ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 74
(Senator Dittmar, original sponsor)
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[Passed March 28, 1997; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section one, article one, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact
sections two and four, article three of said chapter; to
amend and reenact section one, article five of said chapter;
and to amend and reenact sections one and three, article ten
of said chapter, all relating to definition, titling,
registration and taxation of special mobile equipment and
mixed use equipment.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; that sections two and four, article three of said chapter be amended and reenacted; that
section one, article five of said chapter be amended and
reenacted; and that sections one and three, article ten of said
chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. WORDS AND PHRASES DEFINED.
§17A-1-1. Definitions.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter the following
words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the
meanings respectively ascribed to them in this article:
(a) "Vehicle" means every device in, upon or by which any
person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a
highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used
exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
(b) "Motor vehicle" means every vehicle which is
self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric
power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon
rails.
(c) "Motorcycle" means every motor vehicle, including motor- driven cycles and mopeds as defined in sections five and five-a,
article one, chapter seventeen-c of this code, having a saddle
for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than
three wheels in contact with the ground but excluding a tractor.
(d) "School bus" means every motor vehicle owned by a public governmental agency and operated for the transportation of
children to or from school or privately owned and operated for
compensation for the transportation of children to or from
school.
(e) "Bus" means every motor vehicle designed for carrying
more than seven passengers and used for the transportation of
persons; and every motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, designed
and used for the transportation of persons for compensation.
(f) "Truck tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and
used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed
as to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle
and load so drawn.
(g) "Farm tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and
used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing
machines and other implements of husbandry.
(h) "Road tractor" means every motor vehicle designed, used
or maintained for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed
as to carry any load thereon either independently or any part of
the weight of a vehicle or load so drawn.
(i) "Truck" means every motor vehicle designed, used or
maintained primarily for the transportation of property.
(j) "Trailer" means every vehicle with or without motive
power designed for carrying persons or property and for being
drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle but excluding recreational
vehicles.
(k) "Semitrailer" means every vehicle with or without motive
power designed for carrying persons or property and for being
drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that some part of its
weight and that of its load rests upon or is carried by another
vehicle.
(l) "Pole trailer" means every vehicle without motive power
designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the
towing vehicle by means of a reach, or pole, or by being boomed
or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle, and ordinarily used
for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles,
pipes, or structural members capable, generally, of sustaining
themselves as beams between the supporting connections.
(m) "Specially constructed vehicles" means every vehicle of
a type required to be registered hereunder not originally
constructed under a distinctive name, make, model or type by a
generally recognized manufacturer of vehicles and not materially
altered from its original construction.
(n) "Reconstructed vehicle" means every vehicle of a type
required to be registered hereunder materially altered from its
original construction by the removal, addition or substitution of
essential parts, new or used.
(o) "Essential parts" means all integral and body parts of a vehicle of a type required to be registered hereunder, the
removal, alteration or substitution of which would tend to
conceal the identity of the vehicle or substantially alter its
appearance, model, type or mode of operation.
(p) "Foreign vehicle" means every vehicle of a type required
to be registered hereunder brought into this state from another
state, territory or country other than in the ordinary course of
business by or through a manufacturer or dealer and not
registered in this state.
(q) "Implement of husbandry" means every vehicle which is
designed for or adapted to agricultural purposes and used by the
owner thereof primarily in the conduct of his agricultural
operations, including, but not limited to, trucks used for
spraying trees and plants:
Provided, That said vehicle shall not
be let for hire at any time.
(r) "Special mobile equipment" means every self-propelled
vehicle not designed or used primarily for the transportation of
persons or property and incidentally operated or moved over the
highways, including, without limitation, road construction or
maintenance machinery, ditch-digging apparatus, stone crushers,
air compressors, power shovels, graders, rollers, asphalt
spreaders, bituminous mixers, bucket loaders, ditchers, leveling
graders, finishing machines, motor graders, road rollers,
scarifiers, earth-moving carryalls, scrapers, drag lines, rock-drilling equipment and earth-moving equipment. The foregoing
enumeration shall be deemed partial and shall not operate to
exclude other such vehicles which are within the general terms of
this subdivision.
(s) "Pneumatic tire" means every tire in which compressed
air is designed to support the load.
(t) "Solid tire" means every tire of rubber or other
resilient material which does not depend upon compressed air for
the support of the load.
(u) "Metal tire" means every tire the surface of which in
contact with the highway is wholly or partly of metal or other
hard, nonresilient material.
(v) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of motor vehicles
of this state.
(w) "Department" means the department of motor vehicles of
this state acting directly or through its duly authorized
officers and agents.
(x) "Person" means every natural person, firm,
copartnership, association or corporation.
(y) "Owner" means a person who holds the legal title to a
vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement
for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of
purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the
agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a
vehicle is entitled to possession, then such conditional vendee
or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose
of this chapter.
(z) "Nonresident" means every person who is not a resident
of this state.
(aa) "Dealer" or "dealers" is a general term meaning,
depending upon the context in which used, either a new motor
vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer, factory-built home
dealer, recreational vehicle dealer,
trailer dealer or motorcycle
dealer, as defined in section one, article six of this chapter,
or all of such dealers or a combination thereof, and in some
instances a new motor vehicle dealer or dealers in another state.
(bb) "Registered dealer" or "registered dealers" is a
general term meaning, depending upon the context in which used,
either a new motor vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer,
house trailer dealer, trailer dealer, recreational vehicle dealer
or motorcycle dealer, or all of such dealers or a combination
thereof, licensed under the provisions of article six of this
chapter.
(cc) "Licensed dealer" or "licensed dealers" is a general
term meaning, depending upon the context in which used, either a
new motor vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer, house
trailer dealer, trailer dealer, recreational vehicle dealer or motorcycle dealer, or all of such dealers or a combination
thereof, licensed under the provisions of article six of this
chapter.
(dd) "Transporter" means every person engaged in the
business of delivering vehicles of a type required to be
registered hereunder from a manufacturing, assembling or
distributing plant to dealers or sales agents of a manufacturer.
(ee) "Manufacturer" means every person engaged in the
business of constructing or assembling vehicles of a type
required to be registered hereunder at a place of business in
this state which is actually occupied either continuously or at
regular periods by such manufacturer where his books and records
are kept and a large share of his business is transacted.
(ff) "Street" or "highway" means the entire width between
boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part
thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of
vehicular travel.
(gg) "Motorboat" means any vessel propelled by an
electrical, steam, gas, diesel or other fuel propelled or driven
motor, whether or not such motor is the principal source of
propulsion, but shall not include a vessel which has a valid
marine document issued by the bureau of customs of the United
States government or any federal agency successor thereto.
(hh) "Motorboat trailer" means every vehicle designed for or ordinarily used for the transportation of a motorboat.
(ii) "All-terrain vehicle" (ATV) means any motor vehicle
designed for off-highway use and designed for operator use only
with no passengers, having a seat or saddle designed to be
straddled by the operator, and handlebars for steering control.
(jj) "Travel trailer" means every vehicle, mounted on
wheels, designed to provide temporary living quarters for
recreational, camping or travel use of such size or weight as not
to require special highway movement permits when towed by a motor
vehicle and of gross trailer area less than four hundred square
feet.
(kk) "Fold down camping trailer" means every vehicle
consisting of a portable unit mounted on wheels and constructed
with collapsible partial sidewalls which fold for towing by
another vehicle and unfold at the camp site to provide temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use.
(ll) "Motor home" means every vehicle, designed to provide
temporary living quarters, built into an integral part of or
permanently attached to a self-propelled motor vehicle, chassis
or van including: (1) Type A motor home built on an incomplete
truck chassis with the truck cab constructed by the second stage
manufacturer; (2) Type B motor home consisting of a van-type
vehicle which has been altered to provide temporary living
quarters; and (3) Type C motor home built on an incomplete van or truck chassis with a cab constructed by the chassis manufacturer.
(mm) "Snowmobile" means a self-propelled vehicle intended
for travel primarily on snow and driven by a track or tracks in
contact with the snow and steered by a ski or skis in contact
with the snow.
(nn) "Recreational vehicle" means a motorboat, motorboat
trailer, all-terrain vehicle, travel trailer, fold down camping
trailer, motor home or snowmobile.
(oo) Mobile equipment means every self-propelled vehicle not
designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons or
property over the highway but which may infrequently or
incidentally travel over the highway among job sites, equipment
storage sites or repair sites, including farm equipment,
implements of husbandry, well-drillers, cranes and wood-sawing
equipment.
(pp) "Factory-built home" includes mobile homes, house
trailers and manufactured homes.
(qq) "Manufactured home" has the same meaning as the term is
defined in section two, article nine, chapter twenty-one of this
code which meets the National Manufactured Housing Construction
and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §5401 et seq.),
effective on the fifteenth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
seventy-six, and the federal manufactured home construction and
safety standards and regulations promulgated by the secretary of the United States department of housing and urban development.
(rr) "Mobile home" means a transportable structure that is
wholly, or in substantial part, made, fabricated, formed or
assembled in manufacturing facilities for installation or
assembly and installation on a building site and designed for
long-term residential use and built prior to enactment of the
federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §5401 et seq.), effective on the fifteenth
day of June, one thousand nine hundred seventy-six, and usually
built to the voluntary industry standard of the American national
standards institute (ANSI) -- A119.1 standards for mobile homes.
(ss) "House trailers" means all trailers designed and used
for human occupancy on a continual nonrecreational basis, but may
not include fold down camping and travel trailers, mobile homes
or manufactured homes.
(tt) "Parking enforcement vehicle" means a motor vehicle
which does not fit into any other classification of vehicle in
this chapter, has three or four wheels and is designed for use in
an incorporated municipality by a city, county, state or other
governmental entity primarily for parking enforcement or other
governmental purposes with an operator area with sides
permanently enclosed with rigid construction and a top which may
be convertible, sealed beam headlights, turn signals, brake
lights, horn, at least one rear view mirror on each side and such other equipment that will enable it to pass a standard motorcycle
vehicle inspection.
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-2. Every motor vehicle, etc., subject to registration
and certificate of title provisions; exceptions.
(a) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer
and recreational vehicle when driven or moved upon a highway
shall be subject to the registration and certificate of title
provisions of this chapter except:
(1) Any such vehicle driven or moved upon a highway in
conformance with the provisions of this chapter relating to
manufacturers, transporters, dealers, lienholders or nonresidents
or under a temporary registration permit issued by the department
as hereinafter authorized;
(2) Any implement of husbandry upon which is securely
attached a machine for spraying fruit trees and plants of the
owner or lessee or for any other implement of husbandry which is
used exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes on
lands owned or leased by the owner thereof and which is not
operated on or over any public highway of this state for any
other purpose other than for the purpose of operating it across
a highway or along a highway other than an expressway as designated by the commissioner of the division of highways from
one point of the owner's land to another part thereof,
irrespective of whether or not the tracts adjoin:
Provided, That
the distance between the points shall not exceed twenty-five
miles, or for the purpose of taking it or other fixtures thereto
attached, to and from a repair shop for repairs. The foregoing
exemption from registration and license requirements shall also
apply to any vehicle hereinbefore described or to any farm
trailer owned by the owner or lessee of the farm on which such
trailer is used, when such trailer is used by the owner thereof
for the purpose of moving farm produce and livestock from such
farm along a public highway for a distance not to exceed
twenty-five miles to a storage house or packing plant, when such
use is a seasonal operation:
(A) The exemptions contained in this section shall also
apply to farm machinery and tractors:
Provided, That such
machinery and tractors may use the highways in going from one
tract of land to another tract of land regardless of whether such
land be owned by the same or different persons.
(B) Any vehicle exempted hereunder from the requirements of
annual registration certificate and license plates and fees
therefor shall not be permitted to use the highways between
sunset and sunrise.
(C) Any vehicle exempted hereunder from the requirements of
annual registration certificate and license plates shall be
permitted to use the highways as herein provided whether such
exempt vehicle is self-propelled, towed by another exempt vehicle
or towed by another vehicle for which registration is required.
(D) Any vehicle used as an implement of husbandry exempt
hereunder must have the words "farm use" affixed to both sides of
the implement in ten inch letters. Any vehicle which would be
subject to registration as a Class A or B vehicle if not exempted
by this section shall display a farm use exemption certificate on
the lower driver's side of the windshield:
(i) The farm use exemption certificate shall be provided by
the commissioner and shall be issued annually by the assessor of
the applicant's county of residence. The assessor shall issue a
farm use exemption certificate upon his or her determination
pursuant to an examination of the property books or documentation
provided by the applicant that the vehicle has been properly
assessed as Class I personal property. The assessor shall charge
a fee of two dollars for each certificate, one dollar of the fee
shall be retained by the assessor and one dollar shall be
remitted by the assessor to the commissioner of the division of
motor vehicles to be deposited in a special revolving fund to be
used in the administration of this section.
(ii) A farm use exemption certificate shall in no way exempt the applicant from maintaining the security as required by
chapter seventeen-d of this code on any vehicle being operated on
the roads or highways of this state.
(iii) No person charged with operating a vehicle without a
farm use exemption certificate, if required under this section,
shall be convicted if he or she produces in court or in the
office of the arresting officer a valid farm use exemption
certificate for the vehicle in question within five days;
(3) Any vehicle which is propelled exclusively by electric
power obtained from overhead trolley wires though not operated
upon rails;
(4) Any vehicle of a type subject to registration owned by
the government of the United States;
(5) Any wrecked or disabled vehicle which is being towed by
a licensed wrecker or dealer on the public highways of this
state;
(6) The following recreational vehicles shall be exempt from
the requirements of annual registration, license plates and fees,
unless otherwise specified by law, but shall be subject to the
certificate of title provisions of this chapter regardless of
highway use: Motorboats, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles;
(7) Any special mobile equipment as defined in subsection
(r), section one, article one of this chapter.
(b) The provisions of this article relating to recreational vehicles shall become effective on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and
(b) of this section:
(1) Mobile homes or manufactured homes are exempt from the
requirements of annual registration, license plates and fees;
(2) House trailers may be registered and licensed; and
(3) Factory-built homes are subject to the certificate of
title provisions of this chapter.
§17A-3-4. Application for certificate of title; tax for privilege
of certification of title; exceptions; privilege tax on
payments for leased vehicles; revenue allocations;
transfers; penalty for false swearing.
(a) Certificates of registration of any vehicle or
registration plates therefor, whether original issues or
duplicates, shall not be issued or furnished by the division of
motor vehicles or any other officer charged with the duty, unless
the applicant therefor already has received, or at the same time
makes application for and is granted, an official certificate of
title of the vehicle. The application shall be upon a blank form
to be furnished by the division of motor vehicles and shall
contain a full description of the vehicle, which description
shall contain a manufacturer's serial or identification number or other number as determined by the commissioner and any
distinguishing marks, together with a statement of the
applicant's title and of any liens or encumbrances upon the
vehicle, the names and addresses of the holders of the liens and
any other information as the division of motor vehicles may
require. The application shall be signed and sworn to by the
applicant.
(b) A tax is hereby imposed upon the privilege of effecting
the certification of title of each vehicle in the amount equal to
five percent of the value of the motor vehicle at the time of the
certification, to be assessed as follows:
(1) If the vehicle is new, the actual purchase price or
consideration to the purchaser thereof is the value of the
vehicle; if the vehicle is a used or secondhand vehicle, the
present market value at time of transfer or purchase is the value
thereof for the purposes of this section:
Provided, That so much
of the purchase price or consideration as is represented by the
exchange of other vehicles on which the tax imposed by this
section has been paid by the purchaser shall be deducted from the
total actual price or consideration paid for the vehicle, whether
the same be new or secondhand; if the vehicle is acquired through
gift, or by any manner whatsoever, unless specifically exempted
in this section, the present market value of the vehicle at the
time of the gift or transfer is the value thereof for the purposes of this section.
(2) No certificate of title for any vehicle shall be issued
to any applicant unless the applicant has paid to the division of
motor vehicles the tax imposed by this section which is five
percent of the true and actual value of the vehicle whether the
vehicle is acquired through purchase, by gift or by any other
manner whatsoever except gifts between husband and wife or
between parents and children:
Provided, That the husband or
wife, or the parents or children previously have paid the tax on
the vehicles transferred to the state of West Virginia.
(3) The division of motor vehicles may issue a certificate
of registration and title to an applicant if the applicant
provides sufficient proof to the division of motor vehicles that
the applicant has paid the taxes and fees required by this
section to a motor vehicle dealership that has gone out of
business or has filed bankruptcy proceedings in the United States
bankruptcy court and the taxes and fees so required to be paid by
the applicant have not been sent to the division by the motor
vehicle dealership or have been impounded due to the bankruptcy
proceedings:
Provided, That the applicant makes an affidavit of
the same and assigns all rights to claims for money the applicant
may have against the motor vehicle dealership to the division of
motor vehicles.
(4) The division of motor vehicles shall issue a certificate
of registration and title to an applicant without payment of the
tax imposed by this section if the applicant is a corporation,
partnership or limited liability company transferring the vehicle
to another corporation, partnership or limited liability company
when the entities involved in the transfer are members of the
same controlled group and the transferring entity has previously
paid the tax on the vehicle transferred. For the purposes of
this section, control means ownership, directly or indirectly, of
stock or equity interests possessing fifty percent or more of the
total combined voting power of all classes of the stock of a
corporation or equity interests of a partnership or limited
liability company entitled to vote or ownership, directly or
indirectly, of stock or equity interests possessing fifty percent
or more of the value of the corporation, partnership or limited
liability company.
(5) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
vehicles to be registered as Class H vehicles, or Class M
vehicles, as defined in section one, article ten of this chapter,
which are used or to be used in interstate commerce. Nor does
the tax imposed by this section apply to the titling of Class B,
Class K or Class E vehicles registered at a gross weight of
fifty-five thousand pounds or more, or to the titling of Class C
or Class L semitrailers, full trailers, pole trailers and converter gear:
Provided, That if an owner of a vehicle has
previously titled the vehicle at a declared gross weight of
fifty-five thousand pounds or more and the title was issued
without the payment of the tax imposed by this section, then
before the owner may obtain registration for the vehicle at a
gross weight less than fifty-five thousand pounds, the owner must
surrender to the commissioner the exempted registration, the
exempted certificate of title, and pay the tax imposed by this
section based upon the current market value of the vehicle:
Provided, however, That notwithstanding the provisions of section
nine, article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code, the exemption
from tax under this section for Class B, Class K or Class E
vehicles in excess of fifty-five thousand pounds and Class C or
Class L semitrailers, full trailers, pole trailers and converter
gear shall not subject the sale or purchase of the vehicles to
the consumers sales tax.
(6) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
titling of vehicles leased by residents of West Virginia. A tax
is hereby imposed upon the monthly payments for the lease of any
motor vehicle leased by a resident of West Virginia, which tax is
equal to five percent of the amount of the monthly payment,
applied to each payment, and continuing for the entire term of
the initial lease period. The tax shall be remitted to the division of motor vehicles on a monthly basis by the lessor of
the vehicle.
(7) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
titling of vehicles by a registered dealer of this state for
resale only, nor does the tax imposed by this section apply to
titling of vehicles by this state or any political subdivision
thereof, or by any volunteer fire department or duly chartered
rescue or ambulance squad organized and incorporated under the
laws of the state of West Virginia as a nonprofit corporation for
protection of life or property. The total amount of revenue
collected by reason of this tax shall be paid into the state road
fund and expended by the commissioner of highways for matching
federal funds allocated for West Virginia. In addition to the
tax, there is a charge of five dollars for each original
certificate of title or duplicate certificate of title so issued:
Provided, That this state or any political subdivision thereof,
or any volunteer fire department, or duly chartered rescue squad,
is exempt from payment of the charge.
(8) The certificate is good for the life of the vehicle, so
long as the same is owned or held by the original holder of the
certificate, and need not be renewed annually, or any other time,
except as provided in this section.
(9) If, by will or direct inheritance, a person becomes the
owner of a motor vehicle and the tax imposed by this section previously has been paid, to the division of motor vehicles, on
that vehicle, he or she is not required to pay the tax.
(10) A person who has paid the tax imposed by this section
is not required to pay the tax a second time for the same motor
vehicle, but is required to pay a charge of five dollars for the
certificate of retitle of that motor vehicle, except that the tax
shall be paid by the person when the title to the vehicle has
been transferred either in this or another state from such person
to another person and transferred back to such person.
(c) Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the
contrary, the owners of trailers, semitrailers, recreational
vehicles and other vehicles not subject to the certificate of
title tax prior to the enactment of this chapter are subject to
the privilege tax imposed by this section:
Provided, That the
certification of title of any recreational vehicle owned by the
applicant on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-nine, is not subject to the tax imposed by this section:
Provided, however, That mobile homes, manufactured homes, modular
homes, house trailers and similar nonmotive propelled vehicles,
except recreational vehicles, susceptible of being moved upon the
highways but primarily designed for habitation and occupancy,
rather than for transporting persons or property, or any vehicle
operated on a nonprofit basis and used exclusively for the transportation of mentally retarded or physically handicapped
children when the application for certificate of registration for
the vehicle is accompanied by an affidavit stating that the
vehicle will be operated on a nonprofit basis and used
exclusively for the transportation of mentally retarded and
physically handicapped children, are not subject to the tax
imposed by this section, but are taxable under the provisions of
articles fifteen and fifteen-a, chapter eleven of this code.
(d) Any person making any affidavit required under any
provision of this section, who knowingly swears falsely, or any
person who counsels, advises, aids or abets another in the
commission of false swearing, is on the first offense guilty of
a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned in the county
jail for a period not to exceed six months, or, in the discretion
of the court, both fined and imprisoned. For a second or any
subsequent conviction within five years, that person is guilty of
a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than five thousand dollars or be imprisoned in the penitentiary
for not less than one year nor more than five years, or, in the
discretion of the court, fined and imprisoned.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section,
any person in the military stationed outside West Virginia, or
his or her dependents who possess a motor vehicle with valid registration, are exempt from the provisions of this article for
a period of nine months from the date that that person returns to
this state or the date his or her dependent returns to this
state, whichever is later.
(f) After the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-seven, no person may transfer, purchase or sell a
factory-built home without a certificate of title issued by the
commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this article:
(1) Any person who fails to provide a certificate of title
upon the transfer, purchase or sale of a factory-built home is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for
the first offense be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor
more than one thousand dollars, or be imprisoned in the county or
regional jail for not more than one year or, both fined and
imprisoned. For each subsequent offense, the fine may be
increased to not more than two thousand dollars, with
imprisonment in the county or regional jail not more than one
year or, both fined and imprisoned.
(2) Failure of the seller to transfer a certificate of title
upon sale or transfer of the factory-built home gives rise to a
cause of action, upon prosecution thereof, and allows for the
recovery of damages, costs and reasonable attorney fees.
ARTICLE 5. PERMITS TO NONRESIDENT OWNERS.
§17A-5-1. Exemptions from registration of nonresident owners; special permit and certificate in lieu of
registration for nonresidents maintaining
temporary and recurrent or seasonal residence in
state.
(a) A nonresident owner, except as otherwise provided in
this section, owning any vehicle registered in a foreign state or
country of a Class A type otherwise subject to registration
hereunder may operate or permit the operation of such vehicle
within this state for a period of thirty days without registering
such vehicle in, or paying any fees to, this state subject to the
condition that such vehicle at all times when operated in this
state is duly registered in and displays upon it a valid
registration card and registration plate or plates issued for
such vehicle in the place of residence of such owner and that
such vehicle is not operated for commercial purposes.
(b) Every nonresident, including any foreign corporation,
carrying on business within this state and owning and regularly
operating in such business any motor vehicle, trailer or
semitrailer or mobile equipment as defined in section one,
article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code, within this state,
shall be required to register each such vehicle and pay the same
fee therefor as is required with reference to like vehicles owned
by residents of this state, except as otherwise provided by reciprocal agreements with other states accomplished pursuant to
sections ten and ten-a, article two of this chapter.
(c) Any nonresident who accepts or engages in temporary and
recurrent or seasonal employment, business, profession or
occupation in this state and maintains temporary and recurrent or
seasonal residence in this state in connection with such
employment, business, profession or occupation, and any
nonresident, including any corporation carrying on business of a
temporary and recurrent or seasonal nature in this state and
owning and temporarily and recurrently or seasonally operating in
such business any motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer or mobile
equipment as defined in section one, article one, chapter
seventeen-a of this code, within this state, may operate or
permit the operation of such vehicle within this state without
causing said vehicle to be registered as otherwise required by
article three of this chapter:
Provided, That such nonresident,
in lieu of registration of such vehicle, shall make application
to the division and receive a special permit for such vehicle
which shall be evidenced by a metal identification plate and
certificate in writing, which special permit plate and
certificate shall together identify the vehicle for which such
special permit and plate shall issue and such certificate shall
bear the name and address of the owner of such vehicle. Such
special permit shall be issued without previous certification of title to such vehicle as otherwise required by article three of
this chapter or the provisions of subsection (b) of this section:
(1) Every owner of a vehicle for which such special permit
is desired shall make a verified application to the division for
such special permit upon the appropriate form or forms furnished
by the division and shall bear the signature of the owner written
with pen and ink and shall contain the character of information
called for by section three, article three of this chapter, a
description of the employment, residence, business and location
of such business set forth in such manner as to show the
temporary and recurrent or seasonal nature of such residence,
employment, business, profession or occupation, and that such
vehicle is duly registered in the state of residence of such
owner. There shall be an application for each vehicle for which
a special permit is desired.
(2) Any special permit or plate issued by the division under
this section shall be effective and valid for a period of sixty
consecutive days from and including the date of issuance and,
upon similar application by the owner, the commissioner may renew
any such special permit for immediately ensuing similar period or
periods of sixty days in any fiscal year. The division shall
charge a fee of fifty dollars for each special permit issued
under this section:
(A) A special permit shall be issued for one vehicle only and no combination of two or more vehicles shall be operated
under fewer special permits than the number of vehicles in such
combination. A special permit shall not be issued for any
vehicle which is not duly registered in the state of residence of
the owner thereof.
(B) The registration plate issued for such vehicle by the
state of residence of the owner shall not be displayed on such
vehicle while being operated over any highway during any period
for which a special permit shall have been issued for such
vehicle under this section, but there shall be carried in such
vehicle the certificate of registration issued for such vehicle
by the state of residence of such owner.
(C) Any owner of any vehicle making application to operate
such vehicle upon the highways of this state pursuant to the
provisions of this article shall also be required to comply with
the provisions of chapter seventeen-d of this code prior to
commencing such operation.
(3) The commissioner shall prescribe the substance, form,
color and context of the certificate or special permit and the
special permit plate, each of which shall be visually
distinguishable from the certificates of registration and
registration plates issued under article three of this chapter.
(4) It is a misdemeanor for any person to drive or move or
knowingly to permit to be moved or driven upon any highway any vehicle for which a special permit shall have been issued under
this section unless such vehicle shall bear the special plate
called for by the certificate evidencing such special permit.
(5) When the employment, business, profession, occupation or
residence of the owner of a vehicle for which such special permit
shall have been issued shall cease to be temporary and recurrent
or seasonal, any special permit issued for such vehicle pursuant
to this section shall immediately terminate and become void and
such vehicle shall thereupon become subject to registration under
article three of this chapter or the provisions of subsection (b)
of this section.
(6) Any special permit issued pursuant to this section shall
be valid and effective on and after the first day of a month;
that is, such special permit issued between the first and
fifteenth days of a month shall be effective during sixty
consecutive days from and including the first day of the month in
which the permit shall issue; and a special permit issued after
the fifteenth day of any month shall be effective during sixty
consecutive days commencing with and including the first day of
the month next following the month in which such special permit
shall be issued.
(d) Any other provision of this section notwithstanding, any
nonresident referred to in subsection (c) of this section who is
engaged by a public utility, as the latter is defined in chapter twenty-four of this code, for the exclusive purpose of restoring
the service of said utility as a result of an emergency in which
such service is affected shall be permitted to operate such motor
vehicle, trailer or semitrailer or mobile equipment as defined in
section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code,
within this state, without causing said motor vehicle, trailer or
semitrailer or mobile equipment as defined in section one,
article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code to be registered as
otherwise provided by this section and article three of this
chapter for the period actually necessary for such restoration
but not to exceed a period of ten consecutive days:
Provided,
That said motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer or mobile
equipment shall be registered in another state upon entry into
this state. The provisions of this subsection shall not affect
the requirements of reciprocal agreements with other states
accomplished pursuant to sections ten and ten-a, article two of
this chapter.
ARTICLE 10. FEES FOR REGISTRATION, LICENSING, ETC.
§17A-10-1. Classification of vehicles for purpose of
registration.
Vehicles subject to registration under the provisions of
this chapter shall be placed in the following classes for the
purpose of registration:
Class A. Motor vehicles of passenger type and trucks with a
gross weight of not more than eight thousand pounds, other than
those operated for compensation;
Class B. Motor vehicles designated as trucks with a gross
weight of more than eight thousand pounds, truck tractors, or
road tractors other than those operated for compensation;
Class C. All trailers and semitrailers, except those
operated for compensation, and except house trailers and trailers
or semitrailers designed to be drawn by Class A motor vehicles
and having a gross weight of less than two thousand pounds;
Class E. Motor vehicles designated as trucks, truck tractors
or road tractors operated for transportation of property for
compensation, but being exempt from the operating jurisdiction of
the public service commission, and for which a statement of
exemption has been received from the public service commission;
Class G. Motorcycles and parking enforcement vehicles;
Class H. Motor vehicles operated regularly for the
transportation of persons for compensation under a certificate of
convenience and necessity or contract carrier permit issued by
the public service commission;
Class J. Motor vehicles operated for transportation of
persons for compensation by common carriers, not running over a
regular route or between fixed termini;
Class K. Motor vehicles designated as trucks, truck tractors or road tractors operated for transportation of property for
compensation under a certificate of convenience and necessity or
a contract carrier permit issued by the public service
commission;
Class L. All trailers and semitrailers used for
transportation of property for compensation;
Class M. Mobile equipment as defined in subdivision (oo),
section one, article one of this chapter;
Class R. House trailers;
Class T. Trailers or semitrailers of a type designed to be
drawn by Class A vehicles and having a gross weight of less than
two thousand pounds; and
Class Farm Truck. Motor vehicles designated as trucks having
a minimum gross weight of more than eight thousand pounds and a
maximum gross weight of sixty-four thousand pounds, used
exclusively in the conduct of a farming business, engaged in the
production of agricultural products by means of: (a) The
planting, cultivation and harvesting of agricultural,
horticultural, vegetable or other products of the soil; or (b)
the raising, feeding and care of livestock, poultry, bees and
dairy cattle. Such farm truck shall be used only for the
transportation of agricultural products so produced by the owner
thereof, or for the transportation of agricultural supplies used
in such production, or for private passenger use.
§17A-10-3. Registration fees for vehicles equipped with
pneumatic
tires.
The following registration fees for the classes indicated
shall be paid to the division for the registration of vehicles
subject to registration hereunder when equipped with pneumatic
tires:
(a) Registration fees for the following classes shall be
paid to the division annually:
(1)
Class A. -- The registration fee for all motor vehicles
of this class is as follows:
(A) For motor vehicles of a weight of three thousand pounds
or less -- twenty-five dollars.
(B) For motor vehicles of a weight of three thousand one
pounds to four thousand pounds -- thirty dollars.
(C) For motor vehicles of a weight in excess of four
thousand pounds -- thirty-six dollars.
(D) For motor vehicles designed as trucks with declared
gross weights of four thousand pounds or less -- twenty-five
dollars.
(E) For motor vehicles designed as trucks with declared
gross weights of four thousand one pounds to eight thousand
pounds -- thirty dollars.
For the purpose of determining the weight, the actual weight of the vehicle shall be taken:
Provided, That for vehicles owned
by churches, or by trustees for churches, which vehicles are
regularly used for transporting parishioners to and from church
services, no license fee shall be charged, but notwithstanding
such exemption, the certificate of registration and license
plates shall be obtained the same as other cards and plates under
this article.
(2)
Class B, Class E and Class K. -- The registration fee
for all motor vehicles of these three classes is as follows:
(A) For declared gross weights of eight thousand one pounds
to sixteen thousand pounds -- twenty-eight dollars plus five
dollars for each one thousand pounds or fraction thereof that the
gross weight of such vehicle or combination of vehicles exceeds
eight thousand pounds.
(B) For declared gross weights greater than sixteen thousand
pounds, but less than fifty-five thousand pounds -- seventy-eight
dollars and fifty cents plus ten dollars for each one thousand
pounds or fraction thereof that the gross weight of such vehicle
or combination of vehicles exceeds sixteen thousand pounds.
(C) For declared gross weights of fifty-five thousand pounds
or more -- seven hundred thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents
plus fifteen dollars and seventy-five cents for each one thousand
pounds or fraction thereof that the gross weight of such vehicle or combination of vehicles exceeds fifty-five thousand pounds.
(3)
Class C and Class L. -- The registration fee for all
vehicles of these two classes is seventeen dollars and fifty
cents except that semitrailers, full trailers, pole trailers and
converter gear registered as Class C and Class L may be
registered for a period of ten years at a fee of one hundred
dollars.
(4)
Class G. -- The registration fee for each motorcycle or
parking enforcement vehicle is eight dollars.
(5)
Class H. -- The registration fee for all vehicles for
this class operating entirely within the state is five dollars;
and for vehicles engaged in interstate transportation of persons,
the registration fee is the amount of the fees provided by this
section for Class B, Class E and Class K reduced by the amount
that the mileage of such vehicles operated in states other than
West Virginia bears to the total mileage operated by such
vehicles in all states under a formula to be established by the
division of motor vehicles.
(6)
Class J. -- The registration fee for all motor vehicles
of this class is eighty-five dollars. Ambulances and hearses
used exclusively as such are exempt from the above special fees.
(7)
Class M. -- The registration fee for all vehicles of
this class is seventeen dollars and fifty cents.
(8)
Class U. -- The registration fee for all vehicles of
this class is fifty-seven dollars and fifty cents.
(9)
Class Farm Truck. -- The registration fee for all motor
vehicles of this class is as follows:
(A) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of eight
thousand one pounds to sixteen thousand pounds -- thirty dollars.
(B) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of sixteen
thousand one pounds to twenty-two thousand pounds -- sixty
dollars.
(C) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of twenty-two
thousand one pounds to twenty-eight thousand pounds -- ninety
dollars.
(D) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of
twenty-eight thousand one pounds to thirty-four thousand pounds
-- one hundred fifteen dollars.
(E) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of thirty-four
thousand one pounds to forty-four thousand pounds -- one hundred
sixty dollars.
(F) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of forty-four
thousand one pounds to fifty-four thousand pounds -- two hundred
five dollars.
(G) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of fifty-four
thousand one pounds to sixty-four thousand pounds -- two hundred fifty dollars.
(b) Registration fees for the following classes shall be
paid to the division for a maximum period of three years, or
portion thereof based on the number of years remaining in the
three-year period designated by the commissioner:
(1)
Class R. -- The annual registration fee for all vehicles
of this class is twelve dollars.
(2)
Class T. -- The annual registration fee for all vehicles
of this class is eight dollars.
(c) The fees paid to the division for a multiyear
registration provided for by this chapter shall be the same as
the annual registration fee established by this section and any
other fee required by this chapter multiplied by the number of
years for which the registration is issued.