Bill would create "collector" title to help people retitle long-salvaged vehicles

Representative Bill Twite of District 33 in Hazen told the House Transportation Committee that House Bill 1155 would create a collector-brand certificate of title to allow people who salvage or restore long-abandoned vehicles to establish legal ownership when original titles or motor vehicle records are not available.

Twite said the bill largely mirrors a prior 2021 measure (House Bill 1399) and was offered partly in memory of restoration expert Archie Rosenau Hazen, who helped draft earlier legislation. "The purpose of House Bill 1155 is to allow an individual to salvage a vehicle from a tree row, rock pile, pasture, storage shed, or other such locations, establish and prove ownership through a legitimate means," Twite said. He described the target vehicles as heavily deteriorated projects for which no title can be found in state records.

The bill would add a new collector title brand and allow an applicant to seek a collector title when Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) records and an original certificate are not available. Twite described two amendments he planned for committee: replacing a proposed…