There is good news for those purchasing a new vehicle in Arkansas after Act 41, and several changes to existing laws have taken effect.
According to Rep. Fran Cavenaugh, sponsor of Act 41, motorists will now have 60 days to pay sales tax and register their vehicles.
“This is a simple bill, but it does impact the everyday Arkansan. We have had 30 days to license our vehicle and pay our sales tax. What this will allow is to give us 60 days rather than 30 days,” Cavenaugh said.
She explained the change came about after dealers could not provide buyers with the title to their newly purchased vehicle prior to the 30-day deadline.
“It came about because there’s been change in the industry and it is hard for lien holders to get the title to the dealers within those 30 days. It’s taking an average of 45 days before the dealer gets the titles to get it to the customer, so automatically the customer was out of compliance and having to pay a penalty because they couldn’t license their vehicle. So, this gives us 30 extra days to get the actual title to the customer and them take it down to the revenue office and license it.”
Cavenaugh said the additional 30 days also gives Arkansans more time to generate the funds needed to register a vehicle.
“What it also does for those Arkansans with limited income, it gives them an additional 30 days to come up with that sales tax. Sometimes the car will be one of the larger purchases they make and when they have to come up with a down payment, insurance, pay the personal property tax and sales tax it depletes the of a lot of cash. This will give them an additional 30 days to be able to come up with that sales tax.”
The new law has taken effect, however; motorists who fail to pay the sales tax within the 60-day window will still face a penalty.
Effective Aug. 1, motorists in Arkansas are subject to receive a speeding ticket in work zones whether or not law enforcement is present at the time of the violation.
The act allows law enforcement to use automated cameras to catch images of drivers speeding and will shoot the image to an officer down the road from the work site who may then issue a citation.
Additional laws which took effect include Act 445 which states if a distracted driver causes an accident that results in serious physical injury or death of another person, the driver upon conviction is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. In addition to penalties assessed, the court may order the defendant to 100 hours or less of public service work.
Acts 396 limits the period which restricted driving permits are valid for; act 50 repealed a law prohibiting leaving a running vehicle unattended; Act 264 classifies theft of catalytic converters as a class C felony and Act 261 requires the Department of Finance and Administration to offer drivers the option of a digitized driver’s license by February 2025.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
