Introduced by Representative Pembroke of Bennington

BILL AS INTRODUCEDH.595

2000Page 1

H.595

Referred to Committee on

Date:

Subject:Motor vehicles; school bus operators; inspections; driver training

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to:

(1) Include within the definition of a Type II school bus, a private motor vehicle designed to transport fewer than 11 persons, including the operator, for compensation.

(2) Define a “commercial fleet inspection station” and a “municipal fleet inspection station”.

(3) Require the judicial bureau to accept in establishing a prima facie case that a person has operated a vehicle with a license or privilege to operate suspended, a printout attested to by a law enforcement officer as the person’s motor vehicle record showing convictions and resulting license suspensions.

(4) Clarify the definition of “driver training”.

(5) Require as a prerequisite to qualifying for a driver’s training school license that the applicant has not been convicted of a felony nor incarcerated for a felony within 10 years prior to the date of the application and that the applicant has specified insurance coverage.

(6) Clarify the requirements for qualifying for a driving instructor’s license and a commercial driver instruction permit.

(7) Clarify the manner of assessing the value of a motor vehicle for the purpose of calculating purchase and use tax.

AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:

Sec. 1. 23 V.S.A. § 4(34)(E) is amended to read:

(E) A private motor vehicle carryingdesigned to transport fewer than 11 persons, including the operator, for compensation shall be considered a Type II school bus and need only display an identification sign as prescribed in section 1283(a)(1) of this title, and be equipped with a simple system of at least two red alternating warning lights;

Sec. 2. 23 V.S.A. § 4(64) and (65) are added to read:

(64) Commercial fleet inspection station shall mean a company or business that has been designated by the commissioner as an official commercial fleet inspection station, provided it has 10 or more motor vehicles registered in the name of the company or business, and meets all the requirements for designation as an official inspection station. Commercial fleet inspection stations shall be authorized to inspect only those vehicles registered to the company or business.

(65) Municipal fleet inspection station shall mean a municipality that has been designated as an official municipal fleet inspection station, provided it has motor vehicles registered in the name of the municipality, and meets all the requirements for designation as an official inspection station. Municipal fleet inspection stations shall be authorized to inspect only those vehicles registered to a municipality.

Sec. 3. 23 V.S.A. § 676(c) is added to read:

(c) In establishing a prima facie case against a person accused of violating this section, the judicial bureau shall accept as evidence a printout attested to by the law enforcement officer as the person's motor vehicle record showing convictions and resulting license suspensions. The admitted motor vehicle record shall establish a permissive inference that the person was under suspension on the dates and time periods set forth in the record. A certified copy shall not be required from the department of motor vehicles to establish the permissive inference.

Sec. 4. 23 V.S.A. § 701(3) is amended to read:

(3) “Driver training”--the instruction for hire in the driving of motor vehicles or in the preparation of an applicant for examination given by the department for an operator’s or junior operator’sa driver’s license, but not including instruction given by automobile dealers or their salesmen to purchasers of motor vehicles or instruction given by employers to their employees.

Sec. 5. 23 V.S.A. § 704 is amended to read:

§ 704. QUALIFICATIONS FOR TRAINING SCHOOL LICENSE

Each applicant in order to qualify for a driver's training school license shall meet the following requirements:

(1) be of good moral characternot have been convicted of a felony nor incarcerated for a felony within the ten years prior to the date of application;

(2) maintain an established place of business open to the public without respect to race, creed or color;

(3) provide evidence that he or she maintains bodily injury and property damage liability insurance on each motor vehicle being used in driver training, insuring the liability of the driver training school and the operator of each motor vehicle for each instructor and of any person while using any such motor vehicle with the permission of the named insured in at least the following amount: $50,000.00$300,000.00 for bodily injury or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to said limit for one person, $100,000.00$500,000.00 for bodily injury or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and $50,000.00$100,000.00 for damage to property of others in any one accident. Evidence of such insurance coverage shall be in the form of a certificate from thean insurance carriercompany authorized to do business in this state filed with the departmentcommissioner setting forth the insuranceamount of coverage and stipulatingproviding that the policy of insurance shall not be cancellednoncancelable except upon tenafter 15 days' prior written notice to the department.commissioner;

(4) have the equipment necessary to the giving of proper instruction in the operation of motor vehicles;

(5) pay the application and license fees prescribed in section 702 of this title.

Sec. 6. 23 V.S.A. § 705 is amended to read:

§ 705. QUALIFICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTOR’S LICENSE

Each applicant inIn order to qualify for an instructor's license, each applicant shall meet the following requirements:

(1) be of good moral character;not have been convicted of:

(A) a felony nor incarcerated for a felony within the 10 years prior to the date of application; or

(B) a violation of section 1201 of this title, or a conviction reported to the commissioner pursuant to subdivision 3905(a)(2) of this title within the three years prior to the date of application; or

* * *

Sec. 7. 23 V.S.A. § 708 is amended to read:

§ 708. REFUSAL TO ISSUE LICENSE

The commissioner may refuse to issue a license to any applicant for a driver's training school license or instructor's license when he or she is satisfied that:

(1) the applicant has not met the applicable requirements of sections 704 and 705 of this title;

(2) the applicant has made a material false statement or concealed a material fact in connection with the application;

(3) the applicant was previously the holder of a driver's training school or instructor's license which was revoked, suspended or refused renewal;

(4) the applicant has been convicted of a felony or any crime involving violence, dishonesty,or deceit, indecency, degeneracy or moral turpitude;

(5) the applicant is not the true owner of the driver training school.

Sec. 8. 23 V.S.A. § 4108(e)(1) is amended to read:

(e) A commercial driver instruction permit shall be issued as follows:

(1) a commercial driver instruction permit may be issued to an individual who holds a valid Class B, C or D driverdriver’s license from any jurisdiction who has passed the vision and written tests required for the class of license authorizing the operation of the type of vehicle for which the permit application is being made;

Sec. 9. 32 V.S.A. § 8902(5)(B) is amended to read:

(B) the amount received from the sale of a motor vehicle thenlast registered in his or her name, the amount not to exceed the average book value of the same make, type, model and year of manufacture as designated by the manufacturer and as shown in the official used car guideOfficial Used Car Guide, National Automobile Dealers Association (New England edition), or any comparable publication, provided such sale occurs within three months of the taxable purchase. Such amount shall be reported on forms supplied by the commissioner of motor vehicles;

VT LEG 117031.1