"AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM REVIEW AND INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE RELATING TO CONNECTICUT'S TAX SYSTEM. "

After the last section, add the following and renumber sections and internal references accordingly:

"Sec. 501. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006) Except as otherwise provided in section 12-81 of the 2006 supplement to the general statutes, on and after January 1, 2006, there is hereby imposed a tax on motor vehicles, as defined in section 14-1 of the 2006 supplement to the general statutes. No other tax may be imposed on motor vehicles by any political subdivision of the state. Such tax shall be twenty-seven mills multiplied by the value of each motor vehicle and shall be payable by the owner of such vehicle.

(b) The Department of Revenue Services, in consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles, shall establish a system to collect such tax annually. The Commissioner of Revenue Services may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to carry out the provisions of this section. Such regulations may provide procedures for taxation of motor vehicles upon registration and subsequent assessment periods. The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall segregate the revenue from such tax and shall deposit it into a separate, nonlapsing account in the General Fund to be used by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.

(c) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall establish a system to annually pay to each municipality, from out of the revenue received under this section, or within available appropriations, an amount equal to the amount received by each municipality from the personal property tax on motor vehicles in the 2005 assessment year.

Sec. 502. Section 12-71c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

(a) Any person who is liable for property tax in any [assessment] calendar year in respect to a motor vehicle which in such [assessment] calendar year is (1) sold by such person with ownership thereof transferred to the purchaser, (2) totally damaged, (3) stolen from such person and not recovered, or (4) removed from this state and registered in another state by such person who concurrently ceases to be a resident of this state, shall be entitled to a property tax credit [in the town in which such person is liable for property tax] against the tax imposed under section 1 of this act in respect to such motor vehicle to be applied against any property tax for which such person is liable [in such town] in the [assessment] calendar year in which such motor vehicle is sold, damaged, stolen or removed and registered as provided in this section, or in the [assessment] calendar year next following. Such property tax credit shall be a pro rata portion of the tax payable in respect to such motor vehicle for the [assessment] calendar year in which it is so sold, damaged, stolen or removed and registered to be determined by a ratio, the numerator of which shall be the number of full months from the date such motor vehicle is so sold, damaged, stolen or removed and registered, to the first day of [October] January next succeeding and the denominator of which shall be twelve. [, provided (1) such credit shall not be allowed in such assessment year next following if property tax paid in respect to such motor vehicle, for the assessment year in which such motor vehicle is so sold, damaged, stolen or removed and registered, is allowed in reduction of property tax due in respect to another motor vehicle replacing such motor vehicle as provided under subsection (b) of section 12-71b or (2) in the event such credit is allowed in the assessment year in which such motor vehicle is so sold, damaged, stolen or removed and registered, the property tax paid in respect to such motor vehicle for such assessment year shall not be allowed in reduction of property tax due in respect to another motor vehicle replacing such motor vehicle as provided under subsection (b) of section 12-71b. ]

(b) Any person claiming a property tax credit with respect to a motor vehicle in accordance with subsection (a) of this section for any [assessment] calendar year shall, not later than the thirty-first day of [December] March immediately following the end of the [assessment] calendar year which next follows the [assessment] calendar year in which such motor vehicle is so sold, damaged, stolen or removed and registered, file with the [assessor in the town in which such person is entitled to such property tax credit] Commissioner of Revenue Services, documentation satisfactory to the [assessor] commissioner concerning the sale, total damage, theft or removal and registration of such motor vehicle. Failure to file such claim and documentation as prescribed herein shall constitute a waiver of the right to such property tax credit.

Sec. 503. Section 12-71d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

On or before the first day of October each year, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall recommend a schedule of motor vehicle values which shall be used by [assessors in each municipality] the Commissioner of Revenue Services in determining the assessed value of motor vehicles for purposes of property taxation. [For every vehicle not listed in the schedule the determination of the assessed value of any motor vehicle for purposes of the property tax assessment list in any municipality shall continue to be the responsibility of the assessor in such municipality, provided the legislative body of the municipality may, by resolution, approve any change in the assessor's method of valuing motor vehicles. Any appeal from the findings of assessors concerning motor vehicle values shall be made in accordance with provisions related to such appeals under this chapter. ] Such schedule of values shall include, to the extent that information for such purpose is available, the value for assessment purposes of any motor vehicle currently in use. The value for each motor vehicle as listed shall represent one hundred per cent of the average retail price applicable to such motor vehicle in this state as of the first day of [October] January in such year as determined by said secretary in cooperation with the Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers.

Sec. 504. Section 12-110 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

[(a) The board of assessment appeals in each town shall meet at least once in the month of September, annually, provided any meeting in the month of September shall be for the sole purpose of hearing appeals related to the assessment of motor vehicles, and shall give notice of the time and place of such meetings by posting it at least ten days before the first meeting in the office of the town clerk, and publishing it in some newspaper published therein or, if no newspaper is published in such town, in a newspaper having a general circulation in such town. Such meetings shall be held on business days, which may be Saturdays, the last not later than the last business day in the month of September, on or before which date such board shall complete the duties imposed upon it. ]

[(b)] The board of assessment appeals in each town shall meet in the month of March to hear appeals related to the assessment of property. Any such meeting shall be held on business days, which may be Saturdays, the last not later than the last business day in the month of March, on or before which date such board shall complete the duties imposed upon it.

Sec. 505. Subdivision (1) of subsection (i) of section 12-157 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

(i) (1) If the sale realizes an amount in excess of the amount needed to pay all delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, fees, and costs, the amount of the excess shall be held in an interest-bearing escrow account separate from all other accounts of the municipality. (A) If the property is redeemed prior to the expiration of the redemption period, the amount held in escrow shall, within ten days of the tax collector receiving notice of redemption, be turned over to the purchaser. Any interest earned shall be the property of the municipality. (B) If the property is not redeemed in the redemption period, the amount held in escrow may be used to pay the delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, fees and costs on any other property of the taxpayer located in the town, including personal property. [and motor vehicles. ] In the case of subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, the tax collector shall, within ten days of the expiration of the redemption period, pay to the clerk of the court for the judicial district in which the property is located the amount held in escrow remaining after paying the delinquent taxes, interest, fees, penalties and costs owed by the taxpayer to the municipality. The tax collector shall, within five days of the payment, provide notice to the delinquent taxpayer, any mortgagee, lienholder, or other encumbrancer of record whose interest in such property is affected by the sale, by certified mail, return receipt requested of the name and address of the court to which the moneys were paid, the person's right to file an application with the court for return of said money, and the amount of money paid to the court.

Sec. 506. Subsection (b) of section 14-15a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

(b) (1) If the commissioner finds, upon investigation, that any motor vehicle available for lease or rental in this state has been registered in another state for the purpose of evading, or the effect of which is the avoidance of, the motor vehicle laws of this state, for the purposes of paying a lower registration fee or evading the payment of any tax levied by this state [or any Connecticut municipality,] said commissioner may, in said commissioner's discretion, (A) prohibit the lease or rental of any such motor vehicle in this state, (B) require that such motor vehicle be registered in this state in accordance with the provisions of section 14-12, (C) suspend or revoke a license to engage in such leasing or renting issued under the provisions of section 14-15, or (D) require a licensee to furnish a bond in the amount of one thousand dollars for each vehicle registered in another state. (2) If the commissioner finds, upon investigation, that any licensee has failed to satisfy its obligations for payment of [municipal property taxes] the state-wide motor vehicle tax established under section 1 of this act, the commissioner may, thirty days after the issuance of notice to such licensee, and after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, suspend such license until all such obligations are satisfied.

Sec. 507. Section 14-33 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

(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] snowmobile 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)] (b) 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. 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)] (c) The provisions of subsection [(c)] (b) 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)] (b) of this section.

[(e)] (d) 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.

Sec. 508. Subdivision (74) of section 12-81 of the 2006 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

(74) (A) (i) For a period not to exceed five [assessment] calendar years following the [assessment] calendar year in which it is first registered, any new commercial truck, truck tractor, tractor and semitrailer, and vehicle used in combination therewith, which is used exclusively to transport freight for hire and: Is either subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Transportation pursuant to Chapter 135 of Title 49, United States Code, or any successor thereto, or would otherwise be subject to said jurisdiction except for the fact that the vehicle is used exclusively in intrastate commerce; has a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of twenty-six thousand pounds; and prior to August 1, 1996, was not registered in this state or in any other jurisdiction but was registered in this state on or after said date. (ii) For a period not to exceed five [assessment] calendar years following the [assessment] calendar year in which it is first registered, any new commercial truck, truck tractor, tractor and semitrailer, and vehicle used in combination therewith, not eligible under subparagraph (A)(i) of this subdivision, that has a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of fifty-five thousand pounds and was not registered in this state or in any other jurisdiction but was registered in this state on or after August 1, 1999. As used in this subdivision, "gross vehicle weight rating" shall have the same meaning as in section 14-1, as amended;

(B) Any person who on October first in any year holds title to or is the registrant of a vehicle for which such person intends to claim the exemption provided in this subdivision shall file with the [assessor or board of assessors in the municipality in which the vehicle is subject to property taxation] Commissioner of Revenue Services, on or before the first day of November [in] prior to such year, a written application claiming such exemption on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. Such person shall include information as to the make, model, year and vehicle identification number of each such vehicle, and any appurtenances attached thereto, in such application. The person holding title to or the registrant of such vehicle for which exemption is claimed shall furnish the [assessor or board of assessors] commissioner with such supporting documentation as said secretary may require, including, but not limited to, evidence of vehicle use, acquisition cost and registration. Failure to file such application in this manner and form within the time limit prescribed shall constitute a waiver of the right to such exemption for such [assessment] calendar year, unless an extension of time is allowed as provided in section 12-81k. Such application shall not be required for any [assessment] calendar year following that for which the initial application is filed, provided if the vehicle is modified, such modification shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such exemption until a new application is filed and the right to such exemption is established as required initially; [. With respect to any vehicle for which the exemption under this subdivision has previously been claimed in a town other than that in which the vehicle is registered on any assessment date, the person shall not be entitled to such exemption until a new application is filed and the right to such exemption is established in said town; ]

(C) With respect to any vehicle which is not registered on the first day of October in any assessment year and which is registered subsequent to said first day of October but prior to the first day of August in such assessment year, the value of such vehicle for property tax exemption purposes shall be a pro rata portion of the value determined in accordance with subparagraph (D) of this subdivision, to be determined by a ratio, the numerator of which shall be the number of months from the date of such registration, including the month in which registration occurs, to the first day of October next succeeding and the denominator of which shall be twelve. For purposes of this subdivision the term "assessment year" means the period of twelve full months commencing with October first each year;

(D) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 12-71d, the [assessor or board of assessors] Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall determine the value for each vehicle with respect to which a claim for exemption under this subdivision is approved, based on the vehicle's cost of acquisition, including costs related to the modification of such vehicle, adjusted for depreciation in accordance with the schedule set forth in section 12-94c.

Sec. 509. Section 12-95 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

No individual shall receive any exemption to which he is entitled by any one of subdivisions (19), (20), (22), (23), (25), (26) and (28) of section 12-81, as amended, or section 12-82 until he has proved his right to such exemption in accordance with the provisions of sections 12-93 and 12-94, together with such further proof as is necessary under the provisions of any of said sections. Exemptions so proved by residents shall take effect on the next succeeding assessment day, provided individuals entitled to an exemption under the provisions of subdivision (20) of section 12-81, as amended, may prove such right at any time before the expiration of the time limited by law for the board of assessment appeals of the town wherein the exemption is claimed to complete its duties and such exemption shall take effect on the assessment day next preceding the date of the proof thereof. [For purposes of any tax payable in accordance with the provisions of section 12-71b, any such exemption referred to in this section shall take effect on the first day of January next following the date on which the right to such exemption has been proved. ]

Sec. 510. Subsection (c) of section 14-16 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

(c) If the owner of a registered motor vehicle dies, the registration for the vehicle shall, unless the vehicle is destroyed, continue in force as a valid registration until the end of the registration period unless: (1) Ownership of the vehicle is transferred pursuant to subsection (b) of this section or by the deceased owner's executor, administrator, legatee or distributee prior to the end of the registration period, in which case the registration shall continue in force until the time of the transfer; or (2) ownership of the vehicle is transferred to the brother, sister, father, mother, child or spouse of the owner, in which case the registration shall, upon the payment of a fee of twenty dollars, continue in force until the end of the registration period or until the ownership is sooner transferred to a person other than such a relative. [If at the end of the registration period the relative has not transferred ownership of the vehicle and the relative applies for registration of the vehicle, the registration shall not be subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of section 12-71b. ]

Sec. 511. Subsection (a) of section 14-192 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

(a) The commissioner shall be paid the following fees: (1) For filing an application for a certificate of title, twenty-five dollars; (2) for each security interest noted upon a certificate of title or maintained in the electronic title file pursuant to subsection (b) of section 14-175, ten dollars; (3) for each record copy search, seven dollars; (4) for each assignment of a security interest noted upon a certificate of title or maintained in the electronic title file, three dollars and fifty cents; (5) for an application for a duplicate certificate of title, twenty-five dollars, provided such fee shall not be required for any such duplicate certificate of title [(A) which is requested on a form prepared and signed by the assessor in any town for purposes of such proof of ownership of a motor vehicle as may be required in accordance with section 12-71b, or (B)] in connection with an application submitted by a licensed dealer in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section 14-12 or section 14-61; (6) for an ordinary certificate of title issued upon surrender of a distinctive certificate, three dollars and fifty cents; (7) for filing a notice of security interest, three dollars and fifty cents; (8) for a certificate of search of the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, for each name or identification number searched against, seventeen dollars and fifty cents; (9) for filing an assignment of security interest, three dollars and fifty cents; (10) for search of a motor vehicle certificate of title record, requested by a person other than the owner of such motor vehicle, ten dollars; and (11) for a bond filing under section 14-176, twenty-five dollars.

Sec. 512. Subsection (c) of section 14-34a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006):

(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, as amended by this act, 14-16a, as amended, and chapter 247.

Sec. 513. Sections 12-71b, 12-81c, 12-122a, 12-144a, 7-328b and 14-33a of the general statutes are repealed. (Effective October 1, 2006, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2006)"