HCS HB 40 Billington, Hardy Committee
HCS HB 40 -- INOPERABLE MOTOR VEHICLES
SPONSOR: Billington
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Transportation by a vote of 15 to 0. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules-Legislative by a vote of 7 to 2.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 40.
This bill changes the age at which an inoperable car must be before a scrap metal operator can purchase the vehicle without the original certificate of ownership, salvage certificate of title, or junking title from 10 to 20 years. This change does not effect vehicles at insurance salvage auctions or insurers with vehicles pursuant to total loss settlements.
This bill is similar to HB 1409 (2024).
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that this change will help prevent theft, because currently, cars are not being checked at junkyards for a certificate of title on cars that are still very valuable at 10 or 15 years old.
Testifying in person for the bill was Representative Billington.
OPPONENTS: Those who oppose the bill say that this does not prevent theft. It applies only to those vehicles whose greatest value is as scrap and the vehicles must be inoperable, so car thieves cannot and do not take advantage of the current statute. There are also safeguards against vehicles with liens being scrapped. The timely liquidation of low value vehicles is harmed by this bill, and the bill will lead to junkyards holding onto vehicles for much longer while waiting for the 20-year mark.
Testifying in person against the bill were Arnie Dienoff; Michael Henderson, Copart; Recycled Materials Association; Advantage Metals Recycling.
OTHERS: Others testifying on the bill say that insurance companies do title their vehicles, so there's a clear trail of ownership when they junk them.
Testifying in person on the bill was Missouri Insurance Coalition.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.