H. B. 2648
(By Delegates Wallace, Rowe, Givens, Compton,
Osborne and Ball)
[Introduced February 22, 1995; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then
Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article six, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to motor vehicle
dealer licenses; certificate required; engaging in more than
one business; penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article six, 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 6. LICENSING
OF
DEALERS
AND
WRECKERS,
ETC.
PART II. LICENSE CERTIFICATE PROVISIONS.
§17A-6-3. License certificate required; engaging in more than
one business; established place of business
required; existing licenses.
(a) No person shall may engage or represent or advertise
that he or she is engaged or intends to engage in the business of
new motor vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer, house
trailer dealer, trailer dealer, recreational vehicle dealer,
motorcycle dealer, used parts dealer, or wrecker or dismantler,
in this state, unless and until he or she shall first obtain
obtains a license certificate therefor as provided in this
article, which license certificate remains unexpired, unsuspended
and unrevoked. Any person desiring to engage in more than one
such business must, subject to the provisions of section five of
this article, apply for and obtain a separate license certificate
for each such business.
(b) Except for the qualification contained in subdivision
(17), subsection (a), section one of this article with respect to
a new motor vehicle dealer, each place of business of a new motor
vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer, house trailer dealer,
trailer dealer, recreational vehicle dealer, motorcycle dealer,
used parts dealer and wrecker or dismantler, must be an
established place of business as defined for such business in
said section one.
(c) Any license certificate and special plates issued by the
commissioner under the former provisions of article six or article seven or section six, article ten of this chapter, and
which have not been canceled, suspended or revoked prior to the
effective date of this article shall be governed by the
provisions of this article and shall remain valid until their
expiration, unless such license certificate is sooner suspended
or revoked in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(d) Any person who violates this section shall in addition
to any other penalty prescribed by law be subject to a civil
penalty in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars for the
first violation, and two thousand dollars for the second
violation and five thousand dollars for every violation
thereafter. The commissioner or any investigators designated by
him or her and any law-enforcement officers of the state acting
at the commissioner's request may investigate and report to the
commissioner violations of this section. The civil penalty
provided for herein shall be levied by the commissioner upon
receipt of information sufficient to convince the commissioner
that the person has violated this section. The penalty shall
become final within thirty days after the date a notice of
violation and penalty is sent by certified mail to the person who
is found to have violated this section unless before the
thirty-day period expires the person notifies the commissioner
that he or she appeals the order and requests a hearing thereon.
Upon receipt of a request for hearing the commissioner shall grant a stay of the enforcement of the penalty pending the
results of the hearing. If the commissioner makes and enters an
order after the hearing affirming the penalty the persons
affected shall be entitled to judicial review as set forth in
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, and, pending the appeal, the
court may grant a stay or supersede as of the order. Any penalty
imposed hereunder which has become final shall have the same
force and effect as a final judgment issued by a circuit court of
this state and may be enforced in the same manner as the
judgment.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to penalize motor vehicle
dealers who engage in the business without the required license
certificate.
ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
On page three, section three, line five, by striking out
everything following the word "thereafter" and inserting in lieu
thereof the following:
"(e) The commissioner shall promulgate legislative rules in
accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, establishing procedures whereby persons against whom such
civil penalties are to be assessed shall be afforded all due
process required pursuant to the provisions of the West Virginia
constitution."