H. B. 3074

         (By Delegates Manchin, Barill, Fleischauer,

              Marshall, Pasdon, Caputo, Wells, Williams,

D. Campbell, Lawrence and Cowles)

         [Introduced February 9, 2011; referred to the

         Committee on Government Organization then the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §24A-2-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring the Public Service Commission to issue a certificate of convenience and necessity for taxi cab service to two separately owned business entities, that service a territory consisting of a Class II municipality and land grant university enrolling at least twenty thousand students.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §24A-2-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. COMMON CARRIERS BY MOTOR VEHICLES.

§24A-2-5. Certificate of convenience and necessity.

    (a) Required; application; hearing; granting. It shall be It is unlawful for any common carrier by motor vehicle to operate within this state without first having obtained from the commission a certificate of convenience and necessity.

    (b) Upon the filing of an application for such a certificate, the commission shall set a time and place for a hearing on the application: Provided, That the commission may, after giving proper notice and if no protest is received, waive formal hearing on the application.

    (c) Proper notice shall be by publication which shall state that a formal hearing may be waived in the absence of a protest to such the application. The notice shall be published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code and the publication area for such the publication shall be is the proposed area of operation. The notice shall be published at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing.

    (d) After the hearing or waiver by the commission of the hearing, if the commission finds from the evidence that the public convenience and necessity require the proposed service or any part thereof, it shall issue the certificate as prayed for or issue it for the partial exercise only of the privilege sought, and may attach to the exercise of the right granted by such the certificate such terms and conditions as in its judgment the public convenience and necessity may require, and if the commission shall be is of the opinion that the service rendered by any common carrier holding a certificate of convenience and necessity over any route or routes in this state is in any respect inadequate or insufficient to met the public needs, such the certificate holder shall be given reasonable time and opportunity to remedy such the inadequacy or insufficiency before any a certificate shall be is granted to an applicant proposing to operate over such the route or routes as a common carrier.

    (e) Before granting a certificate to a common carrier by motor vehicle the commission shall take into consideration existing transportation facilities in the territory for which a certificate is sought, and in case it finds from the evidence that the service furnished by existing transportation facilities is reasonably efficient and adequate, the commission shall may not grant such (a) certificate.

    (b) Rules and regulations; taking evidence at hearings; burden of proof.

    (f) Notwithstanding any other process provided by this section, the commission shall issue, upon application and a showing of fitness, a certificate for taxi cab service to two separately owned business entities, that service the same existing territory that includes a Class II municipality and land grant university enrolling at least twenty thousand students.

    (g) The commission shall prescribe such rules and regulations as it may deem proper promulgate rules for the enforcement of the provisions of this section and in establishing that public convenience and necessity do exist the burden of proof shall be upon is on the applicant. The commission may designate any of its employees to take evidence at the application hearing of any application for a certificate and submit findings of fact as a part of a report or reports to be made to the commission.

    (c) Certificate not franchise, etc.; assignment or transfer.

    (h) No certificate issued in accordance with the terms of this chapter shall be construed to be either a franchise or irrevocable or to confer any proprietary or property rights in the use of the public highways. No certificate issued under this chapter shall be assigned or otherwise may be transferred without the approval of the commission. Upon the death of a person holding a certificate, his or her personal representative or representatives may operate under such the certificate while the same it remains in force and effect and, with the consent of the commission, may transfer such the certificate.

    (d) Suspension, revocation or amendment. (i) The commission may at any time, for good cause, suspend and, upon not less than fifteen days' notice to the grantee of any certificate holder and an opportunity to be heard, revoke or amend any certificate.

    (e) The commission shall have the authority, after hearing, to ratify, approve and affirm those orders issued pursuant to this section since March 10, nineteen hundred seventy-nine. For the purposes of this subsection the commission may give notice by a Class I legal advertisement of such hearing in any newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in this state, and such other newspapers as the commission may designate.

    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the Public Service Commission to issue a certificate of convenience and necessity for taxi cab service to two separately owned business entities, that service a territory consisting of a Class II municipality and land grant university enrolling at least 20,000 students.

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