H. B. 4262
(By Delegates Buchanan, Beach,
Caputo, Hubbard and Yeager)
[Introduced February 4, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Education then Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article four, chapter
eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to giving state
institutions of higher education discretion to order a
person alleged to have parked or operated a vehicle in
violation of the rules and who fails to appear before a
designated official within ten days to appear before a
magistrate; establishing handicapped parking signs
requirements and increasing the maximum fine for handicap
violations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article four, chapter eighteen-b of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
§18B-4-6. Acquisition, operation and regulation of parking
areas and facilities at state institutions of
higher education; regulation of parking, speed and
flow of traffic on campus roads and driveways;
civil and criminal penalties; disposition of
revenue.
(a) The governing boards are hereby authorized to construct,
maintain and operate automobile parking facilities or areas upon
any premises owned or leased at any state institution of higher
education under their jurisdiction for use by students, faculty,
staff and visitors. The governing boards may charge fees for use
of the parking facilities or areas under their control. All
moneys collected for the use of the parking facilities or areas
shall be paid to the credit of the state institution of higher
education at which the fees were charged into a special fund
which is hereby created in the state treasury. The moneys in the
fund shall be used first to pay the cost of maintaining and
operating the parking facilities or areas, but any excess not
needed for this purpose may be used for the acquisition of
property by lease or purchase and the construction thereon on the
property of additional parking facilities or areas. Any money in
the fund not needed immediately for the acquisition,
construction, maintenance or operation of the parking facilities or areas may be temporarily invested by the governing boards with
the state board of investments to the credit of the state
institution of higher education at which the fees were charged.
(b) Notwithstanding any other motor vehicle or traffic law
or regulation to the contrary, the respective board is governing
boards are hereby authorized to regulate and control at any state
institution of higher education under their jurisdiction the
speed, flow and parking of vehicles on campus roads, driveways
and parking facilities or areas. Rules for this purpose shall be
promulgated by the governing boards in the manner prescribed in
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and when so promulgated shall
have the force and effect of law. In each parking facility or
area a summary of the rules governing the use of the facility or
area, including, but not limited to, the availability of
temporary parking permits and where same the temporary parking
permits may be obtained, and of the penalties which may be
imposed for violations of the rules and shall be conspicuously
posted. Along each campus road and driveway, notice signs
pertaining to the speed of vehicles, spaces available for
parking, directional flow of traffic and penalties which may be
imposed for violations of the rules shall be conspicuously
posted. Signs that designate areas as "handicapped parking" or
that display the international symbol of access shall also include the maximum amount of the fine for violations thereof.
(c) Any person parking any vehicle or operating any vehicle
in violation of the rules shall be issued a citation describing
the offense charged and ordering an appearance within ten days,
excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays observed by the college
or university, before a designated official of the state
institution of higher education and, if the person cited fails to
appear within said ten days, the state institution of higher
education may order ordering an appearance before a magistrate
located in the county in which the state institution of higher
education is located or before the judge of the municipal court,
if the state institution of higher education is located within a
municipality having such an official.
The designated official of the state institution of higher
education shall have exclusive jurisdiction of the offense until
the offense is forwarded to the magistrate court. during the
ten-day period. Any person so cited may plead no contest to the
offense and, by so pleading, shall be subject to a civil penalty
to be determined uniformly by the designated official and
commensurate with the severity of the parking offense in an
amount of not more than ten dollars for each offense as partial
reimbursement for the parking offense, except for handicap
violations which will be in amount not to exceed the maximum amount set forth in section six, article thirteen, chapter
seventeen-c of this code. The penalty for traffic and speeding
offenses shall be commensurate with the severity of the offense
in an amount of not more than ten dollars for each traffic or
speeding offense. These funds shall be used to reimburse to the
state institution of higher education for the cost of regulating
traffic and parking. Moneys derived from civil penalties imposed
herein by this section shall be deposited in the special fund in
the state treasury created by this section and credited to the
state institution of higher education at which the penalty was
paid.
Upon the expiration of the ten days, or Upon a pleading of
not guilty before the designated official of the state
institution of higher education or upon referral from the state
institution of higher education, within the ten days, the
magistrate or judge of the municipal court shall have
jurisdiction of the offense, and any person cited under the
provisions of this section, upon a finding of guilty by the
magistrate or municipal judge, shall be subject to a fine of not
less than ten dollars nor more than twenty dollars for each
offense, the amount to be commensurate with the severity of the
offense.
Each designated official of the state institution of higher education presiding over a case under the provisions of this
section shall keep or cause to be kept a record of every citation
which alleges a violation of such these provisions, or the rules
promulgated in accordance therewith, with these provisions, and
shall keep a record of every official action in reference thereto
to these provisions, including, but not limited to, a record of
every plea of no contest, conviction or acquittal of the offense
charged and the amount of the fine or of the civil penalty
resulting from each citation.
(d) Whenever a vehicle is parked on any state institution of
higher education campus road, driveway or parking facility or
area in a manner which violates posted rules and substantially
impedes the flow of traffic or endangers the health and safety,
the institution may, in addition to the issuing of a citation and
subsequent procedures set forth herein in this section, remove
the vehicle, by towing or otherwise, to an area owned by the
institution or areas designated for this purpose. The vehicle,
having been towed to the designated area or areas, may be
rendered immovable by use of locking wheel blocks or other device
not damaging to the vehicle. The state institution of higher
education shall maintain any vehicle so towed in the same
condition as it was immediately prior to being towed, but shall
not be liable for any damage to a vehicle towed to, or kept in, a designated area pursuant to the provisions of this section.
The state institution of higher education shall pay for the cost
of removing the vehicle and shall have a right to reimbursement
from the owner for this cost and for the reasonable cost of
keeping the vehicle in the designated area. Until payment of
these costs, the state institution of higher education may retain
possession of the vehicle, and the institution shall have a lien
on the vehicle for the amount due. The state institution of
higher education may enforce this lien in the manner provided in
section fourteen, article eleven, chapter thirty-eight of this
code for the enforcement of other liens.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to tighten the regulation
of on campus parking at state colleges and universities.
Specifically, the bill would require signs erected for
handicapped parking to include the maximum fine for a violation
of the restriction. The maximum penalty for the violation of a
handicapped parking area is raised from not more than $10 to the
maximum amount set forth in §17C-13-6. The fine for traffic and
speeding offenses shall be commensurate with the severity of the
offense but not more than $10 for each offense.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.