HOUSE BILL NO. 373
INTRODUCED BY T. SCHMIDT
BY REQUEST OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT CLARIFYING REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES; ELIMINATING THE REQUIREMENT FOR NOTARIZATION OR ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE SIGNATURE OF A PERSON SELLING A MOTOR VEHICLE; PROVIDING THAT CERTAIN VEHICLES OWNED BY A CORPORATION MAY NOT BE REGISTERED IN MONTANA; AMENDING SECTIONS 61-3-201, 61-3-303, AND 61-3-456, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 61-3-201, MCA, is amended to read:
"61-3-201. Transfer of interest -- cancellation of erroneous certificate of ownership or registration. (1) Upon a
transfer of any interest in a motor vehicle registered under the provisions of this chapter, the person whose interest is to be
transferred shall write his the person's signature with pen and ink upon the certificate of ownership issued for the vehicle in
the appropriate space provided, and the signature must be acknowledged before the county treasurer, a deputy county
treasurer, an elected official authorized to acknowledge signatures, an employee of the department, or a notary public.
(2) Within 20 calendar days after endorsement, the transferee shall forward both the endorsed certificate of ownership with the odometer mileage statement required under 61-3-206 and the certificate of registration, together with the information required under 61-3-202, to the county treasurer, who shall forward them to the department. The department may not issue a certificate of ownership or certificate of registration until the outstanding certificates are surrendered to that office or their loss is established to its reasonable satisfaction. Failure to make application within the 20-day grace period subjects the transferee to a penalty of $10. The county treasurer shall collect the penalty at the time of registration. The penalty is in addition to the fees otherwise provided by law. If the transferee does not make application within 25 days, a creditor or secured party may pay the fees for the transfer of title and filing of security interest or lien in order to have title transferred to the transferee and have the security interest or lien filed. The creditor or secured party is not liable for the penalty, registration fees, or taxes. The department shall return the certificate of title to the county treasurer as provided in 61-3-103(1). When the certificate of ownership is returned by the department to the county treasurer, the treasurer shall hold the certificate of ownership until the vehicle is properly registered.
(3) In the event of a transfer by operation of law of any interest in a motor vehicle, as upon inheritance, devise, or
bequest, order in bankruptcy or insolvency, execution sale, repossession upon default in the performance of the terms of a
lease or executory sales contract, or otherwise than by voluntary act of the person whose title or interest is transferred, the
executor, administrator, receiver, trustee, sheriff, or other representative or successor in interest of the person whose interest
is transferred shall forward to the department an application for a certificate of ownership in the form required by the
department, together with a verified or certified statement of the transfer of interest. The statement must set forth the reason
for the involuntary transfer, the interest transferred, the name of the person to whom the interest is to be transferred, the
process of or procedure effecting the transfer, and other information requested by the department. Evidence and instruments
otherwise required by law to effect a transfer of legal or equitable title to or an interest in chattels as that may be required in
such those cases must be furnished with the statement. If the department is satisfied that the transfer is regular and that all
formalities required by law have been complied with, it shall send to the owner, conditional sales vendor, lessor,
mortgagee, and other lienor, as shown by its records, notice of the intended transfer and, not less than 5 days after sending
notice, shall issue a new certificate of ownership and certificate of registration to the transferee. The notice required by this
section is complied with by deposit in the U.S. mail of the notice, postage prepaid, addressed to the person at the respective
address shown on its records.
(4) When the vehicle certificate of ownership that is involuntarily transferred is not registered in this state, the
procedure in subsection (3) must be followed in applying for a new certificate of ownership and certificate of registration;.
however However, in lieu of the statement required in subsection (3), the department may accept an affidavit of
repossession on the form provided by the state in which a lien has been perfected and the department need not send notice
of intended transfer and shall issue a new certificate of ownership and a new certificate of registration to the person entitled
to the certificates.
(5) (a) If the owner of one or more motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, or housetrailers registered under this chapter and not exceeding a combined value of $15,000 dies without leaving other property necessitating the procuring of letters of administration or letters testamentary, the surviving spouse or other heir, unless the property is by will otherwise bequeathed, may secure transfer of the decedent's certificate of ownership and the certificate of registration for the vehicle.
(b) The person seeking transfer of the certificate of ownership shall file an affidavit with the department setting forth the fact of survivorship and the name and address of any other heirs and other facts as are necessary under subsection (5)(a) to entitle the affiant to a transfer.
(c) The department is authorized to transfer the certificate of ownership and certificate of registration, subject to all security interests shown by its records, upon receipt of an affidavit showing that the affiant is entitled to a transfer under the provisions of subsection (5)(a).
(6) Nothing in subsection (5) prevents a secured party from assigning his the party's interest in a motor vehicle
registered under the provisions of this chapter to any other person without the consent of and without affecting the interest
of the holder of the certificate of ownership and certificate of registration. Upon any assignment by a secured party of his
the secured party's security interest in any motor vehicle registered under this chapter, a copy of the assignment must be
filed with the department and a record of the assignment made upon its records.
(7) The certificate of ownership is valid until canceled by the department upon a transfer of any interest shown in the certificate, and annual renewal is not needed.
(8) (a) Upon its determination that a certificate of ownership or a registration receipt contains an error or that the applicant has paid the required fees and taxes with an insufficient funds check and if the department has been notified of that fact by the county attorney, the department may cancel the certificate of ownership or receipt and, in the case of an error, issue a replacement for the erroneous certificate or receipt if the owner has returned the certificate or receipt to be canceled. If the owner fails to return to the department the certificate of ownership, the registration receipt, or the license plate, the department shall direct a peace officer or department employee to secure and return the certificate, receipt, or license plate to the department.
(b) Any person who fails to return a certificate of ownership or a registration receipt that contains an error or that has been canceled by the department due to an insufficient funds check, as provided in subsection (8)(a), after receiving actual notice of the department's demand for the return of the certificate or receipt, as required by subsection (8)(a), is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction may be fined an amount not to exceed $500."
Section 2. Section 61-3-303, MCA, is amended to read:
"61-3-303. Application for registration. (1) Each owner of A Montana resident who owns a motor vehicle operated or
driven upon the public highways of this state shall for each motor vehicle owned, except as otherwise provided in this
section, file register the motor vehicle in the office of the county treasurer in the county where the owner permanently
resides at the time of making the application or, if the vehicle is owned by a corporation or used primarily for commercial
purposes, in the taxing jurisdiction of the county where the vehicle is permanently assigned an application for registration
or reregistration on a form prescribed by the department principally garaged or parked. A vehicle that is owned by a
corporation and that is not principally garaged or parked in this state may not be registered in this state.
(2) The application for registration must contain be made on a form prescribed by the department and include:
(a) the name and address of the owner, giving the county, school district, and town or city within whose corporate limits the motor vehicle is taxable, if taxable, or within whose corporate limits the owner's residence is located if the motor vehicle is not taxable;
(b) the name and address of the holder of any security interest in the motor vehicle;
(c) a description of the motor vehicle, including make, year model, engine or serial number, manufacturer's model or letter, gross weight, declared weight on all trucks for which the manufacturer's rated capacity is 1 ton or less, and type of body and, if a truck, the manufacturer's rated capacity;
(d) the declared weight on all trailers operating intrastate, except travel trailers or trailers and semitrailers registered as provided in 61-3-711 through 61-3-733;
(e) a space in which the person registering the vehicle may indicate the person's desire to donate $1 or more to promote awareness and education efforts for procurement of organ and tissue donations for anatomical gifts; and
(f) other information that the department may require.
(2)(3) A person who files an application for registration or reregistration of a motor vehicle, except of a mobile home or
a manufactured home as those terms are defined in 15-1-101(1), shall upon the filing of the application pay to the county
treasurer:
(a) the registration fee, as provided in 61-3-311 and 61-3-321 or 61-3-456;
(b) except as provided in 61-3-456 or unless it has been previously paid, the motor vehicle fees in lieu of tax or registration fees under 61-3-560 through 61-3-562 imposed against the vehicle for the current year of registration and the immediately previous year; and
(c) a donation of $1 or more if the person has indicated on the application that the person wishes to donate to promote awareness and education efforts for procurement of organ and tissue donations in Montana to favorably impact anatomical gifts.
(3)(4) The application may not be accepted by the county treasurer unless the payments required by subsection (2) (3)
accompany the application. Except as provided in 61-3-560 through 61-3-562, the department may not assess or impose and
the county treasurer may not collect taxes or fees for a period other than:
(a) the current year; and
(b) the immediately previous year if the vehicle was not registered or operated on the highways of the state, regardless of the period of time since the vehicle was previously registered or operated.
(4)(5) The department may make full and complete investigation of the status of the vehicle. An applicant for
registration or reregistration shall submit proof from appropriate records of the proper county at the request of the
department.
(5)(6) Revenue that accrues from the voluntary donation provided in subsection (2)(c) (3)(c) must be forwarded by the
respective county treasurer for deposit in the state special revenue fund to the credit of an account established by the
department of public health and human services to support activities related to awareness and education efforts for
procurement of organ and tissue donations for anatomical gifts."
Section 3. Section 61-3-456, MCA, is amended to read:
"61-3-456. Registration of motor vehicle owned and operated by Montana resident on active military duty stationed outside Montana. (1) As an incentive for military service, an owner of a motor vehicle who is a Montana resident who entered active military duty from Montana and who is stationed outside Montana may file with the department an application for the registration of the motor vehicle. The application must be sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths. The application must state:
(a) the name and address of the owner;
(b) the make, the gross weight, the year and number of the model, and the manufacturer's identification number and serial number of the motor vehicle; and
(c) that the vehicle is owned and operated by a Montana resident who meets the qualifications of subsection (1) and is on active military duty and stationed outside Montana.
(2) The registration fee for a motor vehicle registered under subsection (1) is as provided in 61-3-311 and 61-3-321.
(3) A vehicle registered under this section is not subject to:
(a) the taxes described in 61-3-303(2)(b)(3)(b);
(b) assessment under 15-8-202 or 61-3-503, the fee in lieu of tax under 61-3-529, or the registration fee under 61-3-560 through 61-3-562; or
(c) any of the fees provided in part 5 of this chapter."
NEW SECTION. Section 4. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
- END -
Latest Version of HB 373 (HB0373.01)
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