LLCs & CALIFORNIA

[medent]

Especially LLC'ers Watch out for California. There, agricultural inspections are a separate thing from motor vehicle department or department of transportation inspections and a still different thing is inspections by their State Board of Equilization (BoE), their finance department.

Last summer, driving my recently purchased 2002 KW T2000 before any conversion work was started, I passed from AZ into CA at Blythe, went north on US 95 to Needles, a few miles west on I-40 then on north on US 95 into Las Vegas. No problems or even questions at CA borders. The next day going down I-15 towards Barstow at the Baker check point I was sidelined and taken to the cleaners by the State Board of Equalization team that was on temporary location at that check point. That is what they do; go around for short stays (a day?) at the various ports of entry doing super-critical inspections of the papers on everything that attracts their attention.

The truck was labeled "PRIVATE VEHICLE NOT FOR HIRE" and I had just created and registered this rig in a Montana LLC. The registration, license and insurance papers were in good order and I felt very comfortable handing the papers to the inspection guy. He took one look and told me to shut down and go into the office.

There I was told that LLC means commercial, PERIOD. I did not have the California permit, $30, and because I had entered the state without it there was in addition a $100 fine. After it was apparent that I would not be able to convince them that this LLC was not commercial, I offered to buy their $30 permit. Their answer was that they don't sell them there, you have to buy them in advance from California or from the few out of state locations where they allow purchase, but they would not let me drive back into Arizona and buy the permit. There was no higher authority I could talk to or call but I had xx days to send a written protest to BoE in Sacramento. The only way I could move on was to pay up. Subsequent networking around revealed nothing but futility in protesting to Sacramento BoE, "save the effort".

My lawyer at Bennett Law Office had not heard of such an absolute interpretation of LLC and felt that I was drug in because my rig still looked like a truck, not a motor home. He doubted I would have that confrontation when the conversiion was complete. Who knows?

WATCH OUT FOR CALIFORNIA!