An Act To Require the Secretary of State To Notify Vehicle Owners of Impending Registration Expiration
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0145
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: RICHARDSON
Amends: 29-A MRSA §351

Legislative Document 
No. 145 
H.P.124 
House of Representatives, January 15, 2009 
An Act To Require the Secretary of State To Notify Vehicle Owners 
of Impending Registration Expiration 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed, 
Presented by Representative RICHARDSON of Warren. 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People ofthe State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §351, s'ub~§6is;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: 
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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 MRS A §501, sub-§l, as amended by PL 2007, c. 647, §2 and 
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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 m $36. 
All auto'mobile or spo-rt' 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 tojts 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 defmed 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. 
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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.-