S.B. 5

1

SPECIAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT AMENDMENTS
2 2000 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Peter C. Knudson
5 AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; AMENDING CERTAIN DEFINITIONS;
6 PROVIDING FOR APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT STATUS; AMENDING
7 CERTAIN REGISTRATION FEES; MAKING TECHNICAL CHANGES; AND PROVIDING
8 AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
9 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
10 AMENDS:
11 41-1a-102, as last amended by Chapters 264 and 339, Laws of Utah 1998
12 41-1a-1206, as last amended by Chapter 262, Laws of Utah 1997
13 ENACTS:
14 41-1a-230, Utah Code Annotated 1953
15 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
16 Section 1. Section 41-1a-102 is amended to read:
17 41-1a-102. Definitions.
18 As used in this chapter:
19 (1) "Actual miles" means the actual distance a vehicle has traveled while in operation.
20 (2) "Actual weight" means the actual unladen weight of a vehicle or combination of
21 vehicles as operated and certified to by a weighmaster.
22 (3) "Affidavit of Mobile Home Affixture" means the affidavit of affixture described in
23 Title 59, Chapter 2, Part 6, Mobile Homes.
24 (4) "All-terrain type I vehicle" has the same meaning provided in Section 41-22-2 .
25 (5) "All-terrain type II vehicle" has the same meaning provided in Section 41-22-2 .
26 (6) "Amateur radio operator" means any person licensed by the Federal Communications
27 Commission to engage in private and experimental two-way radio operation on the amateur band

28 radio frequencies.
29 (7) "Branded title" means a title certificate that is labeled:
30 (a) rebuilt and restored to operation;
31 (b) flooded and restored to operation; or
32 (c) not restored to operation.
33 (8) "Camper" means any structure designed, used, and maintained primarily to be mounted
34 on or affixed to a motor vehicle that contains a floor and is designed to provide a mobile dwelling,
35 sleeping place, commercial space, or facilities for human habitation or for camping.
36 (9) "Certificate of title" means a document issued by a jurisdiction to establish a record of
37 ownership between an identified owner and the described vehicle, vessel, or outboard motor.
38 (10) "Certified scale weigh ticket" means a weigh ticket that has been issued by a
39 weighmaster.
40 (11) "Commercial vehicle" means a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer used or
41 maintained for the transportation of persons or property that operates:
42 (a) as a carrier for hire, compensation, or profit; or
43 (b) as a carrier to transport the vehicle owner's goods or property in furtherance of the
44 owner's commercial enterprise.
45 (12) "Commission" means the State Tax Commission.
46 (13) "Dealer" means a person engaged or licensed to engage in the business of buying,
47 selling, or exchanging new or used vehicles, vessels, or outboard motors either outright or on
48 conditional sale, bailment, lease, chattel mortgage, or otherwise or who has an established place
49 of business for the sale, lease, trade, or display of vehicles, vessels, or outboard motors.
50 (14) "Division" means the Motor Vehicle Division of the commission, created in Section
51 41-1a-106 .
52 (15) "Essential parts" means all integral and body parts of a vehicle of a type required to
53 be registered in this state, the removal, alteration, or substitution of which would tend to conceal
54 the identity of the vehicle or substantially alter its appearance, model, type, or mode of operation.
55 (16) "Farm tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm
56 implement for drawing plows, mowing machines, and other implements of husbandry.
57 (17) (a) "Farm truck" means a truck used by the owner or operator of a farm solely for his
58 own use in the transportation of:

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

90 (26) "Jurisdiction" means a state, district, province, political subdivision, territory, or
91 possession of the United States or any foreign country.
92 (27) "Lienholder" means a person with a security interest in particular property.
93 (28) "Manufactured home" means a transportable factory built housing unit constructed
94 on or after June 15, 1976, according to the Federal Home Construction and Safety Standards Act
95 of 1974 (HUD Code), in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or
96 more in width or 40 body feet or more in length, or when erected on site, is 400 or more square
97 feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or
98 without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the
99 plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems.
100 (29) "Manufacturer" means a person engaged in the business of constructing,
101 manufacturing, assembling, producing, or importing new or unused vehicles, vessels, or outboard
102 motors for the purpose of sale or trade.
103 (30) "Mobile home" means a transportable factory built housing unit built prior to June
104 15, 1976, in accordance with a state mobile home code which existed prior to the Federal
105 Manufactured Housing and Safety Standards Act (HUD Code).
106 (31) "Motorboat" has the same meaning as provided in Section 73-18-2 .
107 (32) "Motorcycle" means a motor vehicle having a saddle for the use of the rider and
108 designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground.
109 (33) (a) "Motor vehicle" means a self-propelled vehicle intended primarily for use and
110 operation on the highways.
111 (b) "Motor vehicle" does not include an off-highway vehicle.
112 (34) (a) "Nonresident" means a person who is not a resident of this state as defined by
113 Section 41-1a-202 , and who does not engage in intrastate business within this state and does not
114 operate in that business any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer within this state.
115 (b) A person who engages in intrastate business within this state and operates in that
116 business any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer in this state or who, even though engaging in
117 interstate commerce, maintains any vehicle in this state as the home station of that vehicle is
118 considered a resident of this state, insofar as that vehicle is concerned in administering this chapter.
119 (35) "Odometer" means a device for measuring and recording the actual distance a vehicle
120 travels while in operation, but does not include any auxiliary odometer designed to be periodically

121 reset.
122 (36) "Off-highway implement of husbandry" has the same meaning as provided in Section
123 41-22-2 .
124 (37) "Off-highway vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in Section 41-22-2 .
125 (38) "Operate" means to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle or to navigate
126 a vessel.
127 (39) "Outboard motor" means a detachable self-contained propulsion unit, excluding fuel
128 supply, used to propel a vessel.
129 (40) (a) "Owner" means a person, other than a lienholder, holding title to a vehicle, vessel,
130 or outboard motor whether or not the vehicle, vessel, or outboard motor is subject to a security
131 interest.
132 (b) If a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or installment sale
133 or mortgage of the vehicle with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated
134 in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or
135 mortgagor, or if the vehicle is the subject of a security agreement, then the conditional vendee,
136 mortgagor, or debtor is considered the owner for the purposes of this chapter.
137 (c) If a vehicle is the subject of an agreement to lease, the lessor is considered the owner
138 until the lessee exercises his option to purchase the vehicle.
139 (41) "Personalized license plate" means a license plate that has displayed on it a
140 combination of letters, numbers, or both as requested by the owner of the vehicle and assigned to
141 the vehicle by the division.
142 (42) (a) "Pickup truck" means a two-axle motor vehicle with motive power manufactured,
143 remanufactured, or materially altered to provide an open cargo area.
144 (b) "Pickup truck" includes motor vehicles with the open cargo area covered with a
145 camper, camper shell, tarp, removable top, or similar structure.
146 (43) "Pneumatic tire" means every tire in which compressed air is designed to support the
147 load.
148 (44) "Preceding year" means a period of 12 consecutive months fixed by the division that
149 is within 16 months immediately preceding the commencement of the registration or license year
150 in which proportional registration is sought. The division in fixing the period shall conform it to
151 the terms, conditions, and requirements of any applicable agreement or arrangement for the

152 proportional registration of vehicles.
153 (45) "Public garage" means every building or other place where vehicles or vessels are
154 kept and stored and where a charge is made for the storage and keeping of vehicles and vessels.
155 (46) "Reconstructed vehicle" means every vehicle of a type required to be registered in this
156 state that is materially altered from its original construction by the removal, addition, or
157 substitution of essential parts, new or used.
158 (47) "Recreational vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in Section 13-14-102 .
159 (48) "Registration" means a document issued by a jurisdiction that allows operation of a
160 vehicle or vessel on the highways or waters of this state for the time period for which the
161 registration is valid and that is evidence of compliance with the registration requirements of the
162 jurisdiction.
163 (49) (a) "Registration year" means a 12 consecutive month period commencing with the
164 completion of all applicable registration criteria.
165 (b) For administration of a multistate agreement for proportional registration the division
166 may prescribe a different 12-month period.
167 (50) "Repair or replacement" means the restoration of vehicles, vessels, or outboard motors
168 to a sound working condition by substituting any inoperative part of the vehicle, vessel, or
169 outboard motor, or by correcting the inoperative part.
170 (51) "Road tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and used for drawing other
171 vehicles and constructed so it does not carry any load either independently or any part of the weight
172 of a vehicle or load that is drawn.
173 (52) "Sailboat" has the same meaning as provided in Section 73-18-2 .
174 (53) "Security interest" means an interest that is reserved or created by a security
175 agreement to secure the payment or performance of an obligation and that is valid against third
176 parties.
177 (54) "Semitrailer" means every vehicle without motive power designed for carrying
178 persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that some part of
179 its weight and its load rests or is carried by another vehicle.
180 (55) "Special group license plate" means a type of license plate designed for a particular
181 group of people or a license plate authorized and issued by the division in accordance with Section
182 41-1a-408 .

183 (56) (a) "Special interest vehicle" means a vehicle used for general transportation purposes
184 and that is:
185 (i) 20 years or older from the current year; or
186 (ii) a make or model of motor vehicle recognized by the division director as having unique
187 interest or historic value.
188 (b) In making his determination under Subsection (56)(a), the division director shall give
189 special consideration to:
190 (i) a make of motor vehicle that is no longer manufactured;
191 (ii) a make or model of motor vehicle produced in limited or token quantities;
192 (iii) a make or model of motor vehicle produced as an experimental vehicle or one
193 designed exclusively for educational purposes or museum display; or
194 (iv) a motor vehicle of any age or make that has not been substantially altered or modified
195 from original specifications of the manufacturer and because of its significance is being collected,
196 preserved, restored, maintained, or operated by a collector or hobbyist as a leisure pursuit.
197 (57) (a) "Special mobile equipment" means every vehicle:
198 (i) not designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons or property;
199 (ii) not designed to operate in traffic; and
200 (iii) only incidentally operated or moved over the highways[, including].
201 (b) "Special mobile equipment" includes:
202 (i) farm tractors[, road];
203 (ii) off-road motorized construction or maintenance [machinery,] equipment including
204 backhoes, bulldozers, compactors, graders, loaders, road rollers, tractors, and trenchers; and
205 (iii) ditch-digging apparatus[, well-boring apparatus, and concrete mixers].
206 (c) "Special mobile equipment" does not include a commercial vehicle as defined under
207 Section 72-9-102 .
208 (58) "Specially constructed vehicle" means every vehicle of a type required to be registered
209 in this state, not originally constructed under a distinctive name, make, model, or type by a
210 generally recognized manufacturer of vehicles, and not materially altered from its original
211 construction.
212 (59) "Title" means the right to or ownership of a vehicle, vessel, or outboard motor.
213 (60) (a) "Total fleet miles" means the total number of miles operated in all jurisdictions

214 during the preceding year by power units.
215 (b) If fleets are composed entirely of trailers or semitrailers, "total fleet miles" means the
216 number of miles that those vehicles were towed on the highways of all jurisdictions during the
217 preceding year.
218 (61) "Trailer" means a vehicle without motive power designed for carrying persons or
219 property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests
220 upon the towing vehicle.
221 (62) "Transferee" means a person to whom the ownership of property is conveyed by sale,
222 gift, or any other means except by the creation of a security interest.
223 (63) "Transferor" means a person who transfers his ownership in property by sale, gift, or
224 any other means except by creation of a security interest.
225 (64) "Travel trailer," "camping trailer," or "fifth wheel trailer" means a portable vehicle
226 without motive power, designed as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational, or vacation use
227 that does not require a special highway movement permit when drawn by a self-propelled motor
228 vehicle.
229 (65) "Truck tractor" means a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other
230 vehicles and not constructed to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and load
231 that is drawn.
232 (66) "Vehicle" includes a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, off-highway vehicle,
233 manufactured home, and mobile home.
234 (67) "Vessel" has the same meaning as provided in Section 73-18-2 .
235 (68) "Vintage vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in Section 41-21-1 .
236 (69) "Waters of this state" has the same meaning as provided in Section 73-18-2 .
237 (70) "Weighmaster" means a person, association of persons, or corporation permitted to
238 weigh vehicles under this chapter.
239 Section 2. Section 41-1a-230 is enacted to read:
240 41-1a-230. Special mobile equipment status.
241 (1) "Special mobile equipment" status as defined under Section 41-1a-102 shall be
242 approved by the Department of Transportation in consultation with the Motor Carrier Advisory
243 Board created under Section 72-9-201 .
244 (2) In accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the

245 Department of Transportation in consultation with the State Tax Commission shall make rules
246 establishing procedures for application, identification, approval, denial, and appeal of special
247 mobile equipment status.
248 Section 3. Section 41-1a-1206 is amended to read:
249 41-1a-1206. Registration fees -- Fees by gross laden weight.
250 (1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), at the time application is made for registration
251 or renewal of registration of a vehicle or combination of vehicles under this chapter, a registration
252 fee shall be paid to the division as follows:
253 (a) $22.50 for each motorcycle;
254 (b) $21 for each motor vehicle of 12,000 pounds or less gross laden weight, excluding
255 motorcycles;
256 (c) unless the semitrailer or trailer is exempt from registration under Section 41-1a-202
257 or is registered under Section 41-1a-301 :
258 (i) $11 for each trailer or semitrailer over 750 pounds gross unladen weight; or
259 (ii) $8.50 for each commercial trailer or commercial semitrailer of 750 pounds or less gross
260 unladen weight;
261 (d) (i) $33 for each farm truck over 12,000 pounds, but not exceeding 14,000 pounds gross
262 laden weight; plus
263 (ii) $9 for each 2,000 pounds over 14,000 pounds gross laden weight; and
264 (e) (i) $49.50 for each motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles, excluding farm
265 trucks, over 12,000 pounds, but not exceeding 14,000 pounds gross laden weight; plus
266 (ii) $18.50 for each 2,000 pounds over 14,000 pounds gross laden weight.
267 (2) The initial registration fee for a vintage vehicle is $20.
268 (3) If a motor vehicle is operated in combination with a semitrailer or trailer, each motor
269 vehicle shall register for the total gross laden weight of all units of the combination if the total
270 gross laden weight of the combination exceeds 12,000 pounds.
271 (4) (a) Registration fee categories under this section are based on the gross laden weight
272 declared in the licensee's application for registration.
273 (b) Gross laden weight shall be computed in units of 2,000 pounds. A fractional part of
274 2,000 pounds is a full unit.
275 (5) The owner of a commercial trailer or commercial semitrailer may, as an alternative to

276 registering under Subsection (1)(c), apply for and obtain a special registration and license plate for
277 a fee of $110.
278 (6) Except as provided in Section 41-6-163.6 , a truck may not be registered as a farm truck
279 unless:
280 (a) the truck meets the definition of a farm truck under Section 41-1a-102 ; and
281 (b) (i) the truck has a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 12,000 pounds; or
282 (ii) the truck has a gross vehicle weight rating of 12,000 pounds or less and the owner
283 submits to the division a certificate of emissions inspection or a waiver in compliance with Section
284 41-6-163.6 .
285 (7) A violation of Subsection (6) is a class B misdemeanor that shall be punished by a fine
286 of not less than $200.
287 (8) Trucks used exclusively to pump cement, bore wells, or perform crane services with
288 a crane lift capacity of five or more tons, are exempt from 50% of the amount of the fees required
289 for those vehicles under this section.
290 Section 4. Effective date.
291 This act takes effect on July 1, 2000.




Legislative Review Note
as of 11-18-99 10:59 AM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

Committee Note

The Transportation Interim Committee recommended this bill.