Legislature(1999 - 2000)
03/11/1999 01:04 PM House TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 11, 1999
1:04 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Beverly Masek, Chair
Representative Andrew Halcro, Vice Chair
Representative Bill Hudson
Representative John Cowdery
Representative Albert Kookesh
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Jerry Sanders
Representative Allen Kemplen
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
* HOUSE BILL NO. 78
"An Act relating to transfer of a vehicle title by the owner; and
providing for an effective date."
- MOVED HB 78 OUT OF COMMITTEE
(* First public hearing)
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HB 78
SHORT TITLE: TRANSFER OF VEHICLE TITLE
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVES(S) DYSON
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
2/03/99 132 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
2/03/99 132 (H) TRANSPORTATION, STATE AFFAIRS
3/11/99 (H) TRA AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 17
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE FRED DYSON
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 104
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 465-6881
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided the sponsor statement for HB 78.
RON G. KING, Chief
Air Quality Improvement
Division of Air and Water Quality
Department of Environmental Conservation
410 Willoughby Avenue, Suite 105
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1795
Telephone: (907) 465-5100
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided testimony in support of HB 78.
JUANITA HENSLEY, Administrator
Division of Motor Vehicles
Department of Administration
P.O. Box 110200
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0200
Telephone: (907) 465-5648
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided testimony in support of HB 78.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 99-10, SIDE A
Number 0001
CHAIR BEVERLY MASEK called the House Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. Members present at the
call to order were Representatives Masek, Halcro, Hudson and
Cowdery. Representative Kookesh arrived at 1:06 p.m.
Representatives Sanders and Kemplen were absent.
HB 78 - TRANSFER OF VEHICLE TITLE
CHAIR MASEK announced the first order of business was House Bill
No. 78, "An Act relating to transfer of a vehicle title by the
owner; and providing for an effective date."
Number 0013
REPRESENTATIVE FRED DYSON, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of HB
78, came forward to present the sponsor statement. He referred the
committee to revisions passed "a couple of years ago" that changed
the requirement for inspection and maintenance (I/M) of vehicles
from every year to every two years. During the debate over that,
he reported, a compromise was made with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to make sure that a vehicle inspection
occurred every time the title was transferred. That has, however,
produced some interesting and unintended frustrations for vehicle
owners, particularly when an individual purchases a vehicle that is
not operable.
Number 0124
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON cited personal experience of having tried to
transfer a vehicle that needed work, and the Division of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) would not do so without an inspection. He met with
"the collector car hobby folks," and he discovered they were having
the same problem. He related that individuals restoring older cars
will often spend years scouring the country, and sometimes the
world, to find the parts and pieces they need; however, they have
difficulty transferring the title because they cannot get an I/M
test. There is a process in place to get around this problem, but
it is very time-consuming and involves a lot of paperwork. The
DMV, he added, has reported they are getting a lot of complaints
about this issue, and they offered their support for legislation to
alleviate this problem.
Number 0208
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON offered Amendment 1, drafted by the DMV, which
reads [punctuation per written amendment]:
Page 1, lines 4-6:
Delete all material and insert:
"(d) An emissions inspection and maintenance
certificate of inspection
(1) shall be obtained when ownership of a
[MOTOR] vehicle subject to registration under this
chapter is transferred, if the
(A) [(1)] transferee resides in an area
designated by the Department of Environmental
Conservation as an emissions inspection maintenance area;
(B) [(2) MOTOR] vehicle was manufactured
in 1987 or earlier;
(C) [(3) MOTOR] vehicle would be subject
to an emissions inspection and maintenance program;
(D) [(4) MOTOR] vehicle has not been
inspected for emissions or the existing emissions
certificate is more than 12 months old;
(2) need not be obtained under (d)(1) of this
section, if, when ownership of the vehicle is
transferred,
(A) the transferor surrenders the
vehicle's registration plates and all evidence of
registration in the transferor's possession or control to
the department;or
(B) the vehicle has a valid, existing
emissions inspection and maintenance program seasonal
waiver and the purchaser signs a seasonal waiver transfer
acknowledgement form approved by the department.
Number 0250
RON KING, Chief, Air Quality Improvement, Division of Air and Water
Quality, Department of Environmental Conservation, provided
testimony in support of HB 78. He reported that his division is
responsible for the Vehicle Inspection Program, and that it is a
very integral part of attempts to achieve air quality standards.
He stated that both Anchorage and Fairbanks have exceeded the
ambient air standards for carbon monoxide, and there has been a
decrease in efficiency of the I/M program's ability to identify the
vehicles that pollute more since changing the inspections to
biannually from annually. He pointed out that cars made in 1987
and older tend to pollute more, and that a car emits more
pollutants each year as it gets older.
Number 0348
MR. KING shared HB 78 with appropriate individuals from the
Municipality of Anchorage and the Fairbanks North Star Borough when
it initially arrived in his office. They agreed there is a class
of vehicles that does not need to be inspected: those that are
inoperable and will not be driven on the road, and those that have
a seasonal waiver. He reported the problems DMV was experiencing
with regard to these types of vehicles were being replicated at the
I/M programs. Mr. King worked with others from the Municipality of
Anchorage and the Fairbanks North Star Borough to arrive at the
language in Amendment 1, which allows vehicle "title-only
transfers" to occur at the DMV counter without having to go through
the I/M program to get special waivers. The key, he added, is that
those vehicles not be operated during the winter months in
Anchorage or Fairbanks. He testified that proposed Amendment 1 to
HB 78 will give the needed flexibility to the DMV to deal with
these specific cases.
Number 0445
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY asked how this would affect individuals who
wanted to register motor homes or conversion vans that have been
sitting for a year or so without being used.
MR. KING responded that those individuals would be able to transfer
a title without I/M testing if they had a seasonal waiver;
otherwise, if they wished to use the vehicle in the winter time, it
would have to be inspected to be operated. He added, however, that
most motor homes have seasonal waivers and do not have to take the
I/M test, as they have committed to their communities and the state
that they will not drive those vehicles between November 1st and
March 31st in any given year.
Number 0510
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY wondered how licensing would be handled if
a vehicle was not driven for a year and an individual then decided
they wanted to go to the DMV and get the vehicle registered.
MR. KING replied, "The vehicle, I am presuming, has a current valid
registration, is not a seasonal waivered car, and is operational.
They just opted to leave it sit for a period of time and then wish
to sell it. That car would have to be inspected before the title
transfer would occur, unless they were to surrender the plates,
which, at that point in time, hopefully, the registration would
expire so that the vehicle would be inspected by the purchaser
prior to registering the vehicle and driving it on the street."
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY clarified his question. He asked if an
individual would be required to pay for a skipped year or years on
an expired registration when trying to make the registration
current, or if the upcoming year's registration fee would be all
that was required.
MR. KING said, "They had a current registration. They parked it
for a year. During that period of time, the registration expired.
The vehicle could do a title transfer if they surrendered the
plates without doing an I/M. The purchaser, then, would have to
get it I/M'd before they can get plates and drive it on the road."
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY indicated that was not what he was asking.
Number 0656
JUANITA HENSLEY, Administrator, Division of Motor Vehicles,
Department of Administration, came forward to address
Representative Cowdery's question. She said that if an individual
had a vehicle with lapsed registration, they would have to have the
vehicle inspected at an I/M station in Anchorage or Fairbanks,
unless it was a vehicle with a seasonal waiver. If it was a motor
home and had the registration for the seasonal waiver, she
explained, it would have to get another seasonal waiver that was
current.
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY observed that he may not be stating his
question clearly. He asked, "If I have a van -- it's in storage,
it's been in storage for a year or two. I haven't driven the van.
It's not been on the street. When it was put in, I did have a
current license on it. We're just talking about license now; we're
not talking about I/M, okay? Say two years after sitting, I bring
it back, or a year afterwards I bring it back. Can I just pay the
current year or do I have to pay prior year's licensing for it?"
MS. HENSLEY replied that only the current year's licensing would
need to be paid.
Number 0755
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY wondered how registration would be handled
on an old collectors car that perhaps didn't even have an engine in
it.
MS. HENSLEY explained that those vehicles would be exempt from
having to have the emissions test done once they become operable.
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY wondered whether that would be the case
regardless of whether or not the car had the original engine in it.
MS. HENSLEY indicated in the affirmative by nodding her head.
Number 0810
REPRESENTATIVE HALCRO declared a possible conflict of interest, as
his company has over 1000 cars registered in the state of Alaska;
although, he indicated that HB 78 would not affect that.
CHAIR MASEK declared that his statement would be put on the record,
but that he would still be asked to participate in this process.
REPRESENTATIVE HALCRO asked about vehicles involved in accidents
that are sold to the salvage yard, and if the title could be
transferred into someone else's name despite not being able to get
an emissions test.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said yes, and the purpose of HB 78 is to make
it easier to get the title transferred with one trip to DMV,
thereby relieving the previous owner of the liability of still
being the registered owner if it is misused. If you buy a salvaged
vehicle that does not have a title, he explained, the DMV has a
fairly reasonable process to go through to get one, involving
posting a small bond to ensure you are not buying a stolen vehicle.
Number 0905
REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON indicated that he had not looked at the
statutes themselves; however, he assumed the provision for the
seasonal waiver is already in the statutes. He asked
Representative Dyson if the waiver was something the legislature
had dealt with a couple of years previously.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON noted he did not remember, but he did not
believe it was an issue he has dealt with since he has been with
the legislature. He emphasized, however, that HB 78 would allow a
lot of auto hobbyists to modify their machines and operate them, as
most emissions problems are experienced during the cold part of the
season.
REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON indicated that he remembered the debate about
seasonal waivers during his early career in the legislature. To
make sure he understood HB 78, he said, "The emissions inspection
is not needed if the seller surrenders the plates and registration,
and the seasonal waiver essentially is filed with the DMV so that
it shows that the new owner has the seasonal waiver."
MR. KING assured Representative Hudson that he was correct. The
DMV, he added, flags the record of the vehicle to show that it is
a seasonally-waivered vehicle.
REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON clarified that this would make the paper
trail go directly through DMV.
MR. KING said yes.
Number 1020
MS. HENSLEY gave the example of current process. If a vehicle in
Anchorage or Fairbanks does not have an engine in it, she
explained, but is manufactured after 1968, people will come to the
DMV to get the title, and the DMV will send them to an emissions
testing station. The I/M station cannot give them a waiver because
there is no engine in the vehicle, so the individual then has to
apply for a waiver with the Municipality of Anchorage. HB 78, she
added, does clean up the process.
Number 1064
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY stated that he owned a 1978 collector's
vehicle with side mounts and front fenders that he drives less than
50 miles a year. He asked if it would be exempt from emissions
testing.
MS. HENSLEY asked if it was custom collector kit car.
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY said yes.
MR. KING explained that it would not be exempt from the inspection
requirements unless a seasonal waiver was obtained.
Number 1119
REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY wondered if it would be possible to drive it
in the Fur Rendezvous Parade.
MR. KING explained that the Municipality of Anchorage has
established the ability to get a waiver to drive vehicles in
parades as long as certain conditions are met, and as long as there
is no existing air quality problem at the time.
Number 1152
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON reported that the state also has a provision
for collectable or historic vehicles that would put some
restrictions on the use of that vehicle.
MS. HENSLEY added that DMV also has custom collector license
plates.
CHAIR MASEK declared that she did not believe there was anyone else
present in the audience or by teleconference who wished to testify
on HB 78.
Number 1190
REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON made a motion to adopt Amendment 1 to HB 78
and asked unanimous consent. Hearing no objections, it was so
adopted.
Number 1220
REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON made a motion to move HB 78 as amended out of
committee with individual recommendations and the attached fiscal
note(s). Hearing no objections, CSHB 78(TRA) was so moved from the
House Transportation Standing Committee.
CHAIR MASEK announced the next meeting, and Representative Hudson
informed the committee of an upcoming House Transportation
Subcommittee meeting on the Marine Highway System.
Number 1327
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the Committee
meeting was adjourned at 1:25 p.m.
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