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2013 SESSION

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SB 1117 Virginia Uniform Certificate of Title for Watercraft Act; adoption of Act, technical amendments.

Introduced by: Frank W. Wagner | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED: (all summaries)

Watercraft titling certificates; adoption of uniform act; penalty. Repeals Virginia's existing watercraft titling law and enacts in its place the Uniform Certificate of Title for Vessels Act as adopted in 2011 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The new act uses the term "watercraft" instead of "vessels" where appropriate to conform to Virginia law. The bill requires the owner of every watercraft of a particular size and type to apply for and obtain a certificate of title, lowering the minimum boat length for which a title is required from 18 feet to 16 feet for boats owned or purchased after July 1, 2014. The bill also details the methods of creation or cancellation of certificates by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and describes the contents and effects of a certificate, including the availability of a title brand, a permanent designation indicating that a watercraft's hull has been damaged. The bill applies some of the principles of the Uniform Commercial Code to the realm of watercraft by defining the rights of secured parties and purchasers other than secured parties and providing the method for perfecting a security interest. Finally, the bill also establishes the rules for transferring ownership of a watercraft by a transfer statement or by operation of law, sets out the means of acquiring title to an abandoned watercraft, states the duties of the Department, and provides several general provisions. The bill also makes technical amendments. The bill contains an enactment clause making it effective on July 1, 2014.


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