28-5803.01. Vehicle license tax and registration fee exemption; spouse or dependents of first responder or military member; applicability; definitions

A. Notwithstanding sections 28-2003 and 28-5801, beginning January 1, 2016, the registering officer may not collect a vehicle license tax or registration fee for a vehicle owned by a surviving spouse or a surviving dependent of a deceased first responder who was killed in the line of duty or who died from injuries suffered in the line of duty on or after April 5, 1933.

B. Notwithstanding sections 28-2003 and 28-5801, beginning January 1, 2017, the registering officer may not collect a vehicle license tax or registration fee for a vehicle owned by a resident of this state who is a surviving spouse or a surviving dependent of a deceased member of the United States military who was killed in the line of duty or who died from injuries suffered in the line of duty.

C. The exemption for a surviving spouse that is provided by this section applies until the surviving spouse's remarriage or death. The exemption for the surviving dependent applies until the person is no longer considered a dependent.

D. A surviving spouse or surviving dependent may claim only one vehicle for exemption under subsection A of this section or one vehicle for exemption under subsection B of this section.

E. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Dependent" means an unmarried child of a first responder or United States military member who meets one of the following qualifications:

(a) Is under eighteen years of age.

(b) Is at least eighteen years of age and under twenty-three years of age only during any period that the child is a full-time student.

(c) Is under a disability that began before the child attained twenty-three years of age and remains a dependent of the surviving spouse or a guardian.

2. "First responder" has the same meaning prescribed in section 36-661 and includes a person who is a volunteer first responder and who is operating in an official capacity on behalf of a government entity that is involved in an emergency or law enforcement response.