HB 14-1100 Summary

• Establishes new vehicle title "brands" - permanent designations on motor vehicle titles that indicate salvage status, flood damage, odometer tampering, or nonrepairable condition to convey information affecting vehicle value.

• Requires the Department to place appropriate brands on certificates of title and carry forward brands from other jurisdictions; if multiple brands exist, the most recent brand and a notice of "OTHER BRANDS EXIST" must appear on the title.

• Authorizes insurers or salvage pools to request salvage or nonrepairable titles within 30 days of settlement if they cannot obtain the original title certificate, requiring only a signed form declaring two written attempts to obtain the certificate.

• Creates new vehicle classifications: "junk" (destroyed, dismantled, or changed vehicles that cannot be titled); "nonrepairable" (incapable of safe operation or designated as scrap/parts source); and "flood damaged" (water-submerged vehicles with damaged electrical, computer, or mechanical components).

• Appropriates $97,850 from the highway users tax fund for computer programming services to implement the title branding system; applies to acts committed on or after January 1, 2015.