HF 2393 (LSB 5946YH (3) 83)

HOUSE FILE 2393

BY  MASCHER

A BILL FOR

An Act imposing a registration surcharge on certain new luxury or fuel-inefficient motor vehicles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 29A.101A, subsection 5, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  Rents or lease amounts unpaid for the period preceding the effective date of the lease termination shall be paid on a prorated basis. In the case of a vehicle lease, the lessor shall not impose an early termination charge, but any summonses, title and registration fees, including the fee for new registration under section 321.105A, the new motor vehicle registration surcharge under section 321.105B if applicable, and any other obligation and liability of the lessee in accordance with the terms of the lease, including reasonable charges to the lessee for excess wear, use, and mileage, that are due and unpaid at the time of termination of the lease shall be paid by the lessee.
    Sec. 2.  Section 321.2, subsection 4, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  The director of revenue shall administer and enforce the collection of the fee for new registration as provided in section 321.105A and the new motor vehicle registration surcharge as provided in section 321.105B.
    Sec. 3.  Section 321.20, subsection 1, Code 2009, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  0f.  The amount of the new motor vehicle registration surcharge to be paid under section 321.105B.
    Sec. 4.  Section 321.23, subsection 3, Code Supplement 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  In the event an applicant for registration of a foreign vehicle for which a certificate of title has been issued is able to furnish evidence of being the registered owner of the vehicle to the county treasurer of the owner’s residence, although unable to surrender such certificate of title, the county treasurer may issue a registration receipt and plates upon receipt of the required annual registration fee and the fee for new registration, plus the new motor vehicle registration surcharge if applicable, but shall not issue a certificate of title thereto. Upon surrender of the certificate of title from the foreign state, the county treasurer shall issue a certificate of title to the owner, or person entitled thereto, of such vehicle as provided in this chapter. The owner of a vehicle registered under this subsection shall not be required to obtain a certificate of title in this state and may transfer ownership of the vehicle to a motor vehicle dealer licensed under chapter 322 if, at the time of the transfer, the certificate of title is held by a secured party and the dealer has forwarded to the secured party the sum necessary to discharge the security interest pursuant to section 321.48, subsection 1.
    Sec. 5.  Section 321.24, subsection 10, Code Supplement 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   10.  A vehicle shall be registered for the registration year. A vehicle registered for the first time in this state shall be registered for the remaining unexpired months of the registration year and pay an annual registration fee prorated for the remaining unexpired months of the registration year, plus a fee for new registration if applicable pursuant to section 321.105A, and a new motor vehicle registration surcharge if applicable pursuant to section 321.105B. Except for a vehicle registered under chapter 326, a vehicle registered for the first time during the eleventh month of the owner’s registration year may be registered for the remaining unexpired months of the registration year as provided in this paragraph or for the remaining unexpired months of the registration year and for the next registration year, upon payment of the applicable registration fees.
    Sec. 6.  Section 321.30, subsection 3, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  The department or the county treasurer shall refuse registration of a vehicle if the applicant for registration of the vehicle has failed to pay the required annual registration fee, or the fee for new registration, or the new motor vehicle registration surcharge if applicable, of any vehicle owned or previously owned when the fee was required to be paid by the applicant, and for which vehicle the registration was suspended or revoked under section 321.101, subsection 1, paragraph “d”, or section 321.101A, until the fee is paid together with any accrued penalties.
    Sec. 7.  Section 321.46, subsection 2, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Upon filing the application for a new registration and a new title, the applicant shall pay a title fee of twenty dollars, an annual registration fee prorated for the remaining unexpired months of the registration year, and a fee for new registration if applicable, and a new motor vehicle registration surcharge if applicable. A manufacturer applying for a certificate of title pursuant to section 322G.12 shall pay a title fee of ten dollars. However, a title fee shall not be charged to a manufactured or mobile home retailer applying for a certificate of title for a used mobile home or manufactured home, titled in Iowa, as required under section 321.45, subsection 4. The county treasurer, if satisfied of the genuineness and regularity of the application, and in the case of a mobile home or manufactured home, that taxes are not owing under chapter 435, and that applicant has complied with all the requirements of this chapter, shall issue a new certificate of title and, except for a mobile home, manufactured home, or a vehicle returned to and accepted by a manufacturer as described in section 322G.12, a registration card to the purchaser or transferee, shall cancel the prior registration for the vehicle, and shall forward the necessary copies to the department on the date of issuance, as prescribed in section 321.24. Mobile homes or manufactured homes titled under chapter 448 that have been subject under section 446.18 to a public bidder sale in a county shall be titled in the county’s name, with no fee, and the county treasurer shall issue the title.
    Sec. 8.  Section 321.101A, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   321.101A  Revocation of registration by county treasurer.

   The county treasurer may revoke the registration and registration plates of a vehicle if the annual registration fee, or the fee for new registration, or the new motor vehicle registration surcharge is paid by check, electronic payment, or credit card and the check, electronic payment, or credit card is not honored by the payer’s financial institution or credit card company, upon reasonable notice and demand. The owner of the vehicle or person in possession of the registration and registration plates for the vehicle shall immediately return the revoked registration and registration plates to the appropriate county treasurer’s office.
    Sec. 9.  Section 321.105A, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code Supplement 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   The following terms, when used in this section or section 321.105B, shall have the following meanings, except in those instances where the context clearly indicates otherwise:
    Sec. 10.  NEW SECTION.  321.105B  New motor vehicle registration surcharge —— new luxury vehicles and new fuel-inefficient vehicles.
   1.  In addition to the fee for new registration, a new motor vehicle registration surcharge is imposed in the amount of four tenths of one percent of the purchase price of a new motor vehicle subject to the fee for new registration under section 321.105A, subsection 2, or four tenths of one percent of the leased price of a new motor vehicle subject to the fee for new registration under section 321.105A, subsection 3, if the new motor vehicle is also subject to registration based on the weight and value of the motor vehicle under section 321.109, subsection 1. The surcharge shall be paid by the owner of the vehicle to the county treasurer at the time application is made for registration and certificate of title, in the manner provided in section 321.105A.
   2.  A motor vehicle is exempt from the surcharge imposed under this section if both of the following apply:
   a.  The purchase price or leased price of the motor vehicle is less than forty-five thousand dollars.
   b.  The fuel economy of the motor vehicle, as determined by the United States environmental protection agency administrator in accordance with 26 U.S.C. § 4064(c), is nineteen miles per gallon or more.
   3.  The director of revenue, in consultation with the department of transportation, shall administer and enforce the surcharge imposed under this section as nearly as possible in conjunction with the administration of the fee for new registration as provided in section 321.105A, subsection 4.
   4.  Moneys collected from the surcharge imposed pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the road use tax fund.
    Sec. 11.  Section 321.129, subsection 3, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  This section does not apply to the fee for new registration administered by the department of revenue pursuant to section 321.105A or the new motor vehicle registration surcharge administered by the department of revenue pursuant to section 321.105B.
    Sec. 12.  Section 321.151, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   321.151  Duty and liability of treasurer.

   The county treasurer shall collect the registration fee, the fee for new registration, the new motor vehicle registration surcharge, and penalties on each vehicle registered by the county treasurer and shall be responsible on the county treasurer’s bond for such amount. The county treasurer shall remit such amount to the treasurer of state as provided in this chapter. Fees collected pursuant to participation in county issuance of driver’s licenses under chapter 321M shall be governed by the provisions of that chapter.
    Sec. 13.  Section 321.152, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Four percent of the total collection, excluding the amount of any fee for new registration or new motor vehicle registration surcharge, for each annual or semiannual vehicle registration and each duplicate registration card or plate issued.
    Sec. 14.  Section 322G.4, subsection 2, unnumbered paragraph 2, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   Refunds shall be made to the consumer and lienholder of record, if any, as their interests appear. If applicable, refunds shall be made to the lessor and lessee as follows:  the lessee shall receive the lessee’s cost less a reasonable offset for use, and the lessor shall receive the lease price less the aggregate deposit and rental payments previously paid to the lessor for the leased vehicle. If it is determined that the lessee is entitled to a refund pursuant to this chapter, the consumer’s lease agreement with the lessor is terminated upon payment of the refund and no penalty for early termination shall be assessed. The department of revenue shall refund to the manufacturer any use tax or fee for new registration and any new motor vehicle registration surcharge which the manufacturer refunded to the consumer, lessee, or lessor under this section, if the manufacturer provides to the department of revenue a written request for a refund and evidence that the use tax or fee for new registration and the new motor vehicle registration surcharge, if applicable, was paid when the vehicle was purchased and that the manufacturer refunded the use tax or fee for new registration to the consumer, lessee, or lessor.
EXPLANATION
   This bill imposes a one-time registration surcharge on new motor vehicles with a purchase price or leased price of $45,000 or more or a fuel economy rating lower than 19 miles per gallon. The surcharge equals 0.4 percent of the motor vehicle’s purchase price or leased price. The surcharge applies to motor vehicles that are registered annually for a fee based on the weight and value of the vehicle and are subject to the fee for new registration (formerly the vehicle use tax).
   The new motor vehicle registration surcharge is collected at the time a new motor vehicle is first registered with a county treasurer. The department of revenue will administer the surcharge under the same provisions that apply for administration of the fee for new vehicle registration.
   Revenues from the new motor vehicle registration surcharge are to be deposited in the road use tax fund.