Sec. 14-33. Renewal of registration denied for failure to pay motor vehicle property tax or fines for parking violations. Collection of delinquent property tax by commissioner.
Sec. 14-33. Renewal of registration denied for failure to pay motor vehicle
property tax or fines for parking violations. Collection of delinquent property tax
by commissioner. (a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, if any
property tax, or any installment thereof, laid by any city, town, borough or other taxing
district upon a registered motor vehicle or snowmobile remains unpaid, the tax collector
of such city, town, borough or other taxing district shall notify the Commissioner of
Motor Vehicles of such delinquency in accordance with listings and schedules of dates
established by the commissioner and on forms prescribed and furnished by the commissioner, specifying the name and address of the person against whom such tax has been
assessed, the date when such tax was due and the registration number, if known to
the collector. The commissioner shall not issue registration for such motor vehicle or
snowmobile for the next registration period if, according to the commissioner's records,
it is then owned by the person against whom such tax has been assessed or by any person
to whom such vehicle has not been transferred by bona fide sale. Unless notice has
been received by the commissioner under the provisions of section 14-33a, no such
registration shall be issued until a receipt evidencing the payment of such tax or certificate of abatement of such tax or other satisfactory evidence that the tax obligation has
been legally discharged has been presented to the commissioner; nor shall the commissioner register any other motor vehicle or snowmobile in the name of such person until
a receipt evidencing the payment of such tax or a certificate of abatement of such tax
or other satisfactory evidence that the tax obligation has been legally discharged has
been presented to the commissioner, except that the commissioner may continue to
register other vehicles owned by a leasing or rental firm licensed pursuant to section
14-15, if the commissioner is satisfied that arrangements have been made to discharge
such tax obligation, and may issue such registration to any private owner of three or
more paratransit vehicles in direct proportion to the percentage of total tax due on such
vehicles which has been paid and notice of payment on which has been received. The
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may immediately suspend all motor vehicle or snowmobile registrations issued in the name of any person (1) who has been reported as
delinquent and whose registration was renewed through an error or through the production of false evidence that the delinquent tax had been paid, or (2) who has been reported
by a tax collector as having paid a property tax on a motor vehicle or snowmobile with
a check which was dishonored by a bank and such tax remains unpaid. Any person
aggrieved by any action of the commissioner under this section may appeal therefrom in
the manner provided in section 14-134. For the purposes of this subsection, "paratransit
vehicle" means a motor bus, taxicab or motor vehicle in livery service operated under
a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by the Department of Transportation
or by a transit district and which is on call or demand or used for the transportation of
passengers for hire.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, in consultation with the Treasurer and the Secretary of the
Office of Policy and Management, may enter into an agreement with the tax collector
of any city, town, borough or other taxing district whereby the commissioner shall collect
any property tax or any installment thereof on a registered motor vehicle which remains
unpaid from any person against whom such tax has been assessed who makes application
for registration for such motor vehicle. Each such agreement shall include a procedure
for the remission of taxes collected to the city, town, borough or other taxing district,
on a regular basis, and may provide that a fee be paid by the city, town, borough or other
taxing district to the commissioner to cover any costs associated with the administration
of the agreement. In the event an agreement is in effect, the commissioner shall immediately issue a registration for a motor vehicle owned by a person against whom such tax
has been assessed upon receipt of payment of such tax and a service fee of two dollars,
in addition to the fee prescribed for the renewal of the registration.
(c) On and after March 1, 1989, any municipality may participate in a program
administered by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to facilitate the payment of fines
for parking violations. If any such municipality elects to participate in such program, it
shall provide for a notice of violation to be served personally upon the operator of a
motor vehicle who is present at the time of service. If the operator is not present, the
notice shall be served upon the owner of the motor vehicle by affixing notice to said
vehicle in a conspicuous place. In the case of any motor vehicle that is leased or rented
by the owner, not more than thirty days after the initial notice of a parking violation for
which a fine remains unpaid at such time, a second notice of violation shall be mailed
to the address of record of the owner leasing or renting the motor vehicle to such operator.
No fines or penalties shall accrue to the owner of such rented or leased vehicle for the
violation for a period of sixty days after the second notice is mailed. Upon receipt of
such notification, the owner of such rented or leased vehicle may notify the municipality
as to whom the lessee was at the time of such issuance of the notice of violation, the
lessee's address, motor vehicle operator's license number and state of issuance, and the
municipality shall issue such notice of violation to such lessee. A participating municipality shall notify the commissioner of every owner of a registered motor vehicle who
has unpaid fines for more than five parking violations committed within such municipality on and after March 1, 1989. Upon receipt of such notification, the commissioner
shall not issue or renew the motor vehicle registration of such person until he receives
notification from such municipality that the delinquent fines have been paid.
(d) The provisions of subsection (c) of this section shall not apply to any person,
firm or corporation engaged in the business of leasing or renting motor vehicles without
drivers in this state with respect to any motor vehicle which is leased or rented. The
commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to implement the
provisions of subsection (c) of this section.
(e) On and after July 1, 2004, each city and town shall make an annual payment to
the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, in an amount determined by the Secretary of the
Office of Policy and Management, in order to participate in the program administered
by the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. Such
amount shall be each city or town's proportionate cost of the administration of said
program, to be determined as follows: The number obtained by multiplying said program's administrative cost by a fraction the numerator of which shall be the city or
town's population and the denominator of which shall be the population of the state.
As used in this section, "population" means the number of persons in the city or town
according to the most recent estimate made, pursuant to section 19a-2a, by the Department of Public Health. The commissioner shall, on or before July fifteenth, annually,
certify to said secretary the commissioner's cost to administer said program. The secretary shall, on or before August first, annually, notify the chief executive officer of each
city and town of the amount such city or town is required to pay to the commissioner
and such amount shall be payable not later than September first following said notification date. All amounts received by the commissioner pursuant to this subsection shall
be deposited into the General Fund. If a city or town fails to annually pay its proportionate
share of said program's administrative cost, the commissioner shall not be required to
deny the issuance of a registration, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, to the
person against whom such tax has been assessed by said city or town, or by a borough
or other taxing district located therein.
(1949 Rev., S. 2375; 1959, P.A. 455; 1961, P.A. 233, S. 6; 1967, P.A. 48; 448, S. 2; 1969, P.A. 752, S. 15; P.A. 78-348, S. 1, 6; P.A. 79-566; 79-610, S. 9, 20; 79-631, S. 20, 111; P.A. 80-372, S. 2; P.A. 88-346, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-341, S. 8;
P.A. 95-260, S. 8, 24; P.A. 96-167, S. 4; P.A. 03-264, S. 5; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-1, S. 102; P.A. 04-126, S. 2; P.A.
07-88, S. 1.)
History: 1959 act added taxing districts to section; 1961 act authorized commissioner to establish listings and dates for
notification rather than date set by statute; 1967 acts removed specifications of tax amount, year and model of vehicle and
engine number from form contents and added reference to issuance of registration without receipt of tax payment if notice
under provisions of Sec. 14-33a has been received; 1969 act included snowmobiles under provisions of section; P.A. 78-348 allowed commissioner to suspend registrations when registration renewed because of error or false statement that
delinquent tax was paid or when check for payment of tax is not honored by bank; P.A. 79-566 included provisions re
paratransit vehicles; P.A. 79-610 and 80-372 authorized substitution of department of transportation for division of public
utility control in provision re paratransit vehicles; P.A. 79-631 made technical change; P.A. 88-346 added Subsec. (b) re
establishment of a voluntary program to facilitate payment of fines for parking violations, requiring denial of registration
for failure to pay such fines; P.A. 93-341 amended Subsec. (a) by adding a provision that the commissioner may "continue
to register other vehicles owned by a leasing or rental firm licensed pursuant to section 14-15, if he is satisfied that
arrangements have been made to discharge" outstanding tax obligations; P.A. 95-260 amended Subsec. (b) to allow any
municipality, regardless of size of population, to participate in the voluntary program to facilitate payment of fines for
parking violations; P.A. 96-167 inserted new Subsec. (b) authorizing commissioner to enter into agreement with tax
collector whereby commissioner shall collect delinquent motor vehicle property tax and immediately issue registration
upon receipt of payment of such tax and relettered former Subsec. (b) as (c); P.A. 03-264 made a technical change in
Subsec. (a), divided provisions of Subsec. (c) into Subsecs. (c) and (d), added provisions in Subsec. (c) re notice of violation
and period during which penalties will not accrue for violation, and made technical changes in Subsec. (d); June 30 Sp.
Sess. P.A. 03-1 amended Subsec. (a) to provide for a fee to be paid by municipalities upon notice to commissioner of
delinquent tax due and to make technical changes, effective August 16, 2003; P.A. 04-126 amended Subsec. (a) to delete
fee for the reporting of delinquent property taxes to the commissioner and to make a conforming change, and added Subsec.
(e) requiring municipalities to pay the costs of the delinquent tax reporting program, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 07-88
amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision re notification to municipality by owner of rented or leased vehicle providing
information re the lessee of such vehicle at the time of issuance of the notice of violation, and issuance of notice of violation
to lessee, effective July 1, 2007.
See Sec. 14-379 for definitions applicable to snowmobiles.