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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 982
AN ACT REVISING MOTOR VEHICLE STATUTES.
SUMMARY
This bill makes numerous unrelated changes in motor vehicle laws.
Among other things, the bill:
1. allows a driver age 16 or 17 to transport his or her sibling to or
from school during the first six months after obtaining a license
(§ 1);
2. prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles (D MV)
commissioner from suspending a driver’s license solely for
failing to pay fines, fees, or other charges resulting from a motor
vehicle infraction (§ 3);
3. allows service buses and vehicles with combination
registrations that are owned or under contract by a nonprofit to
be used on the parkways if they meet specific dimension
requirements (§ 7); and
4. prohibits motor vehicle recyclers from receiving a vehicle’s
catalytic converter unless the seller provides proof that he or she
owns the vehicle or is an authorized agent of the vehicle’s
owner (§ 17).
The bill also makes minor, technical, and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2021, except the provisions
concerning young drivers transporting siblings (§ 1) is effective July 1,
2021, and the fire apparatus study (§ 14) is effective upon passage.
§1 — YOUNG DRIVERS TRANSPORTING SIBLING S
By law, for the first six months after obtaining a license, a driver age 2021SB-00982-R000489-BA.docx
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16 or 17 generally may not have as a passenger anyone other than (1)
his or her parents or legal guardian, at least one of whom has a driver’s
license, or (2) one passenger who is a (a) licensed driving instructor or
(b) person age 20 or older who has held a license for at least four years
without it being suspended in that time. The bill also allows a 16- or
17-year-old driver to transport his or her sibling to or from school
during this period.
Under existing law, for the period between six months and one year
after a 16- or 17-year-old receives a license, he or she may carry
immediate family members as passengers.
§ 2 — MOTOR HOME , RECREATIONAL VEHICLE (RV), FLEET,
AND COMMERCIAL TRUCK REGISTRATIONS
The bill requires the DMV commissioner to allow motor home and
RV owners who use their vehicles as permanent residences to register
their vehicles using P.O. box addresses in the towns where they reside.
Current law generally provides the commissioner discretion in what
information and proof of ownership she may require registration
applicants to provide. By law, a “motor home” is a vehicular unit
designed to provide living quarters and necessary amenities that are
built into an integral part of, or permanently attached to, a truck or van
chassis (CGS § 14-1(57)). An “RV” includes the camper, camp trailer,
and motor home classes of vehicles (CGS § 14-1(80)).
Additionally, the bill permits the commissioner to authorize
businesses with 100 or more Connecticut-registered vehicles, and
meeting qualifications she establishes, to electronically register or
transfer registrations for any vehicle they acquire. Under the bill, these
businesses must pay all applicable registration and title fees for each
registration.
The bill also requires the commissioner to allow certain licensed car
dealers to electronically register vehicles with a gross vehicle weight
rating over 26,000 pounds that are used or operated in intrastate
commerce. Under the bill, these dealers must pay all applicable
registration and title fees for the registrations. By law, these dealers 2021SB-00982-R000489-BA.docx
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generally are appointed by the commissioner and authorized to issue
new registrations for passenger motor vehicles, motorcycles, campers,
camp trailers, commercial trailers, service buses, school buses, trucks,
or other vehicle types sold by the licensed dealer (see
BACKGROUND) .
§ 3 — DRIVER’S LICENSE SUSPENSIONS
Existing law generally prevents the motor vehicle statutes from
being construed as prohibiting the DMV commissioner’s authority to
suspend or revoke registrations or licenses (CGS § 14-111(a)).
Notwithstanding that law, the bill prohibits the commissioner from
suspending a license solely for failing to pay fines, fees, or other
charges resulting from a motor vehicle infraction.
§ 4 — ACCESSIBLE PARKING P LACARDS
Current law allows a parent or guardian of a child younger than age
18 with a disability to apply for an accessible parking windshield
placard on the child’s behalf and specifies that DMV must issue a
placard to each parent or guardian who applies, except that it cannot
issue more than two placards on behalf of an eligible child. The bill
eliminates the limitation that the child must be under age 18.
§ 5 — RIGHT-OF-WAY AND BUSES
The bill requires vehicle drivers to yield the right-of-way to a bus
traveling in the same direction when the bus appropriately signals (i.e.,
by using a hand and arm, signal lamp, or mechanical signal device) to
reenter the flow of traffic. A violation is an infraction.
§ 6 — SCHOOL BUS EQUIPMENT
The bill requires school buses, beginning with model year 2022, to
be equipped with an extended stop arm. Under the bill, an “extended
stop arm” is a device attached to a stop semaphore that when activated
displays a stop sign and extends between three and six feet from the
left side of a school bus.
§ 7 — VEHICLES ON PARKWAYS
Existing law generally prohibits buses on parkways (CGS §§ 13a-26 2021SB-00982-R000489-BA.docx
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& 13b-27; Conn. Agencies Regs. § 14-298-249). However, school buses
and service buses can be used on the Merritt and Wilbur Cross
parkways if they:
1. are owned by or under contract to a public, private, or religious
school or public school district;
2. are engaged in the transportation of school children to and from
school or school activities; and
3. satisfy certain registration, design, dimension, and weight
requirements.
Specifically, the school buses must be registered, two-axle, four-
wheeled Type II vehicles not more than eight feet two inches high,
seven feet wide, or 16 feet 11 inches long, with gross vehicle weight
ratings of 10,000 pounds or less. The service buses must generally not
be more than eight feet high, seven feet six inches wide, or 24 feet long,
with gross vehicle weight ratings of 7,500 pounds or less. However, the
vehicle height for service buses for students with special needs may
extend past eight feet but not exceed 10 feet (CGS § 13a-26(f); Conn.
Agencies Regs. §§ 14-298-249(f) & (g)).
The bill allows service buses and vehicles with combination
registrations that are owned or under contract by a nonprofit to be
used on the parkways if they meet specific dimension requirements.
Specifically, the service buses must not be more than 10 feet high, eight
feet wide, and 24 feet long, and the vehicles must not be more than
nine feet high, six feet eight inches wide, and 19 feet long.
§ 8 — INSURANCE COMPANY PO SSESSION OF VEHICLES
The bill creates a process for insurance companies that take
possession of a vehicle as a result of a damage or theft claim settlement
to apply to DMV for certain title documents if they are unable to
obtain them from the insured or lienholder. The companies may
specifically apply for regular, SALVAGE, or SALVAGE-PARTS ONLY
title certificates. (By law, if a vehicle has been declared a total loss and
offered for sale by certain insurance entities, the title certificates must 2021SB-00982-R000489-BA.docx
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be stamped with (1) “SALVAGE” or (2) “SALVAGE-PARTS ONLY” if
the company determines the vehicle has at least 10 major component
parts that are damaged beyond repair and must be replaced.)
Under the bill, applications must be on a DMV commissioner-
prescribed form and include documents the commissioner requires.
They must also include evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that
the company (1) provided at least two notices by certified mail, return
receipt requested, to the insured and any lienholder of record for the
vehicle indicating the company’s intention to apply for a title
certificate as the owner of the vehicle and (2) made payment to the
insured or lienholders in full settlement of the claim involving the
vehicle. The bill prohibits the commissioner from issuing these title
certificates until at least 30 days after the settlement payment is made.
The bill also makes changes to powers of attorney used to support
an insurance company’s application for or transfer of title certificates.
Under existing law, the Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act
generally, with certain exceptions, applies to all powers of attorney
and requires, among other things, a principal’s signature be witnessed
by two people and acknowledged before a notary, Connecticut-
licensed attorney, or other person authorized to take
acknowledgements (CGS §§ 1-350b & 1-350d). Notwithstanding that
law, the bill requires that a power of attorney used to support an
insurance company’s application for or transfer of title certificate only
needs a signature or electronic signature of the insured who has
received or will receive a total loss settlement from the company.
Additionally, the bill authorizes, rather than requires as under
current law, the DMV commissioner to adopt regulations about these
applications and related law.
§ 9 — REPLACEMENT VETERANS’ PLATES
Under existing law, the DMV commissioner generally must charge a
fee of $20 to replace vehicle plates (CGS § 14-50a(a)). The bill
establishes a specific fee of $15 for replacing veterans’ plates that
become mutilated or illegible. 2021SB-00982-R000489-BA.docx
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§ 10 — COLORED LIGHTS ON VOLUNTEER AMBULAN CE
MEMBERS’ VEHICLES
State law restricts the color of lights that may be displayed on
vehicles and generally prohibits using flashing lights on motor vehicles
and equipment except under specified circumstances (CGS § 14-96p).
Under current law, steady and flashing green lights may be used on
vehicles operated by an active member of a volunteer ambulance
association or company who (1) has been issued a permit by his or her
association’s or company’s chief executive officer and (2) is on the way
to or at the scene of an emergency requiring the member’s services.
The bill instead allows them to use flashing blue lights under the same
circumstances and while on the way to or at the scene of a fire.
By law, vehicles operated by active members of a volunteer fire
department or company or of an organized civil preparedness
auxiliary fire company may already use flashing blue lights.
§§ 11-12 — DRIVER’S LICENSE AND PERMIT TESTING
Under current law, before issuing a (1) driver’s license to someone
who has not been issued a Connecticut license before or operated a
motor vehicle within the last two years or (2) youth instruction permit
to a 16- or 17-year old, the DMV commissioner may require that
person to pass a vision screening to determine if he or she satisfies the
state’s vision standards. The bill specifies that this screening must be
conducted by DMV or, alternatively, the person may submit the results
of a vision exam by a licensed medical professional that certifies he or
she satisfies the standards. The bill also imposes this vision testing as a
requirement for obtaining an adult instruction permit. By law and
under the bill, a “medical professional” is a licensed physician,
physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, or optometrist
(CGS § 14-46b).
Additionally, the bill adds Vietnamese and Albanian to the
languages in which DMV must administer knowledge tests for driver’s
licenses. Under current law, these tests must be administered in
English, Spanish, or any language spoken at home by at least 1% of the
state’s population, according to most recent decennial census from the 2021SB-00982-R000489-BA.docx
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U.S. Census Bureau. Besides English and Spanish, the DMV currently
tests in Arabic, French, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese,
and Russian. Relatedly, the bill requires that DMV give youth
instruction permit written tests in Vietnamese or Albanian, in addition
to English and Spanish, as is the case under current law.
§ 13 — SCHOOL BUS PASSING VIOLATIONS
The bill makes modifications affecting school bus passing violations
based on evidence from a school bus violation detection video
monitoring system. Specifically, it (1) extends, from 10 to 30 days, the
deadline for law enforcement to issue a ticket after a violation is
recorded and (2) removes the requirement for a signed affidavit from
the person who witnessed the violation live.
§ 14 — FIRE APPARATUS SALE AND REPAIR
The bill requires the DMV commissioner to study compliance with
the laws regarding the sale and repair of fire apparatus in Connecticut
and submit a report with her findings and recommendations to the
Transportation Committee by February 1, 2022. Under the bill, the
study must include:
1. the number of times in the last five years the commissioner
imposed a civil penalty under CGS § 14-51a for violating related
laws or conducted investigations and held hearings under CGS
§ 14-65k on the sale or repair of fire apparatus,
2. the number of times in the last five years the commissioner
requested the attorney general to apply to the Superior Court
for a temporary or permanent restraining order enjoining a
person or entity selling or repairing fire apparatus from
violating related laws (CGS §§ 14-51 to 14-65j),
3. a summary of all complaints received regarding the sale or
repair of fire apparatus, and
4. any recommendations for legislation to ensure fire apparatus
sellers and repairers are properly licensed by DMV. 2021SB-00982-R000489-BA.docx
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§ 15 — COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE TESTING
Under current law, the DMV commissioner must not issue a
commercial driver’s license (CDL) unless the person has, among other
things, passed a knowledge and skills test that complies with specific
minimum federal standards. Beginning February 7, 2022, the bill
requires the commissioner to not administer a (1) CDL skills test to a
person who is applying for or upgrading to a class A or class B CDL or
applying for a “P” or “S” endorsement or (2) CDL knowledge test to a
person who is applying for an “H” endorsement, until the
commissioner has verified with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration that the person has undergone the entry level driver
training required under federal regulations. The bill provides that
these requirements do not apply to anyone exempt under federal
regulations.
§ 16 — ORGAN AND TISSUE DONORS INFORMATION
By law, the DMV and Department of Administrative Services
commissioners must enter into an agreement with at least one organ
and tissue procurement organization to provide the organization
access to information on driver’s license and identity card holders who
intend to be donors. The bill requires the departments to also provide
the procurement organization with information on individuals holding
instruction permits who wish to be donors.
§ 17 — CATALYTIC CONVERTER SALES
The bill prohibits motor vehicle recyclers from receiving a vehicle’s
catalytic converter unless the seller provides proof that he or she owns
the vehicle or is an authorized agent of the vehicle’s owner. The bill
also requires motor vehicle recyclers to maintain copies of the proof
with their records. By law, their records must be available for
inspection by the DMV, State Police, and any organized local police
department.
BACKGROUND
Related Bill
Section 33 of sSB 261, reported favorably by the Transportation 2021SB-00982-R000489-BA.docx
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Committee, permits the DMV commissioner to appoint certain
qualified and licensed dealers to issue original and renewal
registrations for passenger motor vehicles, motorcycles, campers, camp
trailers, commercial trailers, service buses, school buses, trucks, and
other vehicle types, regardless of whether the dealers sold the vehicles
to the registrants.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Transportation Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 35 Nay 0 (03/24/2021)