Title 32. Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation

Chapter 5. Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Law

Part I-a. Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security

32:863     Sanctions for false declaration; reinstatement fees; revocation of registration; review

A. (1) Except as provided in this Section, when the secretary determines that a vehicle is not covered by security as required by this Chapter or that the owner or lessee has allowed the required security to lapse, he shall revoke the registration of the vehicle, impound the vehicle, and cancel the vehicle’s license plate.

(2) Should the secretary determine that any person, whether in his application for registration of a motor vehicle or in his application for a motor vehicle inspection or otherwise, has submitted false information that the motor vehicle was covered by the security required by Section 861 of this Part, the secretary shall impose upon the owner or owner’s lessee the sanctions set forth in Subsection (A)(1), but for a longer minimum period, as set forth hereinafter.

(3)(a) Sanctions for a violation of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be imposed until proof of required liability security is provided to the secretary and all reinstatement fees are paid. Sanctions for a violation of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection shall be imposed for a period of not less than twelve months nor more than eighteen months. However, in no event shall these sanctions be removed until such time as proof of the required security is provided to the secretary along with all appropriate fees required by law, including a reinstatement fee of one hundred dollars per violation of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection if the vehicle was not covered by the required security for a period of one to thirty days, two hundred fifty dollars if the vehicle was not covered by required security for a period of thirty-one to ninety days, and five hundred dollars if the vehicle was not covered by required security for a period in excess of ninety days. No reinstatement fee shall be imposed by the secretary if the vehicle was not covered by required security for a period of ten days or less and the insured surrenders the vehicle’s license plate to the secretary within ten days. The reinstatement fees for violations of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection shall be as follows: two hundred fifty dollars for a first violation, five hundred dollars for a second violation, and one thousand dollars for a third or subsequent violation. The reinstatement fee shall not be owed for an alleged violation of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection when proof of the required security is provided to the secretary within sixty days of the date of the notice. If at the time of reinstatement, a person has multiple violations and is within sixty days of the notice, the total amount of fees to be paid shall not exceed eight hundred fifty dollars, for violations of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, one thousand seventy-five dollars for violations of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection. At no time shall the total amount of fees, including administrative fees, exceed two hundred fifty dollars for persons sixty-five years or older. After sixty days of the date of the notice, all fees shall be considered final delinquent debt and therefore owed, and the eight hundred fifty dollar limit for persons under sixty-five years shall no longer apply.

(b) Revenues from the reinstatement fees imposed by this Paragraph shall be used as follows:

(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter to the contrary, except for R.S. 32:868, and after satisfying the requirements of the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, thirty-six percent of the revenues from the reinstatement fees shall be used as provided by law for the construction, maintenance, and operating expenses of new capital immovables and related movables.

(ii) In addition, fourteen percent of the revenues from the reinstatement fees shall be dedicated for obtaining equipment and related supplies to be used in connection with the issuance of validation stickers.

(iii) In addition, twenty-six percent of the revenues from reinstatement fees shall be dedicated to increase the salaries of all full-time employees of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of motor vehicles. Specifically, such monies derived from the reinstatement fees shall be used exclusively to fund the salary increases associated with the job reclassification and pay study submitted by the office of motor vehicles to the State Civil Service Commission on October 19, 1998, and approved by the Department of Civil Service effective December 31, 1998. Any use of the fees allocated by this Item for salary purposes other than those specified herein, including the use for annual merit increases, is expressly prohibited.

(c) Upon completion of the construction of the new capital immovables and related movables described in this Paragraph, forty percent of the revenue from reinstatement fees imposed by this Paragraph shall be deposited in the state general fund. However, fifteen percent of such revenues shall be reserved for maintenance and operating expenses of the complex.

(4) Fees shall be paid to the secretary, who shall remit them to the state treasurer to be credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in R.S. 32:853(B)(2).

B. The sanctions of Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section shall not be imposed, and any fine, fee, or other monetary sanction which has been remitted to the secretary pursuant to the sanctions of this Section, specifically including any reinstatement fee paid pursuant to Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section and any fee paid pursuant to Paragraph (D)(5) of this Section, shall be promptly refunded by the secretary to the person who paid it, if the owner or lessee furnishes any of the following within sixty days of the notice:

(1) An original, a photocopy, or an image of the card that is displayed on a mobile electronic device of a Louisiana auto insurance identification card showing that the required security is in effect on the vehicle and has been continuous without lapse or an original or photocopy of any written communication from an insurer either to the insured or to the secretary stating that the required security is in effect on the vehicle and has been continuous without lapse, any one of which shall constitute sufficient evidence that the required security on the vehicle has not lapsed.

(2) If such evidence is not furnished by the owner or lessee, any other evidence satisfactory to the secretary, that each of the following conditions are met:

(a) The vehicle was at the time in question in fact covered by the required security.

(b) The vehicle is currently covered by security as required by R.S. 32:861 and that the required security has been continuous without lapse.

(c) The vehicle was not involved in an accident during the period when it was not covered by security as required by R.S. 32:861.

(3) Documentation satisfactory to the department that the vehicle was damaged as a result of a natural disaster which is the subject of a state of emergency declared by the governor and was treated as debris and removed, provided such natural disaster occurred prior to the reported cancellation of liability insurance.

C. If the person applies for a registration during the same period for which the surrendered plate would have been valid, credit shall be applied toward the purchase of a new plate. The credit shall be equal to the amount paid for the most recent registration of the motor vehicle multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the unused months of said registration and the denominator of which is the number of months for which said registration was issued.

D. (1) When the secretary seeks to impose the sanctions required in this Section, he shall send written notice to the owner, lessee, or other person against whom sanctions are intended at the last address furnished to the department. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 32:852(E), such notice may be sent by first class mail. A notice of noncompliance, issued by a law enforcement officer under the provisions of R. S. 32:863.1(C)(1), shall serve as notice to the owner, lessee, or other person. Prior to imposition of such sanctions, a hearing may be requested within ten days from the date of notice. Sanctions shall not be imposed until all rights for appeal have expired or been exhausted.

(2) At the hearing, the commissioner shall consider the correctness of his initial determination with regard to petitioner’s violation of any provision of Subsection A or B of this Section. Should the commissioner find that his initial determination with regard to such a violation was correct, the revocation ordered by him shall be maintained and given effect. The commissioner shall rescind an ordered revocation only if he finds that petitioner violated no provision of Subsection A or B of this Section, and that the initial determination made by the commissioner was incorrect.

(3) Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 883, § 2.

(4) Within ten days after a person has exhausted his remedies with the commissioner, he shall have the right to file a petition in the district court in the parish of his domicile for a review of the final order of revocation. The court may exercise any action it deems appropriate.

(5) The department may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to offset the administrative cost of this Section not to exceed twenty-five dollars.

E. When a person’s motor vehicle registration is suspended or revoked according to the provisions of this Section, it shall remain suspended or revoked and the person shall be prohibited from renewing his driver’s license, obtaining a duplicate driver’s license, renewing his motor vehicle registration, or obtaining reissuance of his motor vehicle registration until the reinstatement requirements of this Section are satisfied.

Added by Acts 1977, No. 115, § 1, eff. July 1, 1978. Amended by Acts 1979, No. 538, § 1; Acts 1981, No. 743, § 1; Acts 1983, No. 282, § 1; Acts 1984, No. 212, § 1, eff. July 1, 1985; Acts 1985, No. 866, § 1; Acts 1987, No. 553, § 1; Acts 1987, No. 616, § 1, eff. July 9, 1987; Acts 1988, No. 269, § 1; Acts 1991, No. 391, § 1; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex.Sess., No. 119, § 1, eff. July 7, 1994; Acts 1998, 1st Ex.Sess., No. 159, § 1; Acts 1999, No. 157, § 1, eff. June 30, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 371, § 1; Acts 2001, No. 883, § 1; Acts 2001, No. 916, § 1; Acts 2001, No. 1109, § 1; Acts 2003, No. 405, § 1, eff. June 18, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 611, § 1; Acts 2006, No. 406, § 1; Acts 2011, No. 370, § 2; Acts 2012, No. 824, § 1; Acts 2014, No. 641, § 1, eff. July 1, 2014; Acts 2015, No. 414, § 1.