Sec. 14-34a. Reciprocal agreements apportioning the registration of commercial vehicles.
Sec. 14-34a. Reciprocal agreements apportioning the registration of commercial vehicles. (a) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is authorized to enter into reciprocal agreements or plans on behalf of the state of Connecticut with the appropriate
authorities of any of the states of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any
state or province of any country providing for the registration of commercial vehicles
on an apportionment or allocation basis, and may, in the exercise of this authority, enter
into and become a member of the International Registration Plan developed by the
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Any such reciprocal agreement
or plan may provide for but shall not be limited to the following: (1) Full reciprocity in
accordance with such agreement or plan for commercial vehicles not based in Connecticut, operated solely in interstate commerce and of specified types or gross or unladen
weights, in exchange for equivalent reciprocity for Connecticut based commercial vehicles; (2) reciprocal exchange of audits of records of the owners of such commercial
vehicles by the states participating in any such agreement or plan; (3) any other matters
which would facilitate the administration of such agreement or plan, including exchange
of information for audits, enforcement activities and collection and disbursement of
proportional registration fees for other jurisdictions in the case of Connecticut based
commercial vehicles.
(b) Any reciprocity agreement, arrangement or declaration relating to commercial
vehicles in effect between this state and any jurisdiction not a party to such reciprocal
agreement or plan, or which relates to any matters not covered in such reciprocal
agreement or plan shall continue in force and effect until specifically amended or revoked as provided by law.
(c) Notwithstanding any such agreement or plan, (1) any such commercial vehicle
garaged at any fixed location or which leaves from and returns to one or more points
within this state in the normal course of operations, shall be taxable in this state as
personal property in the town where such vehicle is garaged; (2) registration shall be
denied any such vehicle if any personal property taxes are unpaid with respect to such
vehicle, as provided in section 14-33; (3) any such vehicle based in this state shall be
subject to the provisions of sections 14-12, 14-15, 14-15a, 14-16a and chapter 247.
(d) At such time as the state of Connecticut may enter into and become a member
of the International Registration Plan pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the
provisions of said plan, as it may be amended from time to time, which are concerned
with the registration of any vehicle or the fees which relate to any such registration
shall control whenever any special act or any provision of the general statutes, except
subsection (c) of this section, conflicts with any provision of said plan. A copy of the
plan, as it may be amended from time to time, shall be maintained on file by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles at the main office of the department, and shall be available
for public inspection.
(e) Any commercial vehicle registered in any other jurisdiction eligible for registration on an apportionment basis shall not be operated on any highway without such
registration or a seventy-two-hour trip permit registration issued by the commissioner.
Any person who owns any motor vehicle operated in violation of this subsection shall
be fined five hundred dollars for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense, not
less than one thousand dollars nor more than two thousand dollars, except if the motor
vehicle has a gross weight of more than sixty thousand pounds, such owner shall be
fined one thousand dollars for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense, not
less than two thousand dollars nor more than four thousand dollars.
(P.A. 76-107, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-222; P.A. 96-167, S. 5; P.A. 08-150, S. 6.)
History: P.A. 78-222 added Subsec. (d) re effect of International Registration Plan on fees; P.A. 96-167 added Subsec.
(e) re registration requirements for commercial vehicles registered in any other jurisdiction and eligible for registration on
apportionment basis; P.A. 08-150 amended Subsec. (d) to add reference to the plan "as it may be amended from time to
time" and require a copy of the plan to be maintained on file by commissioner at the main office of department and be
available for public inspection.
See Sec. 20-427a re commissioner's duty to deny registration for commercial motor vehicle of contractor who is in
violation of Sec. 20-420 or 20-432.