REPORT TITLE: 
Motor vehicle inspections
DESCRIPTION:
Amends section 286-26 to provide for motor vehicle inspections
every 24 months.

 
HB HMIA 99-229
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTIONS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:


 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that vehicle inspections
 
 2 are beneficial to safe driving in this State.  However, annual
 
 3 inspections are costly, inconvenient, and of limited benefit to
 
 4 the driving public.  Inspections every 24 months are just as
 
 5 beneficial as annual inspections but less costly and time
 
 6 consuming to the average driver.  Many states across the United
 
 7 States only require vehicle inspections every other year.
 
 8      The purpose of this Act is to amend section 286-26, Hawaii
 
 9 Revised Statutes, to require motor vehicle inspections every two
 
10 years rather than annually.
 
11      SECTION 2.  Section 286-26, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
12 amended to read as follows:
 
13      "§286-26  Certificates of inspection.(a)  The following
 
14 vehicles shall be certified as provided in subsection (e) once
 
15 every six months:
 
16      (1)  Ambulances;
 
17      (2)  Trucks, truck-tractors, semitrailers, and pole trailers
 
18           having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than
 
19           10,000 pounds;
 
20      (3)  Buses;
 
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 1      (4)  Rental or U-drive motor vehicles one year of age or
 
 2           older; and
 
 3      (5)  Taxicabs.
 
 4      (b)  All other vehicles, including motorcycles, trailers,
 
 5 semitrailers, and pole trailers having a gross vehicle weight
 
 6 rating of 10,000 pounds or less, and antique motor vehicles as
 
 7 defined in section 249-1, except those in subsections (c) and
 
 8 (d), shall be certified as provided in subsection (e) every
 
 9 [twelve] twenty-four months.
 
10      (c)  Any vehicle that has been involved in an accident shall
 
11 be certified as provided in subsection (e) before it is operated
 
12 again if:
 
13      (1)  It is determined by a police officer or an insurer that
 
14           the vehicle's equipment has been damaged so as to
 
15           render the vehicle unsafe; or
 
16      (2)  It is rebuilt or restored.
 
17      (d)  Every vehicle shall be certified prior to the issuance
 
18 of a temporary or permanent registration by the director of
 
19 finance and prior to the transfer of any registration; provided
 
20 that this requirement shall not apply to a subsequent transfer of
 
21 registration in a vehicle that carries a current certificate of
 
22 inspection.
 
23      (e)  Upon application for a certificate of inspection to be
 

 
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 1 issued for a vehicle, an inspection as prescribed by the director
 
 2 under subsection (g) shall be conducted on the vehicle, and if
 
 3 the vehicle is found to be in a safe operating condition, a
 
 4 certificate of inspection shall be issued upon payment of a fee
 
 5 to be determined by the director.  The certificate shall state
 
 6 the effective date, the termination date, the name of the issuing
 
 7 insurance carrier, and the policy number of the motor vehicle
 
 8 insurance identification card for the inspected motor vehicle as
 
 9 specified by section 431:10C-107 or state the information
 
10 contained in the proof of insurance card as specified by section
 
11 431:10G-106.  A sticker, authorized by the director, shall be
 
12 affixed to the vehicle at the time a certificate of inspection is
 
13 issued.  An inspection sticker which has been lost, stolen, or
 
14 destroyed shall be replaced without reinspection by the
 
15 inspection station that issued the original inspection sticker
 
16 upon presentation of the vehicle's current certificate of
 
17 inspection; provided that the current certificate of inspection
 
18 and inspection sticker shall not have expired at the time the
 
19 replacement is requested.  The director shall adopt rules to
 
20 determine the fee for replacement of lost, stolen, or destroyed
 
21 inspection stickers.
 
22      (f)  The operator of an official inspection station shall
 
23 pay, from the fee in subsection (e), an amount to be determined
 

 
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 1 by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91 to the director of
 
 2 transportation.  This amount shall be expended only for
 
 3 administration and enforcement of the periodic motor vehicle
 
 4 inspection program.  The funds collected pursuant to this
 
 5 subsection shall be deposited into the highway special fund.
 
 6      (g)  The director of transportation shall adopt necessary
 
 7 rules for the administration of inspections and the issuance of
 
 8 certificates of inspection.
 
 9      (h)  This section shall not apply to:
 
10      (1)  Any motor vehicle which is covered by part XI,
 
11           governing safety of motor carrier vehicle operation and
 
12           equipment; provided that the rules adopted pursuant to
 
13           part IA impose standards of inspection at least as
 
14           strict as those imposed under subsection (g) and that
 
15           certification is required at least as often as provided
 
16           in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d); and
 
17      (2)  Aircraft servicing vehicles that are being used
 
18           exclusively on lands set aside to the department of
 
19           transportation for airport purposes.
 
20      (i)  As part of the inspection required by this section, the
 
21 owner of the vehicle to be inspected shall produce and display
 
22 the motor vehicle insurance identification card for the inspected
 
23 motor vehicle required by section 431:10C-107 or the proof of
 

 
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 1 insurance card required by section 431:10G-106.  If no card is
 
 2 displayed, then the sticker authorized by the director shall not
 
 3 be affixed to the vehicle and the certificate of inspection shall
 
 4 not be issued."
 
 5      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 6 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 7      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval. 
 
 8 
 
 9                         INTRODUCED BY:___________________________
 

 
HB HMIA 99-229