H. B. 2542
(By Delegate Warner)
[Introduced March 13, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transporatation.]
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 salvage
certificates issued by the division of motor vehicles and
requiring the salvage certificates to be a different color
from other certificates of title issued by the division of
motor vehicles.
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. The salvage
certificate shall be a distinct and different color from the
color used for the certificates of title issued pursuant to the
provisions of section twelve, article three of this chapter.
Such The 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 may 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,
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 may 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 the 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 require that salvage
certificates issued by the division of motor vehicles be a
different color than the certificates of title issued for regular
ownership.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.