§249-1 Definitions. As used in this chapter unless a different meaning appears from the context, the following terms shall have the following respective meanings.

"Antique motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle, including a motorcycle or a motor scooter which produces not more than twelve horsepower, of the age of thirty-five years or more from the date of manufacture, that is of the original factory specification or restored to the original specifications in an unaltered or unreconstructed condition, operated or moved over the highway primarily for the purpose of historical exhibition or other similar purposes.

"Bicycle" means:

(1) A device propelled solely by human power upon which any person may ride, having two tandem wheels sixteen inches in diameter or greater, and including any device generally recognized as a bicycle though equipped with two front or two rear wheels; or

(2) A low-speed electric bicycle, as defined under title 15 United States Code section 2085.

"Director of finance" means the director of finance of each county or of the county concerned, and includes the director's duly authorized deputies and subordinates.

"Moped" means a device upon which a person may ride which has two or three wheels in contact with the ground, a motor having a maximum power output capability measured at the motor output shaft, in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers standards, of two horsepower (one thousand four hundred ninety-two watts) or less and, if it is a combustion engine, a maximum piston or rotor displacement of 3.05 cubic inches (fifty cubic centimeters) and which will propel the device, unassisted, on a level surface at a maximum speed no greater than thirty miles per hour; and a direct or automatic power drive system which requires no clutch or gear shift operation by the moped driver after the drive system is engaged with the power unit.

"Motor vehicle" means every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power but which is not operated upon rails, but excludes mopeds.

"Net weight" of a vehicle means the actual weight of the vehicle, as determined on a standard scale, including all equipment and accessories ordinarily attached to and used on the vehicle and, in the case of a motor vehicle, the maximum fuel, oil, and water possible of being carried for its operation; provided that "net weight" of a new standard equipped vehicle, other than a motor vehicle, means the shipping weight thereof as established by its manufacturer, and "net weight" of a new standard equipped passenger vehicle means the shipping weight thereof as established by its manufacturer, plus one hundred pounds, and "net weight" of a new standard equipped motorcycle, motor scooter, or moped, means the shipping weight thereof as established by its manufacturer, plus thirty pounds, and "net weight" of a new standard equipped truck means the shipping weight thereof as established by its manufacturer, plus two hundred pounds. On initial registration of a standard equipped vehicle, other than a motor vehicle, for which the director of finance has the manufacturer's established weight, the director of finance, in lieu of requiring the vehicle to be weighed and in order to determine the "net weight" thereof, may use such established weight and may require the owner to furnish verification of the factory serial number of the vehicle. On initial registration of standard equipped passenger vehicles, motorcycles, motor scooters, mopeds, and trucks for which the director of finance has the manufacturer's established weights, the director of finance, in lieu of requiring such motor vehicles to be weighed and in order to determine the "net weight" thereof, may use such established weights, adding one hundred pounds in the case of standard equipped passenger vehicles, thirty pounds in the case of standard equipped motorcycles, motor scooters, and mopeds, and two hundred pounds in the case of standard equipped trucks, and may require the owners to furnish verification of factory serial and engine numbers of such motor vehicles. As to a vehicle for which the manufacturer's weight is not available or whose make and model cannot be determined with reasonable certainty or which has been so altered as to increase or diminish the weight thereof, "net weight" means the actual weight of such vehicle, as determined on a standard scale, including all equipment and accessories ordinarily attached to and used on the vehicle and, in the case of a motor vehicle, the maximum fuel, oil, and water possible of being carried for its operation. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, for all non-commercial vehicles, the weight of any vehicle modifications made to assist a person with a disability to enter or exit the vehicle, including but not limited to lifts, ramps, motors to power lifts or ramps, and chassis reinforcements, shall be excluded from the determination of the vehicle's net weight. In all cases information shall be presented to and in the manner prescribed by the director of finance.

"Truck" means any motor vehicle designed or used primarily for the carriage of property other than effects of the driver or passengers, and includes a motor vehicle to which has been added a box, platform, or other equipment for such carriage.

"Vehicle" means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, but excludes devices moved by human power or devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks and mopeds. [RL 1935, pt of §2157; am L 1937, c 214, §1, pt of subs 1; RL 1945, §5704; am L 1951, c 222, §1; RL 1955, §130-1; am L 1957, c 220, §1; am L 1965, c 64, §1; am L 1967, c 137, §1; HRS §249-1; am L 1975, c 187, §1; am L 1978, c 175, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1990, c 43, §1; am L 1996, c 56, §1; am L 2018, c 76, §2; am L 2019, c 208, §2]

Case Notes

Taxation under this chapter precludes taxation on an ad valorem basis. 30 H. 260 (1928).

Constitutional. 31 H. 726 (1930), aff'd 54 F.2d 313 (1931).