by a vote of 16 to 4.

This substitute makes numerous changes relating to motor
vehicles.

SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES

Any organization seeking authorization to establish a new
specialty license plate, other than a military specialty license
plate, must submit to the Department of Revenue a minimum of 100
applications, with specialty plate fees and a $5,000 application
fee.  The department will submit for approval all applications
for development of special license plates to the Joint Committee
on Transportation Oversight.  If the specialty plate request is
approved by the joint committee, the organization must submit the
proposed art design no later than 60 days after approval.  If the
specialty plate is not approved, 97% of the application fee will
be refunded to the requesting organization along with the
specialty plate fees submitted.  Any person or organization who
receives a notice of denial of application for development of a
specialty plate may request a review within 15 days of a notice
of denial.

The substitute increases specialty plate fees from $15 to $25.

TOWING AND STORAGE

Wreckers, tow trucks, or rollbacks requested by law enforcement
will be considered emergency vehicles after arriving at a scene
of an accident or abandoned property.   Storage facilities that
have stored an unsalvageable abandoned motor vehicle that has not
been claimed for 90 days may dispose of the property as scrap
property.  The substitute establishes the procedures.

COMMERCIAL ZONE

The substitute extends the Kansas City commercial zone south
along U. S. Highway 71 and State Route 291 to and including the
City of Harrisonville.

USE OF HEADLIGHTS

Motor vehicle headlamps will be required to be in use at any time
when weather conditions require the use of windshield wipers and
in foggy conditions.

COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES

The substitute puts statutory provisions regulating commercial
motor vehicle registration under the authority of the Highways
and Transportation Commission instead of the Department of
Economic Development.  This move is necessitated by
reorganization under the Governor's Executive Order 02-03
(February 7, 2002).

Procedures are established for quarterly staggering of annual
commercial motor vehicle registrations.

BICYCLES

The substitute amends the Model Traffic Ordinance to provide that
a motor vehicle cannot be driven or parked within a bicycle lane.
A motor vehicle may be driven in a bicycle lane only for the
purpose of a lawful maneuver to cross the lane or provide for
safe travel.

Motorists will be required to exercise the highest degree of care
to avoid colliding with bicyclists and motorcyclists.

Motorists who intentionally, recklessly, or negligently collide
with pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists will be held
liable for a minimum of $500 in compensatory damages.  If the
motorist does the same act but has six or more points on his or
her driver's license, has a prior conviction for an
intoxication-related offense, or has previously caused personal
injury to a pedestrian or cyclist, the motorist will be liable
for a minimum of $1,000 in compensatory damages and will be
subject to having 12 points assessed on his or her driver's
license and the license revoked for a period of one year.

SCHOOL ZONES

Counties and municipalities will be allowed to establish a
maximum speed limit of 20 miles per hour within school zones and,
in conjunction with the school board, may establish a lower speed
limit if needed for public safety.

STREET RODS AND CUSTOM VEHICLES

The substitute establishes new registration procedures for street
rods and custom vehicles.

The owner must certify at the time of registration that the
vehicle will be maintained for occasional transportation,
exhibits, club activities, parades, tours, and similar uses and
will not be used for general daily transportation.  These
vehicles initially must be safety inspected but will be exempted
from periodic vehicle inspections and from any emission
inspections.

The model year and the year of manufacture that are listed on the
certificate of title will be the model year and year of
manufacture that the body resembles.  The current and all
subsequent certificates of ownership will be designation as a
"REPLICA" vehicle.

License plates for these categories of vehicles will have "STREET
ROD" or "CUSTOM VEHICLE" designation.

A street rod or custom vehicle may use blue dot tail lights for
stop lamps, rear turning indicator lamps, rear hazard lamps, and
rear reflectors.

FISCAL NOTE:  Not available at time of printing.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say staggering commercial motor vehicle
registrations allows the workload to be distributed throughout
the year and allows for a more efficient operation.  The
provisions regarding bicyclist and pedestrian safety would
eliminate barriers to safe bicycle and pedestrian transportation.

Testifying for House Bill 725 were Representative Kingery;
Department of Transportation; and Missouri Motor Carriers
Association.

Testifying for House Bill 684 were Representative Jones;
Department of Transportation; Missouri National Education
Association; and Trail Net, St. Louis.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Robert Triplett, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated July 25, 2003 at 10:12 am