Labels

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Missouri on the Move

From the desk of Senator David Pierce 

Many bills are discussed when the Senate is in session. Every week, members of Senate committees meet to discuss legislation, to hear public testimony, and use those opinions to move legislation forward or stop it.

House Bill 1150 is a bill relating to salvage titles for vehicles. A salvage vehicle is a damaged vehicle that would cost the insurance company more to fix than to purchase. This measure allows for vehicles registered with a salvage title to be reregistered with an operational title without requiring the physical appearance of the vehicle returning to its original state. An owner may apply for this reinstatement by supplying the Department of Revenue (DOR) a statement regarding how the salvaged item came into the current owner’s possession and its current location, as well as proof of the make, model, year, vehicle identification number, and current retail value of the vehicle, and the required fee for reinstatement.

Discussion on House Bill 1402 in the Senate Transportation Committee led to a Senate committee substitute that directly relates to Senate Bill 470, a bill that was already discussed in the Senate and sent to the House for its consideration. This legislation exempts household goods movers or carriers from filing a schedule of rates, fares, and charges with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. Previously, this was required because many carrier companies worked intrastate territories, created to prohibit other carriers to work inside those territories. The bill would void any geographical restriction that limits a carrier’s regional authority on permits issued prior to Aug. 28, 2012.

A Senate committee substitute was added to House Bill 1640. Among other provisions, HB 1640 moves the registration sticker from the license plate to the inside windshield in order to reduce the theft of those stickers. It also defines a “sale” as it pertains to vehicles, trailers, boats, or outboard motors for the purpose of sales tax collection. In addition, the measure allows inspectors from DOR to go into and review repair shops, used parts facilities, and salvage or scrap businesses, where currently, only law enforcement has that ability. Another provision of the measure increases the standard width as defined for a “recreational off-road vehicle” from 60 inches to 64 inches.

To review any of these bills passed by the Senate Transportation Committee, please visitwww.senate.mo.gov, hover over the “Legislation” tab, and click on “List of 2012 Legislation.” That will take you to a list of all Senate bills filed this session. Or, if you have an interest in legislation dealing with a specific topic, click on the “Topical Index” link under the “Legislation” tab. This link is broken down by the subject matter for each measure.

As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.

Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.

No comments:

Post a Comment

.