As Introduced

133rd General Assembly

Regular Session S. B. No. 179

2019-2020

A BILL

To enact new sections 4503.19, 4503.21, 4503.23, and 4549.10 and to repeal sections 4503.19, 4503.193, 4503.21, 4503.23, and 4549.10 of the Revised Code and to repeal Section 812.40 of Am. Sub. H.B. 62 of the 133rd General Assembly to retain and continue current law requiring the display of two license plates for most motor vehicles.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That new sections 4503.19, 4503.21, 4503.23, and 4549.10 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4503.19. (A)(1) Upon the filing of an application for registration and the payment of the tax for registration, the registrar of motor vehicles or a deputy registrar shall determine whether the owner previously has been issued license plates for the motor vehicle described in the application. If no license plates previously have been issued to the owner for that motor vehicle, the registrar or deputy registrar shall assign to the motor vehicle a distinctive number and issue and deliver to the owner in the manner that the registrar may select a certificate of registration, in the form that the registrar shall prescribe. The registrar or deputy registrar also shall charge the owner any fees required under division (C) of section 4503.10 of the Revised Code.

(2) The registrar or deputy registrar then shall deliver the following:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section and in division (A)(2) of section 4503.191 of the Revised Code, two license plates, duplicates of each other, and a validation sticker, or a validation sticker alone, to be attached to the number plates as provided in section 4503.191 of the Revised Code.

(b) For trailers, manufactured homes, mobile homes, and semitrailers, one license plate only and one validation sticker, or a validation sticker alone. The manufacturer thereof, the dealer, or in transit companies therein, shall display the license plate and validation sticker only on the rear of such vehicles.

(c) For a commercial tractor that does not receive an apportioned license plate under the international registration plan, two license plates and one validation sticker. The validation sticker shall be displayed on the front of the commercial tractor.

(d) For an apportioned vehicle receiving an apportioned license plate under the international registration plan, one license plate only and one validation sticker, or a validation sticker alone. The license plate shall be displayed only on the front of a semitractor and on the rear of all other vehicles.

(e) For a chauffeured limousine, two license plates and validation stickers, or validation stickers alone, and a livery sticker as provided in section 4503.24 of the Revised Code.

(3) The registrar or deputy registrar shall not issue license plates for a school bus. A school bus shall bear identifying numbers in the manner prescribed by section 4511.764 of the Revised Code.

(4) The certificate of registration and license plates and validation stickers, or validation stickers alone, shall be issued and delivered to the owner in person or by mail.

(5) In the event of the loss, mutilation, or destruction of any certificate of registration, or of any license plates or validation stickers, or if the owner chooses to replace license plates previously issued for a motor vehicle, or if the registration certificate and license plates have been impounded as provided by division (B)(1) of section 4507.02 and section 4507.16 of the Revised Code, the owner of a motor vehicle, or manufacturer or dealer, may obtain from the registrar, or from a deputy registrar if authorized by the registrar, a duplicate thereof or new license plates bearing a different number, if the registrar considers it advisable, upon filing an application prescribed by the registrar, and upon paying a fee of one dollar for such certificate of registration. The registrar shall deposit the one dollar fee into the state treasury to the credit of the public safety - highway purposes fund created in section 4501.06 of the Revised Code. The registrar or deputy registrar shall charge a fee of seven dollars and fifty cents for each set of two license plates or six dollars and fifty cents for each single license plate or validation sticker issued, which the registrar shall deposit into the state treasury to the credit of the public safety - highway purposes fund.

(6) Each applicant for a replacement certificate of registration, license plate, or validation sticker also shall pay the fees provided in divisions (C) and (D) of section 4503.10 of the Revised Code and any applicable fee under section 4503.192 of the Revised Code.

Additionally, the registrar and each deputy registrar who either issues license plates and a validation sticker for use on any vehicle other than a commercial tractor, semitrailer, or apportioned vehicle, or who issues a validation sticker alone for use on such a vehicle and the owner has changed the owner's county of residence since the owner last was issued county identification stickers, also shall issue and deliver to the owner either one or two county identification stickers, as appropriate, which shall be attached to the license plates in a manner prescribed by the director of public safety. The county identification stickers shall identify prominently by name the county in which the owner of the vehicle resides at the time of registration, except that the county identification sticker for a nonstandard license plate, as defined in section 4503.77 of the Revised Code, shall identify prominently by name or number the county in which the owner of the vehicle resides at the time of registration.

(B) A certificate of registration issued under this section shall have a portion that contains all the information contained in the main portion of the certificate except for the address of the person to whom the certificate is issued. Except as provided in this division, whenever a reference is made in the Revised Code to a motor vehicle certificate of registration that is issued under this section, the reference shall be deemed to refer to either the main portion of the certificate or the portion containing all information in the main portion except the address of the person to whom the certificate is issued. If a reference is made in the Revised Code to the seizure or surrender of a motor vehicle certificate of registration that is issued under this section, the reference shall be deemed to refer to both the main portion of the certificate and the portion containing all information in the main portion except the address of the person to whom the certificate is issued.

Sec. 4503.21. (A)(1) No person who is the owner or operator of a motor vehicle shall fail to display in plain view on the front and rear of the motor vehicle a license plate that bears the distinctive number and registration mark assigned to the motor vehicle by the director of public safety, including any county identification sticker and any validation sticker issued under sections 4503.19 and 4503.191 of the Revised Code, except as follows:

(a) A manufacturer of motor vehicles or dealer therein, the holder of an in transit permit, and the owner or operator of a motorcycle, motorized bicycle or moped, motor-driven cycle or motor scooter, autocycle, cab-enclosed motorcycle, manufactured home, mobile home, trailer, or semitrailer shall display a license plate on the rear only.

(b) A motor vehicle that is issued two license plates shall display the validation sticker only on the rear license plate, except that a commercial tractor that does not receive an apportioned license plate under the international registration plan shall display the validation sticker on the front of the commercial tractor.

(c) An apportioned vehicle receiving an apportioned license plate under the international registration plan shall display the license plate only on the front of a commercial tractor and on the rear of all other vehicles.

(2) All license plates shall be securely fastened so as not to swing, and shall not be covered by any material that obstructs their visibility.

(3) No person to whom a temporary license placard or windshield sticker has been issued for the use of a motor vehicle under section 4503.182 of the Revised Code, and no operator of that motor vehicle, shall fail to display the temporary license placard in plain view from the rear of the vehicle either in the rear window or on an external rear surface of the motor vehicle, or fail to display the windshield sticker in plain view on the rear window of the motor vehicle. No temporary license placard or windshield sticker shall be covered by any material that obstructs its visibility.

(B) A law enforcement officer shall only issue a ticket, citation, or summons, or cause the arrest or commence a prosecution, for the failure to display a license plate in plain view on the front of a parked motor vehicle if the officer first determines that another offense has occurred and either places the operator or vehicle owner under arrest or issues a ticket, citation, or summons to the operator or vehicle owner for the other offense.

(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

(2) Whoever violates division (A) of this section by failing to display a license plate in plain view on the front of a motor vehicle as required under division (A) of this section while the motor vehicle is otherwise legally parked is guilty of a minor misdemeanor and may be fined not more than one hundred dollars.

A person who is subject to the penalty prescribed in division (C)(2) of this section is not subject to the charging of points under section 4510.036 of the Revised Code.

(3) The offense established under division (A) of this section is a strict liability offense and section 2901.20 of the Revised Code does not apply. The designation of this offense as a strict liability offense shall not be construed to imply that any other offense, for which there is no specified degree of culpability, is not a strict liability offense.

Sec. 4503.23. No motor vehicle designed to carry passengers, owned or leased by the state, or any of its departments, bureaus, commissions, or institutions supported in whole or in part by funds provided by the state, shall be operated or driven by any person unless it has displayed, in a prominent position on both the front and rear of the vehicle, identification plates which shall be the same size, shape, and treated for increased visibility in the same manner as those issued by the registrar of motor vehicles for private vehicles. Such identification plates shall be attached to the vehicle in the same manner as provided by statute for the illumination and attachment of license plates on private vehicles. The registrar shall designate the colors of the license tags which shall be used on state owned cars; such colors shall be other than those used on privately owned motor vehicles, and shall apply only to license plates used on state owned motor vehicles. Said plates shall bear a special serial number, and the words "Ohio State Car."

Sec. 4549.10. (A) No person shall operate or cause to be operated upon a public road or highway a motor vehicle of a manufacturer or dealer unless the vehicle carries and displays two placards, except as provided in section 4503.21 of the Revised Code, issued by the director of public safety that bear the registration number of its manufacturer or dealer.

(B) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of illegal operation of a manufacturer's or dealer's motor vehicle, a minor misdemeanor.

Section 2. That sections 4503.19, 4503.193, 4503.21, 4503.23, and 4549.10 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. That Section 812.40 of Am. Sub. H.B. 62 of the 133rd General Assembly is hereby repealed.