H. B. 2120
(By Delegates Warner, Michael, Johnson, Overington)
Houvouras, D. Miller and Beane)
[Introduced February 15, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section fourteen, article three,
chapter seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
motor vehicle registration; and removing the special fee of
five dollars charged by the division of motor vehicles for
issuing a special registration plate to an honorably
discharged veteran.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fourteen, article three, chapter seventeen-a of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-14. Registration plates generally.
The division upon registering a vehicle shall issue to the
owner one registration plate for a motorcycle, trailer,
semitrailer or other motor vehicle.
Every registration plate shall be of reflectorized material
and have displayed upon it the registration number assigned to
the vehicle for which it is issued, also the name of this state,
which may be abbreviated, and the year number for which it is
issued or the date of expiration thereof.
Such registration plate and the required letters and
numerals thereon, except the year number for which issued or the
date of expiration, shall be of sufficient size to be plainly
readable from a distance of one hundred feet during daylight,
said registration numbering to begin with number two.
The division shall not issue, permit to be issued, or
distribute any special numbers except as follows:
(a) The governor shall be issued registration plates, on one
of which shall be imprinted the numeral one and on the other the
word one.
(b) Upon appropriate application, there shall be issued to
the secretary of state, state superintendent of free schools,
auditor, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, and the attorney
general, the members of both houses of the Legislature, including
the elected officials thereof, the justices of the supreme court
of appeals of West Virginia, the representatives and senators of
the state in the Congress of the United States, the judges of the
United States district courts for the state of West Virginia and
the judges of the United States court of appeals for the fourth
circuit, if any of said judges shall be residents of West
Virginia, a special registration plate for a motor vehicle ownedby said official or spouse, but not to exceed two plates for each
such official, which plate shall bear any combination of letters
not to exceed an amount determined by the commissioner, and with
a designation of the office and which plate shall supersede,
during his term of office and while such motor vehicle is owned
by said official or spouse, the regular numbered plate assigned
to him.
(c) Upon receipt of an application on a form prescribed by
the division and receipt of written evidence from the chief
executive officer of the army national guard or air national
guard, as appropriate, or the commanding officer of any United
States Armed Forces Reserve Unit that the applicant is a member
thereof, the division shall issue to any member of the national
guard of this state or a member of any reserve unit of the United
States Armed Forces a special registration plate designed by the
commissioner for a motor vehicle owned by the member or the
member's spouse, but not to exceed one plate for each such
member.
(d) Upon appropriate application, any owner of a motor
vehicle subject to Class A registration, or the owner of a
motorcycle subject to Class G registration, under the provisions
of this article, may request that the division issue a
registration plate bearing specially arranged letters or numbers
with the maximum number of letters or numbers to be determined by
the commissioner. The division shall attempt to comply with such
request wherever possible and shall promulgate appropriate rulesand regulations for the orderly distribution of such plates:
Provided, That for purposes of this subdivision, such
registration plates so requested and issued shall include all
plates bearing the numbers two through two thousand and shall be
subject to the provisions of subdivision (k) of this section.
(e) Upon appropriate application, there shall be issued to
any honorably discharged veteran, of any branch of the armed
services of the United States, a special registration plate with
an insignia designed by the commissioner of the division of motor
vehicles:
A special fee of five dollars shall be charged in
addition to all other fees required by law. This special fee is
to compensate the division of motor vehicles for additional costs
and services required in the issuing of such special registration
and shall be collected by the division and deposited in a special
revolving fund to be used for the administration of this section:
Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to
exempt
said veterans such a veteran from any other provision in
this chapter.
(f) Upon appropriate application, there shall be issued to
any disabled veteran, who is exempt from the payment of
registration fees under the provisions of this chapter, a
registration plate which bears the letters "DV" in red, and also
the regular identification numerals in red.
(g) Upon appropriate application, there shall be issued to
any armed service person holding the distinguished purple heart
medal for persons wounded in combat a registration plate bearing letters or numbers. The registration plate designed by the
commissioner of motor vehicles shall denote that those
individuals who are granted this special registration plate are
recipients of the purple heart. All letterings as herein
provided shall be in purple where practical. Further, the
registration plates herein provided shall be exempt from
registration fees under the provisions of this chapter.
(h) Upon appropriate application, the owner of a motor
vehicle who was enlisted in any branch of the armed services that
participated in and survived the attack on Pearl Harbor on the
seventh day of December, one thousand nine hundred forty-one,
shall be issued a special registration plate designed by the
commissioner of motor vehicles and shall be exempt from the
payment of registration fees as required under the provisions of
this chapter.
(i) Subject to rules promulgated by the commissioner,
nonprofit charitable and educational organizations shall be
authorized to design a logo or emblem for inclusion on a special
registration plate and to market this special registration plate
to organization members and the general public. Approved
nonprofit organizations may accept applications for the special
registration plate from the owner of motor vehicles subject to a
Class A registration and payment of fees therefor under the
provisions of this article and may request that the division
issue a registration plate bearing a combination of letters or
numbers with the organizations' logo or emblem, with the maximumnumber of letters or numbers to be determined by the
commissioner:
Provided, That such rules, regulations and
standards that are promulgated by the commissioner for purpose
of this subdivision shall be promulgated in accordance with the
provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. Nonprofit
organizations seeking to market such plates shall be authorized
to collect a fee for successfully processing a registration plate
application and shall deposit an appropriate fee, which shall be
determined by the commissioner, with the division of motor
vehicles to defray the administrative costs associated with
designing and manufacturing special registration plates for the
organization.
(j) Any owner of a motor vehicle who is a resident of the
state of West Virginia, and who is a certified paramedic or
emergency medical technician, a member of a volunteer fire
company, a paid fire department, a member of the state fire
commission, the state fire marshal, the state fire marshal's
assistants, the state fire administrator and voluntary rescue
squad members upon application, accompanied by an affidavit
signed by the fire chief or department head of the applicant,
stating that the applicant is justified in having a registration
with an insignia designed by the commissioner of the division of
motor vehicles to denote those individuals who are granted
special registration plates under this article, complying with
the motor vehicle laws of the state relative to registration and
licensing of motor vehicles, and upon payment of theregistration, license and other fees required by law, and the
payment of the additional special fee herein provided, shall be
issued a license plate for a private passenger car, upon which,
in lieu of the registration number prescribed by law, shall be
inscribed the insignia designed by the commissioner of the
division of motor vehicles to denote those individuals who are
granted this special registration insignia in addition to their
existing registration numbers.
The special fee that shall be charged each applicant for the
issuance of a license plate bearing the insignia designed by the
commissioner of the division of motor vehicles to denote those
individuals who are granted this special registration insignia in
addition to their existing registration number, shall be five
dollars, which special fee shall be in addition to all other fees
required by law. This special fee is for the purpose of
compensating the division of motor vehicles for additional costs
and services required in the issuing of such special registration
and shall be collected by the division and deposited in a special
revolving fund to be used for the administration of this section.
The commissioner is authorized to prescribe proper forms to
be used in making application for the special license plates
authorized by this section.
(k) In addition to the regular registration fees set forth
in section three, article ten of this chapter, a fee of fifteen
dollars shall be paid to the division in each case in which an
application for a special registration plate is made as providedin subdivisions (a), (b), (c) and (d):
Provided, That nothing in
this section shall be construed to require a charge for a free
prisoner of war license plate authorized by other provisions of
this code.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, or of any
other provision of this chapter, the commissioner may, in his
discretion, issue a type of registration plate of reflectorized
material suitable for permanent use on motor vehicles, trailers
and semitrailers, together with appropriate devices to be
attached thereto to indicate the year for which such vehicles
have been properly registered or the date of expiration of such
registration. The design of such plates shall be determined by
the commissioner.
Further, notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter to
the contrary, any license plate issued or renewed pursuant to
this chapter, which is paid for by a check that is returned for
nonsuficient funds, shall be void without further notice to the
applicant, and the applicant may not reinstate the registration
until the returned check is paid by the applicant in cash, money
order or certified check and all applicable fees assessed as a
result thereof have been paid.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove the special fee
of $5.00 charged by the Division of Motor Vehicles for issuing a
special motor vehicle registration plate to an honorably
discharged veteran.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be strickenfrom the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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