CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 19(RLS)(efd am) "An Act relating to permanent motor vehicle registration in the unorganized borough and in a municipality that has elected to allow permanent registration; relating to the registration fee for noncommercial trailers and to the motor vehicle tax for trailers; and providing for an effective date." 10:34:50 AM DARRELL BREESE, STAFF, SENATOR BILL STOLTZE, explained that the legislation would establish a new type of registration, allowing for the permanent registration of personal use motor vehicles older than eight years old and non- commercial trailers. The passage of House Bill 19 would establish a new type of registration available through the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), allowing for the permanent registration of personal-use motor vehicles older than eight years old and non-commercial trailers. The proposed change to state statutes calls for the addition of a one-time $25 fee plus the regular registration fee for an eligible vehicle, to register vehicles for personal use as long as the registered owner continues to own the vehicle. It also allows for the continuation of the regular biennial registration, already existing in the statutes. Similar changes are made in statutes for non-commercial trailers. Owners will be able to obtain permanent registration for an additional fee of $25 above the normal registration fee. Permanent registration is in effect until ownership of the trailer changes. It also allows for the continuation of the regular biennial registration, already existing in the statutes. This change will make the DMV re-registration process more user-friendly to the owners of qualifying vehicles and trailers, while lightening the work load for DMV by reducing the number of registrations processed. Senator Hoffman wondered if the local option allowed for a community to have non-commercial trailers eligibility. Darrell Breese replied that the legislation allowed for a community to adopt an ordinance to permit non-commercial trailer eligibility. Senator Dunleavy wondered why there should be any vehicle registration at all. M. Breese replied that there were safety, ownership, and liability issues that made vehicle registration important. Senator Bishop wondered if the bill only pertained to unorganized boroughs and municipalities. Mr. Breese responded in the affirmative. Senator Bishop asked if the Fairbanks North Star Borough was included. Mr. Breese replied that the borough was included in combination with other boroughs. He looked at his list of eligible communities, but did not see Fairbanks included in the list. 10:40:32 AM Senator Bishop understood that the legislation only provided for an option for the community. Mr. Breese agreed. He stated that the it was either an oversight to not include Fairbanks in the motor vehicle tax list, or Fairbanks did not collect motor vehicle tax. REPRESENTATIVE BILL STOLTZE, expressed appreciation for the committee's consideration of the legislation. He stated that the fiscal concerns had been addressed. AMY ERICKSON, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), commented that DMV would have no problem implemented the legislation. She shared that permanent tabs were already issued to seniors. Representative Stoltze shared that Alaska was a fairly transient state, and a person would be taking a gamble considering whether their vehicle was worth the registration increase. He felt that the fiscal impact was minimal. CSHB 19(RLS)(efd am) was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration.