CHAPTER 260
MOTOR VEHICLES
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 21, TITLE 21, DELAWARE CODE, BY PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF TEMPORARY REGISTRATION PLATES UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS AND FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware (two-thirds of all the Members elected to each House concurring therein):
Section 1. Chapter 21, Title 21, Delaware Code, is amended by adding thereto the following sections :
§ 2129. Issuance of temporary registration plates with temporary permits; issuance to dealers for re-issuance
(a) The Department may issue a temporary registration plate designed by the Department to an owner to whom it grants a temporary registration permit pursuant to Section 2103 of this Title. The dates of issuance and expiration and the make and serial number of the vehicle for which issued shall be stamped or marked with indelible ink in letters at least three quarters (8/4) of an inch high upon any temporary plate so issued and a record of such information, together with the name of the owner, shall be retained by the Department.
(b) The Department may also issue temporary registration plates to a dealer in motor vehicles, either new or used, who submits such proof as the Department requires of his status as a bona fide dealer, for reissuance to purchasers of unregistered motor vehicles. Such plates may be issued to a qualified dealer upon application for not less than 5 of such plates and payment of a fee of $1 for each plate.
§ 2130. Issuance of temporary plates by dealers; information to be placed on plates; records to be maintained
(a) A dealer may issue a temporary registration plate for a fee of not more than $1 to a purchaser of an unregistered motor
vehicle who makes proper application to the Department for registration thereof upon an appropriate form and delivers such application, together with the required fee, to the dealer for transmission to the Department.
(b) A dealer who issues a temporary registration plate shall mark or stamp thereon with indelible ink in letters at least three quarters (3/4) of an inch high the dates of issuance and expiration and the make and serial number of the vehicle for which issued, and shall immediately transmit to the Department upon forms prescribed and furnished by the Department the aforesaid information and the name of the purchaser.
(c) Every dealer who receives temporary plates from the Department shall maintain at his place of business a record of all such plates issued to him and of all such plates issued by him, with the dates of receipt and issuance, the name of the purchaser to whom issued, the make and serial number of the vehicle for which issued, and such other information as the Department may require. Each such record shall be kept for a period of at least 3 years from the date of entry and shall be available for inspection by representatives of the Department or police officers during regular business hours.
§ 2131. Effect and duration of temporary registration plates; destruction upon expiration
(a) A temporary registration plate properly issued to an owner or purchaser of a vehicle in accordance with Sections 2129 or 2130 of this Title shall be valid and shall entitle said owner or purchaser to operate the vehicle for which issued upon the public highways for a period of 15 days from the date of issuance or until the issuance of a permanent registration plate or until the cancellation or rescission of the contract of purchase, whichever occurs first.
(b) Upon the expiration of a temporary registration plate the holder thereof shall immediately destroy the same.
§ 2132. Regulations by Motor Vehicle Commissioner; power to suspend right to issue temporary plates
The Motor Vehicle Commissioner shall have the power to make rules and regulations, not inconsistent with Sections
2129, 2130, and 2131 of this Title, to carry out the provisions thereof relative to temporary registration plates, and the said Commissioner shall have the specific power, after hearing, to suspend the right to issue temporary plates of any dealer who fails to comply with the requirements of said Sections or of any regulation consistent therewith.
§ 2133. Offenses; penalties; jurisdiction of Justices of the Peace
(1) Knowingly inserts any false information upon the face of a temporary registration plate, or
(2) Issues any temporary registration plate to a person or for a vehicle other than those permitted under this Title,
Or
(3) Operates any vehicle bearing a temporary registration plate which is invalid or has expired shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100, or upon failure to pay the fine imposed shall be imprisoned not more than 30 days.
(b) Justices of the Peace shall have jurisdiction of offenses under this Section.
Section 2. This Act shall be effective July 1, 1955.
Section 3. There is hereby appropriated to the State Highway Department the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for the biennium beginning July 1, 1955, and ending June 30, 1957, for the purchase of temporary registration plates and the administration of this Act.
Section 4. This is a supplementary appropriation Act, and the money hereby appropriated shall be paid out of the General Fund of the State of Delaware.