VEHICLE
WEIGHT TAX



 



§249-1  Definitions.  As used in this
chapter unless a different meaning appears from the context, the following
terms shall have the following respective meanings.



"Antique motor vehicle" means any
motor vehicle, including a motorcycle or a motor scooter which produces not
more than twelve horsepower, of the age of thirty-five years or more from the
date of manufacture, that is of the original factory specification or restored
to the original specifications in an unaltered or unreconstructed condition,
operated or moved over the highway primarily for the purpose of historical
exhibition or other similar purposes.



"Bicycle" means every device
propelled solely by human power upon which any person may ride, having two
tandem wheels sixteen inches in diameter or greater, and including any device
generally recognized as a bicycle though equipped with two front or two rear
wheels.



"Director of finance" means the
director of finance of each county or of the county concerned, and includes the
director's duly authorized deputies and subordinates.



"Moped" means a device upon which a
person may ride which has two or three wheels in contact with the ground, a
motor having a maximum power output capability measured at the motor output
shaft, in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers standards, of two
horsepower (one thousand four hundred ninety-two watts) or less and, if it is a
combustion engine, a maximum piston or rotor displacement of 3.05 cubic inches
(fifty cubic centimeters) and which will propel the device, unassisted, on a
level surface at a maximum speed no greater than thirty miles per hour; and a
direct or automatic power drive system which requires no clutch or gear shift
operation by the moped driver after the drive system is engaged with the power
unit.



"Motor vehicle" means every vehicle
which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power
but which is not operated upon rails, but excludes mopeds.



"Net weight" of a vehicle means the
actual weight of the vehicle, as determined on a standard scale, including all
equipment and accessories ordinarily attached to and used on the vehicle and,
in the case of a motor vehicle, the maximum fuel, oil, and water possible of
being carried for its operation; provided that "net weight" of a new
standard equipped vehicle, other than a motor vehicle, means the shipping
weight thereof as established by its manufacturer, and "net weight"
of a new standard equipped passenger vehicle means the shipping weight thereof
as established by its manufacturer, plus one hundred pounds, and "net
weight" of a new standard equipped motorcycle, motor scooter, or moped,
means the shipping weight thereof as established by its manufacturer, plus
thirty pounds, and "net weight" of a new standard equipped truck
means the shipping weight thereof as established by its manufacturer, plus two
hundred pounds.  On initial registration of a standard equipped vehicle, other
than a motor vehicle, for which the director of finance has the manufacturer's
established weight, the director of finance, in lieu of requiring the vehicle
to be weighed and in order to determine the "net weight" thereof, may
use such established weight and may require the owner to furnish verification
of the factory serial number of the vehicle.  On initial registration of
standard equipped passenger vehicles, motorcycles, motor scooters, mopeds, and
trucks for which the director of finance has the manufacturer's established
weights, the director of finance, in lieu of requiring such motor vehicles to
be weighed and in order to determine the "net weight" thereof, may
use such established weights, adding one hundred pounds in the case of standard
equipped passenger vehicles, thirty pounds in the case of standard equipped
motorcycles, motor scooters, and mopeds, and two hundred pounds in the case of
standard equipped trucks, and may require the owners to furnish verification of
factory serial and engine numbers of such motor vehicles.  As to a vehicle for
which the manufacturer's weight is not available or whose make and model cannot
be determined with reasonable certainty or which has been so altered as to
increase or diminish the weight thereof, "net weight" means the
actual weight of such vehicle, as determined on a standard scale, including all
equipment and accessories ordinarily attached to and used on the vehicle and,
in the case of a motor vehicle, the maximum fuel, oil, and water possible of
being carried for its operation.  In all cases information shall be presented to
and in the manner prescribed by the director of finance.



"Truck" means any motor vehicle
designed or used primarily for the carriage of property other than effects of
the driver or passengers, and includes a motor vehicle to which has been added
a box, platform, or other equipment for such carriage.



"Vehicle" means every device in,
upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon
a highway, but excludes devices moved by human power or devices used
exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks and mopeds. [RL 1935, pt of §2157;
am L 1937, c 214, §1, pt of subs 1; RL 1945, §5704; am L 1951, c 222, §1; RL
1955, §130-1; am L 1957, c 220, §1; am L 1965, c 64, §1; am L 1967, c 137, §1;
HRS §249-1; am L 1975, c 187, §1; am L 1978, c 175, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1990,
c 43, §1; am L 1996, c 56, §1]



 



Case Notes



 



  Taxation under this
chapter precludes taxation on an ad valorem basis.  30 H. 260.



  Constitutional.  31
H. 726, aff'd 54 F.2d 313.