HOUSE BILL No. 4687

 

May 1, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Caswell, Green, Hansen, Dean and Meadows and referred to the Committee on Transportation.

 

      A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled

 

"Michigan vehicle code,"

 

by amending section 801 (MCL 257.801), as amended by 2006 PA 562.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

 1        Sec. 801. (1) The secretary of state shall collect the

 

 2  following taxes at the time of registering a vehicle, which shall

 

 3  exempt the vehicle from all other state and local taxation,

 

 4  except the fees and taxes provided by law to be paid by certain

 

 5  carriers operating motor vehicles and trailers under the motor

 

 6  carrier act, 1933 PA 254, MCL 475.1 to 479.43; the taxes imposed

 

 7  by the motor carrier fuel tax act, 1980 PA 119, MCL 207.211 to

 

 8  207.234; and except as otherwise provided by this act:

 

 9        (a) For a motor vehicle, including a motor home, except as

 


 1  otherwise provided, and a pickup truck or van that weighs not

 

 2  more than 8,000 pounds, except as otherwise provided, according

 

 3  to the following schedule of empty weights:

 

 

     Empty weights                                          Tax

     0 to 3,000 pounds..................................$  29.00

     3,001 to 3,500 pounds..............................   32.00

     3,501 to 4,000 pounds..............................   37.00

     4,001 to 4,500 pounds..............................   43.00

     4,501 to 5,000 pounds..............................   47.00

10      5,001 to 5,500 pounds..............................   52.00

11      5,501 to 6,000 pounds..............................   57.00

12      6,001 to 6,500 pounds..............................   62.00

13      6,501 to 7,000 pounds..............................   67.00

14      7,001 to 7,500 pounds..............................   71.00

15      7,501 to 8,000 pounds..............................   77.00

16      8,001 to 8,500 pounds..............................   81.00

17      8,501 to 9,000 pounds..............................   86.00

18      9,001 to 9,500 pounds..............................   91.00

19      9,501 to 10,000 pounds.............................   95.00

20      over 10,000 pounds....................$ 0.90 per 100 pounds

21                                                  of empty weight

 

 

22        On October 1, 1983, and October 1, 1984, the tax assessed

 

23  under this subdivision shall be annually revised for the

 

24  registrations expiring on the appropriate October 1 or after that

 

25  date by multiplying the tax assessed in the preceding fiscal year

 

26  times the personal income of Michigan for the preceding calendar

 

27  year divided by the personal income of Michigan for the calendar

 

28  year that preceded that calendar year. In performing the

 


 1  calculations under this subdivision, the secretary of state shall

 

 2  use the spring preliminary report of the United States department

 

 3  of commerce or its successor agency. A van that is owned by an

 

 4  individual who uses a wheelchair or by an individual who

 

 5  transports a resident of his or her household who uses a

 

 6  wheelchair and for which registration plates are issued under

 

 7  section 803d shall be assessed at the rate of 50% of the tax

 

 8  provided for in this subdivision.

 

 9        (b) For a trailer coach attached to a motor vehicle, the tax

 

10  shall be assessed as provided in subdivision (l). A trailer coach

 

11  not under 1959 PA 243, MCL 125.1035 to 125.1043, and while

 

12  located on land otherwise assessable as real property under the

 

13  general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.1 to 211.157, if

 

14  the trailer coach is used as a place of habitation, and whether

 

15  or not permanently affixed to the soil, is not exempt from real

 

16  property taxes.

 

17        (c) For a road tractor, truck, or truck tractor owned by a

 

18  farmer and used exclusively in connection with a farming

 

19  operation, including a farmer hauling livestock or farm equipment

 

20  for other farmers for remuneration in kind or in labor, but not

 

21  for money, or used for the transportation of the farmer and the

 

22  farmer's family, and not used for hire, or for hauling

 

23  agricultural commodities to a processor or farm market, or to

 

24  another farmer, 74 cents per 100 pounds of empty weight of the

 

25  road tractor, truck, or truck tractor. If the road tractor,

 

26  truck, or truck tractor owned by a farmer is also used for a

 

27  nonfarming operation, the farmer is subject to the highest

 


 1  registration tax applicable to the nonfarm use of the vehicle but

 

 2  is not subject to more than 1 tax rate under this act. As used in

 

 3  this subdivision:

 

 4        (i) "Agricultural commodity" means all agricultural,

 

 5  aquacultural, silvicultural, horticultural, floricultural, or

 

 6  viticultural products, livestock or livestock products, Christmas

 

 7  trees, bees, maple syrup, honey, commercial fish or fish

 

 8  products, and seeds produced in this state, either in their

 

 9  natural state or as processed by the producer of the commodity.

 

10        (ii) "Processor" means a person engaged in canning, freezing,

 

11  dehydrating, drying, fermenting, distilling, extracting,

 

12  preserving, grinding, crushing, milling, or otherwise preserving

 

13  or changing the form of an agricultural commodity for the purpose

 

14  of marketing it.

 

15        (d) For a road tractor, truck, or truck tractor owned by a

 

16  wood harvester and used exclusively in connection with the wood

 

17  harvesting operations or a truck used exclusively to haul milk

 

18  from the farm to the first point of delivery, 74 cents per 100

 

19  pounds of empty weight of the road tractor, truck, or truck

 

20  tractor. A registration secured by payment of the tax prescribed

 

21  in this subdivision continues in full force and effect until the

 

22  regular expiration date of the registration. As used in this

 

23  subdivision:

 

24        (i) "Wood harvester" includes the person or persons hauling

 

25  and transporting raw materials in the form produced at the

 

26  harvest site or hauling and transporting wood harvesting

 

27  equipment. Wood harvester does not include a person or persons

 


 1  whose primary activity is tree-trimming or landscaping.

 

 2        (ii) "Wood harvesting equipment" includes all of the

 

 3  following:

 

 4        (A) A vehicle that directly harvests logs or timber,

 

 5  including, but not limited to, a processor or a feller buncher.

 

 6        (B) A vehicle that directly processes harvested logs or

 

 7  timber, including, but not limited to, a slasher, delimber,

 

 8  processor, chipper, or saw table.

 

 9        (C) A vehicle that directly processes harvested logs or

 

10  timber, including, but not limited to, a forwarder, grapple

 

11  skidder, or cable skidder.

 

12        (D) A vehicle that directly loads harvested logs or timber,

 

13  including, but not limited to, a knucle-boom knuckle-boom loader,

 

14  front-end loader, or forklift.

 

15        (E) A bulldozer or road grader being transported to a wood

 

16  harvesting site specifically for the purpose of building or

 

17  maintaining harvest site roads.

 

18        (iii) "Wood harvesting operations" does not include the

 

19  transportation of processed lumber, Christmas trees, or processed

 

20  firewood for a profit making venture.

 

21        (e) For a hearse or ambulance used exclusively by a licensed

 

22  funeral director in the general conduct of the licensee's funeral

 

23  business, including a hearse or ambulance whose owner is engaged

 

24  in the business of leasing or renting the hearse or ambulance to

 

25  others, $1.17 per 100 pounds of the empty weight of the hearse or

 

26  ambulance.

 

27        (f) For a vehicle owned and operated by this state, a state

 


 1  institution, a municipality, a privately incorporated, nonprofit

 

 2  volunteer fire department, or a nonpublic, nonprofit college or

 

 3  university, $5.00 per plate. A registration plate issued under

 

 4  this subdivision expires on June 30 of the year in which new

 

 5  registration plates are reissued for all vehicles by the

 

 6  secretary of state.

 

 7        (g) For a bus including a station wagon, carryall, or

 

 8  similarly constructed vehicle owned and operated by a nonprofit

 

 9  parents' transportation corporation used for school purposes,

 

10  parochial school or society, church Sunday school, or any other

 

11  grammar school, or by a nonprofit youth organization or nonprofit

 

12  rehabilitation facility; or a motor vehicle owned and operated by

 

13  a senior citizen center, $10.00, if the bus, station wagon,

 

14  carryall, or similarly constructed vehicle or motor vehicle is

 

15  designated by proper signs showing the organization operating the

 

16  vehicle.

 

17        (h) For a vehicle owned by a nonprofit organization and used

 

18  to transport equipment for providing dialysis treatment to

 

19  children at camp; for a vehicle owned by the civil air patrol, as

 

20  organized under 36 USC 40301 to 40307, $10.00 per plate, if the

 

21  vehicle is designated by a proper sign showing the civil air

 

22  patrol's name; for a vehicle owned and operated by a nonprofit

 

23  veterans center; for a vehicle owned and operated by a nonprofit

 

24  recycling center or a federally recognized nonprofit conservation

 

25  organization; for a motor vehicle having a truck chassis and a

 

26  locomotive or ship's body that is owned by a nonprofit veterans

 

27  organization and used exclusively in parades and civic events; or

 


 1  for an emergency support vehicle used exclusively for emergencies

 

 2  and owned and operated by a federally recognized nonprofit

 

 3  charitable organization, $10.00 per plate.

 

 4        (i) For each truck owned and operated free of charge by a

 

 5  bona fide ecclesiastical or charitable corporation, or red cross,

 

 6  girl scout, or boy scout organization, 65 cents per 100 pounds of

 

 7  the empty weight of the truck.

 

 8        (j) For each truck, weighing 8,000 pounds or less, and not

 

 9  used to tow a vehicle, for each privately owned truck used to tow

 

10  a trailer for recreational purposes only and not involved in a

 

11  profit making venture, and for each vehicle designed and used to

 

12  tow a mobile home or a trailer coach, except as provided in

 

13  subdivision (b), $38.00 or an amount computed according to the

 

14  following schedule of empty weights, whichever is greater:

 

 

15      Empty weights                               Per 100 pounds

16      0 to 2,500 pounds..............................  $  1.40

17      2,501 to 4,000 pounds..........................     1.76

18      4,001 to 6,000 pounds..........................     2.20

19      6,001 to 8,000 pounds..........................     2.72

20      8,001 to 10,000 pounds.........................     3.25

21      10,001 to 15,000 pounds........................     3.77

22      15,001 pounds and over.........................     4.39

 

 

23        If the tax required under subdivision (p) for a vehicle of

 

24  the same model year with the same list price as the vehicle for

 

25  which registration is sought under this subdivision is more than

 

26  the tax provided under the preceding provisions of this

 

27  subdivision for an identical vehicle, the tax required under this


 

 1  subdivision is not less than the tax required under subdivision

 

 2  (p) for a vehicle of the same model year with the same list

 

 3  price.

 

 4        (k) For each truck weighing 8,000 pounds or less towing a

 

 5  trailer or any other combination of vehicles and for each truck

 

 6  weighing 8,001 pounds or more, road tractor or truck tractor,

 

 7  except as provided in subdivision (j) according to the following

 

 8  schedule of elected gross weights:

 

 

     Elected gross weight                                  Tax

10      0 to 24,000 pounds...............................$   491.00

11      24,001 to 26,000 pounds.........................     558.00

12      26,001 to 28,000 pounds.........................     558.00

13      28,001 to 32,000 pounds.........................     649.00

14      32,001 to 36,000 pounds.........................     744.00

15      36,001 to 42,000 pounds.........................     874.00

16      42,001 to 48,000 pounds.........................   1,005.00

17      48,001 to 54,000 pounds.........................   1,135.00

18      54,001 to 60,000 pounds.........................   1,268.00

19      60,001 to 66,000 pounds.........................   1,398.00

20      66,001 to 72,000 pounds.........................   1,529.00

21      72,001 to 80,000 pounds.........................   1,660.00

22      80,001 to 90,000 pounds.........................   1,793.00

23      90,001 to 100,000 pounds........................   2,002.00

24      100,001 to 115,000 pounds.......................   2,223.00

25      115,001 to 130,000 pounds.......................   2,448.00

26      130,001 to 145,000 pounds.......................   2,670.00

27      145,001 to 160,000 pounds.......................   2,894.00

28      over 160,000 pounds.............................   3,117.00

 


 

 1        For each commercial vehicle registered under this

 

 2  subdivision, $15.00 shall be deposited in a truck safety fund to

 

 3  be expended for the purposes prescribed in section 25 of 1951 PA

 

 4  51, MCL 247.675.

 

 5        If a truck or road tractor without trailer is leased from an

 

 6  individual owner-operator, the lessee, whether a person, firm, or

 

 7  corporation, shall pay to the owner-operator 60% of the tax

 

 8  prescribed in this subdivision for the truck tractor or road

 

 9  tractor at the rate of 1/12 for each month of the lease or

 

10  arrangement in addition to the compensation the owner-operator is

 

11  entitled to for the rental of his or her equipment.

 

12        (l) For each pole trailer, semitrailer, trailer coach, or

 

13  trailer, the tax shall be assessed according to the following

 

14  schedule of empty weights:

 

 

15      Empty weights                                          Tax

16      0 to 2,499 pounds.................................$   75.00

17      2,500 to 9,999 pounds.............................   200.00

18      10,000 pounds and over............................   300.00

 

 

19        The registration plate issued under this subdivision expires

 

20  only when the secretary of state reissues a new registration

 

21  plate for all trailers. Beginning October 1, 2005, if the

 

22  secretary of state reissues a new registration plate for all

 

23  trailers, a person who has once paid the tax as increased by 2003

 

24  PA 152 for a vehicle under this subdivision is not required to

 

25  pay the tax for that vehicle a second time, but is required to

 

26  pay only the cost of the reissued plate at the rate provided in


 

 1  section 804(2) for a standard plate. A registration plate issued

 

 2  under this subdivision is nontransferable.

 

 3        (m) For each commercial vehicle used for the transportation

 

 4  of passengers for hire except for a vehicle for which a payment

 

 5  is made under 1960 PA 2, MCL 257.971 to 257.972, according to the

 

 6  following schedule of empty weights:

 

 

     Empty weights                                  Per 100 pounds

     0 to 4,000 pounds...............................$   1.76

     4,001 to 6,000 pounds...........................    2.20

10      6,001 to 10,000 pounds..........................    2.72

11      10,001 pounds and over..........................    3.25

12                                                             

13      (n) For each motorcycle.........................$  23.00

 

 

14        On October 1, 1983, and October 1, 1984, the tax assessed

 

15  under this subdivision shall be annually revised for the

 

16  registrations expiring on the appropriate October 1 or after that

 

17  date by multiplying the tax assessed in the preceding fiscal year

 

18  times the personal income of Michigan for the preceding calendar

 

19  year divided by the personal income of Michigan for the calendar

 

20  year that preceded that calendar year. In performing the

 

21  calculations under this subdivision, the secretary of state shall

 

22  use the spring preliminary report of the United States department

 

23  of commerce or its successor agency.

 

24        Beginning January 1, 1984, the registration tax for each

 

25  motorcycle is increased by $3.00. The $3.00 increase is not part

 

26  of the tax assessed under this subdivision for the purpose of the

 


 1  annual October 1 revisions but is in addition to the tax assessed

 

 2  as a result of the annual October 1 revisions. Beginning January

 

 3  1, 1984, $3.00 of each motorcycle fee shall be placed in a

 

 4  motorcycle safety fund in the state treasury and shall be used

 

 5  only for funding the motorcycle safety education program as

 

 6  provided for under sections 312b and 811a.

 

 7        (o) For each truck weighing 8,001 pounds or more, road

 

 8  tractor, or truck tractor used exclusively as a moving van or

 

 9  part of a moving van in transporting household furniture and

 

10  household effects or the equipment or those engaged in conducting

 

11  carnivals, at the rate of 80% of the schedule of elected gross

 

12  weights in subdivision (k) as modified by the operation of that

 

13  subdivision.

 

14        (p) After September 30, 1983, each motor vehicle of the 1984

 

15  or a subsequent model year as shown on the application required

 

16  under section 217 that has not been previously subject to the tax

 

17  rates of this section and that is of the motor vehicle category

 

18  otherwise subject to the tax schedule described in subdivision

 

19  (a), and each low-speed vehicle according to the following

 

20  schedule based upon registration periods of 12 months:

 

21        (i) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, for the

 

22  first registration that is not a transfer registration under

 

23  section 809 and for the first registration after a transfer

 

24  registration under section 809, according to the following

 

25  schedule based on the vehicle's list price:

 

 

26      List Price                                           Tax


     $ 0 - $ 6,000.00................................  $   30.00

     More than $ 6,000.00 - $ 7,000.00...............  $   33.00

     More than $ 7,000.00 - $ 8,000.00...............  $   38.00

     More than $ 8,000.00 - $ 9,000.00...............  $   43.00

     More than $ 9,000.00 - $ 10,000.00..............  $   48.00

     More than $ 10,000.00 - $ 11,000.00.............  $   53.00

     More than $ 11,000.00 - $ 12,000.00.............  $   58.00

     More than $ 12,000.00 - $ 13,000.00.............  $   63.00

     More than $ 13,000.00 - $ 14,000.00.............  $   68.00

10      More than $ 14,000.00 - $ 15,000.00.............  $   73.00

11      More than $ 15,000.00 - $ 16,000.00.............  $   78.00

12      More than $ 16,000.00 - $ 17,000.00.............  $   83.00

13      More than $ 17,000.00 - $ 18,000.00.............  $   88.00

14      More than $ 18,000.00 - $ 19,000.00.............  $   93.00

15      More than $ 19,000.00 - $ 20,000.00.............  $   98.00

16      More than $ 20,000.00 - $ 21,000.00.............  $  103.00

17      More than $ 21,000.00 - $ 22,000.00.............  $  108.00

18      More than $ 22,000.00 - $ 23,000.00.............  $  113.00

19      More than $ 23,000.00 - $ 24,000.00.............  $  118.00

20      More than $ 24,000.00 - $ 25,000.00.............  $  123.00

21      More than $ 25,000.00 - $ 26,000.00.............  $  128.00

22      More than $ 26,000.00 - $ 27,000.00.............  $  133.00

23      More than $ 27,000.00 - $ 28,000.00.............  $  138.00

24      More than $ 28,000.00 - $ 29,000.00.............  $  143.00

25      More than $ 29,000.00 - $ 30,000.00.............  $  148.00

 

 

26        More than $30,000.00, the tax of $148.00 is increased by

 

27  $5.00 for each $1,000.00 increment or fraction of a $1,000.00

 

28  increment over $30,000.00. If a current tax increases or

 

29  decreases as a result of 1998 PA 384, only a vehicle purchased or

 

30  transferred after January 1, 1999 shall be assessed the increased


 

 1  or decreased tax.

 

 2        (ii) For the second registration, 90% of the tax assessed

 

 3  under subparagraph (i).

 

 4        (iii) For the third registration, 90% of the tax assessed

 

 5  under subparagraph (ii).

 

 6        (iv) For the fourth and subsequent registrations, 90% of the

 

 7  tax assessed under subparagraph (iii).

 

 8        For a vehicle of the 1984 or a subsequent model year that

 

 9  has been previously registered by a person other than the person

 

10  applying for registration or for a vehicle of the 1984 or a

 

11  subsequent model year that has been previously registered in

 

12  another state or country and is registered for the first time in

 

13  this state, the tax under this subdivision shall be determined by

 

14  subtracting the model year of the vehicle from the calendar year

 

15  for which the registration is sought. If the result is zero or a

 

16  negative figure, the first registration tax shall be paid. If the

 

17  result is 1, 2, or 3 or more, then, respectively, the second,

 

18  third, or subsequent registration tax shall be paid. A van that

 

19  is owned by an individual who uses a wheelchair or by an

 

20  individual who transports a resident of his or her household who

 

21  uses a wheelchair and for which registration plates are issued

 

22  under section 803d shall be assessed at the rate of 50% of the

 

23  tax provided for in this subdivision.

 

24        (q) For a wrecker, $200.00.

 

25        (r) When the secretary of state computes a tax under this

 

26  section, a computation that does not result in a whole dollar

 

27  figure shall be rounded to the next lower whole dollar when the


 

 1  computation results in a figure ending in 50 cents or less and

 

 2  shall be rounded to the next higher whole dollar when the

 

 3  computation results in a figure ending in 51 cents or more,

 

 4  unless specific taxes are specified, and the secretary of state

 

 5  may accept the manufacturer's shipping weight of the vehicle

 

 6  fully equipped for the use for which the registration application

 

 7  is made. If the weight is not correctly stated or is not

 

 8  satisfactory, the secretary of state shall determine the actual

 

 9  weight. Each application for registration of a vehicle under

 

10  subdivisions (j) and (m) shall have attached to the application a

 

11  scale weight receipt of the vehicle fully equipped as of the time

 

12  the application is made. The scale weight receipt is not

 

13  necessary if there is presented with the application a

 

14  registration receipt of the previous year that shows on its face

 

15  the weight of the motor vehicle as registered with the secretary

 

16  of state and that is accompanied by a statement of the applicant

 

17  that there has not been a structural change in the motor vehicle

 

18  that has increased the weight and that the previous registered

 

19  weight is the true weight.

 

20        (2) A manufacturer is not exempted under this act from

 

21  paying ad valorem taxes on vehicles in stock or bond, except on

 

22  the specified number of motor vehicles registered. A dealer is

 

23  exempt from paying ad valorem taxes on vehicles in stock or bond.

 

24        (3) Until October 1, 2009, the tax for a vehicle with an

 

25  empty weight over 10,000 pounds imposed under subsection (1)(a)

 

26  and the taxes imposed under subsection (1)(c), (d), (e), (f),

 

27  (i), (j), (m), (o), and (p) are each increased as follows:


 

 1        (a) A regulatory fee of $2.25 that shall be credited to the

 

 2  traffic law enforcement and safety fund created in section 819a

 

 3  and used to regulate highway safety.

 

 4        (b) A fee of $5.75 that shall be credited to the

 

 5  transportation administration collection fund created in section

 

 6  810b.

 

 7        (4) If a tax required to be paid under this section is not

 

 8  received by the secretary of state on or before the expiration

 

 9  date of the registration plate, the secretary of state shall

 

10  collect a late fee of $10.00 for each registration renewed after

 

11  the expiration date. An application for a renewal of a

 

12  registration using the regular mail and postmarked before the

 

13  expiration date of that registration shall not be assessed a late

 

14  fee. The late fee collected under this subsection shall be

 

15  deposited into the general fund.

 

16        (5) As used in this section:

 

17        (a) "Gross proceeds" means that term as defined in section 1

 

18  of the general sales tax act, 1933 PA 167, MCL 205.51, and

 

19  includes the value of the motor vehicle used as part payment of

 

20  the purchase price as that value is agreed to by the parties to

 

21  the sale, as evidenced by the signed agreement executed under

 

22  section 251.

 

23        (b) "List price" means the manufacturer's suggested base

 

24  list price as published by the secretary of state, or the

 

25  manufacturer's suggested retail price as shown on the label

 

26  required to be affixed to the vehicle under 15 USC 1232, if the

 

27  secretary of state has not at the time of the sale of the vehicle


 

 1  published a manufacturer's suggested retail price for that

 

 2  vehicle, or the purchase price of the vehicle if the

 

 3  manufacturer's suggested base list price is unavailable from the

 

 4  sources described in this subdivision.

 

 5        (c) "Purchase price" means the gross proceeds received by

 

 6  the seller in consideration of the sale of the motor vehicle

 

 7  being registered.