(a) Notwithstanding any other registration requirement of this chapter, a fleet rental trailer owner or authorized representative shall register the average number of trailers present in this state as calculated under this subsection, and shall pay the fees and taxes required by this chapter. The average number of trailers is equal to the total number of trailers in the fleet that were present at any time in the state during a calendar year or other period established by the department by regulation, divided by the number of calendar months in the period.

(b) When applying for registration of trailers as required under (a) of this section, the fleet rental owner or authorized representative shall file with the department a certified report containing verifiable data as to the average number of trailers that were present at any time in the state for the previous calendar year or other period specified by the department.

(c) A fleet rental owner or authorized representative whose application for registration under this section has been accepted by the department shall preserve records of the period on which the application was based for four years. Upon request of the department, the fleet rental owner or authorized representative shall

(1) provide records preserved under this subsection, to the department at its office for audit; or

(2) pay the cost of an audit conducted by a representative of the department at the office of the owner.

(d) After compliance with this section, all trailers identified as part of the rental fleet, and currently registered in any state or in the District of Columbia, may operate in this state.

(e) If the department determines that the fleet rental owner or authorized representative has not registered fleet rental trailers as required by this section, the department may suspend or revoke a registration previously issued, and may deny future registration under (a) of this section, until the owner has complied with this section. If registration under (a) of this section has been suspended, revoked, or denied, all the owner's fleet rental trailers present in the state must be registered under applicable state law.

(f) A fee or tax paid as a result of registration required under this section does not satisfy or offset other fees or taxes levied by the state or a political subdivision in connection with the ownership or operation of fleet rental trailers.

(g) In this section, “fleet” means a fleet of 10 or more rental trailers that are rented or offered for rent for personal use, not for the transportation of persons or property for hire or other commercial use, and includes a boat trailer, baggage trailer, box trailer, utility trailer, house trailer, or travel trailer.