Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 2 of chapter 100A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1994 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 11, the word "one" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- three.

SECTION 2. Section 4 of said chapter 100A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words "for one year from the date of its issuance, may be renewed" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- until June first of the third year after issuance, may thereafter be renewed for a three year period.

SECTION 3. Section 10 of said chapter 100A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

In addition to any other penalties provided herein, whenever the director determines that a person who is required to be registered hereunder has failed to so register, the director may serve a stop work order on said person, requiring the cessation of all business operations. Such order shall take effect five days after the date of service upon such person. Any person who is aggrieved by the imposition of a stop work order shall have five days from the date of service to appeal such order, and shall thereafter be granted a hearing by the director within five days of receipt of appeal. If the director finds at the hearing that the person was required to be registered, and failed to register, the stop work order shall be effective immediately on the conclusion of the hearing, and shall remain in effect until the person becomes properly registered. Any law enforcement agency in the commonwealth shall, at the request of the director, render any assistance necessary to carry out the provisions of this paragraph, including but not limited to preventing any employee or other person from remaining at the place of business after a stop work order has taken effect.

SECTION 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections one and two, for all registered motor vehicle repair shops with registrations that become renewable within one year after the effective date of this act, the director shall renew one-third of approved applications until June first of the first calendar year after renewal and shall charge a registration fee of one hundred dollars therefor, the director shall renew one-third of approved applications until June first of the second calendar year after renewal and shall charge a registration fee in the amount of two hundred dollars therefor, and the director shall renew one-third of approved applications until June first of the third calendar year after renewal and shall charge a registration fee in the amount of three hundred dollars therefor.

SECTION 5. Subsection (a) of section 20D of chapter 90D of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1994 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

The vehicle identification number of every vehicle for which an application is submitted shall be inspected by an inspector at a location designated by the registrar. In addition, of the vehicles presented for such inspection, a certain number may be selected for inspection of the vehicle's major component parts which have been repaired or replaced as part of the rebuilding process to determine that the vehicle's parts have not been removed, falsified, altered, defaced, destroyed, or tampered with, and that the vehicle information contained in the application and supporting documents is true and correct. The selection of vehicles to undergo said major component part inspection shall be on a random basis, in accordance with criteria and procedures established by the registrar by regulation, which may be changed from time to time as the registrar deems necessary. The inspector may examine the identification number of each part that has been repaired or replaced as a part of the rebuilding process, in addition to the vehicle identification number, and may compare said numbers to the vehicle identification numbers and identification numbers of parts entered into any state, regional, or national computer network that records the vehicle identification numbers of stolen motor vehicles and the identification numbers of stolen parts. Nothing in this section shall establish a presumption, that a part has been removed, falsified, altered, defaced, destroyed, or tampered with by a person submitting a vehicle for inspection, if such part fails to contain a required identification label. The major component inspection shall not be for the purpose of checking road worthiness or the safety condition of the vehicle. No liability shall be imposed on the registrar or the commonwealth or its agents or employees with respect to any act or omission related to said inspection. A person aggrieved by an adverse report issued under this section by a vehicle inspector, may file a written request for reconsideration of the inspector's report with the registrar, within thirty days of receiving a written copy of said report. The registrar shall assign the request for review to a hearing officer, who shall schedule a hearing to be held within thirty days of the date of the request, at a place of the registrar's choosing. The hearing officer may continue the hearing and may remove said hearing to a more appropriate place if necessary. The hearing officer may affirm or overrule the decision of the inspector. A final decision by the hearing officer shall be rendered within fifteen days of the closing of the final date of hearing.