HF 526 (LSB 2038HV (2) 85)

HOUSE FILE 526

BY  COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

(SUCCESSOR TO HF 194)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the deadline for obtaining a registration fee credit for a vehicle that is sold, transferred, or junked or for a motor vehicle purchased by a lessee, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.46, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  The credit shall be claimed within thirty days
 
six months from the date the vehicle for which credit is granted was sold, transferred, or junked. After thirty days
 
six months, all credits shall be disallowed.
    Sec. 2.  Section 321.46, subsection 7, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   7.  If a motor vehicle is leased and the lessee purchases the vehicle upon termination of the lease, the lessor shall, upon claim by the lessee with the lessor within thirty days
 
six months of the purchase, assign the annual registration fee credit and registration plates for the leased motor vehicle to the lessee. Credit shall be applied as provided in subsection 3.
    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.
EXPLANATION
   Currently, when a person transfers ownership of a vehicle, the person is entitled to a credit of the unexpired portion of the annual registration fee for the vehicle that was sold, transferred, or junked. The credit is processed by the county treasurer and is applied to the annual registration fee for a vehicle newly acquired by the person. The credit must be claimed within 30 days of the date the vehicle was sold, transferred, or junked. If the credit is not claimed within 30 days, the person has six months in which to apply to the county treasurer or the department of transportation for a refund of the amount of the unexpired registration fee that would have otherwise been available as a credit.
   This bill extends the period in which a person may apply for a credit of unexpired registration fees to six months.
   Currently, when a motor vehicle is purchased by the lessee upon termination of a lease, the lessee has 30 days in which to claim a credit from the lessor for the unexpired portion of the annual registration fee and have the registration fee credit and registration plates for the leased motor vehicle assigned to the lessee. The bill provides that the lessee has six months in which to make the claim for the transfer of the registration fee credit and the registration plates.
   The bill takes effect January 1, 2014.