Committee hears House Bill 40 to extend no-title scrap rule from 10 to 20 years; industry witnesses oppose

Representative Billington, sponsor of House Bill 40, told the Committee on Transportation the bill would change the threshold for when a motor vehicle may be scrapped without a title from 10 years to 20 years. He said the measure responds to cases where older vehicles can be sold to salvage dealers using only a simple bill of sale instead of a title. "I told her I wanna go from 10 to 20," Billington said while describing his intent to require more documentation before a salvage sale.

Industry witnesses uniformly opposed the change at the public hearing. Shannon Cooper, representing Advantage Metals Recycling, told the committee, "Car theft without a doubt happens, but the people that are buying these cars are not following the legal procedures." Cooper said legitimate scrap yards already check for liens and whether a vehicle meets the statute's…