Sponsor Statement for CSHB 43 (FIN)

by

Representative Eldon Mulder

CSHB 43 is a clean-up bill to solve an inadvertent problem from last year and extends the option of annual registration of motor vehicles to commercial vehicles.

SB 226 from the 19th Alaska Legislature changed vehicle registration from one year to two years. Amendments to SB 226 exempted rental vehicles since they were usually in the state for less than one year. In doing so we did not specifically allow collection of the municipal vehicle tax for rental vehicles on an annual basis.

CSHB 43 allows for the collection of municipal fees on annual registrations of rental vehicles. It also permits the collection of municipal fees for any rental vehicle registered between January 1, 1997 and the effective date of this legislation.

In registering their fleets of vehicles, many commercial fleet operators are restricted by the outlay of what could be used as investment capital. Registration of these fleets sometimes amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Changes made to HB 43 in the House Finance Committee extend the option of annual registration to vehicles used for a commercial purpose.