1. (A)

   1. (1) Before engaging in business as a dealer or wholesaler in this State, a person first must apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles for a license. Each license issued expires thirty-six months from the month of issue, the licensing period, and must be displayed prominently at the established place of business. The fee for the license is one hundred fifty dollars. The license applies to only one place of business of the applicant and is not transferable to another person or place of business.

   2. (2) During the dealer license application process, the department shall provide any information that would be needed in an audit or a review by its agents. Upon issuing a license, the department shall be reasonable in its requests to inspect or copy a dealer's record. If a complaint has been filed against a dealer, the department must present that complaint to the dealer in writing and allow the dealer the opportunity to cure before proceeding with punitive or enforcement action. Complaints arising from alleged violations of:

      1. (a) Section 56-37-30(B) must be cured by the dealer within sixty days of being notified of the complaint;
      2. (b) Section 56-37-30(C) must be cured by the dealer within forty-five days of being notified of the complaint; or
      3. (c) Section 56-37-30(D) must be cured by the dealer within thirty days of being notified of the complaint.
   3. (3) If the department determines that the same dealer has received a similar type of complaint within twelve months of a previous complaint, the department may proceed with an enforcement action without regard to the time periods provided in this subsection.

2. (B) A person who fails to secure a license as required in this chapter and facilitates an unauthorized sale of a motor vehicle in violation of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined:

   1. (1) not less than one hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days for the first offense;
   2. (2) five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days, or both, for the second offense; and

   3. (3) not less than two thousand dollars or more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, for the third or any subsequent offense.

      For purposes of this section, each instance of an unauthorized sale of a motor vehicle where the dealer has not applied for and received a license from the department appropriate to that sale is conclusively deemed to be a separate and distinct offense. Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prohibit any law enforcement agency from enforcing the provisions relating to nonlicensed dealers within the law enforcement agency's jurisdiction. The ticketing entity shall retain fifty percent of any fines collected under this section.

HISTORY: 1983 Act No. 118 Section 12; 1988 Act No. 603, Section 2; 1996 Act No. 459, Section 225; 2023 Act No. 51 (S.549), Section 19, eff January 1, 2024.

Editor's Note

2023 Act No. 51, Section 40(D), provides as follows:

"[SECTION 40.](D) SECTIONS 15 through 28 take effect on January 1, 2024. Any dealership applying for or renewing licenses, or operating on a currently issued license on or after January 1, 2024, is subject to the provisions of SECTIONS 15 through 28."

Effect of Amendment

2023 Act No. 51, Section 19, rewrote the section.