44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION; CHANGING THE LOCATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION VALIDATING STICKERS.

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

Section 1. Section 66-3-14 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 34, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-14. REGISTRATION PLATES OR VALIDATING STICKERS TO BE FURNISHED BY DEPARTMENT--REFLECTIVE MATERIAL.--

A. The department upon registering a vehicle shall issue a registration plate or a validating sticker to the owner of the vehicle. The validating sticker [may] shall be designed and required to be placed on the [registration plate or elsewhere on the vehicle] vehicle's window as prescribed by the department.

B. Each registration plate shall have a background of reflective material such that the registration number assigned to the vehicle is plainly legible from a distance of one hundred feet at night. The colors shall include those of the state flag, except prestige and special plates.

C. Each registration plate shall have displayed upon it:

(1) the registration number assigned to the person to whom it was issued; and

(2) the name of this state.

D. The department shall issue no registration plates for privately owned vehicles that contain the words "staff officer" or any other title except as otherwise provided by law.

E. All registration plates for private vehicles shall be alike in form except for the owner's registration number. The department shall adopt registration number systems for registration plates.

F. In lieu of or in addition to a registration plate or sticker for commercial motor vehicles, the department may issue an electronic identifying device."

Section 2. 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] vehicles' windows 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 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."

Section 3. Section 66-3-104 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 51, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-104. USE OF PLATE AND REGISTRATION NUMBER ON ANOTHER VEHICLE--TRANSFER OF REGISTRATION.--

A. Whenever the owner of a registered vehicle assigns title or interest to the vehicle, the registration of that vehicle expires. At such time, the owner shall remove and retain the registration plate from the vehicle and, within thirty days of the transfer, either shall make application to have the registration number assigned to another vehicle of the same class or shall forward the plate to the department or its authorized agent to be destroyed. The registration plate shall be transferred only where the application for transfer is made in the name of the original registered owner unless the owner's name has been changed by marriage, divorce or court order.

B. The registration plate shall not be displayed upon the newly acquired vehicle until the registration of the vehicle has been completed and a new registration certificate and validating sticker are issued. However, the temporary retail-sale permit issued for the vehicle by the dealer pursuant to the provisions of Section 66-3-6 NMSA 1978 may be securely attached to the plate to be transferred and displayed in accordance with Subsection A of Section 66-3-18 NMSA 1978."

Section 4. TEMPORARY PROVISION--ISSUING VALIDATING STICKERS.--The taxation and revenue department shall issue the window-placed validating stickers required by the provisions of this act upon registering a vehicle and upon renewal of registration of a vehicle; provided that by June 30, 2000, all vehicles registered by the department shall have been issued window-placed validating stickers.

Section 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 1999.