WEST virginia legislature

2016 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 94

By Senator Walters

[Introduced January 13, 2016;
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; and then to the Committee on Government Organization.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-16-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to designating Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police as current administrator and enforcer of motor vehicle inspection program.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §17C-16-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 16.  INSPECTION OF VEHICLES.

§17C-16-4.  Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police to require periodical inspection; acceptance of certificate of inspection from another state; suspension of registration of unsafe vehicles.

(a) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police shall once each year require that every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer and pole trailer registered in this state be inspected and that an official certificate of inspection and approval be obtained for each such vehicle.

Such The inspections shall be made and such the certificates obtained with respect to the mechanism, brakes and equipment of every such vehicle as shall be designated by the commissioner Superintendent.

The commissioner is hereby authorized to Superintendent may make necessary rules and regulations for the administration and enforcement of this section and to may designate any period or periods of time during which owners of any vehicles, subject to this section, shall display upon such the vehicles certificates of inspection and approval or shall produce the same certificates upon demand of any officer or employee of the department State Police designated by the commissioner Superintendent or any police or peace officer when authorized by the commissioner Superintendent.

(b) The commissioner superintendent may authorize the acceptance in this state of a certificate of inspection and approval issued in another state having an inspection law similar to this chapter and may extend the time within which a certificate shall be obtained by the resident owner of a vehicle which was not in this state during the time an inspection was required must obtain a certificate.

(c) At the request of the Superintendent, the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles may suspend the registration of any vehicle which he the Superintendent determines is in such an unsafe condition as to constitute that it constitutes a menace to safety or which after notice and demand is not equipped as required in this chapter or for which a required certificate has not been obtained the vehicle’s owner has not obtained the required certificate.

(d) If requested by the owner thereof of the vehicle, the commissioner Superintendent shall also cause to be inspected a Class A farm use motor vehicle exempt from annual registration certificate and licensing as provided in section two, article three, chapter seventeen-a of this code.  If the Class A farm use motor vehicle passes the inspection, the commissioner Superintendent shall cause to be issued a certificate of inspection to be issued for that vehicle.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police to make necessary rules as the current administrator and enforcer of the motor vehicle inspection program.

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