HB1389.html

To provide for certain special motor vehicles and the operation, regulation, and taxation thereof; to amend Code Section 33_34_2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions relative to motor vehicle accident reparations, so as to define a term; to amend Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and traffic, so as to regulate low_speed vehicles; to change certain provisions relating to definitions; to provide for exceptions to motor vehicle licensing and registration requirements; to change certain provisions relating to registration of motor vehicles not manufactured to comply with federal emission and safety standards applicable to new motor vehicles; to change certain provisions relating to five_year and annual license plates, license plate design, revalidation, and county decals; to change certain provisions relating to issuance of license plates, payment and disposition of fees, and compensation of tag agents; to provide for exclusions from titling; to change certain provisions relating to requirement of compliance with federal safety standards; to provide for daylight operation of certain motor vehicles; to provide for authority for certain motor vehicles to operate on streets pursuant to ordinance; to provide special uniform rules of the road for low_speed vehicles; to provide certain equipment requirements for low_speed vehicles; to amend Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, so as to change certain provisions regarding income tax credits for low and zero emission vehicles; to provide for additional procedures, conditions, and limitations with respect to such credit; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Said title is further amended by striking subsection (b) of Code Section 40_2_20, relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicle and exceptions, and inserting in its place a new subsection (b) to read as follows:
"(b) Subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply:
(1) To any motor vehicle or trailer owned by the state or any municipality or other political subdivision of this state and used exclusively for governmental functions except to the extent provided by Code Section 40_2_37;
(2) To any tractor or three_wheeled motorcycle used only for agricultural purposes;
(2.1) To any vehicle or equipment used for transporting cargo or containers between and within wharves, storage areas, or terminals within the facilities of any port under the jurisdiction of the Georgia Ports Authority when such vehicle or equipment is being operated upon any public road not part of The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways by the owner thereof or his or her agent within a radius of ten miles of the port facility of origin and accompanied by an escort vehicle equipped with one or more operating amber flashing lights that are visible from a distance of 500 feet;
(3) To any trailer which has no springs and which is being employed in hauling unprocessed farm products to their first market destination;
(4) To any trailer which has no springs, which is pulled from a tongue, and which is used primarily to transport fertilizer to a farm;
(5) To any motorized cart; or
(6) To any moped."

Said title is further amended by striking subsection (a) of Code Section 40_2_27, relating to registration of motor vehicles not manufactured to comply with federal emission and safety standards applicable to new motor vehicles, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"(a) No application shall be accepted and no certificate of registration shall be issued to any motor vehicle which was not manufactured to comply with applicable federal emission ~~and safety~~ standards ~~applicable to new motor vehicles as required by~~ issued pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. Section 7401 through Section 7642, known as the Clean Air Act, as amended, and ~~as required by 15 U.S.C.A. Section 1381 through Section 1431, known as the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, as amended~~ applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards issued pursuant to 49 U.S.C.A. Section 30101, et seq., unless and until the United States Customs Service or the United States Department of Transportation has certified that the motor vehicle complies with such applicable federal standards and unless all documents required by the commissioner for processing an application for a certificate of registration or title are printed and filled out in the English language or are accompanied by an English translation."

Said title is further amended in Code Section 40_2_31, relating to five_year and annual license plates, license plate design, revalidation, and county decals, by striking subsection (b) and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"(b) Such license plates shall be of metal at least six inches wide and not less than 12 inches in length and shall show in bold characters the year of registration, the serial number, and either the full name or the abbreviation of the name of the state, shall designate the county from which the license plate was issued, and shall show such other distinctive markings as in the judgment of the commissioner may be deemed advisable, so as to indicate the class of weight of the vehicle for which the license plate was issued; and any license plate for a low_speed vehicle shall designate the vehicle as such. Such plates may also bear such figures, characters, letters, or combinations thereof as in the judgment of the commissioner will to the best advantage advertise, popularize, and otherwise promote Georgia as the 'Peach State.' The metal shall be of such strength and quality that the plate shall provide a minimum service period of five years. Every five years a new metal license plate shall be provided by the commissioner for issuance. Metal license plates issued on or after January 1, 1997, shall be used for a period of five years."

Said title is further amended by striking paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40_2_33, relating to issuance of license plates, payment and disposition of fees, and compensation of tag agents, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"(2) ~~Reserved~~ The commissioner may provide for the issuance of a temporary license plate for any low_speed vehicle, to be displayed until such time as a license plate of the design required by Code Section 40_2_31 has been issued to the registrant as a replacement for such temporary license plate; provided, however, that any such temporary license plate shall designate the low_speed vehicle as such; and provided, further, that the commissioner shall make available for issuance low_speed vehicle license plates of the design required by Code Section 40_2_31 not later than September 1, 2002."

Said title is further amended by striking Code Section 40_3_4, relating to exclusions, and inserting in its place a new Code Section 40_3_4 to read as follows:
"40_3_4.
No certificate of title shall be obtained for:
(1) A vehicle owned by the United States unless it is registered in this state;
(2) A vehicle owned by a manufacturer of or dealer in vehicles and held for sale, even though incidentally used on the highway or used for purpose of testing or demonstration; a vehicle owned by a dealer in vehicles but used by any Georgia public or private school for driver education purposes; or a vehicle used by a manufacturer solely for testing; except that all dealers acquiring new vehicles after July 1, 1962, from a manufacturer for resale shall obtain such evidence of origin of title from the manufacturer as the commissioner shall by rule and regulation prescribe;
(3) A vehicle owned by a nonresident of this state and not required by law to be registered in this state;
(4) A vehicle regularly engaged in the interstate transportation of persons or property for which a currently effective certificate of title has been issued in another state;
(5) A vehicle moved solely by human or animal power;
(6) An implement of husbandry;
(7) Special mobile equipment;
(8) A self_propelled wheelchair or invalid tricycle;
(9) A pole trailer;
(10) Motor buses used for the transportation of persons by a street railroad or other company engaged in the operation of an urban transit system over fixed routes;
(11) A boat trailer;
(12) A homemade trailer;
(13) A device used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks or which obtains motive power from fixed overhead electric wires;
(14)(A) A vehicle, other than a mobile home or crane, the model year of which is prior to 1986.
(B) The owner of any vehicle which has a valid certificate of title and which becomes subject to the exclusion provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph may retain the certificate of title. Each subsequent transferee of any vehicle covered by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, for which the certificate of title has been retained, may obtain a certificate of title by complying with Code Section 40_3_32. However, the failure of any subsequent transferee to comply with Code Section 40_3_32 shall preclude transferees subsequent to that transferee from obtaining a certificate of title. The department shall maintain such records as may be necessary to allow owners to obtain a certificate of title under this subparagraph. No certificate of title authorized to be issued under this subparagraph shall be issued under Code Section 40_3_28.
(C)(i) A security interest in or lien against a vehicle which is subject to the exclusion provided for in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and which arises after such vehicle becomes subject to the operation of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph may be perfected in the same manner as such security interests and liens are perfected on vehicles required by this chapter to have certificates of title.
(ii) The transferee of any vehicle which is subject to the exclusion provided for in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, regardless of whether that vehicle has a certificate of title issued pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, shall take such vehicle subject to any security interest or lien perfected under this paragraph;
(15)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, a trailer with an unladen gross weight of 2,000 pounds or less.
(B) The exclusion provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not apply to a travel trailer or camper, regardless of its unladen gross weight;
(16) A vehicle which is not sold for the purpose of lawful highway use;
(17) A vehicle with a model year prior to 1963; or
(18) A moped."

Said title is further amended by striking subsection (a) of Code Section 40_3_30, relating to requirement of compliance with federal safety standards, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"(a) In addition to the reasons set forth in Code Section 40_3_29, no application shall be accepted and no certificate of title shall be issued to any motor vehicle which was not manufactured to comply with applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards ~~applicable to new motor vehicles as required by 15 U.S.C.A. Section 1381 through Section 1431, known as the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, as amended~~ issued pursuant to 49 U.S.C.A. Section 30101, et seq., unless and until the United States Customs Service or the United States Department of Transportation has certified that the motor vehicle complies with such applicable federal standards and unless all documents required by the commissioner for processing an application for a certificate of registration or title are printed and filled out in the English language or are accompanied by an English translation."

Said title is further amended by striking Code Section 40_6_331, relating to authority to operate on streets granted by ordinance, and inserting in its place a new Code Section 40_6_331 to read as follows:
"40_6_331.
(a) A local governing authority may, by ordinance, designate certain public streets or portions thereof for the combined use of motorized carts and regular vehicular traffic and establish the conditions under which motorized carts may be operated upon such streets or portions thereof.
(b) Such ordinances may establish operating standards but shall not require motorized carts to meet any requirements of general law as to registration, inspection, or licensing; provided, however, that a local governing authority may, by ordinance, require the registration and licensing of such carts operated within its boundaries for a fee not to exceed $15.00, the license to remain permanently with such cart unless such cart is sold or the license is destroyed. The provisions of this subsection and the authority granted by this subsection shall not apply to motorized carts owned by golf courses, country clubs, or other such organized entities which own such carts and make them available to members or the public on a rental basis.
(c) Ordinances establishing operating standards shall not be effective unless appropriate signs giving notice are posted along the public streets affected.
(d) Motorized carts may cross streets and highways under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation only at crossings or intersections designated for that purpose by the department."

40_6_360.
Every person operating a low_speed vehicle shall be granted all the rights and shall be subject to all the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle under this chapter except as to special regulations in this part and except as to those provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application.

40_6_361.
(a) All low_speed vehicles are entitled to full use of a lane, and no motor vehicle shall be driven in such a manner as to deprive any low_speed vehicle of the full use of a lane.
(b) The operator of a low_speed vehicle shall not overtake and pass in the same lane occupied by the vehicle being overtaken.
(c) No person shall operate a low_speed vehicle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles.
(d) Low_speed vehicles shall not be operated two or more abreast in a single lane.

40_6_362.
Low_speed vehicles shall be operated only on any highway where the posted speed limit does not exceed 35 miles per hour. The operator of a low_speed vehicle shall not operate such vehicle on any highway where the posted speed limit exceeds 35 miles per hour."

Said title is further amended by striking subsection (e) of Code Section 48_7_40.16, relating to income tax credits for low and zero emission vehicles, and inserting in its place a new subsection (e) to read as follows:
"(e) The credits granted under this Code section shall be subject to the following conditions and limitations:
(1) All claims for any credit provided by subsection (b) of this Code section shall be:
(A) Accompanied by a certification approved by the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources; and
(B) Made only by a taxpayer who is the owner of a new clean fueled vehicle, as evidenced by the certificate of title issued for such vehicle; provided, however, that if a new clean fueled vehicle is leased to a taxpayer at retail, the taxpayer who is the lessee shall be entitled to claim the credit; provided, further, that only one taxpayer shall be eligible to claim any credit provided by subsection (b) of this Code section;
(2) All claims for any credit provided by subsection (c) of this Code section must be accompanied by a certification issued by the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources;
(3) All claims for any credit provided by subsection (d) of this Code section shall be:
(A) Accompanied by a certification issued by the seller where the new electric vehicle charger was purchased or leased; and
(B) Made only by a taxpayer who is the ultimate purchaser or lessee of a new electric vehicle charger at retail;
(4) Any credit claimed under this Code section but not used in any taxable year may be carried forward for five years from the close of the taxable year in which a new clean fueled vehicle was purchased or leased or a conventionally fueled vehicle was changed into a converted vehicle, provided that the applicable certification required in paragraph (1) or 2)(2) of this subsection accompanies any such claim; ~~and~~
(5) In no event shall the amount of any tax credit provided in this Code section exceed the taxpayer´s income tax liability.; and
(6) Tax credits authorized in this Code section shall be granted to a taxpayer who purchased or leased and placed in service in Georgia a new low_emission vehicle or zero emission vehicle, which also is a low_speed vehicle, but only if such low_speed vehicle was placed in service during the taxable year ending December 31, 2001. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'low_speed vehicle' means a low_speed vehicle as defined in paragraph (25.1) of Code Section 40_1_1. Any claim for such credit must be accompanied by a manufacturer´s statement of origin issued to a dealer registered in Georgia which certifies that the low_speed vehicle was manufactured in compliance with those federal motor vehicle safety standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. Section 571.500 and in effect on January 1, 2001, as well as any other documentation deemed necessary by the commissioner to establish the date that delivery was made and such vehicle was placed in service. A taxpayer shall only be eligible to claim such credit with respect to a single low_speed vehicle."