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2004 SESSION

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CHAPTER 678 An Act to amend and reenact § 46.2-734 of the Code of Virginia, relating to license plates of reconstructed vehicles. [S 259] Approved April 12, 2004

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 46.2-734 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 46.2-734. Reconstructed and specially constructed vehicles; inspection requirements; storage of unlicensed vehicles; use.

A. On receipt of an application therefor and written evidence that the applicant is a hobbyist and is registering a reconstructed or specially constructed vehicle built, reconstructed, restored, preserved, and maintained for historic or hobby interest, the Commissioner shall issue to the applicant one special license plate, which shall be mounted on the rear of the vehicle.

For the purposes of this section, "hobbyist" means the owner of one or more reconstructed or specially constructed vehicles who collects, purchases, acquires, trades, or disposes of reconstructed or specially constructed vehicles or parts thereof for his own use in order to build, reconstruct, restore, preserve, and maintain a reconstructed or specially constructed vehicle for historic or hobby interest.

Any owner of a reconstructed vehicle assembled from a vehicle manufactured twenty years or more prior to the time of applying for registration or transfer of title of the vehicle or any owner of a specially constructed vehicle, may register it as a reconstructed or specially constructed vehicle on payment of the registration fee as set out in § 46.2-694 or § 46.2-697 and be furnished, upon request, reserved hobbyist series license plates issued by the Commissioner under § 46.2-726.

B. These vehicles shall be registered and titled according to their chassis numbers or, if no chassis number exists, then by their motor serial numbers. The vehicles shall meet inspection requirements applicable to the model year shown on the registration certificate.

C. A hobbyist may store unlicensed, operable or inoperable, vehicles on his property provided the vehicles and the outdoor storage area are maintained in such a manner that they do not constitute a health hazard and are screened from ordinary public view by a fence, rapidly growing trees, shrubbery, billboards or other appropriate means. The hobbyist shall, however, not be exempt from local zoning ordinances governing the storage of these vehicles.

D. Vehicles registered under this section shall not be used for general transportation purposes, including but not limited to daily travel to and from the owner's place of employment, but shall only be used (i) for participation in hobbyist vehicle exhibits and similar limited-use events and (ii) on the highways of the Commonwealth for the purpose of testing their operation, obtaining repairs or maintenance, and transportation to and from events as described in this subsection.