45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

RELATING TO MANUFACTURED HOMES; AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE CODE PERTAINING TO THE REGISTRATION OF MANUFACTURED HOMES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 66-3-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 21, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-1. VEHICLES SUBJECT TO REGISTRATION--EXCEPTIONS.--

A. Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer and pole trailer when driven or moved upon a highway is subject to the registration and certificate of title provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code except:

(1) any such vehicle driven or moved upon a highway in conformance with the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code relating to manufacturers, dealers, lien-holders or nonresidents;

(2) any such vehicle that is driven or moved upon a highway only for the purpose of crossing the highway from one property to another;

(3) any implement of husbandry that is only incidentally operated or moved upon a highway;

(4) any special mobile equipment;

(5) any vehicle that is propelled exclusively by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires though not operated upon rails;

(6) freight trailers if they are:

(a) properly registered in another state;

(b) identified by a proper base registration plate that is properly displayed; and

(c) identified by other registration documents that are in the possession of the operator and exhibited at the request of a police officer; and

(7) freight trailers or utility trailers owned and used by:

(a) a nonresident solely for the transportation of farm products purchased by the nonresident from growers or producers of the farm products and transported in the trailer out of the state;

(b) farmers and ranchers who transport to market only the produce, animals or fowl produced by them or who transport back to their farms and ranches supplies for use thereon; or

(c) persons who transport animals to and from fairs, rodeos or other places, except racetracks, where the animals are exhibited or otherwise take part in performances, in trailers drawn by a motor vehicle or truck of less than ten thousand pounds gross vehicle weight rating bearing a proper registration plate, but in no case shall the owner of an unregistered trailer described in this paragraph perform such uses for hire.

B. No certificate of title need be obtained for any vehicle of a type subject to registration owned by the government of the United States.

C. Every manufactured home shall be subject to the registration and certificate of title provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code; [and each manufactured home shall at all times bear a current registration plate] provided that a manufactured home shall not be issued or required to display registration plates."

Section 2. Section 66-3-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 24, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-4. APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION AND CERTIFICATE OF TITLE.--

A. Every owner of a vehicle of a type required to be registered in this state shall make application to the division for the registration and issuance of a certificate of title for [such] the vehicle. Applications shall be upon the appropriate forms furnished by the division and shall bear the signature of the owner written with pen and ink. All applications presented to the division shall contain:

(1) the name, bona fide New Mexico residence address and mail address of the owner or, if the owner is a firm, association or corporation, [then] the name, bona fide New Mexico business address and mail address of the firm, association or corporation;

(2) a description of the vehicle including, insofar as the hereinafter specified data may exist with respect to a given vehicle, the make, model, type of body, the number of cylinders, type of fuel used, the serial number of the vehicle, the odometer reading, the engine or other identification number provided by the manufacturer of the vehicle, whether new or used and, if a vehicle not previously registered, the date of sale by the manufacturer or dealer to the person intending to operate [such] the vehicle. In the event a vehicle is designed, constructed, converted or rebuilt for the transportation of property, the application shall include a statement of its rated capacity as established by the manufacturer of the chassis or the complete vehicle;

(3) a statement of the applicant's title and of all liens or encumbrances upon [said] the vehicle and the names and addresses of all persons having any interest therein and the nature of every such interest and the name and address of the person to whom the certificate of title shall be delivered by the division;

(4) if the vehicle required to be registered is a [house trailer, as defined in the Motor Vehicle Code] manufactured home, a certificate from the treasurer or assessor of the county in which the [house trailer] manufactured home is located showing that either:

(a) all property taxes due or to become due on the [house trailer] manufactured home for the current tax year or any past tax years have been paid; or

(b) no liability for property taxes on the [house trailer] manufactured home exists for the current year or any past tax years; and

(5) further information as may reasonably be required by the division to enable it to determine whether the vehicle is lawfully entitled to registration and the owner entitled to a certificate of title.

B. Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, any owner of a vehicle subject to registration which has never been registered in this state and which [vehicle] has been registered in another state shall have such vehicle examined and inspected for its identification number or engine number by the division or an officer or designated agent thereof incident to securing registration, reregistration or a certificate of title from the division.

C. If the vehicle subject to registration is a manufactured home that has never been registered in this state but has been registered in another state, the secretary shall, by rule, establish a procedure to verify the identification number of the manufactured home.

[C.] D. When such application refers to a vehicle not previously registered and [such] the vehicle is purchased from a dealer licensed in [the] this state or a dealer licensed or recognized as such in any other state, territory or possession of the United States, the application shall be accompanied by a manufacturer's certificate of origin duly assigned by [said] the dealer to the purchaser. In the event that a vehicle not previously registered is sold by the manufacturer to a dealer in a state not requiring a manufacturer's certificate of origin and in the event that the vehicle is subsequently purchased by a dealer or any person in this state, the application for title shall be accompanied by the evidence of title accepted by the state in which the vehicle was sold by the manufacturer [thereof] to a dealer in that state together with evidence of subsequent transfers."

Section 3. Section 66-3-19 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 39, as amended by Laws 1995, Chapter 44, Section 2 and also by Laws 1995, Chapter 135, Section 12) is amended to read:

"66-3-19. RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION--STAGGERED PERIOD FOR VEHICLES--EXCEPTION FOR MANUFACTURED HOMES AND FREIGHT

TRAILERS--LATE REGISTRATION.--

A. The department, in order to operate a more uniform system of vehicle registration, is authorized for certain or all vehicles to:

(1) prorate registration fees by monthly increments, but after the initial registration adjustment period, renewals of registration shall be for a full twelve-month period;

(2) determine the specific registered vehicle owners and the numbers of these to be assigned to each registration period in order to maintain the system;

(3) notify each registered vehicle owner by mail at the last known address within an appropriate period prior to the beginning of the registration period to which the owner has been assigned. The notice shall include a renewal-of-registration application form specifying the amount of registration fees due and the specific dates of the registration period covered by the renewal application;

(4) provide for the retention of registration plates;

(5) provide for the issuance of validating stickers to be affixed either to retained registration plates or elsewhere on the vehicles as prescribed by the department to signify the registration of the vehicles for the current registration period; and

(6) provide for identification purposes clearly recognizable distinctions between current and expired registration plates. To this end, the department, by whatever system or device the secretary may direct and which is approved by the chief of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety, shall ensure a practicable display of the proper and current registration of vehicles.

B. Certificates of title need not be renewed annually but shall remain valid until canceled by the department for cause or upon transfer of any interest shown in the certificate of title.

C. The vehicle registration of vehicles registered under the provisions of Subsection A of this section expires on the last day of the twelve-month period for which the vehicle has been registered. Every vehicle registration other than vehicles registered in accordance with Subsection A of this section, manufactured homes and freight trailers expires December 31. The department may receive applications for renewal of registration and may issue new registration evidence and registration plates or validating stickers at any time prior to expiration of registration.

D. The registration of a manufactured home or freight trailer need not be renewed annually, and the initial registration shall be effective and considered a current registration for the purpose of the Motor Vehicle Code as long as the ownership of the vehicle is not transferred. The transfer of title provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code do apply to manufactured homes and freight trailers, and the transferee is required to register the vehicle in accordance with Section 66-3-103 NMSA 1978. The department [is authorized and directed to] shall issue distinctive registration plates for [manufactured homes and] freight trailers that identify the plates as permanent registration plates.

E. It is unlawful to operate or transport or cause to be transported upon any highways in this state any vehicle, except a commercial motor vehicle registered in another state or a manufactured home, subject to registration under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code without having paid the registration fee or without having secured and constantly displayed the registration plate required by the Motor Vehicle Code. If a vehicle, other than a manufactured home, is operated or transported after the expiration of the vehicle registration, the owner of the vehicle is subject to a penalty of the greater of ten dollars ($10.00) or, if the vehicle is operated or transported thirty-one or more days after the expiration of the registration, an amount equal to seventy-five percent of the registration fee. Any duly appointed deputy or agent of the department has the authority to seize the vehicle and hold it until the fee, penalty and any fine that may be imposed for violation of law are paid and may sell the vehicle in the manner provided by law for the distraint and sale of personal property.

F. It is unlawful to operate, transport or cause to be transported upon any highways in this state or to maintain in any place in this state a manufactured home subject to registration under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code without having paid the registration fee [or without having secured and constantly displayed the registration plate] required by the Motor Vehicle Code. Violation of this subsection subjects the owner to a penalty of five dollars ($5.00), and no other administrative penalty for failure to register under the Motor Vehicle Code shall be imposed upon manufactured homes that are subject to the provisions of Section 66-6-10 NMSA 1978. Any duly appointed deputy or agent of the department has authority to seize the manufactured home and hold it until the fee, penalties and any fine that may be imposed for violation of law are paid and may sell the manufactured home in the manner provided by law for the distraint and sale of personal property.

G. This section authorizes a staggered system of registration of vehicles."