Special group plates for women veterans, vehicle title information provided to county registers of deeds, the issuance of more than one motor vehicles operator's license to a person, location of emissions inspection stations, and insurance registration for motor carriers operating in multiple jurisdictions (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Transportation). (FE)

This bill repeals the authorization of a general special group for women veterans and establishes more specific authorized special groups for any woman veteran of each branch of the armed services.

Under current law, a vehicle owner who creates a security interest in the vehicle must deliver (or have the person in possession deliver) to the secured party the vehicle's certificate of title and execute the certificate of title or other specified documentation identifying the name and address of the secured party, unless the secured party's name and address is already identified on the certificate of title. The secured party must then provide the certificate of title and any such documentation to DOT, except that, if the secured party is an entity rather than an individual and is not exempted by DOT rule, the secured party must destroy the certificate of title and electronically file a security interest statement with DOT. Upon receipt of the certificate of title from an individual secured party or a security interest statement from a secured party that is an entity, DOT must issue to the vehicle owner a new certificate of title containing the name and address of the secured party. DOT may issue and maintain the official certificate of title in an electronic or digital form. DOT must also deliver to the secured party, unless the secured party is an entity, and to the county register of deeds, memoranda evidencing the notation of the security interest on the certificate of title. Registers of deeds may record and maintain files of these memoranda received from DOT.

This bill eliminates the requirement that DOT provide to registers of deeds the memoranda evidencing the notation of a security interest on a vehicle certificate of title. The bill eliminates the specific authority for registers of deeds to record and maintain files of these memoranda received from DOT.

Under current law, DOT may not knowingly issue more than one motor vehicle operator's license to a person and, with limited exceptions, a person may not have more than one operator's license, including having licenses from more than one state, having licenses under more than one name, and having different licenses for the operation of different types of vehicles. However, a person may hold more than one operator's license for ten days from the date on which a license is issued.

This bill eliminates the exception allowing, for a ten-day period after issuance of an operator's license, a person to hold more than one license.

Current law requires DOT to operate a motor vehicle emission inspection and maintenance program (I/M program) in counties in which the air quality does not meet certain federal standards. Under the I/M program, most motor vehicles that are subject to emission limitations established by the Department of Natural Resources must pass periodic emission inspections and may not be registered by DOT unless they have passed these inspections. DOT may contract with third parties to operate inspection stations at which emission inspections may be performed. Under current law, no inspection station may be established within 0.5 miles of an air monitoring station that reported a violation during the period from 1976 to 1979 of the carbon monoxide primary national ambient air quality standard.

This bill eliminates that limitation on inspection station siting.

Prior to the enactment of 2007 Wisconsin Act 20 , DOT was authorized to administer a single-state insurance registration system for motor carriers with interstate operations to register in, and pay applicable fees to, a single state with regard to proof of motor carrier insurance. Under current law, as created in 2007 Wisconsin Act 20 , DOT may participate in the unified carrier registration system, which is a replacement for the single-state insurance registration system.

2011 Wisconsin Act 262 eliminated DOT's authority to participate in the single-state insurance registration system.

This bill eliminates remaining statutory references to the single-state insurance registration system.

For further information, see the Notes provided by the Law Revision Committee of the Joint Legislative Council.