Senate Bill No. 144
(By Senators Miller and Love)
____________
[Introduced January 25, 1996; referred to the Committee
on Transportation; and then to the Committee on Finance
.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article three, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section
one, article five of said chapter; and to amend and reenact
sections one and three, article ten of said chapter, all
relating to eliminating the requirement that special mobile
equipment be titled and registered.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article three, chapter seventeen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; that section one, article five
of said chapter be amended and reenacted; and that sections one and three, article ten of said chapter be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-2. Every motor vehicle, etc., subject to registration
and certificate of title provisions; exceptions.
(a) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer
and recreational vehicle when driven or moved upon a highway
shall be subject to the registration and certificate of title
provisions of this chapter except:
(1) Any such vehicle driven or moved upon a highway in
conformance with the provisions of this chapter relating to
manufacturers, transporters, dealers, lienholders or nonresidents
or under a temporary registration permit issued by the department
as hereinafter authorized;
(2) Any implement of husbandry upon which is securely
attached a machine for spraying fruit trees and plants of the
owner or lessee or for any other implement of husbandry which is
used exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes on
lands owned or leased by the owner thereof and which is not
operated on or over any public highway of this state for any
other purpose other than for the purpose of operating it across a highway or along a highway other than an expressway as
designated by the commissioner of the division of highways from
one point of the owner's land to another part thereof,
irrespective of whether or not the tracts adjoin:
Provided, That
the distance between the points shall not exceed twenty-five
miles, or for the purpose of taking it or other fixtures thereto
attached, to and from a repair shop for repairs. The foregoing
exemption from registration and license requirements shall also
apply to any vehicle hereinbefore described or to any farm
trailer owned by the owner or lessee of the farm on which such
trailer is used, when such trailer is used by the owner thereof
for the purpose of moving farm produce and livestock from such
farm along a public highway for a distance not to exceed
twenty-five miles to a storage house or packing plant, when such
use is a seasonal operation.
(A) The exemptions contained in this section shall also
apply to farm machinery and tractors:
Provided, That such
machinery and tractors may use the highways in going from one
tract of land to another tract of land regardless of whether such
land be owned by the same or different persons.
(B) Any vehicle exempted hereunder from the requirements of annual registration certificate and license plates and fees
therefor shall not be permitted to use the highways between
sunset and sunrise.
(C) Any vehicle exempted hereunder from the requirements of
annual registration certificate and license plates shall be
permitted to use the highways as herein provided whether such
exempt vehicle is self-propelled, towed by another exempt vehicle
or towed by another vehicle for which registration is required.
(D) Any vehicle used as an implement of husbandry exempt
hereunder must have the words "farm use" affixed to both sides of
the implement in ten inch letters. Any vehicle which would be
subject to registration as a Class A or B vehicle if not exempted
by this section shall display a farm use exemption certificate on
the lower driver's side of the windshield.
(i) The farm use exemption certificate shall be provided by
the commissioner and shall be issued annually by the assessor of
the applicant's county of residence. The assessor shall issue a
farm use exemption certificate upon his or her determination
pursuant to an examination of the property books or documentation
provided by the applicant that the vehicle has been properly
assessed as Class I personal property. The assessor shall charge a fee of two dollars for each certificate, one dollar of the fee
shall be retained by the assessor and one dollar shall be
remitted by the assessor to the commissioner of the division of
motor vehicles to be deposited in a special revolving fund to be
used in the administration of this section.
(ii) A farm use exemption certificate shall in no way exempt
the applicant from maintaining the security as required by
chapter seventeen-d of this code on any vehicle being operated on
the roads or highways of this state.
(iii) No person charged with operating a vehicle without a
farm use exemption certificate, if required under this section,
shall be convicted if he or she produces in court or in the
office of the arresting officer a valid farm use exemption
certificate for the vehicle in question within five days;
(3) Any vehicle which is propelled exclusively by electric
power obtained from overhead trolley wires though not operated
upon rails;
(4) Any vehicle of a type subject to registration owned by
the government of the United States;
(5) Any wrecked or disabled vehicle which is being towed by
a licensed wrecker or dealer on the public highways of this state;
(6) The following recreational vehicles shall be exempt from
the requirements of annual registration, license plates and fees,
unless otherwise specified by law, but shall be subject to the
certificate of title provisions of this chapter regardless of
highway use: Motorboats, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles;
(7) Any special mobile equipment as defined in subsection
(r), section one, article one of this chapter.
(b) The provisions of this article relating to recreational
vehicles shall become effective on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine.
ARTICLE 5. PERMITS TO NONRESIDENT OWNERS.
§17A-5-1. Exemptions from registration of nonresident owners;
special permit and certificate in lieu of
registration for nonresidents maintaining temporary
and recurrent or seasonal residence in state.
(a) A nonresident owner, except as otherwise provided in
this section, owning any vehicle registered in a foreign state or
country of a Class A type otherwise subject to registration
hereunder may operate or permit the operation of such vehicle
within this state for a period of thirty days without registering
such vehicle in, or paying any fees to, this state subject to the condition that such vehicle at all times when operated in this
state is duly registered in and displays upon it a valid
registration card and registration plate or plates issued for
such vehicle in the place of residence of such owner and that
such vehicle is not operated for commercial purposes.
(b) Every nonresident, including any foreign corporation,
carrying on business within this state and owning and regularly
operating in such business any motor vehicle, trailer
or
semitrailer,
or special mobile equipment as defined in section
one, article one, chapter seventeen-a, within this state, shall
be required to register each such vehicle and pay the same fee
therefor as is required with reference to like vehicles owned by
residents of this state, except as otherwise provided by
reciprocal agreements with other states accomplished pursuant to
sections ten and ten-a, article two of this chapter.
(c) Any nonresident who accepts or engages in temporary and
recurrent or seasonal employment, business, profession or
occupation in this state and maintains temporary and recurrent or
seasonal residence in this state in connection with such
employment, business, profession or occupation, and any
nonresident, including any corporation carrying on business of a temporary and recurrent or seasonal nature in this state and
owning and temporarily and recurrently or seasonally operating in
such business any motor vehicle, trailer
or semitrailer
or
special mobile equipment as defined in section one, article one,
chapter seventeen-a, within this state, may operate or permit the
operation of such vehicle within this state without causing said
vehicle to be registered as otherwise required by article three
of this chapter:
Provided, That such nonresident, in lieu of
registration of such vehicle, shall make application to the
department division and receive a special permit for such vehicle
which shall be evidenced by a metal identification plate and
certificate in writing, which special permit plate and
certificate shall together identify the vehicle for which such
special permit and plate shall issue and such certificate shall
bear the name and address of the owner of such vehicle. Such
special permit shall be issued without previous certification of
title to such vehicle as otherwise required by article three of
this chapter or the provisions of subsection (b) of this section.
(1) Every owner of a vehicle for which such special permit
is desired shall make a verified application to the division for
such special permit upon the appropriate form or forms furnished by the division and shall bear the signature of the owner written
with pen and ink and shall contain the character of information
called for by section three, article three of this chapter, a
description of the employment, residence, business and location
of such business set forth in such manner as to show the
temporary and recurrent or seasonal nature of such residence,
employment, business, profession or occupation, and that such
vehicle is duly registered in the state of residence of such
owner. There shall be an application for each vehicle for which
a special permit is desired.
(2) Any special permit or plate issued by the division under
this section shall be effective and valid for a period of sixty
consecutive days from and including the date of issuance and,
upon similar application by the owner, the commissioner may renew
any such special permit for immediately ensuing similar period or
periods of sixty days in any fiscal year. The division shall
charge a fee of fifty dollars for each special permit issued
under this section.
(A) A special permit shall be issued for one vehicle only
and no combination of two or more vehicles shall be operated
under fewer special permits than the number of vehicles in such combination. A special permit shall not be issued for any
vehicle which is not duly registered in the state of residence of
the owner thereof.
(B) The registration plate issued for such vehicle by the
state of residence of the owner shall not be displayed on such
vehicle while being operated over any highway during any period
for which a special permit shall have been issued for such
vehicle under this section, but there shall be carried in such
vehicle the certificate of registration issued for such vehicle
by the state of residence of such owner.
(C) Any owner of any vehicle making application to operate
such vehicle upon the highways of this state pursuant to the
provisions of this article shall also be required to comply with
the provisions of chapter seventeen-d of this code prior to
commencing such operation.
(3) The commissioner shall prescribe the substance, form,
color and context of the certificate or special permit and the
special permit plate, each of which shall be visually
distinguishable from the certificates of registration and
registration plates issued under article three of this chapter.
(4) It is a misdemeanor for any person to drive or move or knowingly to permit to be moved or driven upon any highway any
vehicle for which a special permit shall have been issued under
this section unless such vehicle shall bear the special plate
called for by the certificate evidencing such special permit.
(5) When the employment, business, profession, occupation or
residence of the owner of a vehicle for which such special permit
shall have been issued shall cease to be temporary and recurrent
or seasonal, any special permit issued for such vehicle pursuant
to this section shall immediately terminate and become void and
such vehicle shall thereupon become subject to registration under
article three of this chapter or the provisions of subsection (b)
of this section.
(6) Any special permit issued pursuant to this section shall
be valid and effective on and after the first day of a month;
that is, such special permit issued between the first and
fifteenth days of a month shall be effective during sixty
consecutive days from and including the first day of the month in
which the permit shall issue; and a special permit issued after
the fifteenth day of any month shall be effective during sixty
consecutive days commencing with and including the first day of
the month next following the month in which such special permit shall be issued.
(d) Any other provision of this section notwithstanding any
nonresident referred to in subsection (c) of this section who is
engaged by a public utility, as the later is defined in chapter
twenty-four of this code, for the exclusive purpose of restoring
the service of said utility as a result of an emergency in which
such service is affected shall be permitted to operate such motor
vehicle, trailer
or semitrailer
or special mobile equipment as
defined in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a within
this state without causing said motor vehicle, trailer
or
semitrailer
or special mobile equipment as defined in section
one, article one, chapter seventeen-a to be registered as
otherwise provided by this section and article three of this
chapter for the period actually necessary for such restoration
but not to exceed a period of ten consecutive days:
Provided,
That said motor vehicle, trailer
or semitrailer
or special mobile
equipment shall be registered in another state upon entry into
this state. The provisions of this subsection shall not affect
the requirements of reciprocal agreements with other states
accomplished pursuant to sections ten and ten-a, article two of
this chapter.
ARTICLE 10. FEES FOR REGISTRATION, LICENSING, ETC.
§17A-10-1. Classification of vehicles for purpose of
registration.
Vehicles subject to registration under the provisions of
this chapter shall be placed in the following classes for the
purpose of registration:
Class A. Motor vehicles of passenger type and trucks with
a gross weight of not more than eight thousand pounds, other than
those operated for compensation;
Class B. Motor vehicles designated as trucks with a gross
weight of more than eight thousand pounds, truck tractors, or
road tractors other than those operated for compensation;
Class C. All trailers and semitrailers, except those
operated for compensation, and except house trailers and trailers
or semitrailers designed to be drawn by Class A motor vehicles
and having a gross weight of less than two thousand pounds;
Class E. Motor vehicles designated as trucks, truck
tractors, or road tractors operated for transportation of
property for compensation, but being exempt from the operating
jurisdiction of the public service commission, and for which a
statement of exemption has been received from the public service commission;
Class G. Motorcycles;
Class H. Motor vehicles operated regularly for the
transportation of persons for compensation under a certificate of
convenience and necessity or contract carrier permit issued by
the public service commission;
Class J. Motor vehicles operated for transportation of
persons for compensation by common carriers, not running over a
regular route or between fixed termini;
Class K. Motor vehicles designated as trucks, truck
tractors, or road tractors operated for transportation of
property for compensation under a certificate of convenience and
necessity or a contract carrier permit issued by the public
service commission;
Class L. All trailers and semitrailers used for
transportation of property for compensation;
Class R. House trailers;
Class S. Special mobile equipment as defined in subdivision
(r), section one, article one of this chapter;
Class T. Trailers or semitrailers of a type designed to be
drawn by Class A vehicles and having a gross weight of less than two thousand pounds;
Class U. Passenger motor vehicles rented for compensation
without a driver;
Class Farm Truck. Motor vehicles designated as trucks
having a minimum gross weight of more than eight thousand pounds
and a maximum gross weight of sixty-four thousand pounds, used
exclusively in the conduct of a farming business, engaged in the
production of agricultural products by means of (a) the planting,
cultivation and harvesting of agricultural, horticultural,
vegetable or other products of the soil, (b) the raising, feeding
and care of livestock, poultry, bees and dairy cattle. Such farm
truck shall be used only for the transportation of agricultural
products so produced by the owner thereof, or for the
transportation of agricultural supplies used in such production,
or for private passenger use.
§17A-10-3. Registration fees for vehicles equipped with
pneumatic
tires.
The following registration fees for the classes indicated
shall be paid to the division for the registration of vehicles
subject to registration hereunder when equipped with pneumatic
tires:
(a) Registration fees for the following classes shall be
paid to the division annually:
(1)
Class A. -- The registration fee for all motor vehicles
of this class is as follows:
(A) For motor vehicles of a weight of three thousand pounds
or less -- twenty-five dollars.
(B) For motor vehicles of a weight of three thousand one
pounds to four thousand pounds -- thirty dollars.
(C) For motor vehicles of a weight in excess of four
thousand pounds -- thirty-six dollars.
(D) For motor vehicles designed as trucks with declared
gross weights of four thousand pounds or less -- twenty-five
dollars.
(E) For motor vehicles designed as trucks with declared
gross weights of four thousand one pounds to eight thousand
pounds -- thirty dollars.
For the purpose of determining the weight, the actual weight
of the vehicle shall be taken:
Provided, That for vehicles owned
by churches, or by trustees for churches, which vehicles are
regularly used for transporting parishioners to and from church
services, no license fee shall be charged, but notwithstanding such exemption, the certificate of registration and license
plates shall be obtained the same as other cards and plates under
this article.
(2)
Class B, Class E and Class K. -- The registration fee
for all motor vehicles of these three classes is as follows:
(A) For declared gross weights of eight thousand one pounds
to sixteen thousand pounds -- twenty-eight dollars plus five
dollars for each one thousand pounds or fraction thereof that the
gross weight of such vehicle or combination of vehicles exceeds
eight thousand pounds.
(B) For declared gross weights greater than sixteen thousand
pounds, but less than fifty-five thousand pounds -- seventy-eight
dollars and fifty cents plus ten dollars for each one thousand
pounds or fraction thereof that the gross weight of such vehicle
or combination of vehicles exceeds sixteen thousand pounds.
(C) For declared gross weights of fifty-five thousand pounds
or more -- seven hundred thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents
plus fifteen dollars and seventy-five cents for each one thousand
pounds or fraction thereof that the gross weight of such vehicle
or combination of vehicles exceeds fifty-five thousand pounds.
(3)
Class C and Class L. -- The registration fee for all vehicles of these two classes is seventeen dollars and fifty
cents except that semitrailers, full trailers, pole trailers and
converter gear registered as Class C and Class L may be
registered for a period of ten years at a fee of one hundred
dollars.
(4)
Class G. -- The registration fee for each motorcycle is
eight dollars.
(5)
Class H. -- The registration fee for all vehicles for
this class operating entirely within the state is five dollars;
and for vehicles engaged in interstate transportation of persons,
the registration fee is the amount of the fees provided by this
section for Class B, Class E and Class K reduced by the amount
that the mileage of such vehicles operated in states other than
West Virginia bears to the total mileage operated by such
vehicles in all states under a formula to be established by the
division of motor vehicles.
(6)
Class J. -- The registration fee for all motor vehicles
of this class is eighty-five dollars. Ambulances and hearses
used exclusively as such are exempt from the above special fees.
(7) Class S. -- The registration fee for all vehicles of
this class is seventeen dollars and fifty cents.
(8) (7) Class U. -- The registration fee for all vehicles of
this class is fifty-seven dollars and fifty cents.
(9) (8) Class Farm Truck. -- The registration fee for all
motor vehicles of this class is as follows:
(A) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of eight
thousand one pounds to sixteen thousand pounds -- thirty dollars.
(B) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of sixteen
thousand one pounds to twenty-two thousand pounds -- sixty
dollars.
(C) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of twenty-two
thousand one pounds to twenty-eight thousand pounds -- ninety
dollars.
(D) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of
twenty-eight thousand one pounds to thirty-four thousand pounds
-- one hundred fifteen dollars.
(E) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of thirty-four
thousand one pounds to forty-four thousand pounds -- one hundred
sixty dollars.
(F) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of forty-four
thousand one pounds to fifty-four thousand pounds -- two hundred
five dollars.
(G) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of fifty-four
thousand one pounds to sixty-four thousand pounds -- two hundred
fifty dollars.
(b) Registration fees for the following classes shall be
paid to the division for a maximum period of three years, or
portion thereof based on the number of years remaining in the
three-year period designated by the commissioner:
(1)
Class R. -- The annual registration fee for all vehicles
of this class is twelve dollars.
(2)
Class T. -- The annual registration fee for all vehicles
of this class is eight dollars.
(c) The fees paid to the division for a multiyear
registration provided for by this chapter shall be the same as
the annual registration fee established by this section and any
other fee required by this chapter multiplied by the number of
years for which the registration is issued.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate the
requirement that special mobile equipment be titled and
registered.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.