HOUSE BILL No. 6270 September 17, 2002, Introduced by Rep. Patterson and referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice. A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled "Michigan vehicle code," by amending section 233a (MCL 257.233a), as amended by 2000 PA 82. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 233a. (1) When the owner of a registered motor vehicle 2 transfers his or her title or interest in that vehicle, the 3 transferor shall present to the transferee before delivery of the 4 vehicle,written disclosure of THE VEHICLE'S odometer mileage 5 by means of the certificate of title or a written statement 6 signed by the transferorincludingTHAT INCLUDES the 7 transferor's printed name, containingIN ADDITION TO all of 8 the following: 01979'01 * JJG 2 1 (a) The odometer reading at the time of transfer notto2include theINCLUDING tenths ofa mile or kilometerMILES OR 3 KILOMETERS. 4 (b) The date of transfer. 5 (c) The transferor's name and current address. 6 (d) The transferee's name and current address. 7 (e) The identity of the vehicle, including its make, model, 8 body type, year, and vehicle identification number. 9 (f) A reference to this section and comparable federal law, 10 and a statement that failing to complete the title or form or 11 providing false information may result in civil liability and 12 civil or criminal penalties being imposed on the transferor. 13 (g) One of the following: 14 (i) A statement by the transferor certifying that to the 15 best of his or her knowledge the odometer reading reflects the 16 actual mileage of the vehicle. 17 (ii) If the transferor knows that the odometer reading 18 reflects the amount of mileage in excess of the designed mechani- 19 cal odometer limit, a statement to that effect. 20 (iii) If thetransferTRANSFEROR knows that the odometer 21 reading differs from the mileage and the difference is greater 22 than that caused by odometer calibration error, a statement that 23 the odometer reading does not reflect the actual mileage and 24 should not be relied upon. This notice shall include a warning 25 notice to alert the transferee that a discrepancy exists between 26 the odometer and the actual mileage. 01979'01 * 3 1 (h) Space for the signature and printed name of the 2 transferee,and the date of presentation to the transferee. 3 (2) A certificate of title and a dealer reassignment form 4 shall contain a place for the information required by subsection 5 (1)(a) to (h). If the vehicle is not titled or the title does 6 not contain a space for the required information, a written 7 statement shall be provided as a separate document. 8 (3) A dealer selling or exchanging vehicles required to be 9 titled under this act shall present the certificate of title or 10 written statement and any reassigned titles in his or her posses- 11 sion to the transferee. The transferee or the transferee's agent 12 shall inspect, print his or her name, sign, and date the certifi- 13 cate or statement and return it to the transferor for submission 14 to the secretary of state. If neither the transferee nor trans- 15 feror is a dealer licensed under this act, completing the odome- 16 ter information on the certificate of title shall be considered 17 to comply with subsection (1). A person shall not sign an odome- 18 ter disclosure statement as both the transferor and transferee in 19 the same transaction. 20 (4) A new or used vehicle dealer shall obtain from the 21 transferor a completed odometer mileage statementwhichTHAT 22 meets the requirements of subsection (1) with each motor vehicle 23 acquired by the dealer. The dealer shall not acceptnorOR 24 provide an odometer mileage statement or a titlewhichTHAT 25 contains a place for odometer informationwhichTHAT has not 26 been completely filled in by the transferor. 01979'01 * 4 1 (5) The odometer information described in subsection (1) 2 shall not be required for any of the following: 3 (a) Vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating of more 4 than 16,000 pounds. 5 (b) A vehicle that is not self-propelled. 6 (c) A vehicle that is1012 years old,or older. 7 (d) A new vehicle transferred from a manufacturer to a 8 dealer. 9 (e) A vehicle sold directly by the manufacturer to an agency 10 of the United States in conformity with contractual 11 specifications. 12 (f) A low-speed vehicle. 13 (6) A person shall not alter, set back, or disconnect an 14 odometer; cause or allow an odometer to be altered, set back, or 15 disconnected; or advertise for sale, sell, use, install, or cause 16 or allow to be installed a device which causes an odometer to 17 register other than the actual mileage driven. This subsection 18 does not prohibit the service, repair, or replacement of an odom- 19 eter if the mileage indicated on the odometer remains the same as 20 before the service, repair, or replacement. If the odometer is 21 incapable of registering the same mileage as before the service, 22 repair, or replacement, the odometer shall be adjusted to read 23 zero and a notice in writing shall be attached to the left door 24 frame of the vehicle by the owner or his or her agent specifying 25 the mileage prior to service, repair, or replacement of the odom- 26 eter and the date on which it was serviced, repaired, or 01979'01 * 5 1 replaced. A person shall not remove, deface, or alter any notice 2 affixed to a motor vehicle pursuant to this subsection. 3 (7)A person who violates subsection (6) is guilty of a4felony.IF A PERSON IS CONVICTED OF VIOLATING SUBSECTION (6), 5 ALL OF THE FOLLOWING APPLY: 6 (A) EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (B), THE 7 PERSON IS GUILTY OF A FELONY PUNISHABLE BY 1 OR MORE OF THE 8 FOLLOWING: 9 (i) IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT MORE THAN 10 YEARS. 10 (ii) A FINE OF $2,000.00 FOR EACH VIOLATION OR, IF THE VIO- 11 LATION OCCURS NOT MORE THAN 3 YEARS AFTER THE YEAR THAT IS THE 12 MODEL YEAR OF THE VEHICLE, A FINE OF $4,000.00 FOR EACH 13 VIOLATION. HOWEVER, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF FINES IMPOSED UNDER THIS 14 SUBSECTION SHALL NOT EXCEED $100,000.00. 15 (B) IF THE VIOLATION OCCURS WITHIN 5 YEARS OF A PRIOR CON- 16 VICTION FOR VIOLATING SUBSECTION (6), THE PERSON IS GUILTY OF A 17 FELONY PUNISHABLE BY IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT MORE THAN 15 YEARS. 18 (8) Before executing a transfer of ownership document, a 19 lessor of a leased vehicle shall notify the lessee in writing 20 that ownership of the vehicle is being transferred and that the 21 lessee is required to provide a written statement to the lessor 22 regarding the mileage of the vehicle. This notice shall inform 23 the lessee of the penalties for failure to comply with the 24 requirement. 25 (9) Upon receiving notification from the lessor of a leased 26 vehicle that ownership of the vehicle is to be transferred, the 27 lessee shall furnish to the lessor a written statement regarding 01979'01 * 6 1 the mileage of the vehicle. This statement shall be signed by 2 the lessee and shall contain all of the following: 3 (a) The printed name of the person making the statement. 4 (b) The current odometer reading, not including tenths of 5 miles OR KILOMETERS. 6 (c) The date of the statement. 7 (d) The lessee's name and current address. 8 (e) The lessor's name and current address. 9 (f) The identity of the vehicle, including its make, model, 10 year, body type, and vehicle identification number. 11 (g) The date that the lessor notified the lessee of the 12 requirements of this subsection. 13 (h) The date that the completed disclosure statement was 14 received by lessor. 15 (i) The signature of the lessor. 16 (j) One of the following: 17 (i) A statement by the lessee certifying that to the best of 18 his or her knowledge the odometer reading reflects the actual 19 mileage of the vehicle. 20 (ii) If the lessee knows that the odometer reading reflects 21 the amount of mileage in excess of the designed mechanical odome- 22 ter limit, a statement to that effect. 23 (iii) If the lessee knows that the odometer reading differs 24 from the mileage and that the difference is greater than that 25 caused by odometer calibration error, a statement that the odome- 26 ter reading is not the actual mileage and should not be relied 27 upon. 01979'01 * 7 1 (10) If the lessor transfers a leased vehicle without 2 obtaining possession of the vehicle, the lessor may indicate on 3 the certificate of title the mileage disclosed by the lessee 4 under subsection (9), unless the lessor has reason to believe 5 that the mileage disclosed by the lessee does not reflect the 6 actual mileage of the vehicle. 7 (11) A dealer who is required by this section to execute an 8 odometer mileage statement shall retain for 5 years a photostat- 9 ic, carbon, or other facsimile copy of each odometer mileage 10 statement the dealer issues or receives. The dealer shall retain 11 the odometer mileage statements at his or her primary place of 12 business in an order that is appropriate to business requirements 13 and that permits systematic retrieval. 14 (12) A lessor shall retain for 5 years following the date of 15 transfer of ownership of each leased vehicle,the odometer 16 mileage statement received from the lessee. The lessor shall 17 retain the odometer mileage statements at his or her primary 18 place of business in an order that is appropriate to business 19 requirements and that permits systematic retrieval. 20 (13) An auction dealer or vehicle salvage pool operator 21 shall establish and retain at his or her primary place of busi- 22 ness in an order that is appropriate to business requirements and 23 that permits systematic retrieval, for 5 years following the date 24 of sale of each motor vehicle, the following records: 25 (a) The nameandOF the most recent owner, other than the 26 auction dealer or salvage pool operator. 01979'01 * 8 1 (b) The name of the buyer. 2 (c) The vehicle identification number. 3 (d) The odometer reading, not includingthetenths ofa4mileMILES OR KILOMETERS, on the date the auction dealer or sal- 5 vage pool operator took possession of the motor vehicle. 6 (14) A violation of subsection (1) or (6) byanyA dealer 7 licensed under this act is prima facie evidence of a fraudulent 8 act as provided in section 249. 9 (15) A person who, with intent to defraud, violates any 10 requirement under subsection (1) or (6), or a dealer who fails to 11 retain for 5 years each odometer mileage statement the dealer 12 receives and each odometer mileage statement furnished by the 13 dealer upon the sale of a vehicle, is liable in an amount equal 14 to 3 times the amount of actual damages sustained or$1,500.0015 $3,000.00, whichever is greater, and in the case of a successful 16 recovery of damages, the costs of the action together with rea- 17 sonableattorney'sATTORNEY fees. 18 (16) A TRANSFEREE SHALL NOT FILE SUIT AGAINST A TRANSFEROR 19 FOR DAMAGES UNDER SUBSECTION (15) FOR A VIOLATION OF SUBSECTION 20 (1) OR (6) MORE THAN 2 YEARS AFTER THE DATE THE TRANSFEREE KNEW 21 OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE VIOLATION. 22 (17) IT IS THE INTENT OF THE LEGISLATURE THAT THE SECRETARY 23 OF STATE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE AGGRESSIVELY COORDI- 24 NATE ACTIVITIES WITH APPROPRIATE LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL LAW 25 ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO ENFORCE THIS SECTION. 01979'01 * Final page. 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