H. B. 2126
(By Delegate Bennett)
[Introduced January 23, 1995; referred to the
Committee on Industry and Labor then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article four, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to damaged vehicle
valuation determination before salvage certification.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article four, chapter seventeen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. TRANSFERS OF TITLE OR INTEREST.
§17A-4-10. Salvage certificates for certain wrecked or damaged
vehicles; fee; penalty.
(a) In the event a motor vehicle is determined to be a total loss or otherwise designated as "totaled" by any insurance
company or insurer, and upon payment of an agreed price as a
claim settlement to any insured or claimant owner for the
purchase of the vehicle, the insurance company or the insurer
shall receive the certificate of title and the vehicle. The
insurance company or insurer shall within ten days surrender the
certificate of title and a copy of the claim settlement to the
division of motor vehicles. The division shall issue a "salvage
certificate," on a form prescribed by the commissioner, in the
name of the insurance company or the insurer. Such certificate
shall contain on the reverse thereof spaces for one successive
assignment before a new certificate at an additional fee is
required. Upon the sale of the vehicle the insurance company or
insurer shall endorse the assignment of ownership on the salvage
certificate and deliver it to the purchaser. The vehicle shall
not be titled or registered for operation on the streets or
highways of this state unless there is compliance with subsection
(c) of this section. In the event a motor vehicle is determined to be damaged in excess of seventy-five percent of its retail
price as described in the national automobile dealers association
official used car guide as set forth in a nationally recognized
automobile valuation source, a junk card will be issued in lieu
of a salvage certificate.
(b) Any owner, who scraps, compresses, dismantles or
destroys a vehicle for which a certificate of title or salvage
certificate has been issued, shall, within twenty days, surrender
the certificate of title or salvage certificate to the division
for cancellation. Any person who purchases or acquires a vehicle
as salvage or scrap, to be dismantled, compressed or destroyed,
shall within twenty days surrender the certificate to the
division. Should a vehicle less than eight years old be
determined to be a complete loss as a result of fire, flood or a
basket, a photograph of the vehicle shall accompany the
surrendered certificate: Provided, That the term "basket" means
a vehicle which has been damaged more than seventy-five percent
of the retail price as described in the national automobile dealers association official used car guide. If the vehicle is
to be reconstructed, the owner must obtain a salvage certificate
and comply with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section.
(c) If the motor vehicle is a "reconstructed vehicle" as
defined in section one, article one of this chapter, it may not
be titled or registered for operation until it has been inspected
by an official state inspection station and by a representative
of the division of motor vehicles who has been designated by the
commissioner as an investigator. Following an approved
inspection, an application for a new certificate of title may be
submitted to the division; however, the applicant shall be
required to retain all receipts for component parts, equipment
and materials used in the reconstruction. The salvage
certificate must also be surrendered to the division before a
certificate of title may be issued.
(d) The division shall charge a fee of fifteen dollars for
the issuance of each salvage certificate but shall not require
the payment of the five percent privilege tax. However, upon application for a certificate of title for a reconstructed
vehicle, the division shall collect the five percent privilege
tax on the fair market value of the vehicle as determined by the
commissioner unless the applicant is otherwise exempt from the
payment of such privilege tax. A wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder is
exempt from the five percent privilege tax upon titling a
reconstructed vehicle. The division shall collect a fee of
thirty-five dollars per vehicle for inspections of reconstructed
vehicles. These fees shall be deposited in a special fund
created in the state treasurer's office and may be expended by
the division to carry out the provisions of this article.
Licensed wreckers/dismantlers/rebuilders may charge a fee not to
exceed twenty-five dollars for all vehicles owned by private
rebuilders which are inspected at the place of business of a
wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder.
(e) A certificate of title issued by the division for a
reconstructed vehicle shall contain markings in bold print on the
face of the title that it is for a reconstructed or salvaged vehicle.
Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one
thousand dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail for not more
than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
Note: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the use of
a nationally recognized publication as the tool used to value
automobiles for salvage purposes instead of the NADA source.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.