Chap. 368.—An ACT to protect the title of motor vehicles within this State; to
provide for the issuance of certificates of title and evidence of registration
thereof; to regulate purchase and sale or other transfer of ownership; to pro-
vide that registration of certificates of title shall be notice to subsequent
purchasers; to facilitate the recovery of motor vehicles stolen or otherwise
unlawfully taken; to provide for the regulation and licensing of certain dealers
in used and secondhand vehicles as herein defined; to prescribe the powers
and duties of the secretary of the Commonwealth hereunder; and to provide
penalties for violations of the provisions hereof; and to repeal an act entitled
an act to provide for the recordation of titles to motor vehicles and the iden-
tification of the same; to regulate the purchase, sale, storage and repair of
motor vehicles; declaring the theft of motor vehicles to be a felony and to
prescribe penalties for violations of the act and repealing act approved Sep-
tember 9, 1919, and all other acts or parts of acts in conflict herewith. [S B 240]

Approved March 20, 1924.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the State of Virginia.

Section 1. Definitions.—The words and phrases used in this act
shall be construed as follows, unless the context may otherwise require:

(a) The term “motor vehicle” shall include all vehicles propelled
by power other than muscular power except motorcycles operated by
policemen or firemen when on official business and excepting all other
motor vehicles, including trucks owned and operated by municipalities,
or by the State, or any political subdivision thereof, or by any State
institution, or by the Federal government. The term ‘‘motor vehicles”
as used in this act shall not include traction engines, road rollers, fire
wagon, fire engines, police patrol wagons and also such vehicles that run
only upon rails or tracks; provided, that such excepted motor vehicles
shall be designated by proper signs or legible markings showing the de-
partment of the municipality, State institution, or Federal government
in which said vehicles are employed.

(b) The term “State” as used in this act, except where otherwise
expressly provided, shall also include the territories and the Federal
districts of the United States.

(c) The term ‘‘owner’’ shall also include any person, firm, associa-
tion or corporation renting a motor vehicle or having the exclusive use
thereof, under a lease or otherwise, for a period greater than thirty days.
As between contract vendor and contract vendee, the term ‘‘owner”’
shall refer to the contract. vendee, unless the contrary shall clearly ap-
pear from the context of this act.

(d) The term ‘manufacturer’ shall include a person, firm, corpor-
ation or association engaged in the manufacture of new motor vehicles,
as a regular business.

(e) The term “second hand motor vehicle” shall cover a motor
' yehicle which has been sold, bargained, exchanged, given away or title
transferred from, the person who first took out title to it from the man-
ufacturer or importer, dealer or agent of the manufacturer or importer,
and so used as to have become which is commonly known as ‘‘second-
hand”’ within the ordinary meaning thereof.

(f) The term ‘dealer’ shall embrace any person, firm, corporation,
association, engaged in the purchase and sale of motor vehicles or in the
leasing of the same for a period of thirty or more successive days.

(g) The term “registration” shall mean the registration of the
license of the owner of a motor vehicle. Wherever used, this term shall
be considered to have the same practical meaning asthe word “‘license”’
used in automobile laws heretofore. .

“th) The term ‘certificate of title’ shall mean the designation of
the legal ownership of a motor vehicle wherever used; this term shall
be considered to have the same practical meaning as the words ‘regis-
tration,’ used in automobile laws heretofore.”’

2. Certificate of title for motor vehicles—After December thirty-
first, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, no certificate of registration of
any vehicle or number plates therefor, whether original issues, or dupli-
cates, shall be issued or furnished by the secretary of the Commonwealth,
or any other officer charged with such duty, unless the applicant therefor
shall at the same time make application for and be granted an official
certificate of title of such motor vehicle, or shall present satisfactory
evidence that such a certificate covering such motor vehicle has been
previously issued to the applicant. Said application shall be upon a
blank form to be furnished by the secretary of the Commonwealth and
shall contain a full description of the motor vehicle, which said descrip-
tion shall contain the manufacturer’s number, the motor number and
any distinguishing marks, together with a statement of the applicant’s
title and of any liens or encumbrances upon said motor vehicles, and the
name and address of the holder of said lien and such other information
as the secretary of the Commonwealth may require. The secretary of
the Commonwealth, if satisfied that the applicant is the owner of such
vehicle, or otherwise entitled to have the same registered in his name,
shall thereupon issue to the applicant an appropriate certificate of title
over his signature, authenticated by a seal to be procured and used
for such purpose. Such certificate shall be numbered consecutively,
beginning with number one, and shall contain such description and other
evidence of identification of said motor vehicle as the secretary of the
Commonwealth may deem proper, together with a statement of any
liens or encumbrances which the application may show to be thereon,
together with the name and address of holder of said lien. Said cer-
tificate of title of such motor vehicle shall be delivered to person, firm
or corporation holding the first lien or encumbrance upon said motor
vehicle and retained by him or them until the entire amount of such
liens or encumbrances is fully paid by the purchaser of said vehicle,
when the said certificate shall be delivered to the owner.

Said certificate of title when issued by the secretary of the Common-
wealth showing a lien or encumbrance shall be deemed adequate notice
to the public that a lien against the motor vehicle exists and the record-
ing of such reservation of title in the county or city wherein the purchaser
resides or elsewhere is not necessary and shall not be required. The
charge for each original certificate of title so issued and registration of
such motor vehicle shall be one dollar.

Said certificate shall be good for the life of the car so long as the same
is owned or held by the original holder of such certificate, and need not
be renewed annually, or at any other time except as herein provided.
Within ninety days after the passage of this act, it shall be the duty of
the secretary of the Commonwealth to cause to be printed copies of this
act, and to mail to every person to whom the secretary of the Common-
wealth, or other officer having the duty of registration of motor vehicles
has issued a certificate of registration for the year nineteen hundred and
twenty-four, one of such printed copies, accompanied by a blank form
of application for a certificate of title.

In the case of vehicles now owned and already recorded in this State
under the ‘‘recordation of titles” act, an application for a certificate of
title accompanied by such evidence of ownership and liens as the secre-
tary of the Commonwealth may require shall be made within ninety
days after this act becomes effective and the secretary of the Common-
wealth shall issue such applicant a certificate of title without cost.

3. New certificate required after sale or transfer.—In the event of
the sale or other transfer in this State after July first, nineteen hundred
and twenty-four, of the ownership of a motor vehicle for which a certifi-
cate of title has been issued as aforesaid, the holder of such certificate
shall endorse on the back of the same an assignment thereof with war-
ranty of title in form printed thereon, with a statement of all liens or
encumbrances on said motor vehicle, and deliver the same to the pur-
chaser or transferee at the time of the delivery to him of such motor
vehicle. The purchaser or transferee unless such person is a dealer
licensed under section fourteen of this act, shall within ten days there-
after, present such certificate assigned as aforesaid, to the secretary of
the Commonwealth, accompanied by a fee of one dollar, whereupon a
new certificate of title shall be issued to the assignee. Said licensed
dealer shall, on selling or otherwise disposing of said motor vehicle,
execute and deliver to the purchaser thereof an affidavit of conveyance
or assignment in such form as the secretary of the Commonwealth may
prescribe, to which shall be attached the assigned certificate of title
received by such dealer.

Thereupon the purchaser of said motor vehicle shall apply for and
receive from the secretary of the Commonwealth a certificate of title.
Said certificate, when so assigned and returned to the secretary of the
Commonwealth, together with any subsequent assignments or reissues
thereof, shall be retained by the secretary of the Commonwealth and
appropriately filed and indexed, so that at all times it will be practicable
to trace title to the motor vehicle designated therein; provided, when the
ownership of any motor vehicle shall pass by operation of law, the person
acquiring title thereto, may, upon furnishing satisfactory proof to the
secretary of the Commonwealth of such ownership, procure a certificate
of title and registration therefor, regardless of whether a certificate of
title has ever been issued.

4. Certificate of title required to operate motor vehicles.—The
owner or any person without the consent of the owner being first ob-
tained, who shall operate a motor vehicle in this State under a registra-
tion number of this State after July first, nineteen hundred and twenty-
four, without first procuring a certificate of title, as herein provided,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be
punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars, nor more than
one thousand dollars, and from and after June thirtieth, nineteen hun-
dred and twenty-four, any person who sells a motor vehicle without. com-
plying with the requirements of section three thereof, shall be guilty of
a felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not
less than fifty dollars, nor more than one thousand dollars, or by im-
prisonment in some penal institution of this State for not less than
ninety days, nor more than five years, or by both such fine and imprison-
ment.

5. Certificate of registration for motor vehicles.—The secretary of
the Commonwealth shall furnish with each number plate for motor
cycles and with each pair of number plates for motor vehicles a receipt
of registration, which shall contain upon. the face thereof the following
data: ‘The name of the registered owner of the motor cycle or motor
vehicle, the owner’s postoffice address, the make of the vehicle, the
year of model, the model or letter designated by the manufacturer,
manufacturer’s serial number, if any, engine number, the registered
horse power, the registration or license number and date of issue of the
receipt of registration. In case of motor cycles, the manufacturer’s
serial number shall be stated in lieu of the engine number. Such re-
ceipt of registration shall contain a blank space for the signature of the
registered owner and shall be signed with ink by such owner immediately
upon receipt. Such receipt of registration shall contain the registra-
tion number denoted on the number plate or plates, in connection with
which such receipt of registration is issued. Said receipt of registra-
tion shall also contain the engine number of the motor vehicle for which
said reccipt of registration is issued as denoted by certificate of title
issued for said motor vehicle by the secretary of the Commonwealth.
The reccipt of registration referred to herein shall be subject to inspec-
tion by any peace officer at any time. Said receipt of registration shall,
at all times while the motor vehicle for which it was issued is being
operated within this State, be in the possession of the operator thereof.
6. Old certificate of registration to be returned to the secretary of
the Commonwealth.—Upon the transfer of ownership of any motor
vehicle or motor cycle, registered under this act, the person in whose
name such motor vehicle or motor cycle is registered shall forthwith
deliver, or forward by registered mail, the receipt of registration to the
secretary of the Commonwealth, with endorsement on the back thereof
showing the name and postoffice address of the transferee, and the date
of transfer. For failure to comply with this provision within ten days
after the date of transfer, the transferor upon conviction shall be fined
not less than five dollars, nor more than fifty dollars.

7. Transfer of ownership file to be kept by the secretary of the
Commonwealth. Transferee of title required to make application for
new certificate.—Upon receipt of such old certificate of registration, it
shall be the duty of the secretary of the Commonwealth to file such re-
ceipt of registration in a file to be known as “‘the transfer of ownership
file.” Unless the transferee as shown by the endorsement on back of
the receipt of registration, applied for by mail, or otherwise, within ten
days after the date of transfer of the motor vehicle for certificate of
registration and title, the secretary of the Commonwealth shall notify
said transferee at once to do so. Unless said transferee then makes
application within five days after the receipt of such notice from the
secretary of the Commonwealth for such certificate, he shall be con-
sidered to be driving a motor vehicle without registration, and upon
conviction thereof shall be fined not less than five dollars, nor more
than fifty dollars.

8. Secretary of the Commonwealth may refuse to issue certificate,
or revoke same if issued.—If the secretary of the Commonwealth shall
determine at any time that an applicant for a certificate of title of a
motor vehicle is not entitled thereto, he may refuse to issue such certifi-
cate or to register such vehicle, and may for a like reason, and after
notice and hearing revoke registration already acquired, on any out-
standing certificate of title. Said notice shall be served in person or by
registered mail.

9. Penalty for false statement in application and possession of
stolen motor vehicle, et cetera.—Any person who shall knowingly make
any false statement of a material fact, either in his application for the
certificate of title herein provided for, or in any assignment thereof, or
who, with intent to procure or pass title to a motor vehicle which he
knows, or has reason to believe, has been stolen, shall receive or transfer
possession of the same from or to another, or who shall have in his pos-
session any motor vehicle which he knows, or has reason to believe, has
been stolen, and who is not an officer of the law engaged at the time in
the performance of his duty as such officer, shall be deemed guilty of a
felony and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than
one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or by imprison-
ment in any penal institution within this State for not less than one year,
nor more than five years, or both. This provision shall not be exclusive
of any other penalties prescribed by any existing or future laws for the
larceny or unauthorized taking of motor vehicles, but shall be deemed
supplementary thereto.

10. Certificates for dealers and manufacturers.—In the case of
dealers in motor vehicles, motor cycles, including manufacturers who
sell to others than dealers, all of whom are intended to be covered by
this and all other provisions of this section, a separate certificate of
title, either of such dealer’s immediate vendor, or of the dealer himself,
shall be required in the case of each motor vehicle in his possession, and.
the secretary of the Commonwealth shall determine the form in which
application for such certificate of title and assignments thereof shall be
made; provided, however, that no such certificate shall be required in
the case of new motor vehicles sold by manufacturers to dealers as the
term ‘‘dealers’’ is defined in section one of this act.

11. Duplicate certificate where original is lost.—In the case of lost
certificate of title or registration, the loss of which is accounted for to
the satisfaction of the secretary of the Commonwealth, duplicates may
be issued, the charge therefor to be fifty cents each.

12. Alteration or forgery of certificate of title and penalty there-
for—Any person who shall alter or forge, or cause to be altered or
forged, any certificate of title issued by the secretary of the Common-
wealth pursuant to the provisions of this section, or any assignment
thereof, or who shall hold or use any such certificate or assignment
knowing the same to have been altered or forged, shall be deemed guilty
of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be liable to pay a fine of
not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars,
or to imprisonment in any penal institution in this State for a period of
not less than one year, nor more than five years, or both.

13. Report of stolen and recovered motor vehicles.—It shall be the
duty of the sheriff of every county of this State and of the chief of police
or commissioner of police of every city having a population of more than
ten thousand to make immediate report to the secretary of the Com-
monwealth of all motor vehicles reported to him as stolen or recovered,
upon forms provided by the secretary of the Commonwealth. Upon
receipt of such information, the secretary of the Commonwealth shall
file the same in an index to be known as the “‘stolen and recovered motor
vehicle index.”’ It shall also be the duty of the secretary of the Com-
monwealth to file reports of stolen and recovered motor vehicles re-
ported to him from other States. The secretary of the Commonwealth
shall publish once a month a list of all motor vehicles stolen or re-
covered during the previous month and forward a copy of the same to
every sheriff and all police departments in cities of this State with over
ten thousand inhabitants. Such list shall also be forwarded to the
secretary of State or other proper official, in each State of the United
States. Before issuing a certificate of title, as heretofore provided, the
secretary of the Commonwealth shall check the motor and serial num-
ber on the motor vehicle to be registered against the ‘‘stolen and re-
covered motor vehicle index.”

14. Licenses required of secondhand dealers.—That after the first
day of July, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, it shall be unlawful for
any person to carry on or conduct in this State the business of buying,
selling or dealing in used vehicles, unless and until he shall have re-
ceived a license from the secretary of the Commonwealth authorizing
the carrying on or conducting of such business; provided, however, that
any manufacturer or importer of vehicles or his subsidiaries or selling
agents, may buy or take in trade and sell any used vehicle without such
license. Such license shall be furnished annually by the secretary of
the Commonwealth and shall run from the first day of July, nineteen
hundred and twenty-five and annually thereafter for each year, begin-
ning on the first day of January. The application for said license shall
be in such form as may be prescribed by the said secretary of the Com-
monwealth and subject to such rules and regulations with respect
thereto as may be so prescribed by him. Such application shall be veri-
fied by oath or affirmation and shall contain a full statement of the name
or names of the person or persons applying therefor, the name of the
firm or co-partnership with the names and places of residence of all the
members thereof, if such applicant be a firm or co-partnership, the name
and residence of the principal officers, if the applicant be a body corpo-
rate or other artificial body, the name of the State under whose laws the
corporation is organized, the location of the place or places at which
such business is to be carried on and conducted, and said application
shall contain such other relevant information as may be required by
the secretary of the Commonwealth. It shall be accompanied by a
sworn statement of two reputable persons of the community in which the
principal place of business is to be located, certifying to the good moral
character of the person or persons applying for such license. Upon
making such application the person applying therefor shall pay to the
secretary of the Commonwealth a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) in addi-
tion to any other fees now required by law. Provided the license issued
on and after July first, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, shall expire
December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, the fee for
same shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00). A license certificate shall
be issued by the secretary of the Commonwealth with such application
when the same shall be regular in form and in compliance with the pro-
visions of this section, and such license when so issued shall entitle the
licensee to carry on and conduct the business of buying and selling and
dealing in used vehicles for a period of one year from the first day of
January of the current year. The secretary of the Commonwealth
shall have the power to make suitable rules and regulations for the is-
suance of such licenses to expire upon the first day of January of the
succeeding year, when the application therefor shall be made during the
current year, and upon payment of a license fee of twenty-five dollars
($25.00), provided application is made on or after July first of any year.
Any person conducting the business of buying, selling or dealing in used
vehicles and having received a license therefor, shall, before removing
any one or more of his places of business, or shall before opening any
additional places of business, apply to the secretary of the Common-
wealth, for and obtain a supplemental license, for which no fee shall be
charged. Every such licensee shall keep a book or record in such form
as may be prescribed or approved by the secretary of the Commonwealth
in which he shall keep a record of the purchase, sale or exchange or re-
ceipt for the purpose of sale, of any secondhand vehicle, a description of
such vehicles, together with the name and address of the seller, of the
purchaser, and of the alleged owner or other person from whom such
vehicle was purchased or received, or to whom it was sold or delivered,
as the case may be. Such description shall also include the engine
number, if any, the maker’s number, if any, chassis number, if any, and
such other numbers or identification marks as may be thereon and shall
also include a statement that a number has been obliterated, defaced, or
changed, if such is the fact. He shall also have in his possession a duly
assigned certificate of title from the owner of said motor vehicle in ac-
cordance with the provisions of another section of this act, from the
time when the motor vehicle is delivered to him until it has been dis-
posed of by him. Provided, that any dealer who purchases a used
motor vehicle for the purpose of dissembling it and reselling the parts,
or who after purchase wishes to dissemble such vehicle and resell its
parts, shall report same to the secretary of the Commonwealth and re-
ceive authority from him to dissemble such vehicle before taking such
action. Any person guilty of violating any of the provisions of this sec-
tion shall be deemed guilty of a felony and shall be punished by a fine of
not less than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or by im-
prisonment in any penal institution in this State for not less than six
months nor more than three years, or both.

15. Penalty for sale of vehicle with engine number altered, or
changed; application for special number.—Any person or persons, firm
or corporation, who, thirty days after the taking effect of this article,
shall sell or offer for sale in this State, a motor vehicle, the original en-
gine number of which has been destroyed, removed, altered, covered or
defaced, with the exception of electrically propelled motor vehicles,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof,
shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars, nor
more than five hundred dollars, and by imprisonment in the county jail
for a term of not less than thirty days nor more than one hundred and
eighty days, and upon a second or subsequent conviction under this
section, the punishment shall be imprisonment in the State prison for a
term of not less than one year nor more than five years; provided, how-
ever, that any person or persons, firm or corporation, being the owner or
custodian of or having possession of a motor vehicle at the time of the
taking effect of this article, the original engine number of which has
been previously destroyed, removed, altered or defaced, shall, before the
expiration of thirty days after the taking effect of this article, apply to
the secretary of the Commonwealth on a blank to be prepared and fur-
nished by the secretary of the Commonwealth upon request, for per-
mission to make or stamp, or cause to be made or stamped on the engine
of such motor vehicle, a special engine number. The application for
permission to make or stamp a special engine number on the engine of
a motor vehicle under the provisions of this article shall contain a de-
scription of such motor vehicle including the make, style and year of
model of the same, as complete a description of the original engine num-
ber, if any part of the same remains, as is possible to give; any distin-
guishing marks that may be on the engine or body of such motor vehicle
and the name and postoffice address of the applicant, the date on which
he purchased or procured possession of the same, the name and post-
office address of the person or persons from whom he purchased such
motor vehicle, and such information as the secretary of the Common-
wealth may require, all of which description and facts shall be sworn to
by said applicant. Upon receipt of such application, together with a
fee of one dollar, the secretary of the Commonwealth shall issue to said
applicant written permission to make or stamp on the engine of such
motor vehicle a special engine number, to be designated by the secretary
of the Commonwealth, and when such special engine number so desig-
nated has been stamped or otherwise placed on the engine of such motor
vehicle, it shall become and thereafter be the lawful engine number of
such motor vehicle for the purpose of identification and registration and
for all other purposes under the provisions of this article, and the owner
thereof may sell or transfer the same under said special engine number
so designated by the secretary of the Commonwealth and any person or
persons who shall destroy, remove, cover, alter or deface any special
engine number so designated by the secretary of the Commonwealth
shall be deemed guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be
punished by imprisonment in the State prison for a term of not less than
two years nor more than ten years. In designating special engine num-
bers for motor vehicles under the provisions of this article the secretary
of the Commonwealth shall designate and number the same consecu-
tively, beginning with the number (1) preceded by the letters VA. and
followed by the letters for each and every make of motor vehicle for
which application for a special engine number shall be made, and in the
order of the filing of application therefor; provided, that from and after
the taking effect of this article the secretary of the Commonwealth shall
not register any motor vehicle without an engine number or issue a li-
cense for the operation of the same except as specifically provided for
herein; and, further, before issuing said license the secretary of the Com-
monwealth shall require of the applicant a statement that the special
number assigned to be placed on the particular motor vehicle in question
has been put on in a workmanlike manner, and this statement shall be
certified to by the sheriff, chief of police, or other convenient peace
officer, and that he has inspected said motpr vehicle and found said
number to be on said motor vehicle as required by the secretary of the
Commonwealth. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any
manufacturer or importer, or their agents, other than dealers, from
doing his own numbering on motor vehicles or parts removed or changed
and replacing the numbercd parts.

16. Appointment of deputies; their duties, et cetera.—The secre-
tary of the Commonwealth is hereby given power to appoint all neces-
sary deputies, in addition to the present officers of the law, to carry out
the provisions of this act, and to incur any additional expense in the
enforcement of this act, and the secretary of the Commonwealth, to-
gether with such deputies, employees and the existing officers of the
law, are hereby given police power and authority throughout the State,
to arrest without writ, rule, order or process, any person in the act of
violating or attempting to violate in his presence, any of the provisions
of this act and are hereby made peace officers of this State for that pur-
pose. With the permission and consent of the sheriff of any county, or
the chief of police of any city, the secretary of the Commonwealth is
hereby authorized to employ temporarily and deputize any deputy
sheriff or police officer to investigate any auto theft matters or other
violations of this act and any such officers so employed or deputized
shall have all the authority of peace officers as heretofore provided.
Any officer, or deputy of the secretary of the Commonwealth shall have
the authority and 1s hereby required to use reasonable diligence in ascer-
taining whether the owners and operators of motor vehicles are com-
plying with the provisions of this act. All expenditures under the pro-
visions of this section shall be paid from the fund hereafter designated
as the ‘“‘auto-theft fund.”

17. Auto-theft fund; how used.—All moneys received by the secre-
tary of the Commonwealth under the provisions of this act shall be set
aside and shall be known as the ‘“‘auto-theft fund” and shall be held and
retained in the State treasury as a separate fund and shall be used first
to meet the necessary additional expenses incurred by the secretary of
the Commonwealth in the performance of duties required by this act,
and in the enforcement of the motor vehicle and traffic laws of this
State. All expenses which may be incurred by the secretary of the
Commonwealth in printing this act and in the preparation and printing
of the prescribed forms, together with the cost of postage and mailing
and the necessary clerical assistance, shall be paid in the first instance
out of the fund accruing from motor vehicle license fees and as soon as
sufficient funds are available from the fees and collections provided for
in this act, the license fund shall be reimbursed for the amount so paid.

18. False statements shall constitute perjury.—Any person who
shall make any false affidavit, or shall knowingly swear or affirm falsely,
to any matter or thing required by the terms of this act to be sworn or
affirmed to, shall be guilty of perjury, and upon conviction, shall be
punished by a fine and imprisonment as other persons committing per-
jury are punishable.

19. Any part declared unconstitutional shall not render remainder
of act invalid.—If any provision of this act shall be held by any court of
competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional such provision so declared
to be unconstitutional shall not affect the validity of the remainder of
the act, but shall only affdtt the clause or provision so held to be un-
constitutional and the remainder of the act shall be valid.

20. Laws repealed.—An act entitled an act to provide for the re-
cordation of titles to motor vehicles and the identification of the same;
to regulate the purchase, sale, storage and repair of motor vehicles; de-
claring the theft of motor vehicles to be a felony and to prescribe pen-
alties for violations of the act, approved September ninth, nineteen
hundred and nineteen, and all acts and parts of acts amendatory thereof
be, and the same is hereby, repealed, and all acts or parts of acts in con-
flict herewith are also hereby expressly repealed.

21. Date effective-—That this act shall take effect and be enforced
on the first day of July, nineteen hundred and twenty-four.