Senate Bill No. 787
(By Senators Kessler, Foster, Green, Hunter, Jenkins, Oliverio,
Stollings, Wells, White, Barnes, Caruth, Deem, Hall, McKenzie and
Yoder)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 25, 2008.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §17A-1-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §17A-3-4 and §17A-3-7
of said code; to amend and reenact §17A-3A-2 and §17A-3A-3 of
said code; to amend and reenact §17A-4-3 of said code; and to
amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated
§17A-10-1a, all relating to registering and operation of mini-
trucks.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17A-1-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §17A-3-4 and §17A-3-7 of said code
be amended and reenacted; that §17A-3A-2 and §17A-3A-3 of said code
be amended and reenacted; that §17A-4-3 of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §17A-10-1a, 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 to carry more than seven passengers and used to transport persons; and every
motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, designed and used to transport
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 or her agricultural
operations, including, but not limited to, trucks used for spraying
trees and plants: Provided, That the vehicle may 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, well-drillers,
wood-sawing equipment, 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
may 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) "Division" means the Division 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 the
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 the motor is the principal source of propulsion, but may 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 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 highways 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 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 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.
(uu) "Low-speed vehicle" means a four-wheeled motor vehicle
whose attainable speed in one mile on a paved level surface is more
than twenty miles per hour but not more than twenty-five miles per
hour.
(vv) "Mini-truck" means a vehicle manufactured abroad and
designed primarily for off-road use with engines ranging in size
from 550cc to 660cc and weighing approximately one thousand eight
hundred pounds.
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-4. Application for certificate of title; fees; abolishing
privilege tax; prohibition of issuance of certificate
of title without compliance with consumers sales and
service tax provisions; exceptions.
(a) Certificates of registration of any vehicle or
registration plates for the vehicle, whether original issues or
duplicates, may not be issued or furnished by the Division of Motor
Vehicles or any other officer or agent charged with the duty,
unless the applicant already has received, or at the same time
makes application for and is granted, an official certificate of
title of the vehicle in either an electronic or paper format. 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,
except that the
division may assign a number for a mini-truck if one is not
available, 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. A duly certified copy of
the division's electronic record of a certificate of title is
admissible in any civil, criminal or administrative proceeding in this state as evidence of ownership.
(b) A tax is 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 of the vehicle 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
of the vehicle 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 vehicle 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 of the vehicle for
the purposes of this section.
(2) No certificate of title for any vehicle may 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 vehicles registered at
a gross weight of fifty-five thousand pounds or more, or to the
titling of Class C 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 shall 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 vehicles in excess of fifty-five thousand
pounds and Class C semitrailers, full trailers, pole trailers and
converter gear does not subject the sale or purchase of the
vehicles to the consumers sales and service tax.
(6) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to titling
of vehicles leased by residents of West Virginia. A tax is 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 this state 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 of
this state 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 vehicle 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 the person to
another person and transferred back to the person.
(11) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to any
passenger vehicle offered for rent in the normal course of business
by a daily passenger rental car business as licensed under the
provisions of article six-d of this chapter. For purposes of this
section, a daily passenger car means a Class A motor vehicle having a gross weight of eight thousand pounds or less and is registered
in this state or any other state. In lieu of the tax imposed by
this section, there is hereby imposed a tax of not less than one
dollar nor more than one dollar and fifty cents for each day or
part of the rental period. The commissioner shall propose an
emergency rule in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish this tax.
(12) The tax imposed by this article does not apply to the
titling of any vehicle purchased by a senior citizen service
organization which is exempt from the payment of income taxes under
the United States Internal Revenue Code, Title 26 U. S. C.
§501(c)(3) and which is recognized to be a bona fide senior citizen
service organization by the senior services bureau existing under
the provisions of article five, chapter sixteen of this code.
(13) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to the
titling of any vehicle operated by an urban mass transit authority
as defined in article twenty-seven, chapter eight of this code or
a nonprofit entity exempt from federal and state income tax under
the Internal Revenue Code and whose purpose is to provide mass
transportation to the public at large designed for the
transportation of persons and being operated for the transportation
of persons in the public interest.
(14) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to the
transfer of a title to a vehicle owned and titled in the name of a resident of this state if the applicant:
(A) Was not a resident of this state at the time the applicant
purchased or otherwise acquired ownership of the vehicle;
(B) Presents evidence as the commissioner may require of
having titled the vehicle in the applicant's previous state of
residence;
(C) Has relocated to this state and can present such evidence
as the commissioner may require to show bona fide residency in this
state;
(D) Presents an affidavit, completed by the assessor of the
applicant's county of residence, establishing that the vehicle has
been properly reported and is on record in the office of the
assessor as personal property; and
(E) Makes application to the division for a title and
registration, and pays all other fees required by this chapter
within thirty days of establishing residency in this state as
prescribed in subsection (a), section one-a of this article:
Provided, That a period of amnesty of three months be established
by the commissioner during the calendar year two thousand seven,
during which time any resident of this state, having titled his or
her vehicle in a previous state of residence, may pay without
penalty any fees required by this chapter and transfer the title of
his or her vehicle in accordance with the provisions of this
section.
(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 and similar nonmotive propelled vehicles, except recreational
vehicles and house trailers, 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) Beginning on the first of July, two thousand eight, the
tax imposed under subsection (b) of this section is abolished and after that date no certificate of title for any motor vehicle may
be issued to any applicant unless the applicant provides sufficient
proof to the Division of Motor Vehicles that the applicant has paid
the fees required by this article and the tax imposed under section
three-b, article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code.
(e) 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, or any person, while acting as an
agent of the Division of Motor Vehicles, issues a vehicle
registration without first collecting the fees and taxes or fails
to perform any other duty required by this chapter or chapter
eleven of this code to be performed before a vehicle registration
is issued is, on the first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred
dollars or be confined in jail for a period not to exceed six
months or, in the discretion of the court, both fined and confined.
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 a
state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more
than five years or, in the discretion of the court, both fined and
imprisoned.
(f) 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 the person returns to this state or the date
his or her dependent returns to this state, whichever is later.
(g) 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 confined in jail for not more
than one year, or both fined and confined. For each subsequent
offense, the fine may be increased to not more than two thousand
dollars, with confinement in jail not more than one year, or both
fined and confined.
(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.
(3) This subsection does not apply to a mobile or manufactured
home for which a certificate of title has been canceled pursuant to
section twelve-b of this article.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary,
whenever reference is made to the application for or issuance of
any title or the recordation or release of any lien, it includes
the application, transmission, recordation, transfer of ownership
and storage of information in an electronic format.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision contained in this
section, nothing herein shall be considered to include modular
homes as defined in subsection (i), section two, article fifteen,
chapter thirty-seven of this code and built to the State Building
Code as established by legislative rules promulgated by the State
Fire Commission pursuant to section five-b, article three, chapter
twenty-nine of this code.
§17A-3-7. Grounds for refusing registration or certificate of
title.
The division shall refuse registration or issuance of a
certificate of title or any transfer of registration upon any of
the following grounds:
(1) That the application contains any false or fraudulent
statement or that the applicant has failed to furnish required
information or reasonable additional information requested by the
division or that the applicant is not entitled to the issuance of
a certificate of title or registration of the vehicle under this
chapter;
(2) That the applicant fails to present a statement of insurance or proof of other security as required pursuant to the
provisions of section three of this article;
(3) That the vehicle is mechanically unfit or unsafe to be
operated or moved upon the highways,
except that a mini-truck may
be titled and registered without regard to federal safety
standards;
(4) That the division has reasonable grounds to believe that
the vehicle is a stolen or embezzled vehicle or that the granting
of registration or the issuance of certificate of title would
constitute a fraud against the rightful owner or other person
having a valid lien upon such vehicle;
(5) That the registration of the vehicle stands suspended or
revoked for any reason as provided in the motor vehicle laws of
this state;
(6) That the required fee has not been paid; or
(7) That the vehicle is operated by a commercial motor carrier
who has failed to provide a federal motor carrier identification
number (USDOT number) or whose authority to operate in interstate
commerce has been denied or suspended by the federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration.
ARTICLE 3A. VEHICLE COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL CLEAN AIR STANDARDS
AND VEHICLE SAFETY.
§17A-3A-2. Consumer disclosure.
Before a motor vehicle not originally manufactured in accordance with the laws and regulations of the United States Clean
Air Act and the Motor Vehicle Safety Act can be sold to a consumer
in this state, the seller must provide the purchaser with full
written disclosure of all modifications performed to the vehicle.
This disclosure consists of a description phrased in terms
reasonably understandable to a consumer with no specialized
technical training, accompanied by a copy of the technical
submissions made to the Environmental Protection Agency and
Department of Transportation in order to obtain certification of
compliance. Failure to make this disclosure renders the sale
voidable.
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the
seller of a mini-truck is not required to modify the vehicle to
comply with any federal laws or regulations, nor is the seller
required to make any disclosures to the purchaser.
§17A-3A-3. Certificates of title.
(a) Before any imported vehicle which has not previously been
titled or registered in the United States may be titled in this
state, the applicant must submit: (1) A manufacturer's certificate
of origin issued by the actual vehicle manufacturer together with
a notarized translation thereof; or (2) the documents constituting
valid proof of ownership by an individual owner or exporter and
evidencing a change of such ownership to the applicant, together
with a notarized translation of any document; or (3) with regard to
vehicles imported from countries which cancel the vehicle registration and title for export, the documents assigned to such
vehicle after the registration and title have been canceled,
together with a notarized translation thereof, and proof
satisfactory to the division that the motor vehicle complies with
the United States Clean Air Act and the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
(b) In the event that the documents submitted as required by
subsection (a) of this section do not name as owner the current
applicant for a certificate of title, the applicant must also
submit reliable proof of a chain of title. For those countries
which utilize documents of registration rather than a certificate
of title, proof of a chain of title for purposes of this subsection
shall be accomplished by presenting the change of ownership
certificate referred to in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Mini-trucks are exempt from the provisions of this
section.
ARTICLE 4. TRANSFERS OF TITLE OR INTEREST.
§17A-4-3. New owner must secure registration and certificate of
title.
The transferee before operating or permitting the operation of
such vehicle upon a highway shall apply for and obtain the
registration thereof, as upon an original registration, except as
otherwise permitted in sections thirteen and fifteen, article six,
or by any other provisions of this chapter:
Provided, That such
transferee may operate such vehicle under the registration of its previous owner for a period of not more than ten days as provided
in section one, article three of this chapter.
A transferee shall at the same time present the certificate of
title endorsed and assigned as hereinbefore provided to the
department and make application for and obtain a new certificate of
title for such vehicle, except as otherwise permitted in sections
four and five of this article.
A transferee of a mini-truck is
only required to present the certificate of title endorsed and
assigned by the transferor if the mini-truck was previously titled
in this state, in all other circumstances, the transferee of a
mini-truck need only submit a bill of sale as proof of transfer of
ownership.
ARTICLE 10. FEES FOR REGISTRATION, LICENSING, ETC.
§17A-10-1a. Classification of unique vehicles.
The commissioner is authorized to create new registration
classifications or subclassifications for vehicles that: (1) Meet
more than one definition in section one, article one of this
chapter; (2) are not defined; or (3) are unique or distinct from
other vehicles in classifications in section one of this article.
The registration fee for any classification or subclassification
created hereunder is the same as Class A vehicles.
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow mini-trucks to be
licensed in West Virginia for limited use on public highways.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)