An act relating to miscellaneous changes to laws related to vehicles

Removed the statutory default speed limit of 35 mph on unpaved town highways without posted speed limits (former Sec. 17) and the requirement for the Agency of Transportation to prepare and distribute public education materials about that speed limit by March 1, 2024 (former Sec. 18).

Added new Sec. 14 requiring the DMV to stop issuing temporary and permanent validation stickers, validating stickers, and 'S' stickers for snowmobiles, eliminating the requirement for snowmobile operators to display them, removing VAST's obligation to maintain a log of 'S' stickers, and eliminating the administrative penalty for dealers who fail to display a validation sticker on dealer registration plates.

In the lemon law provision (Sec. 1), changed the timeframe for a consumer to request arbitration be recommenced if a final repair proves unsatisfactory from an ambiguous 'for the duration of the' to 'within one year following the expiration of the express warranty term in accordance with subsection 4179(a) of this title.'

Removed the long subject line listing all topics covered by the bill and the statement of purpose, replaced the header from 'BILL AS INTRODUCED AND PASSED BY SENATE AND HOUSE' to 'AS PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE', and renumbered sections throughout due to the additions and removals.

The entire bill text was replaced from the Senate-passed version to the enacted version. The diff is truncated (showing 1506 of 5039 lines) and all visible content is removals, so specific additions or modifications in the enacted version are not identifiable from the available data.

The bill as shown in the Senate version includes a new 35 mph statutory default speed limit on unpaved town highways without posted limits (23 V.S.A. 1081(b)(2)), with an outreach campaign required by March 1, 2024.

The Total Abstinence Program (23 V.S.A. 1209a) was substantially restructured: individuals with lifetime suspensions may apply for reinstatement after three years of total abstinence from all alcohol and nonprescription drugs, a $500 application fee, ignition interlock use for at least three years, and therapy program completion.

A new section on mobile identification (23 V.S.A. 116) was added, allowing the DMV to issue electronic credentials in addition to physical ones, with full and limited profiles, holder consent for data access, and third-party verification systems.

A new definition of 'mail' was added (23 V.S.A. 4(87)) to include electronic transmission as an authorized method of delivery by the Commissioner.

Overweight permit fees were reduced from $415.00 to $382.00 for certain vehicle categories (subdivisions 13 and 17 of 23 V.S.A. 1392).

Electronic permits may now be carried in paper or electronic form (new 23 V.S.A. 1455), replacing the prior requirement to carry physical permits. Use of a portable device to display a permit does not constitute consent for officers to access other device contents.

The 15-year title limitation was set to be prospectively eliminated for vehicles more than 15 years old on January 1, 2024 (23 V.S.A. 2012(10)), with a new 'exempt vehicle title' process for older vehicles.

A new statutory default speed limit of 35 mph applies to unpaved town highways (as defined in 19 V.S.A. 301(7)) that appear on the official town highway map and do not have a posted speed limit. This is a new restriction not present in the introduced version.

A new Section 18 requires the Agency of Transportation, in consultation with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns and regional planning commissions, to prepare and distribute public education materials about the new 35 mph speed limit by March 1, 2024. Materials must explain what the limit is, which highways it applies to, and its effective date.

For second suspensions under the Total Abstinence Program (Section 1209a), the ignition interlock requirement is now differentiated: 18 months generally, but only one year for drivers subject to the one-year hard suspension under subdivision 1213(a)(1)(C). The introduced version required a flat 18-month interlock period for all second suspensions.

Section 511(b) (specific validation sticker placement rules for different plate sizes) and Section 511(d) (the $5 civil penalty for failure to display a validation sticker within 14 days of expiration) are both repealed. They are replaced by a new subsection (c) that simply prohibits operating a vehicle without a number plate and validation sticker displayed as provided in the section, without specifying placement or a reduced-penalty window.

Section 305(d) now provides that when registration is processed electronically, an electronic or printed receipt serves as a temporary registration for 10 days after the transaction. The electronic receipt may be shown on a portable device, and doing so does not constitute consent for an officer to access other contents of the device.

Throughout the bill, gendered and redundant phrasing is cleaned up (e.g., 'him or her the consumer' becomes 'the consumer,' 'person' becomes 'individual,' 'Drinking Driver Rehabilitation Program Director' becomes 'Driver Rehabilitation Program Director'). These are drafting improvements with no substantive policy effect.

Added introductory metadata block identifying the bill as introduced by the Committee on Transportation on February 23, 2023, with a subject list and a statement of purpose describing the bill as proposing miscellaneous changes to laws related to vehicles.

Changed the document header from 'AS PASSED BY SENATE' to 'BILL AS INTRODUCED AND PASSED BY SENATE' and updated page count from 54 to 57 pages to reflect the added introductory content.