HB 1290 - AS INTRODUCED
2000 SESSION
HOUSE BILL 1290
AN ACT relative to liability for motor vehicle state inspection, registration, and equipment violations.
SPONSORS: Rep. Vaillancourt, Hills 44
This bill requires that any motor vehicle inspection, registration, or faulty equipment violations shall be the sole responsibility of the owner of the vehicle.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
00-2211
05/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand
AN ACT relative to liability for motor vehicle state inspection, registration, and equipment violations.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Violation of Registration Requirement for Motor Vehicles. Amend RSA 261:40 to read as follows:
261:40 Registration Required. Except as otherwise provided, it is a violation for any [person to drive or any] owner or custodian to knowingly permit or cause to be driven on the ways of this state any vehicle of a type required to be registered hereunder, unless the same has been registered and the appropriate fee paid in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
2 Restricting Liability for Noncompliance with Inspection Laws to Vehicle Owner. Amend RSA 266:5 to read as follows:
266:5 Penalty for Failing to Obey Inspection Requirements. The [driver or] owner of any motor vehicle failing to comply with the requirements of the director relative to inspection shall be guilty of a violation, and the director may refuse to register, or may suspend or revoke the registration of, any motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer which has not been inspected as required or which is unsafe or unfit to be driven; provided, however, no person shall be charged with a violation of this section until a period of 10 days has elapsed from the date the inspection was due. This section shall not apply to those vehicles required to be inspected under the provisions of RSA 266:1, IV.
3 New Section; Owner Liability for Equipment Violations. Amend RSA 266 by inserting after section 4 the following new section:
266:6-a Liability for Equipment Violations. Any penalties resulting from vehicles stopped for or cited by law enforcement officials for unsafe or faulty equipment conditions shall be the sole responsibility of the owner of the vehicle. No liability shall attach to the driver of the vehicle if that driver is not the registered owner.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2001.