HOUSE FILE 255

BY  LYKAM

A BILL FOR

An Act requiring a safety examination of the repairs made to a salvage vehicle prior to issuance of a regular certificate of title.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 321.52, subsection 4, paragraphs b and c, Code 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   b.  When a wrecked or salvage vehicle has been repaired, the owner may apply for a regular certificate of title by paying the appropriate fees and surrendering the salvage certificate of title and a properly executed salvage theft and repair examination certificate. A motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of thirty thousand pounds or more is not subject to the salvage theft and repair examination otherwise required under paragraph “c”, and the owner of such vehicle is not required to submit a salvage theft and repair examination certificate. The county treasurer shall issue a regular certificate of title which shall bear a designation printed on the face of the title and printed on the registration receipt indicating that the vehicle was previously titled on a salvage certificate of title in a form approved by the department. This designation shall be included on every Iowa certificate of title and registration receipt issued thereafter for the vehicle. However, if ownership of a stolen vehicle has been transferred to an insurer organized under the laws of this state or admitted to do business in this state, or if the transfer was the result of a settlement with the owner of the vehicle arising from damage to or the unrecovered theft of the vehicle, and if the insurer certifies to the county treasurer on a form approved by the department that the insurance company has received one or more written estimates which state that the retail cost of repairs including labor, parts, and other materials of all damage to the vehicle is less than three thousand dollars, the county treasurer shall issue to the insurance company the regular certificate of title and registration receipt without this designation.
   c.  A salvage theft and repair examination shall be made by a peace officer who has been specially certified and recertified when required by the Iowa law enforcement academy to do salvage theft and repair examinations. The Iowa law enforcement academy shall determine standards for training and certification, conduct training, and may approve alternative training programs which satisfy the academy’s standards for training and certification. The owner of the salvage vehicle shall make the vehicle available for examination at a time and location designated by the peace officer doing the examination. The owner may obtain a permit to drive the vehicle to and from the examination location by submitting a repair affidavit to the agency performing the examination stating that the vehicle is reasonably safe for operation and listing the repairs which have been made to the vehicle. The owner must be present for the examination and have available for inspection the salvage title, bills of sale for all essential parts changed, if applicable, and the repair affidavit. The examination shall be for the purposes of determining whether the vehicle or repair components have been stolen and determining that the vehicle has been repaired in a safe manner. The examination is not a vehicle safety inspection and a signed salvage theft and repair examination certificate shall not be construed by any court of law to be a certification that the vehicle is safe to be operated. There shall be no cause of action against the peace officer or the agency conducting the examination or the county treasurer for failure to discover or note safety defects. If the vehicle passes the theft and repair examination, the peace officer shall indicate that the vehicle passed examination on the salvage theft and repair examination certificate. The permit and salvage theft and repair examination certificate shall be on controlled forms prescribed and furnished by the department. The owner shall pay a fee of thirty dollars upon completion of the examination. The agency performing the examinations shall retain twenty dollars of the fee and shall pay five dollars of the fee to the department and five dollars of the fee to the treasurer of state for deposit in the general fund of the state. Moneys deposited to the general fund under this paragraph are subject to the requirements of section 8.60 and shall be used by the Iowa law enforcement academy to provide for the special training, certification, and recertification of officers as required by this subsection.
EXPLANATION
   Under current law, when a wrecked or salvage vehicle has been repaired, the vehicle must undergo a salvage theft examination before the salvage title can be traded for a regular certificate of title. Theft examinations are performed by specially trained and certified peace officers for the purpose of determining whether the vehicle or repair components have been stolen. When the vehicle is presented for theft examination, the owner must bring along the salvage title, bills of sale for all essential parts changed, and a repair affidavit stating that the vehicle is reasonably safe for operation and listing the repairs which have been made to the vehicle.
   This bill expands the scope of the theft examination to include inspection of repairs made to the vehicle in order to determine that the vehicle has been repaired in a safe manner. The examination is not a vehicle safety inspection, and a salvage theft and repair examination certificate does not constitute a certification that the vehicle is safe to operate.