July 11, 1979
Mr. H. Richard Churchwell
Pennington County State's Attorney
Rapid City, South Dakota 57701
Official Opinion No. 79-21
Mopeds
Dear Mr. Churchwell:
You have requested an official opinion in regard to the following questions:
QUESTIONS:
1. What does current South Dakota law require regarding the licensing of operators of mopeds?
2. What specific motor vehicle laws are mopeds exempt from if any?
3. Does a municipality have the power to require the owners of mopeds to register or license the moped similar to the registration of bicycles?
IN RE QUESTION NO. 1:
SDCL 32-12-22 provides that:
No person, except those expressly exempted in § § 32-12-22.1 to 32-12-28, inclusive, shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in this state unless such person has a valid license as an operator under the provisions of this chapter. Any person convicted for a violation of this section shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
SDCL 32-20-2 states:
No person shall operate a motorcycle, except a moped as defined in § 32-20- 1, on the public streets or highways without a motor vehicle driver's license or permit upon which a state testing officer has certified that such person is qualified to operate such motorcycle. The department of public safety shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement this section.
Therefore, the answer to your first question is that while an operator of a moped is required to have a valid motor vehicle operator's license under
SDCL 32-12-22, the moped operator is exempted from the requirement found in SDCL 32-20-2 of having a special motorcycle operator's license.
IN RE QUESTION NO. 2:
SDCL 32-5-1.2 states that mopeds as defined in SDCL 32-20-1 shall be exempt from the annual registration and license plates chapter.
SDCL 32-20-4 states:
It shall be unlawful for any person under eighteen years of age to operate or ride upon a motorcycle on the public streets or highways of this state unless such person wears a protective helmet of a type approved by the department of public safety. Mopeds as defined in ¶ 32-20-1 shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.
In answer to your second question, then, moped operators are specifically exempt from annual registration and license plate requirements and from the protective helmet law.
IN RE QUESTION NO. 3:
SDCL 32-5-106 states:
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent municipal corporations from licensing, taxing, and regulating the motor vehicles mentioned in this chapter.
The chapter in which SDCL 32-5-106 is found was later amended by the Legislature to exclude mopeds from the provisions of chapter 32-5. See SDCL 32-5-1.2, supra.
Therefore, in answer to your third question, it would appear that the provisions of SDCL 32-5-106 cannot be applied to mopeds. However, nowhere do South Dakota statutes expressly forbid a municipality from instituting a voluntary registration or licensing of mopeds program.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark V. Meierhenry
Attorney General
MVM:LSW:esp
