ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 188
(By Senators Miller, Bailey and Love)
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[Passed March 11, 1995; in effect from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections one, three-a, eight and
twelve, article two, chapter seventeen-b of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended; and to amend and reenact section twelve, article
one, chapter seventeen-e of said code, all relating to
changing the driver's license, commercial driver's license
and identification card renewal cycle to five years;
causing such renewals to expire on the last day of the
month in which the licensee's or identification
cardholder's birthday occurs; setting fees for original
issuance and renewals thereof; and making provisions for
operators, junior operators and commercial driver's
licenses.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one, three-a, eight and twelve, article two,
chapter seventeen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted;
and that section twelve, article one, chapter seventeen-e of
said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 17B. MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVER'S LICENSES.
ARTICLE 2. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE, EXPIRATION AND RENEWAL.
§17B-2-1. Drivers must be licensed; types of licenses;
licensees need not obtain local government license;
motorcycle driver license; identification cards.
(a) No person, except those hereinafter expressly exempted,
may drive any motor vehicle upon a street or highway in this
state or upon any subdivision street, as used in article twenty-
four, chapter eight of this code, when the use of such
subdivision street is generally used by the public unless the
person has a valid driver's license under the provisions of this
code for the type or class of vehicle being driven.
Any person licensed to operate a motor vehicle as provided
in this code may exercise the privilege thereby granted as
provided in this code and, except as otherwise provided by law,
shall not be required to obtain any other license to exercise
such privilege by any county, municipality or local board or
body having authority to adopt local police regulations.
(b) The division, upon issuing a driver's license, shall
indicate on the license the type or general class or classes of
vehicle or vehicles the licensee may operate in accordance with
the provisions of this code, federal law or rule.
(c) Driver's licenses issued by the division shall be
classified in the following manner:
(1) Class A, B or C license shall be issued to those
persons eighteen years of age or older with two years driving
experience and who have qualified for the commercial driver's
license established by chapter seventeen-e of this code and the
federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986, Title XII
of public law 99870 and subsequent rules, and have paid the
required fee.
(2) Class D license shall be issued to those persons
eighteen years and older with one year driving experience who
operate motor vehicles other than those types of vehicles which
require the operator to be licensed under the provisions of
chapter seventeen-e of this code and federal law and rule and
whose primary function or employment is the transportation of
persons or property for compensation or wages and have paid the
required fee. For the purposes of the regulation of the
operation of a motor vehicle, wherever the term chauffeur's
license is used in this code, it shall be construed to mean the
Class A, B, C or D license described in this section or chapter
seventeen-e of this code or federal law or rule: Provided, That
anyone who is not required to be licensed under the provisions
of chapter seventeen-e of this code and federal law or rule and
who operates a motor vehicle which is registered or which is
required to be registered as a Class A motor vehicle as that term is defined in section three, article ten, chapter
seventeen-a of this code with a gross vehicle weight rating of
less than eight thousand one pounds, is not required to obtain
a Class D license.
(3) Class E license shall be issued to those persons who
have qualified under the provisions of this chapter and who are
not required to obtain a Class A, B, C or D license and who have
paid the required fee. The Class E license may be endorsed
under the provisions of section seven-b of this article for
motorcycle operation.
(4) Class F license shall be issued to those persons who
successfully complete the motorcycle examination procedure
provided for by this chapter and have paid the required fee, but
who do not possess a Class A, B, C and D or E driver's license.
(d) No person, except those hereinafter expressly exempted,
shall drive any motorcycle upon a street or highway in this
state or upon any subdivision street, as used in article
twenty-four, chapter eight of this code, when the use of such
subdivision street is generally used by the public unless the
person has a valid motorcycle license or a valid license which
has been endorsed under section seven-b of this article for
motorcycle operation or has a valid motorcycle instruction
permit.
(e) (1) A nonoperator identification card may be issued to
any person who:
(A) Is a resident of this state in accordance with the
provisions of section one-a, article three, chapter seventeen-a
of this code;
(B) Does not have a valid driver's license;
(C) Has reached the age of sixteen years;
(D) Has paid the required fee of ten dollars: Provided,
That such fee is not required if the applicant is sixty-five
years or older or is legally blind; and
(E) Presents a birth certificate or other proof of age and
identity acceptable to the division with a completed application
on a form furnished by the division.
(2) The nondriver identification card shall contain the
same information as a driver's license except that such
identification card shall be clearly marked as identification
card. The identification card shall expire every four years.
It may be renewed on application and payment of the fee required
by this section.
(A) After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six, every identification card issued to persons
who have attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on
the last day of the month in which the applicant's birthday
occurs in those years in which the applicant's age is evenly
divisible by five. Except as provided in paragraph (B) of this
subdivision, no identification card may be issued for less than
three years nor more than seven years and such identification card shall be renewed in the month in which the applicant's
birthday occurs and shall be valid for a period of five years
expiring in the month in which the applicant's birthday occurs
and in a year in which the applicant's age is evenly divisible
by five.
(B) Every identification card issued to persons who have
not attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on the
last day of the month in the year in which the applicant attains
the age of twenty-one years.
(3) The identification card shall be surrendered to the
division when the holder is issued a driver's license. The
division may issue an identification card to an applicant whose
privilege to operate a motor vehicle has been refused, canceled,
suspended or revoked under the provisions of this code.
§17B-2-3a. Junior driver's license.
(a) In accordance with rules established by the
commissioner and with the provisions hereinafter set forth in
this section, a junior driver's license may be issued to any
person between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years, if the
person is in compliance with section eleven, article eight,
chapter eighteen of this code and is not otherwise disqualified
by law. Application for a junior driver's license shall be on
a form prescribed by the commissioner. A junior driver's
license may be issued upon the applicant's successful completion
of all examinations and driving tests required by law for the issuance of a driver's license to a person eighteen years of age
or older. The commissioner may impose reasonable conditions or
restrictions on the operation of a motor vehicle by a person
holding a junior driver's license and the conditions or
restrictions shall be printed on the license.
(b) In addition to all other provisions of this chapter for
which a driver's license may be revoked, suspended or canceled,
whenever a person holding a junior driver's license operates a
motor vehicle in violation of the conditions or restrictions set
forth on the license, or has a record of two convictions for
moving violations of the traffic regulations and laws of the
road, which convictions have become final, the junior driver's
license of the person shall be permanently revoked, with like
effect as if the person had never held a junior driver's
license: Provided, That a junior driver's license shall be
revoked upon one final conviction for any offense described in
section five, article three of this chapter. Under no
circumstances shall such a license be revoked for convictions
of offenses in violation of any regulation or law governing the
standing or parking of motor vehicles.
(c) A junior driver's license shall be suspended for
noncompliance with the provisions of section eleven, article
eight, chapter eighteen of this code, and may be reinstated upon
compliance.
(d) A person whose junior driver's license has been revoked, or has been suspended without reinstatement, shall not
thereafter receive a junior driver's license, but the person,
upon attaining the age of eighteen, shall be eligible, unless
otherwise disqualified by law, for examination and driver
testing for a regular driver's license. If a person has had his
or her junior driver's license revoked for a violation pursuant
to section one or two, article five-a, chapter seventeen-c of
this code or any offense specified in subsection (6), section
five, article three of this chapter, or has been adjudicated
delinquent upon a charge which would be a crime under the
provisions of section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of
this code if committed by an adult, the person shall be
disqualified for examination and driver testing for a regular
driver's license until that person: (1) Has attained the age
of eighteen years; (2) has successfully completed the safety and
treatment program provided for in section three, article five-a,
chapter seventeen-c of this code; and (3) has had his or her
junior driver's license revoked or suspended for the applicable
statutory period of revocation or suspension or a period of time
equal to the period of revocation or suspension which would have
been imposed pursuant to section two of said article if the
person had a regular driver's license at the time of the
violation.
(e) No person shall receive a junior driver's license
unless the application therefor is accompanied by a writing, duly acknowledged, consenting to the issuance of the junior
driver's license and executed by the parents of the applicant;
or if only one parent is living, then by such parent; or if the
parents be living separate and apart, by the one to whom the
custody of the applicant was awarded; or if there is a guardian
entitled to the custody of the applicant, then by the guardian.
(f) Upon attaining the age of eighteen years, a person
holding an unrevoked, unsuspended or reinstated junior driver's
license shall be entitled to exercise all the privileges of a
regular driver's license without further examination or driver
testing.
§17B-2-8. Issuance and contents of licenses; fees.
(a) The division shall, upon payment of the required fee,
issue to every applicant qualifying therefor a driver's license,
which shall indicate the type or general class or classes of
vehicle or vehicles the licensee may operate in accordance with
this chapter or chapter seventeen-e of this code, or motorcycle-
only license. Each license shall contain a coded number
assigned to the licensee, the full name, date of birth,
residence address, a brief description and a color photograph
of the licensee and either a facsimile of the signature of the
licensee or a space upon which the signature of the licensee
shall be written with pen and ink immediately upon receipt of
the license. No license shall be valid until it has been so
signed by the licensee: Provided, That the commissioner may issue a valid without-photo license for applicants temporarily
out of state. A driver's license which is valid for operation
of a motorcycle shall contain a motorcycle endorsement. The
division shall use such process or processes in the issuance of
licenses that will, insofar as possible, prevent any alteration,
counterfeiting, duplication, reproduction, forging or
modification of, or the superimposition of a photograph on, such
license.
(b) The fee for the issuance of a Class E driver's license
shall be ten dollars and fifty cents. The fee for issuance of
a Class D driver's license shall be twenty-five dollars and
fifty cents. Fifty cents of each such fee shall be deposited
in the "combined voter registration and driver's licensing
fund", established pursuant to the provisions of section
twenty-two-a, article two, chapter three of this code. The
one-time only additional fee for adding a motorcycle endorsement
to a driver's license shall be five dollars. The fee for
issuance of a motorcycle-only license shall be ten dollars. The
fees for the motorcycle endorsement or motorcycle-only license
shall be paid into a special fund in the state treasury known
as the motorcycle safety fund as established in section seven,
article one-d of this chapter.
(c) After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six, the fee for the issuance of a Class E
driver's license shall be two dollars and fifty cents per year for each year such license is issued to be valid. The fee for
issuance of a Class D driver's license shall be six dollars and
twenty-five cents per year for each year such license is issued
to be valid. An additional fee of fifty cents shall be
collected from the applicant at the time of original issuance
or each renewal and such additional fee shall be deposited in
the "combined voter registration and driver's licensing fund",
established pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-two-a,
article two, chapter three of this code. The one-time only
additional fee for adding a motorcycle endorsement to a driver's
license shall be five dollars.
The fee for issuance of a motorcycle-only license shall be
two dollars and fifty cents for each year for which the
motorcycle license is to be valid. The fees for the motorcycle
endorsement or motorcycle-only license shall be paid into a
special fund in the state treasury known as the motorcycle
safety fund as established in section seven, article one-d of
this chapter.
§17B-2-12. Expiration of licenses; renewal; renewal fees.
(a) Every driver's license shall expire four years from the
date of its issuance, except that the driver's license of any
person in the armed forces shall be extended for a period of six
months from the date the person is separated under honorable
circumstances from active duty in the armed forces.
(b) After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, the following shall apply:
(1) Every driver's license issued to persons who have
attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on the last
day of the month in which the applicant's birthday occurs in
those years in which the applicant's age is evenly divisible by
five. Except as provided in the following subdivisions, no
driver's license may be issued for less than three years nor
more than seven years and such driver's license shall be renewed
in the month in which the applicant's birthday occurs and shall
be valid for a period of five years, expiring in the month in
which the applicant's birthday occurs and in a year in which the
applicant's age is evenly divisible by five.
(2) Every driver's license issued to persons who have not
attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on the last
day of the month in the year in which the applicant attains the
age of twenty-one years.
(3) The driver's license of any person in the armed forces
shall be extended for a period of six months from the date the
person is separated under honorable circumstances from active
duty in the armed forces.
(c) A person who allows his or her driver's license to
expire may apply to the division for renewal thereof.
Application shall be made upon a form furnished by the division
and shall be accompanied by payment of the fee required by
section eight of this article plus an additional fee of five dollars. The commissioner shall determine whether such person
qualifies for a renewed license and may, in the commissioner's
discretion, renew any expired license without examination of the
applicant.
(d) Each renewal of a driver's license shall contain a new
color photograph of the licensee. By first class mail to the
address last known to the division, the commissioner shall
notify each person who holds a valid driver's license of the
expiration date of the license. The notice shall be mailed at
least thirty days prior to the expiration date of the license
and shall include a renewal application form.
CHAPTER 17E. UNIFORM COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE ACT.
ARTICLE 1. COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE.
§17E-1-12. Classifications, endorsements and restrictions.
Commercial driver's licenses may be issued, with the
following classifications, endorsements and restrictions; the
holder of a valid commercial driver's license may drive all
vehicles in the class for which that license is issued, and all
lesser classes of vehicles and vehicles which require an
endorsement, unless the proper endorsement appears on the
license:
(a) Classifications. --
(1) Class A - Any combination of vehicles with a gross
combined vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand one pounds
or more, provided the gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of ten thousand pounds.
(2) Class B - Any single vehicle with a gross vehicle
weight rating of twenty-six thousand one pounds or more, and any
such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of ten thousand
pounds.
(3) Class C - Any single vehicle or combination vehicle
with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than twenty-six
thousand one pounds or any such vehicle towing a vehicle with
a gross vehicle weight rating not in excess of ten thousand
pounds comprising:
(A) Vehicles designed to transport sixteen or more
passengers, including the driver; and
(B) Vehicles used in the transportation of hazardous
materials which requires the vehicle to be placarded under 49
C.F.R., part 172, sub-part F.
(b) Endorsements and restrictions. --
The commissioner upon issuing a commercial driver's license
shall have the authority to impose such endorsements or
restrictions as the commissioner may determine to be appropriate
to assure the safe operation of a motor vehicle, and to comply
with the federal Motor Vehicle Act of 1986 and federal rules
implementing such act.
(c) Applicant record check. -- Before issuing a commercial
driver's license, the commissioner must obtain driving record
information through the commercial driver's license information system, the national driver register and from each state in
which the person has been commercially licensed.
(d) Notification of license issuance. -- Within ten days
after issuing a commercial driver's license, the commissioner
shall notify the commercial driver's license information system
of that fact, providing all information required to ensure
identification of the person.
(e) Expiration of license. --
(1) The commercial driver's license shall expire four years
from date of issuance.
(2) After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six, the following shall apply:
(A) Every commercial driver's license issued to persons who
have attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on the
last day of the month in which the applicant's birthday occurs
in those years in which the applicant's age is evenly divisible
by five. Except as provided in paragraph (B) of this
subdivision, no commercial driver's license may be issued for
less than three years nor more than seven years and such
commercial driver's license shall be renewed in the month in
which the applicant's birthday occurs and shall be valid for a
period of five years, expiring in the month in which the
applicant's birthday occurs and in a year in which the
applicant's age is evenly divisible by five.
(B) Every commercial driver's license issued to persons who have not attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on
the last day of the month in the year in which the applicant
attains the age of twenty-one years.
(3) Commercial driver's licenses held by any person in the
armed forces which expire while that person is on active duty
shall remain valid for thirty days from the date on which that
person reestablishes residence in West Virginia.
(4) Any person applying to renew a commercial driver's
license which has been expired for two years or more must follow
the procedures for an initial issuance of a commercial driver's
license, including the testing provisions.
(f) License renewal procedures. -- When applying for
renewal of a commercial driver's license, the applicant must
complete the application form and provide updated information
and required certifications. If the applicant wishes to retain
a hazardous materials endorsement, the written test for a
hazardous materials endorsement must be taken and passed.