State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Connecticut > Title14 > Chap246 > Sec14-34a

      Sec. 14-34a. Reciprocal agreements apportioning the registration of commercial vehicles. (a) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is authorized to enter into reciprocal agreements or plans on behalf of the state of Connecticut with the appropriate authorities of any of the states of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any state or province of any country providing for the registration of commercial vehicles on an apportionment or allocation basis, and may, in the exercise of this authority, enter into and become a member of the International Registration Plan developed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Any such reciprocal agreement or plan may provide for but shall not be limited to the following: (1) Full reciprocity in accordance with such agreement or plan for commercial vehicles not based in Connecticut, operated solely in interstate commerce and of specified types or gross or unladen weights, in exchange for equivalent reciprocity for Connecticut based commercial vehicles; (2) reciprocal exchange of audits of records of the owners of such commercial vehicles by the states participating in any such agreement or plan; (3) any other matters which would facilitate the administration of such agreement or plan, including exchange of information for audits, enforcement activities and collection and disbursement of proportional registration fees for other jurisdictions in the case of Connecticut based commercial vehicles.

      (b) Any reciprocity agreement, arrangement or declaration relating to commercial vehicles in effect between this state and any jurisdiction not a party to such reciprocal agreement or plan, or which relates to any matters not covered in such reciprocal agreement or plan shall continue in force and effect until specifically amended or revoked as provided by law.

      (c) Notwithstanding any such agreement or plan, (1) any such commercial vehicle garaged at any fixed location or which leaves from and returns to one or more points within this state in the normal course of operations, shall be taxable in this state as personal property in the town where such vehicle is garaged; (2) registration shall be denied any such vehicle if any personal property taxes are unpaid with respect to such vehicle, as provided in section 14-33; (3) any such vehicle based in this state shall be subject to the provisions of sections 14-12, 14-15, 14-15a, 14-16a and chapter 247.

      (d) At such time as the state of Connecticut may enter into and become a member of the International Registration Plan pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the provisions of said plan, as it may be amended from time to time, which are concerned with the registration of any vehicle or the fees which relate to any such registration shall control whenever any special act or any provision of the general statutes, except subsection (c) of this section, conflicts with any provision of said plan. A copy of the plan, as it may be amended from time to time, shall be maintained on file by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles at the main office of the department, and shall be available for public inspection.

      (e) Any commercial vehicle registered in any other jurisdiction eligible for registration on an apportionment basis shall not be operated on any highway without such registration or a seventy-two-hour trip permit registration issued by the commissioner. Any person who owns any motor vehicle operated in violation of this subsection shall be fined five hundred dollars for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense, not less than one thousand dollars nor more than two thousand dollars, except if the motor vehicle has a gross weight of more than sixty thousand pounds, such owner shall be fined one thousand dollars for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense, not less than two thousand dollars nor more than four thousand dollars.

      (P.A. 76-107, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-222; P.A. 96-167, S. 5; P.A. 08-150, S. 6.)

      History: P.A. 78-222 added Subsec. (d) re effect of International Registration Plan on fees; P.A. 96-167 added Subsec. (e) re registration requirements for commercial vehicles registered in any other jurisdiction and eligible for registration on apportionment basis; P.A. 08-150 amended Subsec. (d) to add reference to the plan "as it may be amended from time to time" and require a copy of the plan to be maintained on file by commissioner at the main office of department and be available for public inspection.

      See Sec. 20-427a re commissioner's duty to deny registration for commercial motor vehicle of contractor who is in violation of Sec. 20-420 or 20-432.