Relates to the registration of oversize and overweight vehicles

Section 2 of the bill would amend VTL §401-9(b) to eliminate the requirement that a registration be corrected when an overweight permit is issued for a vehicle with extra legal weights and authorizes the Commissioner to implement a fee to be collected for the overweight vehicle registrations.

Section 3 of the bill provides that it would be effective 60 days after becoming law.

Existing law

VTL §401-9(b) states that where a vehicle registered under subdivisions 7 or 8 of this section on the basis of maximum gross weight requires a corrected registration because of a load in excess of the maximum load as certified in the application for registration, or the registrant desires to register the vehicle at a lower gross maximum weight, an application shall be made for correct registration.

VIL §385-15(f) states that the Department of Transportation (DOT), or other issuing authority, may issue an annual permit for a vehicle designed and constructed to carry loads that are not of one piece or item that are registered in this State.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Portions of this proposal were introduced in the Assembly and Senate in 2007 and 2008, in A7874/S3497.

Statement in support

This bill would eliminate the requirement that a registration be corrected when an overweight permit is issued for a vehicle with extra legal weights. This requirement imposes a needless inconvenience on the motor carrier industry, requiring multiple trips to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and DOT offices. Specifically, customers must first register a vehicle with DMV, at its legal weight, visit DOT to obtain a temporary permit for extra legal weight, return to DMV to re-register the vehicle at the new permitted weight, then finally return to DOT to obtain the actual permit. This is inconvenient for the customer and causes additional work for DOT and DMV.

To ensure that the simplification of the overweight vehicle registration process is revenue neutral, this bill would authorize the Commissioner 10 collect the additional registration fees for the higher permitted weight at the time the vehicle permit is obtained. Such fees would be equivalent to those now paid to DMV and would, as is the case presently, be deposited into the Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund.

This bill would also allow DOT to issue oversize/overweight permit for durations longer than one year. Current law only allows DOT to issue permits with durations of up to one year. By law, municipalities are not charged a fee for the permits. Allowing municipalities to obtain a permit that is valid until the vehicle is amended or the vehicle is replaced reduces the workload on both the municipality and DOT.

This bill will make it easier for individual customers and municipalities to comply with oversize/overweight permit operations. Greater compliance with the proposed requirements promotes safer highways and helps maintain the State's infrastructure. The resulting reduction in effort will allow the customer, municipality and DOT to make better use of their resources.

Budget implications

This bill is revenue neutral, and would free staff time to focus on other DOT core responsibilities.

Effective date

This bill would take effect 60 days after it becomes law.