THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
432 |
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 286-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§286-52
Procedure when title of vehicle transferred; delivery of certificate
mandatory. (a) [Upon a transfer of] When transferring the title
or interest of a legal owner in or to a vehicle registered under this part, the person whose title or interest is to be transferred and
the transferee shall write their signatures with pen and ink upon the
certificate of ownership issued for the vehicle, together with the address of
the transferee in the appropriate space provided upon the certificate.
(b) The person whose title or interest is to be
transferred and the transferee shall both appear in person before a clerk at
the respective county department of motor vehicles to execute the transfer. If the transferor is not available to appear
in person, the transferor shall complete the certificate of ownership, together
with the notice of transfer, and sign the certificate of ownership before a notary
public in the State or any other state. The
transferee and the transferor's representative shall both appear in person and
present the notarized document at the county department of motor vehicles when
transferring the title to the transferee. This subsection shall not apply in the event
that either the transferor or transferee is a dealer as defined in section 437‑1.1,
or the vehicle is transferred as a salvage vehicle under section 286-48.
[(b)] (c) Within thirty calendar days [thereafter,
the transferee shall forward the certificate of ownership so endorsed to the
director of finance who shall file the same; provided that if the recorded lien
holder does not have an office in the State, the applicable period shall be
sixty days.] of the date on the notice of transfer, the transferor or
representative along with the transferee shall abide by the rules set forth in subsection
(b). Whenever a [transferee]
transferor fails to comply with these provisions, the director of
finance shall charge a fee of $50, in addition to the fee provided in section
286-51[, for a new certificate of ownership].
[(c)]
(d) Subsection [(b), requiring
a transferee to forward the certificate of ownership after endorsement to the
director of finance,] (c) shall not apply [to]
in the event that the transferee of a vehicle who was not
intending to and does not drive the vehicle or permit the vehicle to be driven
upon the public highways, but every such transferee, upon transferring the
transferee's interest or title to another, shall give notice of the transfer to
the director of finance and endorse the certificate of ownership to the new legal
owner and the certificate of registration to the new owner; provided that if
the director of finance has ascertained as of the date of the application that
the registered owner has not deposited or paid bail with respect to any summons
or citation issued to the registered owner for stopping, standing, or parking in
violation of traffic ordinances within the county, the director may require, as
a condition precedent to the transfer, that the registered owner deposit or pay
bail with respect to all such summons or citations.
[(d)] (e) The director of finance, upon receipt of the
certificate of ownership properly endorsed, shall register the vehicle, and
shall issue to the owner and legal owner entitled thereto by reason of the
transfer a new certificate of registration and the certificate of ownership,
respectively, in the manner and form hereinabove provided for original
registration.
[(e)] (f) Until the director of finance has issued the
new certificate of registration and certificate of ownership as provided in
subsection [(d),] (e), delivery of such vehicle shall be deemed
not to have been made and title thereto shall be deemed not to have passed, and
the intended transfer shall be deemed to be incomplete and not to be valid or
effective for any purpose, notwithstanding any provision of the Uniform
Commercial Code; provided that a security interest in a motor vehicle shall be
perfected as provided in the Uniform Commercial Code, section 490:9-311 and
that the validity, attachment, priority, and enforcement of such security
interest shall be governed by Article 9 of the Code.
[(f)] (g) In the event of the transfer by operation of
law of the title or interest of a legal owner in and to a vehicle registered
under this part, as upon inheritance, devise, or bequest, order in bankruptcy,
or insolvency, execution sale, repossession upon default in performance of the
terms of a lease or executory sales contract, or otherwise than by the
voluntary act of the person whose title or interest is so transferred, the
certificate of ownership shall be signed upon the spaces provided by the
personal representative, receiver, trustee, sheriff, or other representative,
or successor in interest of the person whose title or interest is so
transferred in lieu of such person. Every
personal representative, receiver, trustee, sheriff, or other representative hereinabove
referred to shall file with the director of finance a notice of any transfer by
sale, lease, or otherwise by such person, of any such vehicle, together with
evidence satisfactory to the director of finance of all facts entitling such
representative to make the transfer.
Upon notice given to the director of finance that transfer by operation
of law of the title or interest of a legal owner or a registered owner has been
effected pursuant to any provision of law, the director of finance shall send to
the legal owner or the registered owner or both a notice by registered mail of
such action and requesting the delivery to the director of finance of the
certificate of ownership or the certificate of registration, as the case may
be, within ten days after date of mailing of the notice, and any person who
refuses or neglects to deliver the same to the director of finance pursuant to
the notice shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided
in section 286-61.
[(g)] (h) Nothing in the foregoing subsections shall
prevent a legal owner from assigning the title or interest in or to a vehicle
registered under this part to another legal owner at any time without the consent
of and without affecting the interest of the holder of the certificate of registration
thereof. Upon filing with the director
of finance of a certificate of ownership endorsed by the legal owner and a
transferee of legal ownership, the director of finance shall, whether the
certificate of registration has expired or not, enter the name of the new legal
owner upon the records of the director's office and shall forthwith issue a new
certificate of ownership to the new legal owner in the form for original
registration. Upon so doing, the
director of finance shall send to the registered owner a notice by mail of the
action.
[(h)] (i) Any person who refuses or neglects to deliver
a certificate of ownership to a transferee entitled thereto under this part, shall
be punished as provided in section 286-61.
[(i)] (j) Every dealer, upon transferring a motor
vehicle, whether by sale, lease, or otherwise, shall immediately give notice of
the transfer to the director of finance upon the official form provided by the
director of finance. Every such notice
shall contain the date of the transfer, the names and addresses of the
transferor and transferee, and such description of the vehicle as may be called
for in the official form.
[(j) Every person, other than a dealer, upon
transferring a motor vehicle, whether by sale, lease, or otherwise, shall within
ten days give notice of the transfer to the director of finance upon the
official form provided by the director of finance. Every notice shall contain the date of
transfer, the names and addresses of the transferor and transferee, and such
description of the vehicle as may be called for in the official form. Any person who violates this subsection shall
be fined not more than $100.]
(k) Whenever [the registered owner of
any motor vehicle or] any licensed dealer has given notice to the
director of finance of a transfer of the title or interest in the motor
vehicle, as provided in subsection [(i) or] (j), and has delivered the
certificate of ownership bearing the transferor's signature to the transferee
as required by subsection (a), the transferor shall be relieved from any
liability, civil or criminal, from the date the transferor delivers the motor
vehicle into the transferee's possession, which the transferor might otherwise
subsequently incur by reason solely of being the registered owner of the
vehicle.
(l) A licensed dealer who has forwarded a properly endorsed certificate of ownership to the director of finance shall be relieved of any civil liability, from the date the transferor delivers the motor vehicle into the transferee's possession, which the transferor might otherwise subsequently incur by reason solely of being the registered owner of the vehicle; provided that a specific written authorization to forward the certificate has been obtained from the transferee.
(m) Any person who falsely or fraudulently gives notice to the director of finance of a transfer of title or interest in a motor vehicle shall be subject to the penalty provided in section 286-61."
SECTION 2. Section 290-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
"(e) The transfer of title and interest by sale
under this part is a transfer by operation of law, pursuant to the
requirements under section [286-52(f).] 286-52(g)."
SECTION 3. Section 437-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
"(b) Delivery of legal ownership certificate. The legal ownership certificate shall be
delivered within the time period specified in section [286-52(b).] 286-52(c)."
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2050.
Report Title:
Hawaii State Association of Counties Package; Registration of Vehicles; Registration Transfer; Personal Delivery; Fees
Description:
Requires a motor vehicle transferor, or the transferor's representative, and transferee to appear in person to execute the transfer of a motor vehicle unless either party is a dealer or the vehicle is being transferred as a salvage vehicle. Subjects motor vehicle transferors to certain fees previously assessed on motor vehicle transferees. Takes effect 1/1/2050. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.