The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1935-11-29
RULING ON PUBLICLY OWNED
VEHICLES

A saving to cities, towns and coun-
ties of Maryland may be effected in
the matter of procurement of auto
mobile licenses for the coming year,
as the result of ruling this week
by Attorney General Herbert r.
O'Conor.
In letter to the State Department
of Health, Mr.. O'Conor ruled that
publicly-owned vehicles are exempt
ed from registration by the Commits
sioner of Motor Vehicles and are re-
quired to pay for neither license
plates. certificate of title nor the new
automobile title tax. These vehicles
must display license plates but not
those regularly issued by the Gem
missioner. They can be made up by
the city or county and used year
after year. The form of these
plates must be approved by the Com
missioner.
1t is said that this ruling, if taken
advantage of by cities and countries,
will effect a considerable saving in
these annual charges.
Mr.. O'Conor's opinion reads in
part as follows: 't.
From the inquiries made of this
Department by State agencies and
representatives of the Counties and
City of Baltimore, it is apparent that
while they contend that they should
not be liable for the amount of taxes,
required to be paid by the recent law,
that they have been compelled to pay
the taxes in question because they nave
applied for and received title and reg
istration in connection with each
automobile acquired
"The fact is that under Section ia
of Article Sc, enacted by the General
Assembly of 1915, and repealed and
re-enacted in 1918, all motor vehicles
are expressly exempted from this pro-
vision requiring registration ices,
when the vehicles in question are own
ed and used by the State, or by any
County, City, town or village. II IS
further provided in the law relating
to the titling of motor vehicles, that
the issuance of title shall be in con-
nection with those motor vehicles for
which registration has been applied.
1t follows, therefore, that if the State,
County, City, town or village avail
themselves of the exemptions afforded
by Section TIA above referred to, that
not requiring registration, they do not
REQUIRE a certificate of title. If no
certificate of title is applied for and
received it would follow that the
per cent tax, provided for by the Acts
of 1885, would not be payable.
1T is to be noted, however, that the
same provision, which eXemptS public
ly owned vehicles from the provisions
affecting registration, stipulates that
all such vehicles shall display 1dentl-
fication markers approved by the Com
missioner of Motor Vehicles 1T there
fore is necessary, before any such ex-
empted automobile can be operated on
public thoroughfares, that identlfica-
ton markers, approved, but not neces-
sarily issued by, the Commissioners
shall be displayed. By whom these
markers are provided, is matter OF
detail but the important circumstance
remains that none is disable unless and
until approved, by the Commissioners
81 might add, that while the law
exempts publicly owned vehicles from
the provisions of registration, the
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is
given no authority to issue certifi-
cate of title except upon payment OF
the amount provided by law. Fur
thermore, he is given no authority, by
the law, to waive the provisions of the
Acts of 1885, in respect to the collec-
ton of tax of an amount equal to
| per cent of the fair market value OF
the machine in question. Lacking
such right, the Commissioner has no
alternative but to require the payment
by any one (whether private citizen
or the representative of a State De-
partment or County, City, town or
village,) of the fees for the issuance
of title and the taxes to be collected
in conjunction with the issuance of
the title.
Accordingly, if a title is applied
for and issued the Commissioner, by
law, is directed to collect the fees and
taxes, above referred to, and you are
therefore advised that while it is I'M
necessary for the State or govern
mental units, to procure title for
cars which do not have to be regis
tered under the exemption clause, that
if they desire title to be issued, they
must pay for it, as we'll as to pay the
/ per cent tax levied by the last Cen
eral Assembly"
-O-