ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 388
(By Senator Ross)
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[Passed March 8, 2003; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to repeal section one, article three-a, chapter seventeen-a
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact sections two
and three of said article, all relating to imported vehicles;
compliance with federal safety and emission standards; and
changing the requirements which must be met to obtain a title
and registration.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article three-a, chapter seventeen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be repealed; and that sections two and three of said
article be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3A. VEHICLE COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL CLEAN AIR STANDARDS
AND VEHICLE SAFETY.
§17A-3A-2. Consumer disclosure
Before a motor vehicle not originally manufactured in
accordance with the laws and regulations of the United States Clean Air Act and the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, can be sold to a consumer
in this state, the seller must provide the purchaser with full
written disclosure of all modifications performed to the vehicle.
This disclosure consists of adescription phrased in terms
reasonably understandable to a consumer with no specialized
technical training, accompanied by a copy the technical submissions
made to the environmental protection agency and department of
transportation in order to obtain certification of compliance.
Failure to make this disclosure renders the sale voidable.
§17A-3A-3. Certificate of title.
(a) Before any imported vehicle which has not previously been
titled or registered in the United States may be titled in this
state, the applicant must submit: (1) A manufacturer's certificate
of origin issued by the actual vehicle manufacturer together with
a notarized translation thereof; or (2) the documents constituting
valid proof of ownership by an individual owner or exporter and
evidencing a change of such ownership to the applicant, together
with a notarized translation of any document; or (3) with regard to
vehicles imported from countries which cancel the vehicle
registration and title for export, the documents assigned to such
vehicle after the registration and title have been cancelled,
together with a notarized translation thereof, and proof
satisfactory to the division that the motor vehicle complies with
the United States Clean Air Act and the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
(b) In the event that the documents submitted as required by
subsection (a) of this section do not name as owner the current
applicant for a certificate of title, the applicant must also
submit reliable proof of a chain of title. For those countries
which utilize documents of registration rather than a certificate
of title, proof of a chain of titlefor purposes of this
subsection shall be accomplished by presenting the change of
ownership certificate referred to in subsection (a) of this
section.