CHAPTER 119
HB 699-FN - FINAL VERSION
25mar03... 0557h
05/08/03 1475s
2003 SESSION
03/09
HOUSE BILL 699-FN
This bill permits a person storing an abandoned vehicle to remove items from a vehicle and hold them pending payment of fees due. This bill also requires the suspension of the driver's license of any person failing to pay court-ordered costs of abandoning a 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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25mar03... 0557h
05/08/03 1475s
03-0917
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three
AN ACT relative to abandoned vehicles.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
119:1 New Paragraph; Review of Fees for Removal and Impoundment; Items in Vehicle. Amend RSA 262:35-a by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
III. Any time that a person is storing a vehicle pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision, the person may remove any items from within the vehicle that are not a part of or accessories to the vehicle. The person may hold any such items, other than wallets, purses, legal documents, car seats, eyeglasses, medicine, or medical equipment, pending payment of any fees due under this subdivision. If fees remain unpaid after 60 days, the person may dispose of the items.
119:2 Abandoning a Vehicle; Penalty. Amend RSA 262:40-c to read as follows:
262:40-c Abandoning a Vehicle; Penalty. No person shall abandon a motor vehicle, registered or unregistered, on any way or on any property other than his or her own without the permission of the owner or lessee of said property or, in the case of public property, of the police department having jurisdiction over the property. For the purposes of this section, a vehicle shall be considered abandoned if it has been left for more than 24 hours without the appropriate permission being given. The last owner of record of a motor vehicle found abandoned, as shown by the files of the department, shall be deemed prima facie to have been the owner of such motor vehicle at the time it was abandoned and to have been the person who abandoned the motor vehicle or caused or procured its abandonment. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation and shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500, and may be subject to the loss of driver's license and registration as provided in RSA 263:56 and RSA 261:179. The court may assess costs of abandoning a vehicle, including but not limited to, towing and storage costs, against any person convicted of abandoning a vehicle in violation of this section, and the director [may] shall suspend the driver's license of any person who has not paid such costs.
119:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
(Approved: Enacted in accordance with Article 44, Part II, N.H. Constitution, without signature of Governor, June 9, 2003)
(Effective Date: August 8, 2003)