H650 - Omnibus Division of Motor Vehicles Bill. (SL 2021-134)

Overview: S.L. 2021-134 makes various changes to laws related to motor vehicles and motor vehicle dealers, including:

• Making clarifying changes to motor vehicle sales representative licensing provisions and modifying how and when civil penalties apply for violations of the dealer licensing law.
• Modifying the grounds for denying and revoking licenses under the dealer licensing law, providing affirmative defenses for certain grounds, and limiting the ability to deny or revoke the license of a business entity under certain circumstances.
• Directing the Division of Motor Vehicles to study the feasibility of transferring licensing hearings under the dealer licensing law and hearings related to safety and emissions inspection licensing and violations from the Division to the Office of Administrative Hearings.
• Providing an exemption from the prohibition on making color copies of drivers licenses for licensed lenders, motor vehicle dealers with regard to loan applications, and federally insured depository institutions.
• Requiring replacement of dealer registration plates every three years.
• Permitting surviving military spouses to renew special plates based on military service.
• Requiring the Division to send a temporary license to a dealer for display during the time a license continues to be valid while an application for renewal is being reviewed.
• Clarifying laws related to satisfaction, release, and renewal of security interests in manufactured homes.
• Modifying requirements for applications for notations of security interests submitted by regulated lenders – makes permanent the same modifications that were put into place temporarily last year.
• Requiring electronic lien system contractors to have specific experience.
• Changing effective dates for certain license revocations by the Division from the tenth day after mailing of the order to the thirtieth day after mailing.
• Clarifying that used vehicles sold by an auctioneer pursuant to court proceedings are not required to be inspected prior to sale, as is required for used vehicles being sold at retail by a dealer.
• Exempting up to five Division technology modernization projects from Department of Information Technology requirements.
• Extending a temporary modification, enacted this year, reducing the amount of time a person must hold a Level 1 permit before applying for a Level 2 license under graduated driver licensing until December 31, 2022.

The provision permitting surviving military spouses to renew special registration plates became effective December 1, 2021. The provision regarding electronic lien system contractor experience became effective January 15, 2022. As amended by S.L. 2021-185, the provision regarding license revocation effective dates became effective February 1, 2022. The remainder of the act became effective October 1, 2021.