RICHMOND — The Virginia Senate has passed a bill proposed by Del. Ed Scott, R-Madison, that specifies which types of vehicles can qualify for farm-use status.
House Bill 1277 passed the Senate unanimously Tuesday after passing the House of Delegates 98-0 Feb. 10.
The bill, which amends a state statute already on the books, designates pickup trucks, panel trucks, sport utility vehicles, vehicles weighing more than 7,500 pounds, trailers and semitrailers as meeting the standards.
Farm-use vehicles do not have to be registered or licensed with the Department of Motor Vehicles and are marked with a license plate that can be purchased at most feed stores.
Until now, Scott said, police have had difficulty enforcing the statute because it was hard to tell which vehicles were legitimately farm-use. In addition, constituents complained that people were abusing the exemption by using farm-use plates on public roads.
In recent years, the issue has also been cited as a way for illegal immigrants to bypass the car-registration process.
Farm-use vehicles are not allowed on public streets or highways, with a few exceptions. Farmers can cross a street to get from one property to another or go a maximum of 30 miles on a public road for various reasons, among a few other exceptions.
“It’s not the car you take to church on Sunday,” Scott said.
Vehicles used on farms can also be driven on public roads as long as they are registered.
Scott said there would not be a significant fiscal impact from his bill and that people in farming communities who do not already abuse the statue would not be affected. People who are currently using passenger vehicles as farm use will have to register them or face penalties.
Scott will present to the House a minor technical change the Senate made to the bill. If that change is approved, the bill will be sent to Gov. Bob McDonnell to become law.
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