ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 133
(By Senators Burdette ,Mr. President, and Boley,
By Request of the Executive)
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[Passed April 10, 1993; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section six, article three, chapter
seventeen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twelve, all relating to motor vehicles; mandatory suspension
for fraudulent use of driver license; and procedures.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article three, chapter seventeen-b of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be
further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
section twelve, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSES.
§17B-3-6. Authority of division to suspend or revoke license;
hearing.
(a) The division is hereby authorized to suspend the
driver's license of any person without preliminary hearing upon
a showing by its records or other sufficient evidence that the
licensee:
(1) Has committed an offense for which mandatory revocation
of a driver's license is required upon conviction;
(2) Has by reckless or unlawful operation of a motor
vehicle, caused or contributed to an accident resulting in the
death or personal injury of another or property damage;
(3) Has been convicted with such frequency of serious
offenses against traffic regulations governing the movement of
vehicles as to indicate a disrespect for traffic laws and a
disregard for the safety of other persons on the highways;
(4) Is an habitually reckless or negligent driver of a motor
vehicle;
(5) Is incompetent to drive a motor vehicle;
(6) Has committed an offense in another state which if
committed in this state would be a ground for suspension or
revocation;
(7) Has failed to pay or has defaulted on a plan for the
payment of all costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by
a magistrate court or municipal court within ninety days, as
required by section two-a, article three, chapter fifty or
section two-a, article ten, chapter eight of this code;
(8) Has failed to appear or otherwise respond before a
magistrate court or municipal court when charged with a motor
vehicle violation as defined in section three-a of this article; or
(9) Is under the age of eighteen and has withdrawn either
voluntarily or involuntarily from a secondary school, as provided
in section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code.
(b) The driver's license of any person having his or her
license suspended shall be reinstated if:
(1) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (7), subsection (a) of this section and the payment
of costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by the
applicable court has been made; or
(2) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (8), subsection (a) of this section, and the person
having his or her license suspended has appeared in court and has
prevailed against the motor vehicle violations charged.
(c) Any reinstatement of a license under subdivision (1) or
(2), subsection (b) of this section shall be subject to a
reinstatement fee designated in section nine of this article.
(d) Upon suspending the driver's license of any person as
hereinbefore in this section authorized, the division shall
immediately notify the licensee in writing, sent by certified
mail, return receipt requested, to the address given by the
licensee in applying for license, and upon his request shall
afford him an opportunity for a hearing as early as practical
within not to exceed twenty days after receipt of such request in
the county wherein the licensee resides unless the division and
the licensee agree that such hearing may be held in some other
county. Upon such hearing the commissioner or his dulyauthorized agent may administer oaths and may issue subpoenas for
the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant books
and papers and may require a reexamination of the licensee. Upon
such hearing the division shall either rescind its order of
suspension or, good cause appearing therefor, may extend the
suspension of such license or revoke such license.
§17B-3-12. Mandatory suspension for fraudulent use of driver's
license.
(a) The commissioner shall suspend for a period of one year
the driver's license of any person upon receipt of a sworn
affidavit from any law-enforcement officer or employee of the
division of motor vehicles stating that the person committed any
one of the following acts:
(1) Displayed or caused or permitted to be displayed to any
law-enforcement officer or employee of the division of motor
vehicles or have in his or her possession any canceled, revoked,
suspended, fictitious or fraudulently altered driver's license;
(2) Loaned or gave his or her driver's license to any other
person or knowingly permitted the use thereof by another for an
unlawful or fraudulent purpose;
(3) Displayed or represented as one's own any driver's
license not issued to him or her; or
(4) Used a false or fictitious name or birth date on any
application for a driver's license or knowingly made a false
statement, knowingly concealed a material fact or otherwise
committed a fraud in making application for a driver's license.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "driver's license"means any permit, camera card, identification card or driver's
license issued by this state to a person which authorizes the
person to drive a motor vehicle of a specific class or classes
subject to any restriction or endorsement contained thereon.
(c) No person shall have his or her driver's license
suspended under any provision of this section unless he or she
shall first be given written notice of such suspension sent by
certified mail, return receipt requested, at least twenty days
prior to the effective date of the suspension. Within ten days
of the receipt of the notice of suspension, the person may submit
a written request by certified mail for a hearing and request a
stay of the suspension pending the results of the hearing. Upon
receipt of the request for a hearing and request for a stay of
the suspension, the commissioner shall grant a stay of the
suspension pending the results of the hearing. If the
commissioner shall after hearing make and enter an order
affirming the earlier order of suspension, the person affected
shall be entitled to judicial review as set forth in chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code and, pending the appeal, the court may
grant a stay or supersedeas of such order. If the person does
not appeal the suspension or the suspension is affirmed by the
court, the person shall surrender his or her driver's license or
have the license impounded in the manner set forth and subject to
the imposition of fees as provided in section nine of this
article.
(d) The suspended driver's license shall be reinstated
following the period of suspension and upon compliance with theconditions set forth in this chapter.