HCS HB 591, 210, 377, 760 & 777 -- TRANSPORTATION

SPONSOR:  St. Onge (Schlottach)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on
Transportation by a vote of 15 to 1.

This substitute changes the laws regarding transportation.

SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS

School districts, instead of the Department of Revenue, will be
responsible for conducting criminal background checks for school
bus drivers.  Drivers may continue to operate school busses
pending the results of the background check.  The substitute
provides that each school district must annually have on file a
statement from a licensed medical physician indicating that the
driver is physically qualified to operate a school bus for the
purpose of transporting pupils.  For new drivers, the statement
must be on file prior to the driver's initial operation of a
school bus.  This provision applies to drivers employed by the
school district or under contract with the school district.  Each
school district will annually provide at least eight hours of
special instruction in school bus driving to each school bus
driver employed by or under contract with the school district.
School bus examinations for drivers 70 years of age or older are
required to be completed annually.  Out-of-state residents will
be exempt from Missouri's school bus endorsement requirements if
the person possesses a valid driver's license and a school bus
endorsement from their state of residence.

FEE OFFICES

A fee office may charge $2.50 for instruction permits, nondriver
licenses, chauffeur licenses, and driver's licenses issued for
three years or less and $5.00 for licenses or instruction permits
exceeding three years.  Currently, a fee office is allowed to
impose a $5.00 fee regardless of the length of the license.

CREDIT FOR TRADE-INS

The substitute stipulates that a bill of sale which a person must
submit to the Department of Revenue to claim a trade-in sales tax
exemption does not have to be notarized.

SALVAGE VEHICLES

If an insurance company pays a claim on a salvage vehicle and the
insured is retaining ownership of the vehicle, as prior salvage,
the substitute specifies that the vehicle will not be subject to
the examination conducted by the State Highway Patrol in order
for a title to be obtained.

REPOSSESSED TITLES

The substitute modifies the process for obtaining a repossessed
title.  Currently, a lienholder must submit an application
describing the repossessed vehicle, an affidavit stating that the
debtor defaulted, and a copy of the security agreement.  Under
the substitute, the lienholder does not have to submit a copy of
the security agreement but must state in the affidavit that the
lienholder has obtained written consent of all lienholders of
record to repossess the vehicle or has provided all lienholders
with written notice of the repossession.  The lienholder must
also give the owner and lienholders a 10-day written notice that
an application for a repossessed title will be made.  Currently,
if the application is not accompanied by the written consent of
lienholders, the Department of Revenue will not issue a
repossessed title without first providing the parties with 10
days' notice.  Under the substitute, the burden is placed upon
the repossessing lienholder to notify the parties that the
lienholder is seeking a repossessed title.

REISSUANCE OF PLATES AND TABS

The reissuance of license plates is changed from January 1, 2007,
to January 1, 2010, and tabs on demand from January 1, 2009, to
January 1, 2011, under the provisions of the substitute.

DRIVER'S LICENSES

The substitute clarifies the laws regarding the issuance of
six-year and three-year licenses, their respective fees, and
their expiration on the applicant's birthday unless licensed for
a shorter period due to other requirements of law.  Commerical
driver's licenses (CDL) issued to 21 to 69 year old individuals
will expire on the sixth year after issuance unless the license
must be issued for a shorter period due to other requirements of
law or for the staggering of work.  For individuals under 18
years of age or for those 70 years of age or older, the license
will expire the third year after issuance unless the license must
be issued for a shorter period due to other requirements of law.
A CDL containing a hazardous materials endorsement issued to a
person 70 years of age or older will not be issued for a period
exceeding three years.

Active duty soldiers and their spouses are exempt from
maintaining a valid Missouri driver's license while stationed
outside the United States.  The exemption will not extend beyond
the 90-day period immediately following the soldier's discharge
or the date on which he or she returns to Missouri, whichever
occurs first.

MEMORIAL HIGHWAYS

The substitute designates a portion of State Highway 58 in
Johnson County from the intersection of State Highway U west to
State Highway 131 as the "Veterans Memorial Parkway" and the
portion of U. S. Highway 61 from the intersection of State Route
B south of the City of La Grange to the intersection of State
Route B north of the City of Canton, in Lewis County, as the
"Students of Missouri Assisting Rural Transportation (S.M.A.R.T.)
Memorial Highway."

OUT-OF-SERVICE ORDERS

The substitute allows the Highways and Transportation Commission
to suspend, revoke, or cancel the registration, license, permit,
or other credentials issued to a motor carrier if a federal
agency or the commission has issued an out-of-service order
against the motor carrier.  The law is applicable to
out-of-service orders placing a motor carrier's entire operation
out of service but does not apply to orders placing an individual
driver or vehicle out of service.

When the commission issues an order under the substitute, the
motor carrier cannot operate any commercial motor vehicle and
cannot allow any employee to operate any commercial motor vehicle
acting under the carrier's authority or control in intrastate or
interstate commerce.  The motor carrier must immediately
surrender all license plates, motor carrier licenses,
registrations, permits, and other credentials.  An out-of-state
motor carrier will not be eligible to apply for the issuance or
reinstatement of any license, registration, permit, certificate,
or other credentials until the out-of-service order has been
rescinded or the orders have been set aside by a court of proper
jurisdiction.

Any federal or state order will be admissible in administrative
and court proceedings and the orders will constitute prima facie
evidence that the motor carrier violated federal regulations or
that the motor carrier's operation poses an imminent safety
hazard, or both.

Persons aggrieved by a commission's order are allowed to appeal
to a circuit court for a hearing and a review of the order.
Judicial review of the order will be waived unless the petition
is filed within 30 days of the issuance of the order.

The commission may receive and disclose any data relating to any
out-of-service motor carrier to the Federal Motor Carrier
Administration, the Department of Revenue, the State Highway
Patrol, other law enforcement agencies, and motor carrier
liability insurance companies.

The Department of Revenue may immediately, without a hearing,
update the records to reflect the suspension, revocation, or
cancellation of all motor vehicle license plates, registrations,
and other credentials.  The department must notify the motor
carrier and the commission of all actions taken pursuant to the
commission's order.

VEHICLES TRANSPORTING SOLID WASTE

The substitute moves the weight limit restrictions on garbage
trucks from the environmental control regulations to the traffic
regulations.

The school bus and commercial driver license provisions contain
an emergency clause.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2006, FY 2007, and
FY 2008.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill contains provisions
that allow the Department of Revenue to streamline their process,
strengthen and simplify the licensing process for school bus
drivers, and helps bring the state in compliance with the federal
Patriot Act.

Testifying for HB 591 were Representative Schlottach; Department
of Revenue; Department of Elementary and Secondary Education;
Missouri Association of Public Transportation; Missouri School
Bus Contractors Association; Missouri Association for Pupil
Transportation; Missouri Motor Carriers Association; and Missouri
School Administrators Coalition.  Testifying for HB 210 was
Representative Pearce.  Testifying for HB 377 were Representative
Wilson (119); Department of Revenue; and State Highway Patrol.
Testifying for HB 760 were Representative Munzlinger; and
Students of Missouri Assisting Rural Transportation (S.M.A.R.T.).
Testifying for HB 777 were Representative Schlottach; Department
of Transportation; and Missouri Motor Carriers Association.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Robert Triplett, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated August 25, 2005 at 1:20 pm