H. B. 2989
(By Delegates Boggs and Miley)
[Introduced March 11, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17A-3-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §17A-9-5 and
§17A-9-7 of said code, all relating to the authority of the
Division of Motor Vehicles to refuse to register and to
suspend or revoke motor vehicle registrations of motor
carriers whose authority to operate in interstate commerce has
been denied or suspended by the federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17A-3-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §17A-9-5 and §17A-9-7 of said
code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE.
§17A-3-7. Grounds for refusing registration or certificate of title.
The
department Division shall refuse registration or issuance
of a certificate of title or any transfer of registration upon any
of the following grounds:
(1) That the application contains any false or fraudulent
statement or that the applicant has failed to furnish required
information or reasonable additional information requested by the
department Division or that the applicant is not entitled to the
issuance of a certificate of title or registration of the vehicle
under this chapter;
(2) That the applicant fails to present a statement of
insurance or proof of other security as required pursuant to the
provisions of section three of this article;
(3) That the vehicle is mechanically unfit or unsafe to be
operated or moved upon the highways;
(4) That the
department Division has reasonable grounds to
believe that the vehicle is a stolen or embezzled vehicle or that
the granting of registration or the issuance of certificate of
title would constitute a fraud against the rightful owner or other
person having a valid lien upon such vehicle;
(5) That the registration of the vehicle stands suspended or
revoked for any reason as provided in the motor vehicle laws of
this state;
(6) That the required fee has not been paid;
or
(7) That the vehicle is operated by a commercial motor carrier
who has failed to provide a federal motor carrier identification
number (usdot number) or whose authority to operate in interstate
commerce has been denied or suspended by the federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration.
ARTICLE 9. OFFENSES AGAINST REGISTRATION LAWS AND SUSPENSION OR
REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION.
§17A-9-5. Authority of Division to suspend or revoke registration,
certificate, etc.
The
department Division is hereby authorized to suspend or
revoke the registration of a vehicle or a certificate of title,
registration card, or registration plate, or any nonresident or
other permit in any of the following events:
(1) When the
department Division is satisfied that such
registration or that such certificate, card, plate, or permit was
fraudulently or erroneously issued;
(2) When the
department Division determines that a registered
vehicle is mechanically unfit or unsafe to be operated or moved
upon the highways;
(3) When a registered vehicle has been dismantled or wrecked;
(4) When a registration card, registration plate, or permit is
knowingly displayed upon a vehicle other than the one for which
issued;
(5) When the
department Division determines that the owner has committed any offense under this article involving the registration
or the certificate, card, plate, or permit to be suspended or
revoked;
or
(6) When the vehicle is operated by a commercial motor carrier
whose authority to operate in interstate commerce has been denied
or suspended by the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; or
(6) (7) When the
department Division is so authorized under
any other provision of law.
§17A-9-7. Surrender of evidences of registration, etc., upon
cancellation, suspension or revocation; willful
failure or refusal to surrender; fee for
reinstatement.
(a) Whenever the registration of a vehicle, a certificate of
title, a registration card, registration plate or plates, a
temporary registration plate or marker, the right to issue
temporary registration plates or markers, any nonresident or other
permit, or any license certificate or dealer special plates issued
under the provisions of article six of this chapter, is canceled,
suspended or revoked as authorized in this chapter, the owner,
holder or other person in possession of the evidences of the
registration, title, permit or license or any special dealer plates
shall, except as otherwise provided in article six of this chapter,
immediately return the evidences of the registration, title, permit
or license that was canceled, suspended or revoked, together with any dealer special plates relating to any license certificate, or
any dealer special plate or plates if only the dealer special plate
is suspended, to the Division:
Provided, That the owner or holder
shall, before reinstatement, pay a fee of ten dollars in addition
to all other fees, which shall be collected by the Division and
credited to a special revolving fund in the State Treasury to be
appropriated to the Division for use in enforcement of the
provisions of this code.
(b) If any person willfully fails or refuses to return to the
Division the evidences of the registration, title, permit or
license that have been canceled, suspended or revoked, or any
dealer special plates, when obligated so to do as provided in this
section, the Commissioner shall immediately notify the
Superintendent of the State Police who shall, as soon as possible,
secure possession of the evidence of registration, title, permit or
license or any special dealer plates and return it to the Division.
The Superintendent of the State Police shall make a report in
writing to the Commissioner, within two weeks after being notified
by the Commissioner, as to the result of his or her efforts to
secure the possession and return of the evidences of registration,
title, permit or license, or any dealer special plates.
(c) If any commercial motor carrier willfully fails or refuses
to return to the Division the evidences of the registration that have been suspended or revoked as provided in this section, the
Commissioner shall immediately notify the Public Service Commission
which shall, as soon as possible, secure possession of the evidence
of registration and return it to the Division. The Public Service
Commission shall make a report in writing to the Commissioner,
within two weeks after being notified by the Commissioner, as to
the result of its efforts to secure the possession and return of
the evidences of registration.
(d) For each registration, certificate of title, registration
card, registration plate or plates, temporary registration plate or
marker, permit, license certificate or dealer special plate, which
the owner, holder or other person in possession of the
registration, title, permit or license or any special dealer plates
shall have willfully failed or refused, as provided in this
section, to return to the Division within ten days from the time
that the cancellation, suspension or revocation becomes effective,
and which has been certified to the Superintendent of the State
Police as specified in this section, the owner or holder shall,
before the registration, title, permit or license or any special
dealer plates may be reinstated, if reinstatement is permitted, in
addition to all other fees and charges, pay a fee of fifteen
dollars, which shall be collected by the Division of Motor
Vehicles, paid into the State Treasury and credited to the General Fund to be appropriated to the State Police for application in the
enforcement of the road laws.
A total of twenty-five dollars may be collected on each
reinstatement for each vehicle to which any cancellation,
suspension or revocation relates.
Provided, That
(e) When any motor vehicle registration is suspended for
failure to maintain motor vehicle liability insurance the
reinstatement fee is one hundred dollars, and if the vehicle owner
fails to surrender the vehicle registration and the orders go to
the State Police, an additional fee of fifty dollars shall be
required before the motor vehicle registration may be reinstated.
A total of one hundred fifty dollars may be collected on each
reinstatement of any motor vehicle registration canceled, suspended
or revoked for failure to maintain motor vehicle liability
insurance.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Division
of Motor Vehicles to suspend or refuse to register vehicles of
motor carriers whose authority to operate in interstate commerce
has been denied or suspended by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration as unsafe.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.