PRINTER'S NO. 1820
No. 1533 Session of 1975
INTRODUCED BY PYLES, VROON, HOPKINS AND W. D. HUTCHINSON,
JUNE 24, 1975
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORATION, JUNE 25, 1975
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 29, 1959 (P.L.58, No.32), entitled "An
2 act consolidating and revising the Vehicle Code, the Tractor
3 Code, the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Act and
4 other acts relating to the ownership, possession and use of
5 vehicles and tractors," revising provisions relating to
6 registrations and inspections and changing the fees for
7 annual registration.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 415 and section 701,
11 act of April 29, 1959 (P.L.58, No.32), known as "The Vehicle
12 Code," amended March 3, 1970 (P.L.88, No.39), are amended to
13 read:
14 Section 415. Expiration of Registration.--
15 (a) All registrations, except registrations as otherwise
16 provided herein, shall be issued for a registration period of
17 one year commencing [on such month and day as the secretary
18 shall designate of the year the registration is issued and
19 expiring on such month and day as the secretary shall designate
20 of the year following: Provided that any initial registration of
1 a vehicle issued after the effective date of this amending act
2 may be issued for any period of time not to exceed two years.]
3 February 1, 1977 according to the last digit of the
4 manufacturer's serial number as follows:
5 Last Digit Expiration Date
6 1 January 31
7 2 February 28 (or 29)
8 3 March 31
9 4 April 30
10 5 May 31
11 6 June 30
12 7 July 31
13 8 August 31
14 9 September 30
15 0 October 31
16 * * *
17 Section 701. Motorcycles.--The fee for the annual
18 registration of a motorcycle, as defined in this act, shall be
19 [eight dollars ($8.00)] twelve dollars ($12.00).
20 Section 2. Section 702 of the act, amended May 10, 1974
21 (No.83), is amended to read:
22 Section 702. Motor Vehicles.--The fee for annual
23 registration of motor vehicles, except as provided in this act,
24 shall be [fourteen dollars ($14.00)] twenty dollars ($20.00),
25 and, if the department shall be requested by the applicant for
26 registration to assign to motor vehicles any special series of
27 registration plates for which no additional fee is expressly
28 provided for by this act, an additional fee in an amount equal
29 to the fee for annual registration of each such motor vehicle.
30 Such annual registration fee shall be ten dollars ($10.00) for
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1 any person owning the motor vehicle who is retired and receiving
2 social security or other pension and whose total income does not
3 exceed three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500.00) per year.
4 No such motor vehicle shall be a commercial or income-producing
5 motor vehicle and no such motor vehicle shall be operated by any
6 person other than the owner given the reduced registration fee
7 or any person authorized by the owner to operate the motor
8 vehicle. Every such person claiming such reduced annual
9 registration fee shall submit annually with the license
10 application a statement in writing affirming the retired, social
11 security or pension status and setting forth the total income
12 for the previous year. Every such operator granted the reduced
13 registration fee shall carry a special owner's card designed and
14 issued by the department. The department may require specially
15 designed license plates or stickers for motor vehicles of owners
16 granted the reduced registration fee.
17 Section 3. Section 702.1 of the act, amended March 3, 1970
18 (P.L.88, No.39), is amended to read:
19 Section 702.1. Fee for Suburban Motor Vehicle
20 Registration.--The fee for annual registration of suburban motor
21 vehicles, as defined in this act, shall be [sixteen dollars
22 ($16.00)] twenty dollars ($20.00).
23 Section 4. Section 704 of the act, amended December 30, 1974
24 (No.332), is amended to read:
25 Section 704. Commercial Motor Vehicles, School Buses and
26 Truck Tractors.--
27 (a) The fee for annual registration of a commercial motor
28 vehicle (except a school bus) or truck tractor with pneumatic
29 tires shall be determined by its registered gross weight,
30 according to the following table:
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1 Registered Gross
2 Class. Weight in Pounds. Fee.
3 1 5,000 [$ 26.00] $ 28.00
4 2 7,000 [ 36.00] 42.00
5 3 9,000 [ 52.00] 54.00
6 4 11,000 [ 64.00] 68.00
7 5 14,000 [ 80.00] 84.00
8 6 17,000 [ 100.00] 104.00
9 7 21,000 [ 136.00] 148.00
10 8 26,000 [ 168.00] 182.00
11 9 30,000 [ 200.00] 212.00
12 10 33,000 [ 230.00] 232.00
13 11 36,000 [ 260.00] 252.00
14 12 40,000 [ 290.00] 280.00
15 13 44,000 [ 315.00] 352.00
16 14 48,000 [ 345.00] 384.00
17 15 52,000 [ 380.00] 416.00
18 16 56,000 [ 410.00] 448.00
19 17 60,000 [ 440.00] 480.00
20 18 64,000 [ 470.00] 512.00
21 19 68,000 [ 500.00] 544.00
22 20 73,280 [ 535.00] 568.00
23 (b) The fee for annual registration of a commercial motor
24 vehicle (except a school bus) or truck tractor with cushion or
25 solid rubber tires shall be one and one-half (1-1/2) times the
26 fee shown in subsection (a) for a pneumatic-tired vehicle of the
27 same registered gross weight.
28 (c) The fee for annual registration of a school bus shall be
29 twenty-four dollars ($24.00). For the purpose of this subsection
30 a "school bus" shall be any motor vehicle of the bus type, other
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1 than a "motor bus" or "motor omnibus," operated under contract
2 with any school district, private school or parochial school of
3 this Commonwealth or owned by any private school or parochial
4 school of this Commonwealth for the transportation of school
5 children or children between their homes and Sunday School.
6 Section 5. Section 713 of the act is amended to read:
7 Section 713. Reduction of Registration Fees in Certain
8 Cases.--The fee for registration of a motor vehicle, tractor
9 trailer or semi-trailer, when registration is issued on or after
10 the beginning of the fourth month of the registration year but
11 prior to the beginning of the seventh month of the registration
12 year, shall be three-fourths (3/4) of the fee for annual
13 registration. The fee for registration of any such vehicles or
14 tractors, when registration is issued on or after the beginning
15 of the seventh month of the registration year but prior to the
16 beginning of the tenth month of the registration year, shall be
17 one-half (1/2) of the fee for annual registration. The fee for
18 registration of any such vehicles or tractors, when registration
19 is issued on or after the beginning of the tenth month of the
20 registration year, shall be one-fourth (1/4) of the fee for
21 annual registration.
22 Section 6. Subsection (a) of section 834 of the act, amended
23 July 27, 1973 (P.L.237, No.64), is amended to read:
24 Section 834. Official Inspections.--
25 (a) Every owner of a motor vehicle (including a commercial
26 motor vehicle, motor bus, motor omnibus, truck tractor, trailer,
27 or semi-trailer, but not including a trailer or semi-trailer
28 having a chassis and body weight of less than one thousand
29 (1000) pounds, or bicycle with motor attached, or fertilizer
30 trailer), being operated in this Commonwealth, shall submit such
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1 motor vehicle to such inspection of its mechanism and equipment
2 as may be designated by the secretary, including such emission
3 control systems and devices for which the Secretary of
4 Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of
5 Environmental Resources, has adopted inspection procedure and
6 requirements which shall, to the extent possible and practical,
7 be consistent with the requirements of the "Clean Air Act" (77
8 Stat. 392, 42 U.S.C. 1857) and any amendments and supplements
9 thereto. These requirements shall not apply within ninety (90)
10 days after they are adopted, shall not be changed oftener than
11 once a year and shall apply only to those motor vehicles as are
12 required by Federal law or regulation to be equipped with such
13 emission control systems and devices. The inspection of such
14 devices and systems shall commence on the first day of the
15 inspection periods (1) and (2) following the adoption of such
16 standards by the secretary: Provided, however, That the
17 secretary may provide that the inspection of such devices and
18 systems may commence on the first day of the inspection period
19 next following. Such emission control systems and devices shall
20 be inspected once a year.
21 Such motor vehicle shall be inspected [twice a year] annually
22 on a quarterly inspection cycle. [Motor vehicles inspected in
23 the first quarter shall be inspected again during the third
24 quarter; motor vehicles inspected in the second quarter shall be
25 inspected again during the fourth quarter.]
26 The owner of a motor vehicle shall submit it for inspection
27 during the quarterly cycle in accordance with [regulations
28 prescribed by the secretary.] the last two digits of the
29 manufacturer's serial number as follows:
30 Last Digits Inspection Period
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1 01 to 25 1
2 26 to 50 2
3 51 to 75 3
4 76 to 00 4
5 Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, determined by the
6 department to be exempt from registration under the provisions
7 of section 401, subsection (f) of this act, and antique motor
8 vehicles, if either operated on the public highways of this
9 Commonwealth only during the period between sunrise and sunset,
10 shall be exempt from the lighting equipment provisions of this
11 act.
12 The secretary may, with the approval of the Governor, extend
13 the time for not more than sixty (60) days for any of the
14 inspections required by this section, in any case, where weather
15 conditions of the highways or any other cause whatsoever renders
16 compliance with the provisions of this section within the
17 prescribed time difficult or impossible for a large number of
18 persons.
19 Owners of Pennsylvania registered vehicles which have been
20 outside of the Commonwealth continuously for thirty (30) days or
21 more and which at the time of reentering the Commonwealth do not
22 bear a currently valid inspection sticker shall, within forty-
23 eight (48) hours of their reentering the State, proceed to an
24 official inspection station for inspection and approval of the
25 vehicle.
26 Motor vehicles designed and used as fire trucks shall be
27 inspected once a year in accordance with regulations prescribed
28 by the secretary.
29 * * *
30 Section 7. This act shall take effect January 1, 1976.
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