House Bill 1313

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THAT WHEN AN INSURANCE COMPANY MAKES A TOTAL LOSS SETTLEMENT ON A MOTOR VEHICLE, THE OWNER OR LIENHOLDER OF THE VEHICLE SHALL FORWARD THE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY WITHIN FIFTEEN DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF THE SETTLEMENT FUNDS; TO ALLOW THE INSURANCE COMPANY TO REQUEST A SALVAGE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE WHEN UNABLE TO OBTAIN THE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE WITHIN THIRTY DAYS AFTER DISBURSEMENT OF TOTAL LOSS SETTLEMENT FUNDS; TO REQUIRE THE MISSISSIPPI INSURANCE DEPARTMENT TO ISSUE A SALVAGE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE WHEN RECEIVING CERTAIN CERTIFICATES OF TITLE OR CERTAIN REQUESTS FOR A SALVAGE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 63-21-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PERTAINS TO SALVAGE CERTIFICATES OF TITLE, FOR THE PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) Whenever an insurance company makes a total loss settlement on a motor vehicle, the owner or lienholder of the motor vehicle shall forward the properly endorsed certificate of title to the insurance company within fifteen (15) days after receipt of the settlement funds.

(2) If an insurance company is unable to obtain the properly endorsed certificate of title within thirty (30) days after disbursement of total loss settlement funds, the insurance company or its agent, on a form provided by the Mississippi Insurance Department and signed under penalty of perjury, may request the department to issue a salvage certificate of title for the vehicle. The request shall include and document that the requestor has made at least two (2) written attempts to obtain the certificate of title, and shall include the fees applicable to issuance of a salvage certificate of title.

(3) The department, upon receipt of a properly endorsed certificate of title or a properly executed request under subsection (2) of this section, shall issue a salvage certificate of title for the vehicle in the name of the insurance company.

SECTION 2. Section 63-21-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

63-21-39. (1) An owner who scraps, dismantles or destroys a vehicle and a person who purchases a vehicle as scrap or to be dismantled or destroyed shall indicate same on the back of the certificate of title and shall immediately cause the certificate of title and any other documents required by the State Tax Commission to be mailed or delivered to the State Tax Commission for cancellation. A certificate of title of the vehicle shall not again be issued except upon application containing the information the State Tax Commission requires, accompanied by a certificate of inspection in the form and content specified in Section 63-21-15(5) and proof of payment of a fee as provided in subsection (2) of this section.

(2) For the purpose of requesting a clear title or a branded title on a vehicle with a salvage certificate of title, every owner of a vehicle that has been issued a salvage certificate of title in this state or any other state which has been restored in this state to its operating condition which existed prior to the event which caused the salvage certificate of title to issue shall make application to the State Tax Commission, accompanied by a certificate of inspection issued by the Department of Public Safety in the form and content specified in Section 63-21-15(5) and the payment of a fee of Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) for each motor vehicle for which a certificate of inspection is issued. All such monies shall be collected by the Department of Public Safety and paid to the State Treasurer for deposit in a special fund that is hereby created in the State Treasury to be known as the "Salvage Certificate of Title Fund." Monies in the special fund may be expended by the Department of Public Safety, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The State Tax Commission shall establish by regulation the minimum requirements by which a vehicle which has been issued a salvage certificate of title may be issued a clear title.

(3) Before a clear title or a branded title may be issued for a vehicle for which a salvage certificate of title has been issued, the applicant shall submit, by hand delivery or mail, such documents and information to the Department of Public Safety as the department may require for the purpose of determining if the vehicle complies with the requirements of this section and all applicable regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Public Safety and the State Tax Commission. The Department of Public Safety also may require that an applicant bring a vehicle for which application for a clear title or a branded title is being made to a Highway Patrol facility for a visual inspection whenever the department deems that a visual inspection is necessary or advisable. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit inspectors of the Mississippi Highway Patrol from conducting on-site inspections and investigations of motor vehicle rebuilders or motor vehicle repair businesses to determine if such businesses are in compliance with all applicable laws relating to the motor vehicle title laws of this state and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Public Safety and the State Tax Commission.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.