WEST virginia legislature

2022 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 4343

By Delegate Linville
[By Request of the Division of Motor Vehicles]

[Introduced January 24, 2022; Referred
to the Committee on Technology and Infrastructure then Government Organization]

A BILL to amend and reenact §17A-3-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to renewal of registrations by sheriffs by establishing that registration renewal is discretionary; establishing that a sheriff may renew any vehicle registration type authorized by the division; increasing the sheriff’s service fee by one dollar; and establishing that the division does not have to verify property taxes for any county that does not renew vehicle registration.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.

§17A-3-17. Application for and renewal of registration; sheriffs authorized to issue renewals of registration for certain vehicles.

(a) Application for renewal of a vehicle registration shall be made by the vehicle owner by proper application and payment of taxes and registration fees provided by law.

(b) The division may receive applications for renewal of any vehicle registration and each sheriff shall may receive applications from residents in his or her county for renewal of any Class A or G vehicle registration of a type authorized by the division. The division and each sheriff shall issue the renewals of registration each receives, respectively, in accordance with all of the provisions in this article pertaining to renewal of vehicle registration including, but not limited to, the payment of the taxes and fees required thereunder.

(c) Each sheriff shall charge a service fee of one dollar two dollars for each renewal of a Class A or G vehicle registration he or she issues. Effective the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight The sheriff shall pay one half of this fee into the county general fund. The sheriff shall pay the remaining one half of this fee into the Deputy Sheriff Retirement Fund created in §7-14d-6 of this code.

(d) On the first day of each month, each sheriff shall pay over to the commissioner all fees he or she collected during the preceding month for renewal of Class A and G vehicle registrations, except his or her service fees. The payment shall be accompanied by a report showing the name of the county, the name and address of the person who obtained the registration and paid the registration fee therefor, the vehicle registered, the registration number, the date the registration was issued, the signature of the sheriff and any other information the commissioner may reasonably require in order to maintain the functions and records of the department division. The commissioner shall deposit all fees he or she receives from the sheriffs for renewal of Class A and G vehicle registrations in the State Treasury to the credit of the State Road Fund as provided in §17A-2-21 of this code.

(e) The commissioner shall provide each sheriff with the necessary forms, supplies, programs, access to systems, registration plates, registration decals and instructions necessary to enable him or her to perform the duties and functions specified in this section.

(f) No person may display upon a vehicle a new registration plate or registration decal prior to the first day of the month preceding the new registration period.

(g) Any sheriff of a county that chooses not to renew registration of a type authorized by the division for renewal in subsection (b) may not be compelled to perform the duties and functions specified in this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of §17A-3-3a of this code, a vehicle owner residing in a county where the sheriff chooses not to renew registration of a type authorized by the division for renewal shall not be required to present a property tax receipt to the division to renew the registration.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant discretion to sheriffs to participate in vehicle registration renewal instead of mandating participation. It will also remove the requirement of a vehicle owner to provide proof of property tax if the owner resides in a county that chooses not to renew registration.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.