ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 133
(By Senators Burdette ,Mr. President, and Boley,
By Request of the Executive)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported March 31, 1993.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article three, chapter
seventeen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twelve, all relating to motor vehicles; mandatory suspension
for fraudulent use of driver license; and procedures.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article three, chapter seventeen-b of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended; and that said article be further amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSES.
17B-3-6. Authority of department to suspend or revoke license;
hearing.
The department is hereby authorized to suspend the license
of an operator or chauffeur without preliminary hearing upon a
showing by its records or other sufficient evidence that the
licensee:
(1) Has committed an offense for which mandatory revocation
of license is required upon conviction;
(2) Has by reckless or unlawful operation of a motor
vehicle, caused or contributed to an accident resulting in the
death or personal injury of another or property damage;
(3) Has been convicted with such frequency of serious
offenses against traffic regulations governing the movement of
vehicles as to indicate a disrespect for traffic laws and a
disregard for the safety of other persons on the highways;
(4) Is an habitually reckless or negligent driver of a motor
vehicle;
(5) Is incompetent to drive a motor vehicle;
(6) Has committed an offense in another state which if
committed in this state would be a ground for suspension or
revocation;
(7) Has failed to pay or has defaulted on a plan for the
payment of all costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by
a magistrate court or municipal court within ninety days, as
required by section two-a, article ten, chapter eight of this
code;
(8) Has failed to appear or otherwise respond before a
magistrate court or municipal court when charged with a motor
vehicle violation as defined in section three-a of this article;
or
(9) Is under the age of eighteen and has withdrawn either
voluntarily or involuntarily from a secondary school, as provided
in section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code.
The operator's or chauffeur's license of any person having
his or her license suspended shall be reinstated if:
(A) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (8) of this section and the payment of costs, fines,
forfeitures or penalties imposed by the applicable court has been
made; or
(B) The license was suspended under the provisions of this
subdivision, and the person having his or her license suspended
has appeared in court and has prevailed against the motor vehicle
violations charged, or such person has paid any and all costs,
fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by the applicable court.
Any reinstatement of a license under paragraph (A) or (B) of
this subdivision shall be subject to a reinstatement fee
designated in section nine of this article.
Upon suspending the license of any person as hereinbefore in
this section authorized, the department shall immediately notify
the licensee in writing, sent by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the address given by the licensee in applying for
license, and upon his request shall afford him an opportunity for
a hearing as early as practical within not to exceed twenty days
after receipt of such request in the county wherein the licensee
resides unless the department and the licensee agree that such
hearing may be held in some other county. Upon such hearing the
commissioner or his duly authorized agent may administer oaths
and may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and theproduction of relevant books and papers and may require a
reexamination of the licensee. Upon such hearing the department
shall either rescind its order of suspension or, good cause
appearing therefor, may extend the suspension of such license or
revoke such license.
§17B-3-12. Mandatory suspension for fraudulent use of driver
license.
(a) The commissioner shall suspend for a period of one year,
the driver license of any person upon receipt of a sworn
affidavit from any law-enforcement officer or employee of the
division of motor vehicles stating that the person committed any
one of the following acts:
(1) Displayed or caused or permitted to be displayed to any
law-enforcement officer or employee of the division of motor
vehicles or have in his or her possession any canceled, revoked,
suspended, fictitious or fraudulently altered driver license;
(2) Loaned or gave his or her driver license to any other
person or knowingly permit the use thereof by another for an
unlawful or fraudulent purpose;
(3) Displayed or represented as one's own any driver license
not issued to him or her; or
(4) Used a false or fictitious name or birth date on any
application for a driver license or knowingly made a false
statement, knowingly concealed a material fact or otherwise
committed a fraud in making application for a driver license.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "driver license" means
any permit, camera card, identification card or driver license
issued by this state to a person which authorizes the person todrive a motor vehicle of a specific class or classes subject to
any restriction or endorsement contained thereon.
(c) No person shall have his or her driver license suspended
under any provision of this section unless he or she shall first
be given written notice of such suspension sent by certified
mail, return receipt requested, at least twenty days prior to the
effective date of the suspension. Within ten days of the receipt
of the notice of suspension, the person may submit a written
request by certified mail for a hearing and request a stay of the
suspension pending the results of the hearing. If the
commissioner shall after hearing make and enter an order
affirming the earlier order of suspension, the person affected
shall be entitled to judicial review as set forth in chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code and, pending the appeal, the court may
grant a stay or supersedeas of such order. If the person does
not appeal the suspension or the suspension is affirmed by the
court, the person shall surrender his or her driver license or
have the license impounded in the manner set forth and subject to
the imposition of fees as provided in section nine of this
article.
(d) The suspended driver license shall be reinstated
following the period of suspension and upon compliance with the
conditions set forth in this chapter.