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H0660.........................................by TRANSPORTATION AND DEFENSE
SALVAGE VEHICLES - Amends existing law relating to titling of salvage
vehicles to delete the age and market value limitations relating to
obtaining a salvage certificate of ownership for a salvage vehicle; and to
provide a procedure for obtaining a branded certificate of title for a
vehicle which is five years old or less or which has a known market value
in excess of $6,000 which has been determined to be a salvage vehicle and
which has not been inspected by the Idaho Transportation Department.
02/13 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/14 Rpt prt - to Transp
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 660
BY TRANSPORTATION AND DEFENSE COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO TITLING OF SALVAGE VEHICLES; AMENDING SECTION 49-524, IDAHO CODE,
3 TO DELETE THE AGE AND MARKET VALUE LIMITATIONS RELATING TO OBTAINING A
4 SALVAGE CERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP FOR A SALVAGE VEHICLE; AND AMENDING SEC-
5 TION 49-525, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING A BRANDED
6 CERTIFICATE OF TITLE FOR A VEHICLE WHICH IS FIVE YEARS OLD OR LESS OR
7 WHICH HAS A KNOWN MARKET VALUE IN EXCESS OF SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS WHICH HAS
8 BEEN DETERMINED TO BE A SALVAGE VEHICLE AND WHICH HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED
9 BY THE DEPARTMENT.
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
11 SECTION 1. That Section 49-524, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
12 amended to read as follows:
13 49-524. SALVAGE CERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP TO REPLACE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
14 OR ORIGIN ON CERTAIN VEHICLES -- VESSELS NOT INCLUDED. (1) Every person
15 acquiring a vehicle which is five (5) years old or less or which has a known
16 market value in excess of six thousand dollars ($6,000) which has been deter-
17 mined to be a salvage vehicle, shall obtain a salvage certificate of ownership
18 on that vehicle.
19 (2) The salvage certificate shall replace the certificate of origin, cer-
20 tificate of title or other comparable ownership document and shall indicate
21 ownership only; it shall not be valid for registration purposes.
22 (3) A salvage certificate of ownership shall be issued by the department,
23 the insurer, or a salvage pool, and shall be on a form prescribed by the
24 department. The form shall provide for assignments of the salvage certificate.
25 (4) The fee for a salvage certificate shall be the same as for issuance
26 of any regular Idaho certificate of title. The fee shall be deposited in the
27 state highway account.
28 (5) Every insurer making payment for a vehicle which is five (5) years
29 old or less or which has a known market value in excess of six thousand dol-
30 lars ($6,000) which has been determined to be a salvage vehicle, shall within
31 thirty (30) days from receipt of the properly released certificate of origin
32 or certificate of title, issue a salvage certificate to the purchaser and sur-
33 render to the department the ownership documents, a copy of the salvage cer-
34 tificate, the salvage certificate fee and other documents as required by the
35 department for processing. The department shall mark its records appropri-
36 ately.
37 (6) If a salvage pool receives a certificate of title for a vehicle which
38 is five (5) years old or less or which has a known market value in excess of
39 six thousand dollars ($6,000) which has been determined to be a salvage vehi-
40 cle, he shall within thirty (30) days and upon receipt of the properly
41 released certificate of origin or certificate of title, issue a salvage cer-
42 tificate to the purchaser and surrender to the department the ownership docu-
43 ments, a copy of the salvage certificate, the salvage certificate fee and
2
1 other documents as required by the department for processing. The department
2 shall mark its records appropriately.
3 (7) It is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six (6) months in jail, a
4 fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or both, if the owner of a retained sal-
5 vage vehicle fails to surrender the title and be issued a salvage certificate,
6 or to sell the vehicle and not tell the buyer that the vehicle is totaled.
7 (8) If an insurer has allowed the owner to retain ownership of the sal-
8 vage vehicle, the owner must surrender the certificate of title for such vehi-
9 cle to the department or the insurance company not later than fifteen (15)
10 days from the date that the claim was satisfied. The insurer must notify the
11 department of a total loss payoff. The insurer or department shall issue a
12 salvage certificate to the owner prior to any sale or disposition of the sal-
13 vage vehicle.
14 (9) If an insurer acquires the certificate of title of a vehicle in a
15 settlement of a theft claim, the insurer shall immediately, upon receipt of
16 the properly released certificate of origin or certificate of title, issue a
17 salvage certificate in the name of the insurer and surrender to the department
18 the ownership documents, a copy of the salvage certificate, the salvage cer-
19 tificate fee and other documents as required by the department for processing.
20 (10) If an insurer has acquired a vehicle in a settlement of a theft
21 claim, has made application to and has been issued a new salvage certificate
22 in the name of the insurer and the vehicle is subsequently recovered and is
23 not a salvage vehicle, the insurer may complete an affidavit indemnifying the
24 department stating the facts of acquisition and disposition of the vehicle in
25 a form prescribed by the department and deliver the salvage certificate of
26 ownership, affidavit and any other documents required by the department to the
27 transferee at the time of delivery of the vehicle.
28 (11) Any person acquiring ownership of a salvage vehicle purchased in a
29 state or jurisdiction which does not require surrender of the certificate of
30 title or comparable ownership document shall, within thirty (30) days follow-
31 ing delivery of the certificate of title or ownership document, surrender such
32 title or document to the department and apply for a salvage certificate.
33 (12) An owner of a salvage vehicle who sells or transfers said vehicle
34 shall provide a properly executed assignment of the salvage certificate of
35 ownership to the transferee.
36 (13) A purchaser of a salvage vehicle shall not possess or retain a sal-
37 vage vehicle without a salvage certificate. unless the salvage vehicle is six
38 (6) years old or older with a fair market value of six thousand dollars
39 ($6,000) or less. The salvage vehicle purchaser shall display the salvage cer-
40 tificate upon the request of any peace officer or agent of the department.
41 (14) The provisions of this section shall not apply to vessels.
42 SECTION 2. That Section 49-525, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
43 amended to read as follows:
44 49-525. SALVAGE-CERTIFIED VEHICLE -- INSPECTIONS -- BRANDING -- BRANDED
45 CERTIFICATE OF TITLE. (1) The department shall issue a branded certificate of
46 title on any motor vehicle for which a salvage certificate, salvage bill of
47 sale or other documentation showing evidence that the vehicle has been
48 declared salvage has been issued by this or any other state, provided, if doc-
49 umentation of salvage certification has been received from another state, the
50 requirements specified in section 49-524, Idaho Code, shall be applied to that
51 vehicle.
52 (2) An initial vehicle identification number inspection and major compo-
53 nent parts inspection shall be conducted by an authorized department employee
3
1 and shall include examination of the vehicle and its parts to determine that
2 the identification numbers of the vehicle or its parts have not been removed,
3 falsified, altered, defaced or destroyed and that there are no indications
4 that the vehicle or any of its parts are stolen. Such certification shall not
5 attest to the roadworthiness or safety condition of the vehicle. The fee for
6 initial inspection shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and shall be depos-
7 ited in the state highway account. The department may contract with private or
8 public entities to conduct the inspections.
9 (a) If the inspector determines that one (1) major component part has
10 damage requiring repair or replacement, the vehicle statement of facts
11 shall indicate that the vehicle shall not be eligible for a certificate of
12 title until it has been repaired and has been reinspected as a "repaired
13 vehicle." The vehicle statement of facts shall indicate that the vehicle
14 will require a "repaired vehicle" decal before issuance of a branded cer-
15 tificate of title. The owner may then submit an application with all
16 required supporting documents to the department for issuance of a certifi-
17 cate of title.
18 (b) If the inspector determines that two (2) or more major component
19 parts have damage requiring repair or replacement, or that the vehicle has
20 sustained flood damage, the vehicle shall not be eligible for a certifi-
21 cate of title until it has been restored or reconstructed and has been
22 reinspected as a reconstructed vehicle. The vehicle statement of facts
23 shall indicate that the vehicle will require a "reconstructed vehicle"
24 decal before issuance of a branded certificate of title.
25 The provisions of this subsection (2) shall not apply to a vehicle which is
26 five (5) years old or less or which has a known market value in excess of six
27 thousand dollars ($6,000) which has been determined to be a salvage vehicle.
28 (3) Every owner of a salvage vehicle which has been restored or repaired
29 in this state to its operating condition, in compliance with chapter 9, title
30 49, Idaho Code, shall, if the inspector issued a vehicle statement of facts as
31 required in subsection (2) of this section, present the vehicle to the depart-
32 ment for inspection as a reconstructed vehicle or as a repaired vehicle.
33 (a) If the inspector determines that the receipts for major component
34 parts are valid, including the vehicle identification numbers of the vehi-
35 cles from which the major component parts were removed, a "reconstructed
36 vehicle" decal or a "repaired vehicle" decal shall be affixed to the vehi-
37 cle and the statement of facts shall indicate that the vehicle has been
38 branded and that the certificate of title shall be branded accordingly.
39 (b) The fee for issuance of a "reconstructed vehicle" decal or a
40 "repaired vehicle" decal shall be ten dollars ($10.00) and shall be depos-
41 ited in the state highway account.
42 (c) The owner may then submit an application for branded certificate of
43 title to the department which application shall be accompanied by the sal-
44 vage bill of sale, salvage certificate or other documentation showing evi-
45 dence that the vehicle has been declared salvage, vehicle statement of
46 facts, indemnifying affidavit, bills of sale or invoices for major compo-
47 nent parts and written affirmation which states:
48 1. That the owner personally rebuilt or repaired the vehicle or per-
49 sonally supervised its rebuilding or repairing and includes a
50 description of work done to restore the vehicle to the operating con-
51 dition that existed prior to the event which caused the salvage cer-
52 tificate to be issued;
53 2. That the identification numbers of the restored vehicle and its
54 parts have not, to the knowledge of the owner, been removed,
55 destroyed, falsified, altered or defaced;
4
1 3. That the salvage certificate document or out-of-state title cer-
2 tificate attached to the application has not to the knowledge of the
3 owner been forged, falsified or altered; and
4 4. That all information contained on the application and its attach-
5 ments is true and correct.
6 (4) Upon presentation of the documents required by the department, the
7 department shall issue a branded certificate of title which shall contain the
8 word "reconstructed vehicle" or "repaired vehicle."
9 (5) If an otherwise correct application is made for a certificate of
10 title on any salvage-certified vehicle which was not inspected, as or was not
11 required by to be inspected pursuant to the provisions of subsection (2) of
12 this section, the department shall brand the vehicle with a "reconstructed
13 vehicle" decal and shall issue a branded certificate of title if the applica-
14 tion for a certificate of title is supported by a written affirmation of the
15 owner which states:
16 (a) That the owner personally rebuilt or repaired the vehicle or person-
17 ally supervised its rebuilding or repairing and includes a description of
18 work done to restore the vehicle to the operating condition that existed
19 prior to the event which caused the salvage certificate to be issued;
20 (b) That the identification numbers of the restored vehicle and its parts
21 have not, to the knowledge of the owner, been removed, destroyed, falsi-
22 fied, altered or defaced;
23 (c) That the salvage certificate document or out-of-state title certifi-
24 cate attached to the application has not to the knowledge of the owner
25 been forged, falsified or altered; and
26 (d) That all information contained on the application and its attachments
27 is true and correct.
28 (6) Each branded certificate of title received from another jurisdiction
29 shall have its brand carried forward to all subsequent certificates of title
30 issued in this state.
31 (7) The department may promulgate rules as necessary to implement the
32 provisions of sections 49-524 and 49-525, Idaho Code.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 15955
The purpose of this legislation is to provide vehicle
purchasers with necessary and important information relating
to significant damage history of a vehicle.
Under current law, a vehicle that has been declared
"salvage" in another jurisdiction, or which vehicle has been
damaged to such an extent that the cost of repair minus the
salvage value makes it uneconomical to repair or rebuild,
must be issued a title in Idaho which is branded to show
that it is a repaired or rebuilt vehicle. However, if the
"salvage" vehicle is more than five years old or has a
market value of less than $6,000, Idaho law permits a new
title to be issued and the "salvage" brand to be removed
from the title. A purchaser of such vehicle would not know,
from the title, he was receiving a vehicle previously
declared to be "salvage." Idaho is one of the few states
that permits the "salvage" brand to be removed for these
vehicles, and the Idaho consumers are deprived of this
information.
This legislation treats all salvage vehicles alike,
regardless of age or value. However, as to vehicles older
than five years or with a value of less than $6,000, that
have been repaired under the personal supervision of the
owner, the Department of Transportation may, upon the
affidavit of the owner as to facts relating to the repair of
the vehicle, issue a title showing a "reconstructed vehicle"
brand without inspecting the vehicle. However, the purchaser
of such vehicle will have necessary information to make an
informed decision as to the purchase.
FISCAL NOTE
There will be no fiscal impact on state or local funds.
Contact
Name: Rep. Bob Nonini
Name: Bill Roden, Idaho State Independent Automobile
Dealers Association
Phone: 336-7930
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 660