Senate Bill No. 545
(By Senator Walker)
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[Introduced March 22, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Transportation.]
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A BILL to amend chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article seventeen-a,
relating to providing for civil penalties for overweight and
oversized motor vehicles; civil penalties for shippers and
receivers who do not maintain legal weight standards through
relevant evidence; making legislative findings; defining
certain terms; specifying court jurisdiction, trial venue
and disposition of civil penalties; providing for fines and
payment of certain costs; requiring records to be kept; and
criminal penalties for failure to keep certain records.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article seventeen-a, to
read as follows:
§17C-17A-1. Definitions.
(a) "Document" means a bill of lading, freight bill, weight
certification, or other similar document used or intended to
record the weight of a vehicle or combination of vehicles.
(b) "Owner" means any person who owns, or leases, a vehicle
operating in excess of the legal gross weight limit.
(c) "Receiver" means the person consigning the goods
received or a person engaged in the business of accepting
transported or forwarded goods.
(d) "Relevant evidence" means a document evidencing the
receipt of goods issued by the shipper or receiver which states
a gross weight for the vehicle and load, or the weight of the
load when combined with the empty weight of the vehicle that is
in excess of the prescribed maximum weight limitation permitted
by article seventeen of chapter seventeen-c of this code, is
relevant evidence that the weight of the vehicle and load is
unlawful. For the purposes of this article, a document required
to be kept under section ten of this article indicating a unit of
measure that, when converted to weight and combined with the
weight of the empty vehicle, indicates a gross weight in excess
of the prescribed maximum weight limitation permitted by article
seventeen of chapter seventeen-c of this chapter, is relevant
evidence that the weight of the vehicle and load is unlawful.
The foregoing provisions shall not be construed to limit the
introduction of other competent evidence bearing upon the
question of whether or not there is a violation of the maximum
weight limitations permitted by this chapter.
(e) "Shipper" means the person consigning the goods for
shipment of a person engaged in the business of transporting or
forwarding goods.
(f) "Vehicle" means, in addition to any meaning assigned to
section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code, any
vehicle or combination of vehicles that moves as a single unit.
§17C-17A-2. Civil penalty for overweight vehicles.
The owner or lessee of a vehicle that is operated with a
gross weight in excess of that permitted by section nine, article
seventeen, chapter seventeen-c of this code, or a shipper who
ships or tenders goods for shipment in a single vehicle that
exceeds a weight limit imposed pursuant to section nine, article
seventeen, chapter seventeen-c, or a receiver who accepts or
tends goods received from shipment in a single vehicle that
exceeds a weight limit imposed pursuant to section nine, article
seventeen, chapter seventeen-c of this chapter, is liable for a
civil penalty according to the following schedule:
Pounds in excess of registered weight, or in excess of
allowable weights for single axle, or in excess of allowable
weights for groups of two or more consecutive axles.
Amount of Fine
0 to 2,000$ 50.00
2,001 to 3,000$ 100.00
3,001 to 4,000$ 200.00
4,001 to 5,000$ 300.00
5,001 to 6,000$ 400.00
6,001 to 7,000$ 500.00
7,001 to 8,000$ 600.00
8,001 to 9,000$ 700.00
9,001 to 10,000$ 800.00
10,001 to 11,000$ 900.00
11,001 to 12,000$ 1,000.00
12,001 to 13,000$ 1,100.00
13,001 to 14,000$ 1,200.00
14,001 to 15,000$ 1,300.00
15,001 to 16,000$ 1,400.00
16,001 to 17,000$ 1,500.00
17,001 to 18,000$ 1,600.00
18,001 to 19,000$ 1,700.00
19,001 to 20,000$ 1,800.00
20,001 to 21,000$ 1,900.00
21,001 to 22,000$ 2,000.00
22,001 to 23,000$ 2,100.00
23,001 to 24,000$ 2,200.00
24,001 to 25,000$ 2,300.00
25,001 to 26,000$ 2,400.00
26,001 to 27,000$ 2,500.00
27,001 to 28,000$ 2,600.00
28,001 to 29,000$ 2,700.00
29,001 to 30,000$ 2,800.00
30,001 to 35,000$ 3,500.00
35,001 to 40,000$ 4,000.00
40,001 to 45,000$ 4,500.00
45,001 to 50,000$ 5,000.00
50,001 to 70,000$ 7,500.00
over 70,000$ 10,000.00
§17C-17A-3. Concurrent jurisdiction of magistrates.
Magistrates have concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit
courts to hear, try and determine actions commended under this
article.
§17C-17A-4. Persons eligible to bring an action.
An action under this article may be brought by any person or
agency who may bring an action under section thirteen, article
seventeen, chapter seventeen-c of this code, or by the attorney
general of the state on behalf of such person or agency.
§17C-17A-5. Venue.
Actions under this article may be commenced in any county of
the state in which the vehicle was loaded, unloaded or operated
in violation of article seventeen of this chapter unless there is
agreement that the action may be tried in another county.
§17C-17A-6. Disposition of civil penalties.
Any penalty imposed and fines assessed pursuant to this
article shall be paid by the defendant to the state of West
Virginia road fund and shall be available for appropriation
therefrom:
Provided,
That any fines assessed in an action
brought by a person or agency other than the state of West
Virginia shall be paid to the general revenues of such agency.
§17C-17A-7. Fines to be in addition to other penalties.
Any penalty imposed and fines assessed pursuant to this
article are in addition to any damages recovered pursuant to
section thirteen, article seventeen, chapter seventeen-c of this
code. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit in any
way any penalty or action pursuant to any section of this code,
unless such limitation is specified herein.
§17C-17A-8. Record keeping; misdemeanor penalties for failure
to retain.
(a) A person who weights goods before or after unloading or
a person who loads or unloads goods, otherwise known as the
shipper or receiver, on the basis of gross weight limits shall
keep a written record of relevant evidence of the origin, weight
and composition of each shipment, the date of the loading,
unloading or receipt, the name and address of the shipper and
receiver, the total number of axles on the vehicle, and the
registration number of the power unit or some other means of
identification by which the shipment was transported. The record
shall be retained for thirty days after the date of such
weighing.
(b) The record of relevant evidence shall, at reasonable
hours of business, be open to inspection and copying to any
person or agency empowered to bring an action pursuant to section
five of this article, or to any person authorized to inspect the
records. A search warrant is not required to inspect or copy
these records.
(c) Any person who fails to keep, maintain, or open forinspection and copying, these documents of relevant evidence as
required in subsections (a) and (b) is guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined five hundred dollars
for the first offense and five thousand dollars for each offense
thereafter, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one
year, or both fined and imprisoned. Any person who willfully and
knowingly fails to accurately record the information required to
be contained within those said documents of relevant evidence by
subsection (a) is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars for
the first offense and five thousand dollars for each offense
thereafter, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one
year, or both fined and imprisoned.
NOTE: This bill provides for the assessment of civil
penalties for overweight vehicles in addition to the usual
criminal penalties. This bill also establishes a procedure for
bringing a civil action, requires record keeping of relevant
evidence and makes failure to do so a misdemeanor. This bill
provides for the assessment of civil penalties for shippers or
receivers who transport or accept vehicles which have a gross
weight limit above the legal limit.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.