House Bill 785

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 63-17-75, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT CERTAIN BLANKET LIABILITY INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE DEALERS DO NOT APPLY WHEN THE MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER'S INVENTORY DOES NOT HAVE A MOTOR; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 63-17-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-17-75. Within ninety (90) days after July 1, 1970, all persons who on July 1, 1970, are engaged in a business or occupation for which a license is required under the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission Law shall make application on forms prescribed by the commission for their respective licenses. All such persons shall be permitted, without a license, to continue to engage in the business or occupation for which a license is applied for until the license is either granted or, in case it is denied, until the applicant has exhausted or has had an opportunity to exhaust all of his remedies under Section 63-17-99. No person not engaged in a business or occupation requiring such a license on July 1, 1970, shall be permitted to engage in such business or occupation until he shall have first obtained a license to engage in such business or occupation.

Applications for licenses shall be verified by the oath or affirmation of the applicants and shall be on forms prescribed by the commission and furnished to such applicants. Applications shall contain such information as the commission deems necessary to enable it to fully determine the qualifications and eligibility of the several applicants to receive the license or licenses applied for. The commission shall require that there be set forth in each application information relating to the applicant's financial standing, the applicant's business integrity, whether the applicant has an established place of business and is primarily engaged in the pursuit, avocation or business for which a license or licenses is applied for, and whether the applicant is able to properly conduct the business for which a license or licenses is applied for, and such other pertinent information consistent with the safeguarding of the public interest and public welfare. Applications for license as a motor vehicle dealer shall, in addition to the foregoing, be accompanied by the filing with the commission of a bona fide contract or franchise then in effect between the applicant and a manufacturer, distributor or wholesaler of the new motor vehicle or vehicles proposed to be dealt in, unless such contract or franchise has already been filed with the commission in connection with a previous application made by such applicant, in which event the applicant shall, in lieu of again filing the contract or franchise, identify the contract or franchise by appropriate reference and file all revisions and additions, if any, which have been made to said contract or franchise. The applicant must furnish satisfactory evidence that he or it maintains adequate space in the building or structure wherein his or its established business is conducted for the display of new motor vehicles, or he will have such facilities within a reasonable time after receiving a license, and that he or it has or will have adequate facilities in said building or structure for the repair and servicing of motor vehicles and the storage of new parts and accessories for same. However, the failure to furnish the evidence called for in the preceding sentence shall not constitute sufficient cause for denying a license to any motor vehicle dealer who on July 1, 1970, was an enfranchised new motor vehicle dealer in this state of a manufacturer, distributor or wholesaler of new motor vehicles and who continued to be such a dealer from such date until application was made for a license as a motor vehicle dealer.

New applications for licenses as a new, used or wholesale motor vehicle dealer shall, in addition to the foregoing, be accompanied by the filing with the commission of a corporate surety bond in the penal sum of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) on a bond form approved by the commission. However, an applicant for licenses at multiple locations may choose to provide a corporate surety bond in the penal sum of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) covering all licensed locations of the same capacity in lieu of separate bonds for each location.

The bond shall be in effect upon the applicant being licensed and shall be conditioned upon his complying with the provisions of the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission Law. The bond shall be an indemnity for any loss sustained by any person by reason of the acts of the person bonded when those acts constitute grounds for the suspension or revocation of license. The bond shall be executed in the name of the State of Mississippi for the benefit of any aggrieved party. The aggregate liability of the surety for any claimants, regardless of the number of years this bond is in force or has been in effect, shall not exceed the amount of the bond. The proceeds of the bond shall be paid upon receipt by the commission of a final judgment from a Mississippi court of competent jurisdiction against the principal and in favor of an aggrieved party.

New, used and wholesale motor vehicle dealers shall be required to maintain motor vehicle liability insurance providing blanket coverage on vehicles operated on the public streets and highways of this state, including vehicles in dealership inventory unless the motor vehicle dealer's inventory does not have a motor. Evidence of liability insurance for business and inventory vehicles shall be filed with the application for license, and the application for license shall be denied if proof of liability insurance satisfactory to the Department of Revenue is not provided.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.