S.B. 5 Enrolled

SPECIAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT AMENDMENTS
2000 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Peter C. Knudson
AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; AMENDING CERTAIN DEFINITIONS;
PROVIDING FOR APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT STATUS; AMENDING
CERTAIN REGISTRATION FEES; MAKING TECHNICAL CHANGES; AND PROVIDING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
41-1a-102, as last amended by Chapters 264 and 339, Laws of Utah 1998
41-1a-1206, as last amended by Chapter 262, Laws of Utah 1997
ENACTS:
41-1a-230, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 41-1a-102 is amended to read:
41-1a-102. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Actual miles" means the actual distance a vehicle has traveled while in operation.
(2) "Actual weight" means the actual unladen weight of a vehicle or combination of
vehicles as operated and certified to by a weighmaster.
(3) "Affidavit of Mobile Home Affixture" means the affidavit of affixture described in Title
59, Chapter 2, Part 6, Mobile Homes.
(4) "All-terrain type I vehicle" has the same meaning provided in Section 41-22-2 .
(5) "All-terrain type II vehicle" has the same meaning provided in Section 41-22-2 .
(6) "Amateur radio operator" means any person licensed by the Federal Communications
Commission to engage in private and experimental two-way radio operation on the amateur band
radio frequencies.
(7) "Branded title" means a title certificate that is labeled:

(a) rebuilt and restored to operation;
(b) flooded and restored to operation; or
(c) not restored to operation.
(8) "Camper" means any structure designed, used, and maintained primarily to be mounted
on or affixed to a motor vehicle that contains a floor and is designed to provide a mobile dwelling,
sleeping place, commercial space, or facilities for human habitation or for camping.
(9) "Certificate of title" means a document issued by a jurisdiction to establish a record of
ownership between an identified owner and the described vehicle, vessel, or outboard motor.
(10) "Certified scale weigh ticket" means a weigh ticket that has been issued by a
weighmaster.
(11) "Commercial vehicle" means a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer used or maintained
for the transportation of persons or property that operates:
(a) as a carrier for hire, compensation, or profit; or
(b) as a carrier to transport the vehicle owner's goods or property in furtherance of the
owner's commercial enterprise.
(12) "Commission" means the State Tax Commission.
(13) "Dealer" means a person engaged or licensed to engage in the business of buying, selling,
or exchanging new or used vehicles, vessels, or outboard motors either outright or on conditional
sale, bailment, lease, chattel mortgage, or otherwise or who has an established place of business for
the sale, lease, trade, or display of vehicles, vessels, or outboard motors.
(14) "Division" means the Motor Vehicle Division of the commission, created in Section
41-1a-106 .
(15) "Essential parts" means all integral and body parts of a vehicle of a type required to be
registered in this state, the removal, alteration, or substitution of which would tend to conceal the
identity of the vehicle or substantially alter its appearance, model, type, or mode of operation.
(16) "Farm tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm
implement for drawing plows, mowing machines, and other implements of husbandry.
(17) (a) "Farm truck" means a truck used by the owner or operator of a farm solely for his

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own use in the transportation of:
(i) farm products, including livestock and its products, poultry and its products, floricultural
and horticultural products;
(ii) farm supplies, including tile, fence, and every other thing or commodity used in
agricultural, floricultural, horticultural, livestock, and poultry production; and
(iii) livestock, poultry, and other animals and things used for breeding, feeding, or other
purposes connected with the operation of a farm.
(b) "Farm truck" does not include the operation of trucks by commercial processors of
agricultural products.
(18) "Fleet" means one or more commercial vehicles.
(19) "Foreign vehicle" means a vehicle of a type required to be registered, brought into this
state from another state, territory, or country other than in the ordinary course of business by or
through a manufacturer or dealer, and not registered in this state.
(20) "Gross laden weight" means the actual weight of a vehicle or combination of vehicles,
equipped for operation, to which shall be added the maximum load to be carried.
(21) "Highway" or "street" means the entire width between property lines of every way or
place of whatever nature when any part of it is open to the public, as a matter of right, for purposes
of vehicular traffic.
(22) (a) "Identification number" means the identifying number assigned by the manufacturer
or by the division for the purpose of identifying the vehicle, vessel, or outboard motor.
(b) "Identification number" includes a vehicle identification number, state assigned
identification number, hull identification number, and motor serial number.
(23) "Implement of husbandry" means every vehicle designed or adapted and used exclusively
for an agricultural operation and only incidentally operated or moved upon the highways.
(24) (a) "In-state miles" means the total number of miles operated in this state during the
preceding year by fleet power units.
(b) If fleets are composed entirely of trailers or semitrailers, "in-state miles" means the total
number of miles that those vehicles were towed on Utah highways during the preceding year.

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(25) "Interstate vehicle" means any commercial vehicle operated in more than one state,
province, territory, or possession of the United States or foreign country.
(26) "Jurisdiction" means a state, district, province, political subdivision, territory, or
possession of the United States or any foreign country.
(27) "Lienholder" means a person with a security interest in particular property.
(28) "Manufactured home" means a transportable factory built housing unit constructed on
or after June 15, 1976, according to the Federal Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of
1974 (HUD Code), in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more
in width or 40 body feet or more in length, or when erected on site, is 400 or more square feet, and
which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a
permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating,
air-conditioning, and electrical systems.
(29) "Manufacturer" means a person engaged in the business of constructing, manufacturing,
assembling, producing, or importing new or unused vehicles, vessels, or outboard motors for the
purpose of sale or trade.
(30) "Mobile home" means a transportable factory built housing unit built prior to June 15,
1976, in accordance with a state mobile home code which existed prior to the Federal Manufactured
Housing and Safety Standards Act (HUD Code).
(31) "Motorboat" has the same meaning as provided in Section 73-18-2 .
(32) "Motorcycle" means a motor vehicle having a saddle for the use of the rider and
designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground.
(33) (a) "Motor vehicle" means a self-propelled vehicle intended primarily for use and
operation on the highways.
(b) "Motor vehicle" does not include an off-highway vehicle.
(34) (a) "Nonresident" means a person who is not a resident of this state as defined by
Section 41-1a-202 , and who does not engage in intrastate business within this state and does not
operate in that business any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer within this state.
(b) A person who engages in intrastate business within this state and operates in that business

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any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer in this state or who, even though engaging in interstate
commerce, maintains any vehicle in this state as the home station of that vehicle is considered a
resident of this state, insofar as that vehicle is concerned in administering this chapter.
(35) "Odometer" means a device for measuring and recording the actual distance a vehicle
travels while in operation, but does not include any auxiliary odometer designed to be periodically
reset.
(36) "Off-highway implement of husbandry" has the same meaning as provided in Section
41-22-2 .
(37) "Off-highway vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in Section 41-22-2 .
(38) "Operate" means to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle or to navigate a
vessel.
(39) "Outboard motor" means a detachable self-contained propulsion unit, excluding fuel
supply, used to propel a vessel.
(40) (a) "Owner" means a person, other than a lienholder, holding title to a vehicle, vessel,
or outboard motor whether or not the vehicle, vessel, or outboard motor is subject to a security
interest.
(b) If a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or installment sale or
mortgage of the vehicle with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the
agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or mortgagor,
or if the vehicle is the subject of a security agreement, then the conditional vendee, mortgagor, or
debtor is considered the owner for the purposes of this chapter.
(c) If a vehicle is the subject of an agreement to lease, the lessor is considered the owner until
the lessee exercises his option to purchase the vehicle.
(41) "Personalized license plate" means a license plate that has displayed on it a combination
of letters, numbers, or both as requested by the owner of the vehicle and assigned to the vehicle by
the division.
(42) (a) "Pickup truck" means a two-axle motor vehicle with motive power manufactured,
remanufactured, or materially altered to provide an open cargo area.

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(b) "Pickup truck" includes motor vehicles with the open cargo area covered with a camper,
camper shell, tarp, removable top, or similar structure.
(43) "Pneumatic tire" means every tire in which compressed air is designed to support the
load.
(44) "Preceding year" means a period of 12 consecutive months fixed by the division that is
within 16 months immediately preceding the commencement of the registration or license year in
which proportional registration is sought. The division in fixing the period shall conform it to the
terms, conditions, and requirements of any applicable agreement or arrangement for the proportional
registration of vehicles.
(45) "Public garage" means every building or other place where vehicles or vessels are kept
and stored and where a charge is made for the storage and keeping of vehicles and vessels.
(46) "Reconstructed vehicle" means every vehicle of a type required to be registered in this
state that is materially altered from its original construction by the removal, addition, or substitution
of essential parts, new or used.
(47) "Recreational vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in Section 13-14-102 .
(48) "Registration" means a document issued by a jurisdiction that allows operation of a
vehicle or vessel on the highways or waters of this state for the time period for which the registration
is valid and that is evidence of compliance with the registration requirements of the jurisdiction.
(49) (a) "Registration year" means a 12 consecutive month period commencing with the
completion of all applicable registration criteria.
(b) For administration of a multistate agreement for proportional registration the division may
prescribe a different 12-month period.
(50) "Repair or replacement" means the restoration of vehicles, vessels, or outboard motors
to a sound working condition by substituting any inoperative part of the vehicle, vessel, or outboard
motor, or by correcting the inoperative part.
(51) "Road tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and used for drawing other vehicles
and constructed so it does not carry any load either independently or any part of the weight of a
vehicle or load that is drawn.

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(52) "Sailboat" has the same meaning as provided in Section 73-18-2 .
(53) "Security interest" means an interest that is reserved or created by a security agreement
to secure the payment or performance of an obligation and that is valid against third parties.
(54) "Semitrailer" means every vehicle without motive power designed for carrying persons
or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that some part of its weight
and its load rests or is carried by another vehicle.
(55) "Special group license plate" means a type of license plate designed for a particular
group of people or a license plate authorized and issued by the division in accordance with Section
41-1a-408 .
(56) (a) "Special interest vehicle" means a vehicle used for general transportation purposes
and that is:
(i) 20 years or older from the current year; or
(ii) a make or model of motor vehicle recognized by the division director as having unique
interest or historic value.
(b) In making his determination under Subsection (56)(a), the division director shall give
special consideration to:
(i) a make of motor vehicle that is no longer manufactured;
(ii) a make or model of motor vehicle produced in limited or token quantities;
(iii) a make or model of motor vehicle produced as an experimental vehicle or one designed
exclusively for educational purposes or museum display; or
(iv) a motor vehicle of any age or make that has not been substantially altered or modified
from original specifications of the manufacturer and because of its significance is being collected,
preserved, restored, maintained, or operated by a collector or hobbyist as a leisure pursuit.
(57) (a) "Special mobile equipment" means every vehicle:
(i) not designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons or property;
(ii) not designed to operate in traffic; and
(iii) only incidentally operated or moved over the highways[, including].
(b) "Special mobile equipment" includes:

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(i) farm tractors[, road];
(ii) off-road motorized construction or maintenance [machinery,] equipment including
backhoes, bulldozers, compactors, graders, loaders, road rollers, tractors, and trenchers; and
(iii) ditch-digging apparatus[, well-boring apparatus, and concrete mixers].
(c) "Special mobile equipment" does not include a commercial vehicle as defined under
Section 72-9-102 .
(58) "Specially constructed vehicle" means every vehicle of a type required to be registered
in this state, not originally constructed under a distinctive name, make, model, or type by a generally
recognized manufacturer of vehicles, and not materially altered from its original construction.
(59) "Title" means the right to or ownership of a vehicle, vessel, or outboard motor.
(60) (a) "Total fleet miles" means the total number of miles operated in all jurisdictions during
the preceding year by power units.
(b) If fleets are composed entirely of trailers or semitrailers, "total fleet miles" means the
number of miles that those vehicles were towed on the highways of all jurisdictions during the
preceding year.
(61) "Trailer" means a vehicle without motive power designed for carrying persons or
property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests
upon the towing vehicle.
(62) "Transferee" means a person to whom the ownership of property is conveyed by sale,
gift, or any other means except by the creation of a security interest.
(63) "Transferor" means a person who transfers his ownership in property by sale, gift, or
any other means except by creation of a security interest.
(64) "Travel trailer," "camping trailer," or "fifth wheel trailer" means a portable vehicle
without motive power, designed as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational, or vacation use that
does not require a special highway movement permit when drawn by a self-propelled motor vehicle.
(65) "Truck tractor" means a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other
vehicles and not constructed to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and load
that is drawn.

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(66) "Vehicle" includes a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, off-highway vehicle,
manufactured home, and mobile home.
(67) "Vessel" has the same meaning as provided in Section 73-18-2 .
(68) "Vintage vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in Section 41-21-1 .
(69) "Waters of this state" has the same meaning as provided in Section 73-18-2 .
(70) "Weighmaster" means a person, association of persons, or corporation permitted to
weigh vehicles under this chapter.
Section 2. Section 41-1a-230 is enacted to read:
41-1a-230. Special mobile equipment status.
(1) "Special mobile equipment" status as defined under Section 41-1a-102 shall be approved
by the Department of Transportation in consultation with the Motor Carrier Advisory Board created
under Section 72-9-201 .
(2) In accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
Department of Transportation in consultation with the State Tax Commission shall make rules
establishing procedures for application, identification, approval, denial, and appeal of special mobile
equipment status.
Section 3. Section 41-1a-1206 is amended to read:
41-1a-1206. Registration fees -- Fees by gross laden weight.
(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), at the time application is made for registration or
renewal of registration of a vehicle or combination of vehicles under this chapter, a registration fee
shall be paid to the division as follows:
(a) $22.50 for each motorcycle;
(b) $21 for each motor vehicle of 12,000 pounds or less gross laden weight, excluding
motorcycles;
(c) unless the semitrailer or trailer is exempt from registration under Section 41-1a-202 or
is registered under Section 41-1a-301 :
(i) $11 for each trailer or semitrailer over 750 pounds gross unladen weight; or
(ii) $8.50 for each commercial trailer or commercial semitrailer of 750 pounds or less gross

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unladen weight;
(d) (i) $33 for each farm truck over 12,000 pounds, but not exceeding 14,000 pounds gross
laden weight; plus
(ii) $9 for each 2,000 pounds over 14,000 pounds gross laden weight; and
(e) (i) $49.50 for each motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles, excluding farm trucks,
over 12,000 pounds, but not exceeding 14,000 pounds gross laden weight; plus
(ii) $18.50 for each 2,000 pounds over 14,000 pounds gross laden weight.
(2) The initial registration fee for a vintage vehicle is $20.
(3) If a motor vehicle is operated in combination with a semitrailer or trailer, each motor
vehicle shall register for the total gross laden weight of all units of the combination if the total gross
laden weight of the combination exceeds 12,000 pounds.
(4) (a) Registration fee categories under this section are based on the gross laden weight
declared in the licensee's application for registration.
(b) Gross laden weight shall be computed in units of 2,000 pounds. A fractional part of
2,000 pounds is a full unit.
(5) The owner of a commercial trailer or commercial semitrailer may, as an alternative to
registering under Subsection (1)(c), apply for and obtain a special registration and license plate for
a fee of $110.
(6) Except as provided in Section 41-6-163.6 , a truck may not be registered as a farm truck
unless:
(a) the truck meets the definition of a farm truck under Section 41-1a-102 ; and
(b) (i) the truck has a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 12,000 pounds; or
(ii) the truck has a gross vehicle weight rating of 12,000 pounds or less and the owner
submits to the division a certificate of emissions inspection or a waiver in compliance with Section
41-6-163.6 .
(7) A violation of Subsection (6) is a class B misdemeanor that shall be punished by a fine
of not less than $200.
(8) Trucks used exclusively to pump cement, bore wells, or perform crane services with a

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crane lift capacity of five or more tons, are exempt from 50% of the amount of the fees required for
those vehicles under this section.
Section 4. Effective date.
This act takes effect on July 1, 2000.

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