(a)  On or before October 31 in each year, the collector of taxes of each city or town shall furnish the division of motor vehicles, with a listing showing the registration plate numbers, names, and addresses of the taxpayers of the city or town whose personal property and/or excise tax on motor vehicles, the assessment of which were made the prior December 31 in the case of the property tax, and the tax levied in the current year in the case of the excise tax, remained unpaid as of the date of the list. Subsequently, the collector of taxes in each city or town shall, at the times and in the manner prescribed by the administrator of the division of motor vehicles, furnish to the division of motor vehicles the names and addresses of those persons whose names appeared on that list who have subsequently paid the personal property, and/or excise taxes on motor vehicles, and the division shall remove from the list the names and addresses of those persons. No city or town treasurer or tax collector shall refuse to accept personal property, and/or excise taxes on a motor vehicle, or refuse to remove the names and addresses of the owners of the vehicle from the list because of any other taxes owing the city or town. No person, corporation, partnership, joint stock company, or association whose name appears on the list and whose name has not been subsequently removed from the list shall be permitted to register any motor vehicle until all the excise and attendant penalties have been paid in full and the payment has been certified to the division of motor vehicles by the tax collector. The provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to prevent the payment of taxes on motor vehicles in quarterly installments as provided in chapter 5 of Title 44. The provisions of this section shall apply in all respects in the case of taxes assessed upon motor vehicles by any fire district.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 31-3-6

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Motor vehicle: means any vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power for use on the public streets, roads, and highways;

    (2)  "Odometer" means an instrument for measuring and recording the actual distance a motor vehicle travels while in operation;

    (3)  "Person" means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or business trust including, but not limited to, private individuals and motor vehicle dealers, both wholesale and retail, whether the private individual or dealer is a dealer in the ordinary course of business or not;

    (4)  "Repair and replacement" means to restore to a sound working condition by replacing the instrument or any part thereof or by correcting what is inoperative;

    (5)  "Transfer" means to acquire ownership by purchase, gift, bequest, or any other means. See Rhode Island General Laws 31-23.2-2

  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9

(b)  The division of motor vehicles (the “division”) shall provide a written notice to those persons or other taxpayers (the “person”) whose name appears on the list generated in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a). This notice shall include:

(1)  The name of the municipality or other entity providing the person’s name to the division; and

(2)  A statement that the person identified on the list shall not be permitted to register any motor vehicle until the tax matter has been resolved and the person’s name is removed from the list as provided for under subsection (a).

History of Section.
P.L. 1950, ch. 2595, art. 2, § 7; P.L. 1956, ch. 3714, § 1; P.L. 1956, ch. 3714, § 3; G.L. 1956, § 31-3-6; R.P.L. 1957, ch. 142, § 1; P.L. 1978, ch. 341, § 6; P.L. 1979, ch. 379, § 2; P.L. 1988, ch. 84, § 61; P.L. 2018, ch. 175, § 1; P.L. 2018, ch. 293, § 1.