HB 4809

HOUSE BILL NO. 4809
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled
"Michigan vehicle code,"
by amending the title and section 219 (MCL 257.219),
the title as amended by 2016 PA 32 and section 219 as amended by 2018 PA 74,
and by adding sections 820a and 820b.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
TITLE
An act to provide for the registration, titling,
sale, transfer, and regulation of certain vehicles operated upon the public
highways of this state or any other place open to the general public or
generally accessible to motor vehicles and distressed vehicles; to provide for
the licensing of dealers; to provide for the examination, licensing, and
control of operators and chauffeurs; to provide for the giving of proof of
financial responsibility and security by owners and operators of vehicles; to
provide for the imposition, levy, and collection of specific taxes on vehicles,
and the levy and collection of sales and use taxes, license fees, and permit
fees; to provide for the regulation and use of streets and highways; to create
certain funds; to provide penalties and sanctions for a violation of this act;
to provide for civil liability of manufacturers, the manufacturers of certain
devices, the manufacturers of automated technology, upfitters, owners, and
operators of vehicles and service of process on residents and nonresidents; to
regulate the introduction and use of certain evidence; to regulate and certify
the manufacturers of certain devices; to provide for approval and certification
of installers and servicers of certain devices; to provide for the levy of
certain assessments; to
authorize the secretary of state to aid in the enforcement of unpaid tolls and
enter agreements with certain operators of toll bridges and tunnels; to provide
for the powers and duties of certain operators of toll bridges and tunnels; to
provide procedures for disputing claims of unpaid tolls; to authorize the
secretary of state to enter into a reciprocity agreement with the duly
authorized representative of another state or tolling entity for the
enforcement and collection of tolls and related fees; to provide
for the enforcement of this act; to provide for the creation of and to
prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies; to impose
liability upon the state or local agencies; to provide appropriations for certain
purposes; to repeal all other acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act
or contrary to this act; and to repeal certain parts of this act on a specific
date.
Sec. 219. (1) The secretary of state shall
refuse issuance of a registration or a transfer of registration upon any of the
following grounds:
(a) The application
contains a false or fraudulent statement, the applicant has failed to furnish
required information or reasonable additional information requested by the
secretary of state, or the applicant is not entitled to the registration of the
vehicle under this act.
(b) The secretary
of state has reasonable ground to believe that the vehicle is a stolen or
embezzled vehicle, or that the granting of registration would constitute a
fraud against the rightful owner or other person having a valid lien upon the
vehicle.
(c) The
registration of the vehicle is suspended or revoked for any reason provided in
the motor vehicle laws of this state.
(d) At the time of
the application, the operator's or chauffeur's license of the owner or co-owner
or lessee or co-lessee is suspended, revoked, or denied, except for an
applicant who has been issued a license under section 304, or the operator has
never been licensed by this state for a third or subsequent violation of
section 625 or 625m, a local ordinance substantially corresponding to section
625 or 625m, or a law of another state substantially corresponding to section
625 or 625m, or for a fourth or subsequent suspension or revocation under
section 904.
(e) The required
fee has not been paid.
(f) The applicant,
at the time of applying for registration or a transfer of registration other
than a temporary registration issued under section 226b, fails to present a
certificate of compliance or waiver for a motor vehicle as required under
either part 63 or part 65 of the natural resources and environmental protection
act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.6301 to 324.6321 and 324.6501 to 324.6539.
(g) The application
for registration of a vehicle with an elected gross weight of 55,000 pounds or
more is not accompanied with proof of payment of the federal highway use tax
levied under the surface transportation assistance act of 1982, Public Law 97-424.
(h) The applicant
is a motor carrier subject to an out-of-service order, the applicant has
applied for a registration or transfer registration as a subterfuge for a
person subject to an out-of-service order, or the applicant's business is
operated, managed, controlled by, or affiliated with a person that is
ineligible for registration, including, but not limited to, the applicant, a
relative or family member of the applicant, or a corporate officer or
shareholder of the applicant. As used in this subdivision, "out-of-service
order" means that term as defined in 49 CFR 390.5, and also includes an
out-of-service order issued under 49 CFR 386.73.
(i) The secretary of state has received a notice from an operator of an
international toll bridge or tunnel as described in section 820a(2) identifying
the applicant and has not received a notice described in section 820a(4) or
otherwise learned that the conditions in section 820a(4) apply.
(2) The secretary
of state shall refuse issuance of a certificate of title or a salvage
certificate of title upon any of the following grounds:
(a) The application
contains a false or fraudulent statement, the applicant has failed to furnish
required information or reasonable additional information requested by the
secretary of state, or the applicant is not entitled to the issuance of a
certificate of title or salvage certificate of title under this act.
(b) The secretary
of state has reasonable ground to believe that the vehicle is a stolen or
embezzled vehicle or that the issuance of a certificate of title or a salvage
certificate of title would constitute a fraud against the rightful owner or
other person having a valid security interest upon the vehicle.
(c) The required
fee has not been paid.
(3) The secretary
of state shall not issue a registration for a vehicle for which a temporary
registration plate was issued under section 904c until the violation resulting
in the issuance of the plate is adjudicated or the vehicle is transferred to a
person who is subject to payment of a use tax under section 3 of the use tax
act, 1937 PA 94, MCL 205.93.
Sec. 820a. (1) Upon
appropriation of funds for the program, the secretary of state shall implement
a tolling enforcement program as provided in this section and section 820b.
Under the tolling enforcement program, at the request of an operator, the
secretary of state shall negotiate with the operator and enter into a tolling
enforcement agreement consistent with this section to aid in the enforcement of
collecting unpaid tolls. The tolling enforcement agreement must provide for all
of the following:
(a) A method for determining the registered owner of a vehicle for which
an individual failed to pay a toll.
(b) The form of a notice of unpaid toll to be sent to an individual who
failed to pay the toll.
(c) The service fee that the secretary of state may charge the operator
for providing services under the tolling enforcement agreement.
(d) A dispute resolution process for an individual to dispute a notice
of unpaid toll.
(e) Data sharing standards for the transmittal, retention, breach, and
use of data, including that the operator shall use any data shared by the
secretary of state solely for the purpose of collecting tolls.
(f) That the data exchanged must include both of the following:
(i) The names and
addresses of individuals who allegedly failed to pay a toll.
(ii) Toll
transaction details of the vehicles and registration plates.
(g) A statement that the tolls and related fees collected by or on
behalf of the operator are the property of the operator and that an operator
may do any of the following:
(i) Establish,
collect, and enforce the payment of tolls.
(ii) Exempt any
vehicle or class of vehicles from the payment of tolls.
(iii) Determine the
methods of payment of tolls.
(iv) Establish terms
and conditions for the registration and distribution of toll devices.
(2) If an individual fails to pay 6 tolls to operate a vehicle on part
of an international toll bridge or tunnel located in this state and the 6 tolls
remain unpaid for more than 90 days after the individual receives a notice of
unpaid toll as required by a tolling enforcement agreement under this section,
an operator may notify the secretary of state of the failure to pay the tolls on
a form determined by the secretary of state.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if the secretary of
state receives a notice under subsection (2), the secretary of state must,
under section 219, refuse to issue a registration to or transfer a registration
issued to the individual responsible for paying the toll. If the secretary of
state receives a subsequent notice described in subsection (4), or otherwise learns
that the conditions in subsection (4) apply, the secretary of state shall issue
or transfer any registration the secretary of state refused to issue or transfer
under this subsection.
(4) If an operator gives notice to the
secretary of state identifying an individual as described in subsection (2),
the operator shall immediately notify the secretary of state on a form determined
by the secretary of state if any of the following occur:
(a) The individual pays 1 or more unpaid tolls due to the operator and
has fewer than 6 unpaid tolls remaining.
(b) The dispute resolution process required by the tolling enforcement agreement
results in a final determination that the individual has fewer than 6 unpaid
tolls due to the operator because a toll was paid in full, the amount of the
toll is incorrect, or the individual named in the notice of unpaid toll is not
the individual responsible for paying the toll under subsection
(6).
(5) The remedies available to an operator under this section are in addition
to any other methods of enforcement and collection available under law.
(6) An individual responsible for paying a toll under this section is
the individual who was operating the vehicle when the toll was incurred, and
there is a rebuttable presumption that that individual is the registered owner
of the vehicle. The registered owner of the vehicle may overcome that
presumption by submitting an affidavit stating that another individual was
operating the vehicle when the toll was incurred. The affidavit must include the
name and address of that other individual and supporting documentation
demonstrating that the other individual was operating the vehicle when the toll
was incurred. If the vehicle was leased or rented, the affidavit must be
supported by a copy of the lease or rental agreement or other evidence of the
agreement.
(7) This section does not authorize an operator to charge and collect
tolls on a bridge or tunnel if not otherwise authorized by law.
(8) The secretary of state may promulgate rules necessary to implement
this section under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL
24.201 to 24.328.
(9) As used in this section and in section 820b:
(a) "Operator" means the owner or operator of a publicly or privately
owned international toll bridge or tunnel part of which is located in this
state that uses an automatic tolling system that identifies an individual
responsible for paying a toll by doing either of the following:
(i) Photographing
the individual's vehicle registration plate.
(ii) Detecting a
toll device.
(b) "Related fee" means any fee or charge, including interest,
permitted by law for creating, maintaining, administering, billing, and
collecting an account.
(c) "Toll" means a toll for operating a vehicle on part of an
international toll bridge or tunnel located in this state and any related fees.
(d) "Toll device" means an electronic device used to identify a
vehicle, including, but not limited to, a transponder system, that is linked to
an account for which an individual must register.
Sec. 820b. (1)
The secretary of state may, on the written request of an operator, enter into a
reciprocity agreement with the duly authorized representative of another state
or tolling entity for the enforcement and collection of tolls.
(2) A reciprocity agreement must provide that if the issuance of
registration or a transfer of registration of a motor vehicle would be refused under
section 219, or pursuant to a comparable law or regulation of another state,
because the registrant of the motor vehicle failed to pay applicable tolls,
then the state issuing the registration shall likewise refuse the issuance of
registration or transfer of registration until the registrant has paid the tolls
and otherwise complied with the rules and regulations of the other state or
tolling entity that imposed the tolls.
(3) Before entering into a reciprocity agreement, the secretary of state
must confirm and include in the reciprocity agreement all of the following:
(a) The other state or tolling entity has its own effective reciprocal procedure
for collecting tolls and agrees to collect tolls by employing sanctions for
nonpayment that include denial of the issuance of registration or transfer of registration
of a motor vehicle.
(b) The other state or tolling entity provides adequate notice, due
process, and appeal protections to avoid the likelihood of a false, a mistaken,
or an unjustified claim of nonpayment.
(c) The registered owner of a motor vehicle registered in this state may
present evidence to the other state or tolling entity by mail, telephone,
electronic means, or other means to invoke rights of due process without having
to appear personally in the other state where the nonpayment is alleged to have
occurred.
(d) The secretary of state may charge the other state or tolling entity
a fee sufficient to cover the costs of collection services.
(e) Additional terms and procedures as are necessary and proper to facilitate
the administration of the reciprocity agreement.
(4) This section does not limit the enforcement or collection of a toll by
any means available under the law.
(5) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the secretary of state may release
registration information and may take other actions that are reasonably
necessary to effectuate the enforcement or collection of tolls under a
reciprocity agreement.
(6) The secretary of state may promulgate rules necessary to implement this
section under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL
24.201 to 24.328.
(7) As used in this section:
(a) "Reciprocity agreement" means a reciprocity agreement
entered under subsection (1).
(b) "State" means any state, territory, or possession of the United
States, the District of Columbia, or any province of Canada.
(c) "Tolling entity" means an entity authorized to impose and
collect tolls under the laws of this state or another state.