New Law: Motor vehicle provisions passed

More automobile dealers will be permitted to keep vehicle titles in a centralized location in Minnesota for a multi-location auto dealership group, if a request to do so is approved by the Department of Public Safety.

Supporters said this new law will create efficiencies when it comes to storing records. It is effective Aug. 1, 2011.

Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Vogel (R-Willmar) and Sen. David Senjem (R-Rochester), the new law also clears up vehicle registration when coming out of a daily rental fleet, such as when companies like Avis or Hertz want to sell vehicles they’d been using as rentals.

Fleet companies have the ability to register their vehicles for a shorter period than the usual 12 months, such as for four months at a time. However, when a dealer sells a vehicle the registration has to be for 12 months, so there has been some confusion about when a vehicle’s registration needs to be renewed by the customer who bought the vehicle.

The law eliminates a provision that a vehicle title be stamped with the end date of the registration period when the vehicle is used for rentals by a vehicle lessor and registered for less than 12 months.

HF493*/ SF341/CH48