FISCAL
NOTE
2017 regular session
By
[
A BILL to amend and
reenact §17A-10-8 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to exempting recipients of the distinguished
Purple Heart medal from payment of the vehicle registration fee for West
Virginia residents.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17A-10-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. FEES FOR
REGISTRATION, LICENSING, ETC.
§17A-10-8. Vehicles
exempt from payment of registration fee.
The following specified
vehicles shall be exempt from the payment of any registration fees:
(1) Any vehicle owned or
operated by the United States government, the State of West Virginia or any of their
political subdivisions. The proper representative of the United States
government, the State of West Virginia or any of their political subdivisions
shall make an application for registration for the vehicle and the registration
plate or plates issued for the vehicle shall be displayed as provided in this
chapter;
(2) Any fire vehicle owned
or operated by a volunteer fire department organized for the protection of
community property;
(3) Any ambulance or any
other emergency rescue vehicle owned or operated by a nonprofit, charitable
organization and used exclusively for charitable purposes;
(4) Any vehicle owned by a
disabled veteran as defined by the provisions of Public Law 663 of the 79th
Congress of the United States, or Public Law 187 of the 82nd Congress of the
United States, or Public Law 77 of the 90th Congress of the United States;
except for vehicles used for hire which are owned by disabled veterans;
(5) Not more than one
vehicle owned by a veteran with a hundred percent total and permanent service-connected
disability as certified by the Director of the Department of Veterans' Affairs
of West Virginia and not used for commercial purposes;
(6) Not more than one Class
A or Class G vehicle, as defined in section one of this article, owned by a former
prisoner of war and not used for commercial purposes. For purposes of this
subdivision, the term "prisoner of war" means any member of the Armed
Forces of the United States, including the United States Coast Guard and
National Guard, who was held by any hostile force with which the United States
was actually engaged in armed conflict during any period of the incarceration;
or any person, military or civilian, assigned to duty on the U.S.S. Pueblo who
was captured by the military forces of North Korea on January 23, 1968, and
thereafter held prisoner; except any person who, at any time, voluntarily,
knowingly and without duress, gave aid to or collaborated with or in any manner
served any such hostile force;
(7) Not more than one Class
A or Class G vehicle, as defined in section one of this article, owned by a
recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and not used for commercial
purposes; and
(8) Vehicles registered in
the name of community action agencies and used exclusively for a Head Start
program; and
(9) Not more than one vehicle owned by a
recipient of the distinguished Purple Heart medal and not used for commercial
purposes: Provided, That the vehicle has
a special registration plate for distinguished Purple Heart medal recipients
referred to in paragraph (7), subsection (c), section fourteen, article three
of this chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to exempt recipients of the distinguished Purple Heart medal from payment of
the vehicle registration fee for West Virginia residents.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.