FIRST REGULAR SESSION
93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON.
Read 1st time January 18, 2005 and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 303.026, 307.366, and 643.315, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to motor vehicle registration information, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 303.026, 307.366, and 643.315, RSMo, are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 303.026, 307.366, and 643.315, to read as follows:
303.026. 1. The director shall inform each owner who registers a motor vehicle of the following:
(1) The existence of the requirement that every motor vehicle owner in the state must maintain his or her financial responsibility;
(2) The requirement that every motor vehicle owner show an insurance identification card, or a copy thereof, or other proof of financial responsibility at the time of vehicle registration; this notice shall be given at least thirty days prior to the month for renewal and shall be shown in bold, colored print;
(3) The penalties which apply to violations of the requirement to maintain financial responsibility;
(4) The benefits of maintaining coverages in excess of those which are required;
(5) The director's authority to conduct samples of Missouri motor vehicle owners to ensure compliance.
2. No motor vehicle owner shall be issued registration for a vehicle unless the owner, or his or her authorized agent, signs an affidavit provided by the director of revenue at the time of registration of the vehicle certifying that such owner has and will maintain, during the period of registration, financial responsibility with respect to each motor vehicle that is owned, licensed or operated on the streets or highways. The affidavit need not be notarized, but it shall be acknowledged by the person processing the form. The affidavit shall state clearly and in bold print the following: "Any false affidavit is a crime under section 575.050 of Missouri law.". In addition, every motor vehicle owner shall show proof of such financial responsibility by presenting his or her insurance identification card, as described in section 303.024, or a copy thereof, or some other proof of financial responsibility in the form prescribed by the director of revenue at the time of registration unless such owner registers his or her vehicle in conjunction with a reciprocity agreement entered into by the Missouri highway reciprocity commission pursuant to sections 301.271 to 301.279, RSMo, or unless the owner insures the vehicle according to the requirements of the division of motor carrier and railroad safety pursuant to section 390.126, RSMo. If the motor vehicle owner does not possess his or her insurance identification card or other proof of financial responsibility as prescribed by the director, the director may access insurance information submitted by insurance companies under subsection 3 of this section to determine the owner's financial responsibility compliance.
3. To ensure compliance with this chapter, the director may utilize a variety of sampling techniques including but not limited to random samples of registrations subject to this section, uniform traffic tickets, insurance information provided to the director at the time of motor vehicle registration, and persons who during the preceding year have received a disposition of court-ordered supervision or suspension. The director may verify the financial responsibility of any person sampled or reported.
(1) Beginning January 1, 2001, the director may require such information, as in his or her discretion is necessary to enforce the requirements of subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of this section, to be submitted from the person's insurer or insurance company. When requested by the director of revenue, all licensed insurance companies in this state which sell private passenger (noncommercial) motor vehicle insurance policies shall report information regarding the issuance, nonrenewal and cancellation of such policies to the director, excluding policies issued to owners of fleet or rental vehicles or issued on vehicles that are insured pursuant to a commercial line policy. Such information shall be reported electronically in a format as prescribed by the director of the department of revenue by rule except that such rule shall provide for an exemption from electronic reporting for insurers with a statistically insignificant number of policies in force.
(2) The director may require the data described in subsection 2 of section 303.412 to be reported by insurance companies and require reporting periods of at least once per month. When required by the director of revenue, each insurance company shall provide to the department a record of each policy issued, canceled, terminated or revoked during the period since the previous report. Nothing in this section shall prohibit insurance companies from reporting more frequently than once per month.
(3) The director may use reports described in subdivision (1) of this subsection for sampling purposes as provided in this section.
4. Information provided to the department by an insurance company for use in accordance with this section is the property of the insurer and is not subject to disclosure pursuant to chapter 610, RSMo. Such information may be utilized by the department for enforcement of this chapter but may not be disclosed except that the department shall disclose whether an individual is maintaining the required insurance coverage upon request of the following individuals and agencies only:
(1) The individual;
(2) The parent or legal guardian of an individual if the individual is an unemancipated minor;
(3) The legal guardian of the individual if the individual is legally incapacitated;
(4) Any person who has power of attorney from the individual;
(5) Any person who submits a notarized release from the individual that is dated no more than ninety days before the request is made;
(6) Any person claiming loss or injury in a motor vehicle accident in which the individual is involved;
(7) The office of the state auditor, for the purpose of conducting any audit authorized by law.
5. The director, after consultation with the working group as provided for in section 303.406, may adopt any rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of subdivisions (1) through (3) of subsection 3 of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, RSMo, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo, and, if applicable, section 536.028, RSMo. This section and chapter 536, RSMo, are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo, to review, to delay the effective date or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2000, shall be invalid and void.
6. Any person or agency who knowingly discloses information received from insurance companies pursuant to this section for any purpose, or to a person, other than those authorized in this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. No insurer shall be liable to any person for performing its duties pursuant to this section unless and to the extent the insurer commits a willful and wanton act of omission.
7. The department of revenue shall notify the department of insurance of any insurer who violates any provisions of this section. The department of insurance may, against any insurer who knowingly fails to comply with this section, assess an administrative penalty up to five hundred dollars per day of noncompliance. The department of insurance may excuse the administrative penalty if an assessed insurer provides acceptable proof that such insurer's noncompliance was inadvertent, accidental or the result of excusable neglect. The penalty provisions of this section shall become effective six months after the rule issued pursuant to subsections 3 and 5 of this section is published in the code of state regulations.
8. To verify that financial responsibility is being maintained, the director shall notify the owner or operator of the need to provide, within fifteen days, proof of the existence of the required financial responsibility. The request shall require the owner or the operator to state whether or not the motor vehicle was insured on the verification date stated in the director's request. The request may include but not be limited to a statement of the names and addresses of insurers, policy numbers and expiration date of insurance coverage. Failure to provide such information shall result in the suspension of the registration of the owner's motor vehicle, and where applicable, the owner's or the operator's driving privilege, for failing to meet such requirements, as is provided in this chapter.
307.366. 1. This enactment of the emissions inspection program is a mandate of the United States Congress pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq. In any portion of an area designated by the governor as a nonattainment area, as defined in the federal Clean Air Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C.A. Section 7501, and located within the area described in subsection 1 of section 643.305, RSMo, certain motor vehicles shall be tested and approved prior to sale or transfer and biennially thereafter to determine that the emissions system is functioning within the emission standards as specified by the Missouri air conservation commission and as required to attain the national health standards for air quality. For such biennial testing, any such vehicle manufactured as an even-numbered model year vehicle shall be tested and approved in each even-numbered calendar year and any such vehicle manufactured as an odd-numbered model year vehicle shall be tested and approved in each odd-numbered calendar year. The motor vehicles to be tested shall be all motor vehicles except those specifically exempted pursuant to subdivisions (1) to (3) of subsection 1 of section 307.350 and those exempted pursuant to this section.
2. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Motor vehicles with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating in excess of eight thousand five hundred pounds;
(2) Motorcycles and motortricycles;
(3) Model year vehicles manufactured twenty-six years or more prior to the current model year;
(4) School buses;
(5) Diesel-powered vehicles;
(6) Motor vehicles registered in the area covered by this section but which are based and operated exclusively in an area of this state not subject to the provisions of this section if the owner of such vehicle presents to the director a sworn affidavit that the vehicle will be based and operated outside the covered area;
(7) New and unused motor vehicles, of model years of the current calendar year and of any calendar year within two years of such calendar year, which have an odometer reading of less than six thousand miles at the time of original sale by a motor vehicle manufacturer or licensed motor vehicle dealer to the first user; and
(8) Motor vehicles owned by a person who resides in a county of the first classification without a charter form of government with a population of less than one hundred thousand inhabitants according to the most recent decennial census who has completed an emission inspection pursuant to section 643.315, RSMo.
Each official inspection station which conducts emissions inspections within the area referred to in subsection 1 of this section shall indicate the gross vehicle weight rating of the motor vehicle on the inspection certificate if the vehicle is exempt from the emissions inspection pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.
3. (1) At the time of sale, a licensed motor vehicle dealer, as defined in section 301.550, RSMo, may choose to sell a motor vehicle subject to the inspection requirements of this section either:
(a) With prior inspection and approval as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection; or
(b) Without prior inspection and approval as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection.
(2) If the dealer chooses to sell the vehicle with prior inspection and approval, the dealer shall disclose, in writing, prior to sale, whether the vehicle obtained approval by meeting the emissions standards established pursuant to this section or by obtaining a waiver pursuant to subsection 6 of this section. A vehicle sold pursuant to this subdivision by a licensed motor vehicle dealer shall be inspected and approved within the one hundred twenty days immediately preceding the date of sale, and, for the purpose of registration of such vehicle, such inspection shall be considered timely.
(3) If the dealer chooses to sell the vehicle without prior inspection and approval, the purchaser may return the vehicle within ten days of the date of purchase, provided that the vehicle has no more than one thousand additional miles since the time of sale, if the vehicle fails, upon inspection, to meet the emissions standards specified by the commission and the dealer shall have the vehicle inspected and approved without the option for a waiver of the emissions standard and return the vehicle to the purchaser with a valid emissions certificate and sticker within five working days or the purchaser and dealer may enter into any other mutually acceptable agreement. If the dealer chooses to sell the vehicle without prior inspection and approval, the dealer shall disclose conspicuously on the sales contract and bill of sale that the purchaser has the option to return the vehicle within ten days, provided that the vehicle has no more than one thousand additional miles since the time of sale, to have the dealer repair the vehicle and provide an emissions certificate and sticker within five working days if the vehicle fails, upon inspection, to meet the emissions standards established by the commission, or enter into any mutually acceptable agreement with the dealer. A violation of this subsection shall be an unlawful practice as defined in section 407.020, RSMo. No emissions inspection shall be required pursuant to this section for the sale of any motor vehicle which may be sold without a certificate of inspection and approval, as provided pursuant to subsection 2 of section 307.380. 4. A fee not to exceed twenty-four dollars may be charged for an automobile emissions and air pollution control inspection in order to attain the national health standards for air quality. Such fee shall be conspicuously posted on the premises of each such inspection station. The official emissions inspection station shall issue a certificate of inspection and an approval sticker or seal certifying the emissions system is functioning properly. The certificate or approval issued shall bear the legend: "This cost is mandated by your United States Congress.". No owner shall be charged an additional fee after having corrected defects or unsafe conditions in the automobile's emissions and air pollution control system if the reinspection is completed within twenty consecutive days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and if such follow-up inspection is made by the station making the initial inspection.
5. The air conservation commission shall establish, by rule, a waiver amount which may be lower for older model vehicles and which shall be no greater than seventy-five dollars for model year vehicles prior to 1981 and no greater than two hundred dollars for model year vehicles of 1981 and all subsequent model years.
6. An owner whose vehicle fails upon reinspection to meet the emission standards specified by the Missouri air conservation commission shall be issued a certificate of inspection and an approval sticker or seal by the official emissions inspection station that provided the inspection if the vehicle owner furnishes a complete, signed affidavit satisfying the requirements of this subsection and the cost of emissions repairs and adjustments is equal to or greater than the waiver amount established by the air conservation commission pursuant to this section. The air conservation commission shall establish, by rule, a form and a procedure for verifying that repair and adjustment was performed on a failing vehicle prior to the granting of a waiver and approval. The waiver form established pursuant to this subsection shall be an affidavit requiring:
(1) A statement signed by the repairer that the specified work was done and stating the itemized charges for the work; and
(2) A statement signed by the inspector that an inspection of the vehicle verified, to the extent practical, that the specified work was done.
7. The department of revenue shall require evidence of the inspection and approval required by this section in issuing the motor vehicle annual registration in conformity with the procedure required by sections 307.350 to 307.370. If the motor vehicle owner does not possess his or her certificate of emissions inspection when applying for a vehicle registration with the department of revenue, the director of revenue may verify that a successful emissions inspection was completed via electronic means.
8. Each emissions inspection station located in the area described in subsection 1 of this section shall purchase from the highway patrol sufficient forms and stickers or other devices to evidence approval of the motor vehicle's emissions control system. In addition, emissions inspection stations may be required to purchase forms for use in automated analyzers from outside vendors of the inspection station's choice. The forms must comply with state regulations. 9. In addition to the fee collected by the superintendent pursuant to subsection 5 of section 307.365, the highway patrol shall collect a fee of seventy-five cents for each automobile emissions certificate issued to the applicable official emissions inspection stations, except that no charge shall be made for certificates of inspection issued to official emissions inspection stations operated by governmental entities. All fees collected by the superintendent pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the "Missouri Air Pollution Control Fund", which is hereby created.
10. The moneys collected and deposited in the Missouri air pollution control fund pursuant to this section shall be allocated on an equal basis to the Missouri state highway patrol and the Missouri department of natural resources, air pollution control program, and shall be expended subject to appropriation by the general assembly for the administration and enforcement of sections 307.350 to 307.390. The unexpended balance in the fund at the end of each appropriation period shall not be transferred to the general revenue fund, except as directed by the general assembly by appropriation, and the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, relating to the transfer of funds to the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium, shall not apply to this fund. The moneys in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer as provided by law, and the interest shall be credited to the fund.
11. The superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol shall issue such rules and regulations as are necessary to determine whether a motor vehicle's emissions control system is operating as required by subsection 1 of this section, and the superintendent and the state highways and transportation commission shall use their best efforts to seek federal funds from which reimbursement grants may be made to those official inspection stations which acquire and use the necessary testing equipment which will be required to perform the tests required by the provisions of this section.
12. The provisions of this section shall not apply in any county for any time period during which the air conservation commission has established a motor vehicle emissions inspection program pursuant to sections 643.300 to 643.355, RSMo, for such county, except where motor vehicle owners have the option of biennial testing pursuant to chapter 643, RSMo. In counties where such option is available, the emissions inspection may be conducted in stations conducting only an emissions inspection under contract to the state.
13. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 307.390, violation of this section shall be deemed a class C misdemeanor.
643.315. 1. Except as provided in sections 643.300 to 643.355, all motor vehicles which are domiciled, registered or primarily operated in an area for which the commission has established a motor vehicle emissions inspection program pursuant to sections 643.300 to 643.355, which may include all motor vehicles owned by residents of a county of the first classification without a charter form of government with a population of less than one hundred thousand inhabitants according to the most recent decennial census who have chosen to participate in such a program in lieu of the provisions of section 307.366, RSMo, shall be inspected and approved prior to sale or transfer. In addition, any such vehicle manufactured as an even-numbered model year vehicle shall be inspected and approved under the emissions inspection program established pursuant to sections 643.300 to 643.355 in each even-numbered calendar year and any such vehicle manufactured as an odd-numbered model year vehicle shall be inspected and approved under the emissions inspection program established pursuant to sections 643.300 to 643.355 in each odd-numbered calendar year. All motor vehicles subject to the inspection requirements of sections 643.300 to 643.355 shall display a valid emissions inspection sticker, and when applicable, a valid emissions inspection certificate shall be presented at the time of registration or registration renewal of such motor vehicle. If the motor vehicle owner does not possess his or her certificate of emissions inspection when applying for a vehicle registration with the department of revenue, the director of revenue may verify that a successful emissions inspection was completed via electronic means.
2. No emission standard established by the commission for a given make and model year shall exceed the lesser of the following:
(1) The emission standard for that vehicle model year as established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency; or
(2) The emission standard for that vehicle make and model year as established by the vehicle manufacturer.
3. The inspection requirement of subsection 1 of this section shall apply to all motor vehicles except:
(1) Motor vehicles with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating in excess of eight thousand five hundred pounds;
(2) Motorcycles and motortricycles if such vehicles are exempted from the motor vehicle emissions inspection under federal regulation and approved by the commission by rule;
(3) Model year vehicles manufactured twenty-six years or more prior to the current model year;
(4) Vehicles which are powered exclusively by electric or hydrogen power or by fuels other than gasoline which are exempted from the motor vehicle emissions inspection under federal regulation and approved by the commission by rule;
(5) Motor vehicles registered in an area subject to the inspection requirements of sections 643.300 to 643.355 which are domiciled and operated exclusively in an area of the state not subject to the inspection requirements of sections 643.300 to 643.355, but only if the owner of such vehicle presents to the department an affidavit that the vehicle will be operated exclusively in an area of the state not subject to the inspection requirements of sections 643.300 to 643.355 for the next twenty-four months, and the owner applies for and receives a waiver which shall be presented at the time of registration or registration renewal;
(6) New and unused motor vehicles, of model years of the current calendar year and of any calendar year within two years of such calendar year, which have an odometer reading of less than six thousand miles at the time of original sale by a motor vehicle manufacturer or licensed motor vehicle dealer to the first user; and
(7) Historic motor vehicles registered pursuant to section 301.131, RSMo.
4. The commission may, by rule, allow inspection reciprocity with other states having equivalent or more stringent testing and waiver requirements than those established pursuant to sections 643.300 to 643.355.
5. (1) At the time of sale, a licensed motor vehicle dealer, as defined in section 301.550, RSMo, may choose to sell a motor vehicle subject to the inspection requirements of sections 643.300 to 643.355 either:
(a) With prior inspection and approval as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection; or
(b) Without prior inspection and approval as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection.
(2) If the dealer chooses to sell the vehicle with prior inspection and approval, the dealer shall disclose, in writing, prior to sale, whether the vehicle obtained approval by meeting the emissions standards established pursuant to sections 643.300 to 643.355 or by obtaining a waiver pursuant to section 643.335. A vehicle sold pursuant to this subdivision by a licensed motor vehicle dealer shall be inspected and approved within the one hundred twenty days immediately preceding the date of sale, and, for the purpose of registration of such vehicle, such inspection shall be considered timely.
(3) If the dealer chooses to sell the vehicle without prior inspection and approval, the purchaser may return the vehicle within ten days of the date of purchase, provided that the vehicle has no more than one thousand additional miles since the time of sale, if the vehicle fails, upon inspection, to meet the emissions standards specified by the commission and the dealer shall have the vehicle inspected and approved without the option for a waiver of the emissions standard and return the vehicle to the purchaser with a valid emissions certificate and sticker within five working days or the purchaser and dealer may enter into any other mutually acceptable agreement. If the dealer chooses to sell the vehicle without prior inspection and approval, the dealer shall disclose conspicuously on the sales contract and bill of sale that the purchaser has the option to return the vehicle within ten days, provided that the vehicle has no more than one thousand additional miles since the time of sale, to have the dealer repair the vehicle and provide an emissions certificate and sticker within five working days if the vehicle fails, upon inspection, to meet the emissions standards established by the commission, or enter into any mutually acceptable agreement with the dealer. A violation of this subdivision shall be an unlawful practice as defined in section 407.020, RSMo. No emissions inspection shall be required pursuant to sections 643.300 to 643.360 for the sale of any motor vehicle which may be sold without a certificate of inspection and approval, as provided pursuant to subsection 2 of section 307.380, RSMo.