ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 357
(By Senators Ross, Sharpe, Snyder, Sprouse, Ball and Kessler)
____________
[Passed March 13, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
____________
AN ACT to amend and reenact sections four, ten and twelve,
article three, chapter seventeen-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended;
to further amend said article by adding thereto a new
section, designated section seventeen-b; to amend and
reenact section seven, article four of said chapter; to
amend and reenact sections one, four, seven, eight and ten,
article four-a of said chapter; to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
two-a; and to amend article six of said chapter by adding
thereto a new section, designated section one-b, all
relating to removing the privilege tax on vehicles sold to
automobile rental businesses and imposing a daily tax of
twenty-five cents to be paid by the rental businesses;
allowing the use of electronic transmission and recording of vehicle registration, title and lien information among
dealers, banks and the division of motor vehicles; providing
that a copy of the electronic record of a certificate of
title or lien is admissible as evidence; authorizing dealers
to issue vehicle registration documents and plates after
collecting all fees and taxes; setting fees for recordation
of lien releases; providing criminal penalties for an agent
of the division of motor vehicles who issues vehicle
registration without first performing certain duties;
providing for issuance of liens, titles and registration in
electronic format; authorizing service providers to
administer electronic exchange of information, documents and
fees and to provide forms and materials; providing for
revocation of authority; authorizing the motor vehicle
dealer advisory board to establish fees charged by motor
vehicle dealers; requiring bond; and providing that when a
vehicle is subject to an electronic lien, the certificate of
title shall be considered held by the lien-holder for certain purposes. "
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections four, ten and twelve, article three, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that
said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section,
designated section seventeen-b; that section seven, article four
of said chapter be amended and reenacted; that sections one,
four, seven, eight and ten, article four-a of said chapter be
amended and reenacted; that said article be further amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated section two-a; and that
article six of said chapter be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated section one-b, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-4. Application for certificate of title; tax for
privilege of certification of title; penalty for false
swearing.
(a) Certificates of registration of any vehicle or
registration plates
therefor for the vehicle, whether original issues or
duplicates, may not be issued or furnished by the division of motor vehicles or any other officer
or agent charged with the
duty, unless the applicant therefor already has received, or at
the same time makes application for and is granted, an official
certificate of title of the vehicle
in either an electronic or
paper format. The application shall be upon a blank form to be
furnished by the division of motor vehicles and shall contain a
full description of the vehicle, which description shall contain
a manufacturer's serial or identification number or other number
as determined by the commissioner and any distinguishing marks,
together with a statement of the applicant's title and of any
liens or encumbrances upon the vehicle, the names and addresses
of the holders of the liens and any other information as the
division of motor vehicles may require. The application shall be
signed and sworn to by the applicant.
A duly certified copy of
the division's electronic record of a certificate of title shall
be admissible in any civil, criminal or administrative proceeding
in this state as evidence of ownership.
(b) A tax is
hereby imposed upon the privilege of effecting the
certification of title of each vehicle in the amount equal to
five percent of the value of the motor vehicle at the time of the
certification, to be assessed as follows:
(1) If the vehicle is new, the actual purchase price or
consideration to the purchaser
thereof of the vehicle is the value of the
vehicle. If the vehicle is a used or secondhand vehicle, the
present market value at time of transfer or purchase is the value
thereof of the vehicle for the purposes of this section:
Provided, That
so much of the purchase price or consideration as is represented
by the exchange of other vehicles on which the tax imposed by
this section has been paid by the purchaser shall be deducted
from the total actual price or consideration paid for the
vehicle, whether the vehicle be new or secondhand. If the
vehicle is acquired through gift, or by any manner whatsoever,
unless specifically exempted in this section, the present market value of the vehicle at the time of the gift or transfer is the
value
thereof of the vehicle for the purposes of this section.
(2) No certificate of title for any vehicle may be issued to
any applicant unless the applicant has paid to the division of
motor vehicles the tax imposed by this section which is five
percent of the true and actual value of the vehicle whether the
vehicle is acquired through purchase, by gift or by any other
manner whatsoever, except gifts between husband and wife or
between parents and children:
Provided, That the husband or
wife, or the parents or children previously have paid the tax on
the vehicles transferred to the state of West Virginia.
(3) The division of motor vehicles may issue a certificate
of registration and title to an applicant if the applicant
provides sufficient proof to the division of motor vehicles that
the applicant has paid the taxes and fees required by this
section to a motor vehicle dealership that has gone out of
business or has filed bankruptcy proceedings in the United States
bankruptcy court and the taxes and fees so required to be paid by
the applicant have not been sent to the division by the motor
vehicle dealership or have been impounded due to the bankruptcy
proceedings:
Provided, That the applicant makes an affidavit of the same and assigns all rights to claims for money the applicant
may have against the motor vehicle dealership to the division of
motor vehicles.
(4) The division of motor vehicles shall issue a certificate
of registration and title to an applicant without payment of the
tax imposed by this section if the applicant is a corporation,
partnership or limited liability company transferring the vehicle
to another corporation, partnership or limited liability company
when the entities involved in the transfer are members of the
same controlled group and the transferring entity has previously
paid the tax on the vehicle transferred. For the purposes of
this section, control means ownership, directly or indirectly, of
stock or equity interests possessing fifty percent or more of the
total combined voting power of all classes of the stock of a
corporation or equity interests of a partnership or limited
liability company entitled to vote or ownership, directly or
indirectly, of stock or equity interests possessing fifty percent
or more of the value of the corporation, partnership or limited
liability company.
(5) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
vehicles to be registered as Class H vehicles or Class M vehicles, as defined in section one, article ten of this chapter,
which are used or to be used in interstate commerce. Nor does
the tax imposed by this section apply to the titling of Class B
vehicles registered at a gross weight of fifty-five thousand
pounds or more, or to the titling of Class C semitrailers, full
trailers, pole trailers and converter gear:
Provided, That if an
owner of a vehicle has previously titled the vehicle at a
declared gross weight of fifty-five thousand pounds or more and
the title was issued without the payment of the tax imposed by
this section, then before the owner may obtain registration for
the vehicle at a gross weight less than fifty-five thousand
pounds, the owner shall surrender to the commissioner the
exempted registration, the exempted certificate of title, and pay
the tax imposed by this section based upon the current market
value of the vehicle:
Provided, however, That notwithstanding
the provisions of section nine, article fifteen, chapter eleven
of this code, the exemption from tax under this section for Class
B vehicles in excess of fifty-five thousand pounds and Class C
semitrailers, full trailers, pole trailers and converter gear
may
does not subject the sale or purchase of the vehicles to the
consumers sales tax.
(6) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
titling of vehicles leased by residents of West Virginia. A tax
is
hereby imposed upon the monthly payments for the lease of any motor
vehicle leased by a resident of West Virginia, which tax is equal
to five percent of the amount of the monthly payment, applied to
each payment, and continuing for the entire term of the initial
lease period. The tax shall be remitted to the division of motor
vehicles on a monthly basis by the lessor of the vehicle.
(7) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
titling of vehicles by a registered dealer of this state for
resale only, nor does the tax imposed by this section apply to
titling of vehicles by this state or any political subdivision
thereof, or by any volunteer fire department or duly chartered
rescue or ambulance squad organized and incorporated under the
laws of the state of West Virginia as a nonprofit corporation for
protection of life or property. The total amount of revenue
collected by reason of this tax shall be paid into the state road
fund and expended by the commissioner of highways for matching
federal funds allocated for West Virginia. In addition to the
tax, there is a charge of five dollars for each original
certificate of title or duplicate certificate of title so issued:
Provided, That this state or any political subdivision
thereof of this
state, or any volunteer fire department, or duly chartered rescue
squad is exempt from payment of the charge.
(8) The certificate is good for the life of the vehicle, so
long as the vehicle is owned or held by the original holder of
the certificate, and need not be renewed annually, or any other
time, except as provided in this section.
(9) If, by will or direct inheritance, a person becomes the
owner of a motor vehicle and the tax imposed by this section
previously has been paid, to the division of motor vehicles, on
that vehicle, he or she is not required to pay the tax.
(10) A person who has paid the tax imposed by this section
may is not
be required to pay the tax a second time for the same motor
vehicle, but is required to pay a charge of five dollars for the
certificate of retitle of that motor vehicle, except that the tax
shall be paid by the person when the title to the vehicle has
been transferred either in this or another state from the person
to another person and transferred back to the person.
(11) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to
titling of vehicles rented daily or monthly by West Virginia
businesses. A tax is imposed upon the daily payments for the rental of any motor vehicle rented in West Virginia, which tax is
twenty-five cents for each day of the period of rental of the
motor vehicle. The tax shall be remitted to the division of
motor vehicles on a monthly basis by the lessor of the vehicle.
(c) Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the
contrary, the owners of trailers, semitrailers, recreational
vehicles and other vehicles not subject to the certificate of
title tax prior to the enactment of this chapter are subject to
the privilege tax imposed by this section:
Provided, That the
certification of title of any recreational vehicle owned by the
applicant on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-nine, is not subject to the tax imposed by this section:
Provided, however, That mobile homes, manufactured homes, modular
homes and similar nonmotive propelled vehicles, except
recreational vehicles and house trailers, susceptible of being
moved upon the highways but primarily designed for habitation and
occupancy, rather than for transporting persons or property, or
any vehicle operated on a nonprofit basis and used exclusively
for the transportation of mentally retarded or physically
handicapped children when the application for certificate of
registration for the vehicle is accompanied by an affidavit stating that the vehicle will be operated on a nonprofit basis
and used exclusively for the transportation of mentally retarded
and physically handicapped children, are not subject to the tax
imposed by this section, but are taxable under the provisions of
articles fifteen and fifteen-a, chapter eleven of this code.
(d) Any person making any affidavit required under any
provision of this section, who knowingly swears falsely, or any
person who counsels, advises, aids or abets another in the
commission of false swearing,
or any person, while acting as an
agent of the division of motor vehicles issues a vehicle
registration without first collecting the fees and taxes or fails
to perform any other duty required by this chapter to be
performed before a vehicle registration is issued is on the first
offense guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or be
imprisoned confined
in the county or regional jail for a period not to exceed six
months or, in the discretion of the court, both fined and
imprisoned confined. For a second or any subsequent conviction within five
years, that person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars or be
imprisoned in the penitentiary for not less than one year nor more than five years or, in the discretion of the court, fined
and imprisoned.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section,
any person in the military stationed outside West Virginia, or
his or her dependents who possess a motor vehicle with valid
registration, are exempt from the provisions of this article for
a period of nine months from the date
that that the person returns to this
state or the date his or her dependent returns to this state,
whichever is later.
(f)
After the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-seven, No person may transfer, purchase or sell a factory-built
home without a certificate of title issued by the commissioner in
accordance with the provisions of this article:
(1) Any person who fails to provide a certificate of title
upon the transfer, purchase or sale of a factory-built home is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for
the first offense be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor
more than one thousand dollars, or be
imprisoned confined in the county or
regional jail for not more than one year or, both fined and
imprisoned confined. For each subsequent offense, the fine may be increased
to not more than two thousand dollars, with
imprisonment confinement in the
county or regional jail not more than one year or, both fined and
imprisoned confined.
(2) Failure of the seller to transfer a certificate of title
upon sale or transfer of the factory-built home gives rise to a
cause of action, upon prosecution thereof, and allows for the
recovery of damages, costs and reasonable attorney fees.
(g)
Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary,
whenever reference is made to the application for or issuance of
any title or the recordation or release of any lien, it shall be
understood to include the application, transmission, recordation,
transfer of ownership and storage of information in an electronic
format.
§17A-3-10. Division to issue registration card; duplicate to
county assessor.
The
department division upon registering a vehicle,
or an agent of the
division upon collecting the required fees and taxes in
accordance with the provisions of section one-b, article six of
this chapter, shall issue a registration card to be delivered to
the owner and containing thereon the date issued, the name and
address of the owner, the registration number assigned to the
vehicle and such description of the vehicle as determined by the
commissioner.
The division shall send a duplicate of said registration card
shall be sent to the assessor of the county in which the
owner resides, or in cases of nonresidents of the state, to the
assessor of the county wherein the vehicle is located.
§17A-3-12. Commissioner to issue certificate of title;
signatures on certificate; certificate of title to be
delivered to owner or lienor.
(a) The commissioner, if satisfied that the applicant for a
certificate of title is the owner of such vehicle, or otherwise
entitled to have the same registered in his the applicant's name,
shall issue an appropriate certificate of title in either an
electronic or paper format. The certificate of title in an
electronic format shall contain all of the information required
by this section.
(b) The certificate of title shall contain upon the face
thereof the date issued, the name and address of the owner, such
the
description of the vehicle as determined by the commissioner, and
a statement of the owner's title and of all liens and
encumbrances upon the vehicle therein described and whether
possession is held by the owner under a lease, contract of
conditional sale or other like agreement, and shall bear thereon
the seal of the department division.
(c) The certificate of title shall contain upon the reverse
side a space for the signature of the owner and the owner shall
write his or her name with pen and ink in such the space upon receipt
of the certificate. Such The certificate shall also contain upon the
reverse side forms for assignment of title or interest and
warranty thereof by the owner with space for notation of liens
and encumbrances upon the vehicle at the time of a transfer.
(d) The commissioner, upon issuing a certificate of title,
shall deliver same in either an electronic or paper format to the
person who holds legal title to the vehicle described on the face
of said certificate: Provided, That when a certificate of title
is issued showing upon the face thereof a lien or encumbrance of
liens or encumbrances, such the certificate of title shall be
delivered to the lienholder in either an electronic or paper
format in order of priority. It shall be unlawful and constitute
a misdemeanor for a lienor who holds a certificate of title, as
hereinabove in this section provided, to refuse or fail to
surrender such the certificate of title to the person legally entitled
thereto within ten days after the lien or encumbrance or liens or
encumbrances shown on the face thereof shall have been paid and
satisfied.
§17A-3-17b. Application for registration; certain motor vehicle
dealers authorized to issue certificates of registration
for certain vehicles.
The division may authorize a motor vehicle dealer as defined
and licensed in accordance with the provisions of article six of
this chapter to issue or transfer motor vehicle registration
plates upon the sale of any motor vehicle in compliance with the
provisions of section one-b, article six of this chapter. The
division shall provide to an authorized motor vehicle dealer the
necessary supplies, registration plates, registration decals and
instructions necessary for the issuance and transfer of motor
vehicle registrations. The division may authorize a service
provider to distribute the necessary supplies.
ARTICLE 4. TRANSFERS OF TITLE OR INTEREST.
§17A-4-7. Release by lienholder to owner.
A person holding a lien or encumbrance as shown upon a
certificate of title upon a vehicle may release such the lien or
encumbrance or assign his or her interest to the owner without
affecting the registration of said the vehicle. The department division, upon
receiving an electronic acknowledgment of a release of lien from
the lienholder or a certificate of title upon which a lienholder has released or assigned his or her interest to the owner or upon
receipt of a certificate of title not so endorsed but accompanied
by a legal release from a lienholder of this interest in or to a
vehicle, shall issue a new certificate of title as upon an
original application. The division, upon receiving an electronic
acknowledgment of a release of lien from the lienholder shall
issue, without further application or fee a new certificate of
title free of any lien or encumbrance to the vehicle owner to the
address shown in the division's records.
ARTICLE 4A. LIENS AND ENCUMBRANCES ON VEHICLES TO BE SHOWN ON
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND
PURCHASERS.
§17A-4A-1. Certificate to show liens or encumbrances.
The department division upon receiving an application for a certificate
of title to a vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer,
factory-built home or recreational vehicle for which a
certificate of title is required under article three of this
chapter, all of which are hereinafter in this article referred to
as vehicles, showing liens or encumbrances upon the vehicle,
shall, upon issuing to the owner thereof a certificate of title
therefor, show upon the face of the certificate of title all liens or encumbrances disclosed by the application. All liens or
encumbrances shall be shown in the order of their priority being
according to the information contained in the application. When
an application shows liens and encumbrances, the information as
evidence of the lien in connection therewith as the department division may
deem consider necessary shall also be furnished. The information
shall include the name and address of the lienholder, the nature
and kind of the lien, the date thereof and the amount thereby
secured. However, only the name and address of the lienholder
will be endorsed on the title certificate. Upon issuing the
certificate, the department division shall thereupon send or deliver it by
either paper or electronic means to the holder of the first lien.
§17A-4A-2a. Electronic transfer of liens.
(a) Notwithstanding any requirement in this chapter that a
lien on a motor vehicle shall be noted on the face of the
certificate of title, if there are one or more liens or
encumbrance on a vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer,
factory-built home or recreational vehicle, the division may
electronically transmit the lien to the first lienholder and
notify the first lienholder of any additional liens. Subsequent
lien satisfactions may be electronically transmitted to the division and shall include the name and address of the person
satisfying the lien and any other information required by the
division as a condition of participating in the electronic lien
information exchange program.
(b) The division may enter into agreements with a service
provider or providers to administer the electronic exchange of
lien information between dealers, financial institutions and the
division. For the purposes of this section the term financial
institutions shall have the same meaning as defined in section
ten-b, article six of this chapter.
(c) When electronic transmission of liens and lien
satisfaction is used, a hard copy certificate of title need not
be issued until the last lien is satisfied and a clear hard copy
certificate of title is issued to the owner of the vehicle. When
a vehicle is subject to an electronic lien, the certificate of
title for the vehicle shall be considered to be physically held
by the lien holder for the purpose of compliance with state and
federal odometer disclosure requirements and for any other
requirement of this code. A duly certified copy of the
division's electronic record of the lien shall be admissible in
any civil, criminal or administrative proceeding in this state as evidence of the existence of the lien.
(d) For the purposes of this chapter, whenever reference is
made by this code to the physical production of a certificate of
title as a paper document, or reference to the completion of
information related to recording a lien as a paper document, the
reference shall be understood to also include the transmission
and recordation of the information in an electronic format.
§17A-4A-4. Deferred purchase money lien or encumbrance may be
filed within sixty days after purchase; effective date of
lien; dealer to record lien; fees.
(a) A deferred purchase money lien or encumbrance upon any
motor vehicle may be perfected by recording in either electronic
or paper format the name and address of the lienholder upon the
face of the certificate of title for such the motor vehicle. If an
application for such a certificate of title is filed with the division
of motor vehicles within sixty days after the date of purchase of
the motor vehicle, the effective date of the lien or encumbrance
shall be the date the lien or encumbrance was created. If an
application for such a certificate of title is not filed within such the
sixty-day period, the lien shall be perfected from the date it
was filed with the division of motor vehicles.
(b) In all transactions involving a deferred purchase money
lien or encumbrance upon a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle
dealer shall collect and remit to the division of motor vehicles
the title, tax and registration fees required under section four,
article three of this chapter and file and record with the
division of motor vehicles any lien created as a result of such the
transaction: Provided, That a motor vehicle dealer may remit the
title, tax and registration fees through any license service that
is licensed by the division of motor vehicles.
(c) No fee may be charged by a motor vehicle dealer for its
services required under this section except that fee authorized
by section one-b, article six of this chapter, or subdivision
(6), subsection (a), section one hundred nine, article three,
chapter forty-six-a of this code.
§17A-4A-7. Release of lien or encumbrance shown on certificate
of title.
An owner upon securing the release of any lien or
encumbrance upon a vehicle shown upon the certificate of title
issued therefor may exhibit the document evidencing such release,
signed by the person or persons making such the release and
acknowledged before a notary public or someone authorized by the laws of this state to take acknowledgments of deeds, and this
document together with the certificate of title shall be returned
to the department division; or the lienholder may release the lien by
endorsing across the lien in his or her favor on the face of the
title or closely adjacent thereto the following words or words of
similar effect or purport: "This lien, this day fully paid,
satisfied and released, this day of ," and
duly signing and executing said endorsement and acknowledging the
same before a notary public and having said the notary public execute
a certificate of such the acknowledgment in the form required for
releasing deeds of trust in this state; or when it is impossible
to secure either such release from the beneficiary or holder of
the lien, the owner may exhibit to the department division whatever evidence
may be available showing that the debt secured has been
satisfied, together with a statement by the owner under oath that
the debt has been paid and the certificate of title to such
vehicle. The department division when satisfied as to the genuineness and
regularity thereof shall issue to the owner either a new
certificate of title in proper form or an endorsement or rider
showing the release of the lien or encumbrance which the department division
shall attach to the outstanding certificate of title. For the purposes of this article, the term release shall mean either an
electronic or paper transaction format.
§17A-4A-8. Failure to execute release or to surrender
certificate when lien paid.
It shall be unlawful and constitute a misdemeanor for a
lienor who holds a certificate of title either electronically or
in a paper format as provided in this article to refuse or fail
to execute a release as provided for in the next preceding
section, or to refuse or fail to surrender such the certificate of
title to the person legally entitled thereto within fifteen days
after his the lien shall have been paid and satisfied.
§17A-4A-10. Fee for recording and release of lien.
The department division of motor vehicles is hereby authorized to
charge a fee of five dollars for the recording of any lien either
in an electronic or paper format created by the voluntary act of
the owner and endorsing it upon such the title certificate issued
pursuant to this article, and the department division of motor vehicles is
hereby authorized to charge a fee of fifty cents for recordation
of any release of a lien created by the voluntary act of the
owner: Provided, That no charge shall be made for the
endorsement and recordation of liens or releases thereof as provided under section nine of this article. No charge shall be
made for the issuance of a title to the owner of a vehicle upon
the receipt of an electronic release of the final lien.
ARTICLE 6. LICENSING OF DEALERS, WRECKERS OR DISMANTLERS;
SPECIAL PLATES; TEMPORARY PLATES OR MARKERS.
§17A-6-1b. Dealers authorized to issue motor vehicle
registration.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter, the
division may allow a licensed motor vehicle dealer as defined in
section one of this article, authority to issue or transfer motor
vehicle registrations for vehicles sold by the dealer. The
authority to issue and transfer motor vehicle registrations shall
be contingent upon the dealer collecting all fees and taxes
required for the titling and registration of vehicles, receiving
proof of insurance as described in subsection (e), section three,
article three of this chapter, and if applicable receiving the
receipt showing full payment of personal property taxes in
accordance with section three-a, article three of this chapter.
(b) Authorization to issue and transfer motor vehicle
registrations shall be contingent on the dealer completing an
application provided by the division and meeting all criteria established by the division. The authority shall also be
contingent upon the dealer agreeing to participate fully in a
computerized system of electronic submission of registration,
titling and lien information and all fees and taxes required
under the provisions of this chapter, either directly to the
division or through an authorized service provider selected and
approved by the division. Any transaction conducted under the
provisions of this section shall be conditional pending the
determination by the division that the application for title,
registration and lien recordation is complete, accurate and in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(c) The authority to participate in the electronic
transmission of title, registration and lien information shall be
immediately revoked upon revocation or cancellation of a dealer's
license issued under the provisions of this chapter: Provided,
That the authority to issue and transfer motor vehicle
registrations may be revoked by the division immediately and
separately from any other action against the dealer's license if
the division determines that the terms of the agreement or
agreements authorizing issuance, transfer or renewal of a vehicle
registration or the electronic transmission of information have been violated.
(d) A fee established by the motor vehicle dealer advisory
board may be charged by a motor vehicle dealer for its services
required under this section.
(e) Only motor vehicle registrations of a type specified by
the division may be issued, transferred or renewed by the
authorized dealer.
(f) All fees and taxes collected by an authorized dealer
under the provisions of this section shall be deposited in a
financial institution designated by the division or the service
provider in the manner prescribed by the division.
(g) The division may authorize a service provider to supply
an authorized dealer with the necessary forms, supplies,
registration plates and registration renewal decals necessary to
enable the authorized dealer to perform the duties and functions
specified in this section.
(1) Any service provider authorized to perform services
under the provisions of this section shall post a bond of the
applicant in the penal sum of one million dollars, in the form
prescribed by the commissioner, conditioned that the applicant
will not in the conduct of business practice any fraud which, or make any fraudulent representation which, shall cause a financial
loss to any dealer, financial institution or agency, or the state
of West Virginia, with a corporate surety thereon authorized to
do business in this state, which bond shall be effective as of
the date on which the authorization to provide services
commences.
(2) The service provider is solely responsible for the
inventory, tracking, safety and reconciliation of all supplies,
registration plates, registration decals or other motor vehicle
credentialing items in accordance with procedures established by
the division and subject to audits by the division.
(3) The division may rescind without notice the authority of
a service provider to perform services when the division has
cause to believe that any state or federal law has been violated
or that the service provider is not adhering to the terms and
conditions of the authorization agreement.
(h) The service provider and the authorized dealer assume
full responsibility for the care, custody, control, disclosure
and use of any information provided by the division in order to
execute the duties and responsibilities required by this section.
Each service provider and each authorized dealer agrees to insure that the disclosure of information to it and its handling of
information received from the division complies with all federal
and state statutes and division directives governing the
disclosure and protection of such information.