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An Act To Require the Secretary of State To Notify Vehicle Owners of Impending Registration Expiration
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §351, sub-§6  is enacted to read:
 
6.  Notification of annual registration expiration.     The Secretary of State shall notify the owner or owners of a registered vehicle at least 30 days and not more than 45 days prior to the expiration of the vehicle’s annual registration. The Secretary of State shall provide written notice, which must be mailed by the United States Postal Service. The notice must include:
 
A.  The name, address and date of birth of the owner or owners of the vehicle;
 
B.  The vehicle identification number; and
 
C.  The date the registration expires.
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §501, sub-§1,  as amended by PL 2007, c. 647, §2 and affected by §8, is further amended to read:
 
1. Automobiles; pickup trucks.   The fee for an automobile, pickup truck or sport utility vehicle used for the conveyance of passengers or interchangeably for passengers or property is $35$36.
 
An automobile or sport utility vehicle used for the conveyance of passengers or property is a "combination" vehicle and may be issued a special plate with the word "combination" instead of "Vacationland." A passenger vehicle used under contract with the State, a municipality or a school district to transport students must be designated as "combination." A vehicle owned or operated by parents or legal guardians is exempt from this subsection.
 
Commercial plates may not be issued for or displayed on an automobile.
 
A sport utility vehicle may be registered either as an automobile or a truck. A sport utility vehicle with a gross vehicle weight or combined gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds and used in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise must be registered as a truck according to its actual gross weight as provided in section 504.
 
The gross weight of a pickup truck registered as provided by this subsection may not exceed 6,000 pounds. An owner of a pickup truck who operates the pickup truck with a gross weight in excess of 6,000 pounds or the pickup truck drawing a semitrailer with a combined gross weight in excess of 6,000 pounds must register the truck as provided in section 504.
 
A combination of vehicles consisting of a pickup truck as defined in section 101, subsection 55 and a semitrailer with a registered weight of 2,000 pounds or less may be operated at the combined gross weight of the pickup truck and the semitrailer.
 
Beginning July 1, 2009, $10 of the fee must be transferred on a quarterly basis by the Treasurer of State to the TransCap Trust Fund established by Title 30-A, section 6006-G.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Secretary of State to notify the owner or owners of a registered vehicle at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the vehicle’s annual registration. The bill also increases the annual registration fee for an automobile, pickup truck or sport utility vehicle by $1, from $35 to $36.