60-3,198. Fleet of vehicles in interjurisdiction commerce; registration; exception; application; fees; temporary authority; evidence of registration; proportional registration; removal from fleet; effect; unladen-weight registration; trip permit; fee.

(1) Any owner engaged in operating a fleet of apportionable vehicles in this state in interjurisdiction commerce may, in lieu of registration of such apportionable vehicles under the general provisions of the Motor Vehicle Registration Act, register and license such fleet for operation in this state by filing a statement and the application required by section 60-3,203 with the Division of Motor Carrier Services of the department. The statement shall be in such form and contain such information as the division requires, declaring the total mileage operated by such vehicles in all jurisdictions and in this state during the preceding year and describing and identifying each such apportionable vehicle to be operated in this state during the ensuing license year. Upon receipt of such statement and application, the division shall determine the total fee payment, which shall be equal to the amount of fees due pursuant to section 60-3,203 and the amount obtained by applying the formula provided in section 60-3,204 to a fee of thirty-two dollars per ton based upon gross vehicle weight of the empty weights of a truck or truck-tractor and the empty weights of any trailer or combination thereof with which it is to be operated in combination at any one time plus the weight of the maximum load to be carried thereon at any one time, and shall notify the applicant of the amount of payment required to be made. Mileage operated in noncontracting reciprocity jurisdictions by apportionable vehicles based in Nebraska shall be applied to the portion of the formula for determining the Nebraska injurisdiction fleet distance.

Temporary authority which permits the operation of a fleet or an addition to a fleet in this state while the application is being processed may be issued upon application to the division if necessary to complete processing of the application.

Upon completion of such processing and receipt of the appropriate fees, the division shall issue to the applicant a sufficient number of distinctive registration certificates which provide a list of the jurisdictions in which the apportionable vehicle has been apportioned, the weight for which registered, and such other evidence of registration for display on the apportionable vehicle as the division determines appropriate for each of the apportionable vehicles of his or her fleet, identifying it as a part of an interjurisdiction fleet proportionately registered. Such registration certificates may be displayed as a legible paper copy or electronically as authorized by the department. All fees received as provided in this section shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Motor Carrier Services Division Distributive Fund.

The apportionable vehicles so registered shall be exempt from all further registration and license fees under the Motor Vehicle Registration Act for movement or operation in the State of Nebraska except as provided in section 60-3,203. The proportional registration and licensing provision of this section shall apply to apportionable vehicles added to such fleets and operated in this state during the license year except with regard to permanent license plates issued under section 60-3,203.

The right of applicants to proportional registration under this section shall be subject to the terms and conditions of any reciprocity agreement, contract, or consent made by the division.

When a nonresident fleet owner has registered his or her apportionable vehicles, his or her apportionable vehicles shall be considered as fully registered for both interjurisdiction and intrajurisdiction commerce when the jurisdiction of base registration for such fleet accords the same consideration for fleets with a base registration in Nebraska. Each apportionable vehicle of a fleet registered by a resident of Nebraska shall be considered as fully registered for both interjurisdiction and intrajurisdiction commerce.

(2) Mileage proportions for interjurisdiction fleets not operated in this state during the preceding year shall be determined by the division upon the application of the applicant on forms to be supplied by the division which shall show the operations of the preceding year in other jurisdictions and estimated operations in Nebraska or, if no operations were conducted the previous year, a full statement of the proposed method of operation.

(3) Any owner complying with and being granted proportional registration shall preserve the records on which the application is made for a period of three years following the current registration year. Upon request of the division, the owner shall make such records available to the division at its office for audit as to accuracy of computation and payments or pay the costs of an audit at the home office of the owner by a duly appointed representative of the division if the office where the records are maintained is not within the State of Nebraska. The division may enter into agreements with agencies of other jurisdictions administering motor vehicle registration laws for joint audits of any such owner. All payments received to cover the costs of an audit shall be remitted by the division to the State Treasurer for credit to the Motor Carrier Division Cash Fund. No deficiency shall be assessed and no claim for credit shall be allowed for any license registration year for which records on which the application was made are no longer required to be maintained.

(4) If the division claims that a greater amount of fee is due under this section than was paid, the division shall notify the owner of the additional amount claimed to be due. The owner may accept such claim and pay the amount due, or he or she may dispute the claim and submit to the division any information which he or she may have in support of his or her position. If the dispute cannot otherwise be resolved within the division, the owner may petition for an appeal of the matter. The director shall appoint a hearing officer who shall hear the dispute and issue a written decision. Any appeal shall be in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Upon expiration of the time for perfecting an appeal if no appeal is taken or upon final judicial determination if an appeal is taken, the division shall deny the owner the right to further registration for a fleet license until the amount finally determined to be due, together with any costs assessed against the owner, has been paid.

(5) Every applicant who licenses any apportionable vehicles under this section and section 60-3,203 shall have his or her registration certificates issued only after all fees under such sections are paid and, if applicable, proof has been furnished of payment, in the form prescribed by the director as directed by the United States Secretary of the Treasury, of the federal heavy vehicle use tax imposed by 26 U.S.C. 4481 of the Internal Revenue Code as defined in section 49-801.01.

(6)(a) In the event of the transfer of ownership of any registered apportionable vehicle, (b) in the case of loss of possession because of fire, theft, or wrecking, junking, or dismantling of any registered apportionable vehicle, (c) when a salvage branded certificate of title is issued for any registered apportionable vehicle, (d) whenever a type or class of registered apportioned vehicle is subsequently declared by legislative act or court decision to be illegal or ineligible to be operated or towed on the public roads and no longer subject to registration fees and taxes, (e) upon trade-in or surrender of a registered apportionable vehicle under a lease, or (f) in case of a change in the situs of a registered apportionable vehicle to a location outside of this state, its registration shall expire, except that if the registered owner or lessee applies to the division after such transfer or loss of possession and accompanies the application with a fee of one dollar and fifty cents, he or she may have any remaining credit of vehicle fees and taxes from the previously registered apportionable vehicle applied toward payment of any vehicle fees and taxes due and owing on another registered apportionable vehicle. If such registered apportionable vehicle has a greater gross vehicle weight than that of the previously registered apportionable vehicle, the registered owner or lessee of the registered apportionable vehicle shall additionally pay only the registration fee for the increased gross vehicle weight for the remaining months of the registration year based on the factors determined by the division in the original fleet application.

(7) Whenever a Nebraska-based fleet owner files an application with the division to delete a registered apportionable vehicle from a fleet of registered apportionable vehicles (a) because of a transfer of ownership of the registered apportionable vehicle, (b) because of loss of possession due to fire, theft, or wrecking, junking, or dismantling of the registered apportionable vehicle, (c) because a salvage branded certificate of title is issued for the registered apportionable vehicle, (d) because a type or class of registered apportioned vehicle is subsequently declared by legislative act or court decision to be illegal or ineligible to be operated or towed on the public roads and no longer subject to registration fees and taxes, (e) because of a trade-in or surrender of the registered apportionable vehicle under a lease, or (f) because of a change in the situs of the registered apportionable vehicle to a location outside of this state, the registered owner may, by returning the registration certificate or certificates and such other evidence of registration used by the division or, if such certificate or certificates or such other evidence of registration is unavailable, then by making an affidavit to the division of such transfer or loss, receive a refund of that portion of the unused registration fee based upon the number of unexpired months remaining in the registration year from the date of transfer or loss. No refund shall be allowed for any fees paid under section 60-3,203. When such apportionable vehicle is transferred or lost within the same month as acquired, no refund shall be allowed for such month. Such refund may be in the form of a credit against any registration fees that have been incurred or are, at the time of the refund, being incurred by the registered apportionable vehicle owner. The Nebraska-based fleet owner shall make a claim for a refund under this subsection within the registration period or shall be deemed to have forfeited his or her right to the refund.

(8) In case of addition to the registered fleet during the registration year, the owner engaged in operating the fleet shall pay the proportionate registration fee from the date the vehicle was placed into service or, if the vehicle was previously registered, the date the prior registration expired or the date Nebraska became the base jurisdiction for the fleet, whichever is first, for the remaining balance of the registration year. The fee for any permanent license plate issued for such addition pursuant to section 60-3,203 shall be the full fee required by such section, regardless of the number of months remaining in the license year.

(9) In lieu of registration under subsections (1) through (8) of this section, the title holder of record may apply to the division for special registration, to be known as an unladen-weight registration, for any commercial motor vehicle or combination of vehicles which have been registered to a Nebraska-based fleet owner within the current or previous registration year. Such registration shall be valid only for a period of thirty days and shall give no authority to operate the vehicle except when empty. The fee for such registration shall be twenty dollars for each vehicle, which fee shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Highway Trust Fund. The issuance of such permits shall be governed by section 60-3,179.

(10) Any person may, in lieu of registration under subsections (1) through (8) of this section or for other jurisdictions as approved by the director, purchase a trip permit for any nonresident truck, truck-tractor, bus, or truck or truck-tractor combination. A trip permit shall be issued before any person required to obtain a trip permit enters this state with such vehicle. The trip permit shall be issued by the director through Internet sales from the department's web site. The trip permit shall be valid for a period of seventy-two hours. The fee for the trip permit shall be twenty-five dollars for each truck, truck-tractor, bus, or truck or truck-tractor combination. The fee collected by the director shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Highway Cash Fund.

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The grant by the Director of Motor Vehicles of a proportional registration is a ministerial task which may be compelled by a writ of mandamus. State ex rel. Hilt Truck Line v. Peterson, 215 Neb. 81, 337 N.W.2d 133 (1983).

By merely filing application that included name and address of lessors in Nebraska, pursuant to this section, truck lessee did not dual register truck for purpose of determining highway use excise tax liability under 26 U.S.C. section 4481(b). Morgan Drive Away, Inc. v. United States, 697 F.2d 1377 (Fed. Cir. 1983).