Senate Bill No. 276
(By Senators Bailey, Wiedebusch, Dittmar, Ball,
White, Snyder, Love, Schoonover, Anderson and Jackson)
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[Introduced March 10, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Transportation; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-three, article three,
chapter seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
license plates for conservation officers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-three, 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-3-23. Registration plates to state, county, municipal and other governmental vehicles; use for undercover activities.
Any motor vehicle designed to carry passengers, owned or leased by the state of West Virginia, or any of its departments,
bureaus, commissions or institutions, except vehicles used by the
governor, treasurer, three plates per elected office of the board
of public works, vehicles operated by the
department of public
safety state police,P not to exceed six vehicles operated by
conservation officers of the division of natural resources, not
to exceed ten vehicles operated by the arson investigators of the
office of state fire marshal and not to exceed sixteen vehicles
operated by inspectors of the office of the alcohol beverage
control commissioner,
shall may not be operated or driven by any
person unless it
shall have has displayed and attached to the
front thereof, in the same manner as regular motor vehicle
registration plates are attached, a plate of the same size as the
regular registration plate, with white lettering on a green
background bearing the words "West Virginia" in one line and the
words "State Car" in another line, and the lettering for the
words "State Car" shall be of sufficient size to be plainly
readable from a distance of one hundred feet during daylight.
Such The vehicle shall also have attached to the rear a plate
bearing a number and
such any other words and figures as the
commissioner of motor vehicles shall prescribe. The rear plate
shall also be green with the number in white.
On registration plates issued to vehicles owned by counties,
the color shall be white on red with the word "County" on top of the plate and the words "West Virginia" on the bottom. On any
registration plates issued to a city or municipality, the color
shall be white on blue with the word "City" on top, and the words
"West Virginia" on the bottom. The colors may not be reversed
and shall be of reflectorized material. The registration plates
issued to counties, municipalities and other governmental
agencies authorized to receive colored plates hereunder shall be
affixed to both the front and rear of
such the vehicles.
The commissioner is authorized to designate the colors and
design of any other registration plates that are issued without
charge to any other agency in accordance with the motor vehicle
laws:
Provided, That the division of natural resources may
designate the color, design and numbering system of registration
plates for vehicles operated by conservation officers.
Upon application and payment of fees, the commissioner is
authorized to issue a maximum of five Class A license plates per
applicant to be used by county sheriffs and municipalities on
law-enforcement vehicles while engaged in undercover
investigations.
The commissioner is authorized to issue an unlimited number of
license plates per applicant to authorized drug and violent crime
task forces in the state of West Virginia when the chairperson of
the control group of a drug and violent crime task force signs a
written affidavit stating that the vehicle or vehicles for which the plates are being requested will be used only for official
undercover work conducted by
such a drug and violent crime task
force.
The commissioner is authorized to issue twenty Class A license
plates to the criminal investigation division of the department
of tax and revenue for use by its investigators.
No other registration plate
shall may be issued for, or
attached to, any
such state-owned vehicle.
The commissioner of motor vehicles shall have a sufficient
number of both front and rear plates produced to attach to all
state-owned cars. The numbered registration plates for
such the
vehicles shall start with the number "five hundred" and the
commissioner shall issue consecutive numbers for all state-owned
cars.
It
shall be is the duty of each office, department, bureau,
commission or institution furnished any
such vehicle to have
such
plates
as described herein affixed thereto prior to the operation
of
such the vehicle by any official or employee.
Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred
dollars.
Magistrates shall have concurrent jurisdiction with circuit
and criminal courts for the enforcement of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove the cap on the
number of vehicles operated by conservation officers which must
have green and white state registration plates, allowing the
division of natural resources to design registration plates
distinctive to conservation officers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.
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