HB742: Farm vehicles; distance limit.

HOUSE BILL NO. 742
Offered January 11, 2012
Prefiled January 11, 2012
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 46.2-665 and 46.2-666 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the distance limit for vehicles used for agricultural and horticultural purposes.
Patron-- Fariss

Committee Referral Pending

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That §§ 46.2-665 and 46.2-666 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 46.2-665. Vehicles used for agricultural or horticultural purposes.

A. No person shall be required to obtain the registration certificate, license plates and decals, or pay a registration fee for any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer used exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes on lands owned or leased by the vehicle's owner.

B. This exemption shall only apply to pickup trucks, panel trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 7,500 pounds, and trailers and semitrailers that are not operated on or over any public highway in this Commonwealth for any purpose other than:

1. Crossing a highway;

2. Operating along a highway for a distance of no more than thirty 30 miles from one part of the owner's land to another, irrespective of whether the tracts adjoin;

3. Taking the vehicle or attached fixtures to and from a repair shop for repairs;

4. Taking another vehicle exempt from registration under any provision of §§ 46.2-664 through 46.2-668 or § 46.2-672, or any part or subcomponent of such a vehicle, to or from a repair shop for repairs, including return trips;

5. Operating along a highway to and from a refuse disposal facility for the purpose of disposing of trash and garbage generated on a farm; or

6. Operating along a highway for a distance of no more than thirty 200 miles for the purpose of obtaining supplies for agricultural or horticultural purposes, seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, or animal feed and returning.

§ 46.2-666. Vehicles used for seasonal transportation of farm produce and livestock.

No person shall be required to obtain the registration certificate, license plates and decals, or pay a registration fee prescribed for any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer owned by the owner or lessee of a farm and used by him on a seasonal basis in transporting farm produce and livestock along public highways for a distance of no more than thirty 200 miles or the distance to the nearest storage house, packing plant, or market, but in no event more than fifty 300 miles. The provisions of this section shall only apply to pickup trucks, panel trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 7,500 pounds, and trailers and semitrailers.