HB4031 H R&T AM #1 1-15

Reed 3253

The Committee on Roads and Transportation moves to amend the bill on page 1, after the enacting clause, by striking out the remainder of the bill and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“CHAPTER 17A. MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION, REGISTRATION, CERTIFICATE OF TITLE, AND ANTITHEFT PROVISIONS.

(a) The division upon registering a vehicle, or an agent of the division upon collecting the required fees and taxes in accordance with the provisions of §17A-6-1b of this code, shall:

(1) Issue a registration card to be delivered to the owner and containing thereon the date issued, the name and address of the owner, the registration number assigned to the vehicle and such description of the vehicle as determined by the commissioner; and

(2) Develop and issue the registration card in an electronic format that can be accessible by personal cellular phones that includes the information contained on the registration card for use as proof of current registration of the vehicle; the division shall also advise applicants that they may take photographs of the front and back of the registration card to use as proof of registration.

(b) The division shall send a duplicate of ~~said~~ the registration card to the assessor of the county in which the owner resides, or in cases of nonresidents of the state, to the assessor of the county wherein the vehicle is located.

§17A-3-13. Registration card to be signed, carried and exhibited on demand.

Every owner upon receipt of a registration card shall write his or her signature thereon with pen and ink in the space provided: Provided, That a signature is not required on a registration card displayed in an electronic format. Every such registration card shall at all times be carried in the vehicle to which it refers or shall be carried, or, if in electronic format, be accessible to and displayable by the person driving or in control of such vehicle who shall display the same upon demand of a police officer or any officer or employee of the department.

§17A-9-2. Operation of vehicles without evidences of registration; use of temporary facsimile; penalty.

(a) No person shall operate, nor shall an owner knowingly permit to be operated, upon any highway any vehicle required to be registered under this article unless there shall be attached thereto and displayed thereon or shall be in the possession of the operator when and as required by this chapter a valid registration card or a valid registration card displayable in an electronic format and registration plate or plates issued therefor by the department for the current registration year, except as otherwise expressly permitted in this chapter.

(b) In the event that the registration plate or plates originally issued are lost, destroyed or stolen, a temporary facsimile of the plate or plates, showing the number of the same, may be attached to the vehicle by the owner for a period of not more than fifteen days, or until a new plate or plates are issued by the department, whichever is earlier: Provided, That no such facsimile shall be used and no such vehicle shall be driven upon the highways of this state, until the owner shall have notified in writing the West Virginia state police of the loss of such registration plate or plates.

(c) Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500; and upon a second or subsequent conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500, or confined in the county or regional jail not more than six months, or both.