H. B. 2630
(By Delegates Coleman, Stemple and Buchanan)
[Introduced March 20, 1997; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article four, chapter
seventeen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to driving while
license suspended or revoked, under the influence of
alcohol, controlled substances or drugs, while having
alcoholic concentration in the blood of ten hundredths of
one percent or more.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article four, chapter seventeen-b of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. VIOLATIONS OF LICENSE PROVISIONS.
§17B-4-3. Driving while license suspended or revoked; driving
while license revoked for driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs, or while having alcoholic concentration in the blood of ten hundredths of one percent or more,
by weight, or for refusing to take secondary chemical test of blood alcohol contents.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) or (d) of
this section, any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public
highway of this state at a time when his or her privilege to do
so has been lawfully suspended or revoked by this state or any
other jurisdiction shall, for the first offense, be guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in
jail for up to forty-eight hours and or, in addition to such the
mandatory jail sentence, shall be fined not less than fifty
dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, or both confined and
fined; for the second offense, such the person is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in
jail for a period of ten days and, in addition to such the
mandatory jail sentence, shall be fined not less than one hundred
dollars nor more than five hundred dollars; for the third or any
subsequent offense, such the person is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for six
months and, in addition to such the mandatory jail sentence,
shall be fined not less than one hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
(b) Any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public
highway of this state at a time when his or her privilege to do
so has been lawfully revoked for driving under the influence of
alcohol, controlled substances or other drugs, or for driving
while having an alcoholic concentration in his or her blood of
ten hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, or for refusing
to take a secondary chemical test of blood alcohol content,
shall, for the first offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for six months
and in addition to such the mandatory jail sentence, shall be
fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five
hundred dollars; for the second offense, such the person is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
confined in jail for a period of one year and, in addition to
such the mandatory jail sentence, shall be fined not less than
one thousand dollars nor more than three thousand dollars; for
the third or any subsequent offense, such the person is guilty of
a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the
penitentiary for not less than one year nor more than three years
and, in addition to such the mandatory prison sentence, shall be
fined not less than three thousand dollars nor more than five
thousand dollars.
(c) Upon receiving a record of the conviction of any person under subsection (a) or (b) of this section upon a charge of
driving a vehicle while the license of such the person was
lawfully revoked, the division shall extend the period of such
suspension for an additional period of one year from and after
the date such person would otherwise have been entitled to apply
for a new license.
(d) Any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public
highway of this state at a time when his or her privilege to do
so has been lawfully suspended for driving while under the age of
twenty-one years with an alcohol concentration in his or her
blood of two hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, but
less than ten hundredths of one percent, by weight, is guilty of
a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in
jail for twenty-four hours or shall be fined not less than fifty
dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, or both.
(e) An order for home detention by the court pursuant to the
provisions of article eleven-b, chapter sixty-two of this code
may be used as an alternative sentence to any period of
incarceration required by this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to set penalties for
those persons who drive a motor vehicle on any public highway of
this state at a time when his or her privilege to do so has been
lawfully suspended or revoked by this state or any other
jurisdiction for the first offense be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Strike-Throughs and underscoring indicate language that
would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.