ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 47
(By Senators Dittmar, Craigo and Hunter)
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[Passed April 12, 1997; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section one, article one, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact
sections two and four, article three of said chapter; to
amend and reenact sections one and fifteen, article four-a
of said chapter; and to amend and reenact section one,
article six of said chapter, all relating to factory-built
homes, including house trailers, mobile homes and
manufactured homes; redefining terms; requiring certificate
of title, annual registration and license plates and
providing exemptions therefrom; requiring certificate of
title for factory-built homes; exempting mobile homes or
manufactured homes from the requirements of annual
registration, license plates and fees; allowing house
trailers to be registered and licensed; providing for the
crime of failing to provide a certificate of title and providing criminal penalties therefor; revising the tax on
the privilege of certificate of title; requiring certificate
of titles to show lienholders; extending the expiration date
of liens on mobile homes and manufactured homes; and
revising certain terms.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; that sections two and four,
article three of said chapter be amended and reenacted; that
sections one and fifteen, article four-a of said chapter be
amended and reenacted; and that section one, article six of said
chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. WORDS AND PHRASES DEFINED.
§17A-1-1. De
finitions.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter the following
words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the
meanings respectively ascribed to them in this article:
(a) "Vehicle" means every device in, upon or by which any
person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a
highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used
exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
(b) "Motor vehicle" means every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric
power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon
rails.
(c) "Motorcycle" means every motor vehicle, including
motor-driven cycles and mopeds as defined in sections five and
five-a, article one, chapter seventeen-c of this code, having a
saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not
more than three wheels in contact with the ground but excluding
a tractor.
(d) "School bus" means every motor vehicle owned by a public
governmental agency and operated for the transportation of
children to or from school or privately owned and operated for
compensation for the transportation of children to or from
school.
(e) "Bus" means every motor vehicle designed to carry more
than seven passengers and used to transport persons; and every
motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, designed and used to
transport persons for compensation.
(f) "Truck tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and
used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed
as to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle
and load so drawn.
(g) "Farm tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and
used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing machines and other implements of husbandry.
(h) "Road tractor" means every motor vehicle designed, used
or maintained for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed
as to carry any load thereon either independently or any part of
the weight of a vehicle or load so drawn.
(i) "Truck" means every motor vehicle designed, used or
maintained primarily for the transportation of property.
(j) "Trailer" means every vehicle with or without motive
power designed for carrying persons or property and for being
drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that no part of its
weight rests upon the towing vehicle but excluding recreational
vehicles.
(k) "Semitrailer" means every vehicle with or without motive
power designed for carrying persons or property and for being
drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that some part of its
weight and that of its load rests upon or is carried by another
vehicle.
(l) "Pole trailer" means every vehicle without motive power
designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the
towing vehicle by means of a reach, or pole, or by being boomed
or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle, and ordinarily used
for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles,
pipes or structural members capable, generally, of sustaining
themselves as beams between the supporting connections.
(m) "Specially constructed vehicles" means every vehicle of
a type required to be registered hereunder not originally
constructed under a distinctive name, make, model or type by a
generally recognized manufacturer of vehicles and not materially
altered from its original construction.
(n) "Reconstructed vehicle" means every vehicle of a type
required to be registered hereunder materially altered from its
original construction by the removal, addition or substitution of
essential parts, new or used.
(o) "Essential parts" means all integral and body parts of
a vehicle of a type required to be registered hereunder, the
removal, alteration or substitution of which would tend to
conceal the identity of the vehicle or substantially alter its
appearance, model, type or mode of operation.
(p) "Foreign vehicle" means every vehicle of a type required
to be registered hereunder brought into this state from another
state, territory or country other than in the ordinary course of
business by or through a manufacturer or dealer and not
registered in this state.
(q) "Implement of husbandry" means every vehicle which is
designed for or adapted to agricultural purposes and used by the
owner thereof primarily in the conduct of his agricultural
operations, including, but not limited to, trucks used for spraying trees and plants:
Provided, That the vehicle may not be
let for hire at any time.
(r) "Special mobile equipment" means every self-propelled
vehicle not designed or used primarily for the transportation of
persons or property and incidentally operated or moved over the
highways, including, without limitation, road construction or
maintenance machinery, ditch-digging apparatus, stone crushers,
air compressors, power shovels, graders, rollers, well-drillers,
wood-sawing equipment, asphalt spreaders, bituminous mixers,
bucket loaders, ditchers, leveling graders, finishing machines,
motor graders, road rollers, scarifiers, earth-moving carryalls,
scrapers, drag lines, rock-drilling equipment and earth-moving
equipment. The foregoing enumeration shall be deemed partial and
may not operate to exclude other such vehicles which are within
the general terms of this subdivision.
(s) "Pneumatic tire" means every tire in which compressed
air is designed to support the load.
(t) "Solid tire" means every tire of rubber or other
resilient material which does not depend upon compressed air for
the support of the load.
(u) "Metal tire" means every tire the surface of which in
contact with the highway is wholly or partly of metal or other
hard, nonresilient material.
(v) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of motor vehicles
of this state.
(w) "Department" means the department of motor vehicles of
this state acting directly or through its duly authorized
officers and agents.
(x) "Person" means every natural person, firm,
copartnership, association or corporation.
(y) "Owner" means a person who holds the legal title to a
vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement
for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of
purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the
agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the
conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a
vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee or
lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of
this chapter.
(z) "Nonresident" means every person who is not a resident
of this state.
(aa) "Dealer" or "dealers" is a general term meaning,
depending upon the context in which used, either a new motor
vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer, factory-built home
dealer, recreational vehicle dealer,
trailer dealer or motorcycle
dealer, as defined in section one, article six of this chapter, or all of the dealers or a combination thereof, and in some
instances a new motor vehicle dealer or dealers in another state.
(bb) "Registered dealer" or "registered dealers" is a
general term meaning, depending upon the context in which used,
either a new motor vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer,
house trailer dealer, trailer dealer, recreational vehicle dealer
or motorcycle dealer, or all of the dealers or a combination
thereof, licensed under the provisions of article six of this
chapter.
(cc) "Licensed dealer" or "licensed dealers" is a general
term meaning, depending upon the context in which used, either a
new motor vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer, house
trailer dealer, trailer dealer, recreational vehicle dealer or
motorcycle dealer, or all of the dealers or a combination
thereof, licensed under the provisions of article six of this
chapter.
(dd) "Transporter" means every person engaged in the
business of delivering vehicles of a type required to be
registered hereunder from a manufacturing, assembling or
distributing plant to dealers or sales agents of a manufacturer.
(ee) "Manufacturer" means every person engaged in the
business of constructing or assembling vehicles of a type
required to be registered hereunder at a place of business in
this state which is actually occupied either continuously or at regular periods by the manufacturer where his books and records
are kept and a large share of his business is transacted.
(ff) "Street" or "highway" means the entire width between
boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part
thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of
vehicular travel.
(gg) "Motorboat" means any vessel propelled by an
electrical, steam, gas, diesel or other fuel propelled or driven
motor, whether or not the motor is the principal source of
propulsion, but may not include a vessel which has a valid marine
document issued by the bureau of customs of the United States
government or any federal agency successor thereto.
(hh) "Motorboat trailer" means every vehicle designed for or
ordinarily used for the transportation of a motorboat.
(ii) "All-terrain vehicle" (ATV) means any motor vehicle
designed for off-highway use and designed for operator use only
with no passengers, having a seat or saddle designed to be
straddled by the operator, and handlebars for steering control.
(jj) "Travel trailer" means every vehicle, mounted on
wheels, designed to provide temporary living quarters for
recreational, camping or travel use of such size or weight as not
to require special highway movement permits when towed by a motor
vehicle and of gross trailer area less than four hundred square
feet.
(kk) "Fold down camping trailer" means every vehicle
consisting of a portable unit mounted on wheels and constructed
with collapsible partial sidewalls which fold for towing by
another vehicle and unfold at the camp site to provide temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use.
(ll) "Motor home" means every vehicle, designed to provide
temporary living quarters, built into an integral part of or
permanently attached to a self-propelled motor vehicle, chassis
or van including: (1) Type A motor home built on an incomplete
truck chassis with the truck cab constructed by the second stage
manufacturer; (2) Type B motor home consisting of a van-type
vehicle which has been altered to provide temporary living
quarters; and (3) Type C motor home built on an incomplete van or
truck chassis with a cab constructed by the chassis manufacturer.
(mm) "Snowmobile" means a self-propelled vehicle intended
for travel primarily on snow and driven by a track or tracks in
contact with the snow and steered by a ski or skis in contact
with the snow.
(nn) "Recreational vehicle" means a motorboat, motorboat
trailer, all-terrain vehicle, travel trailer, fold down camping
trailer, motor home or snowmobile.
(oo) "Mobile equipment" means every self-propelled vehicle
not designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons
or property over the highway but which may infrequently or incidentally travel over the highways among job sites, equipment
storage sites or repair sites, including farm equipment,
implements of husbandry, well-drillers, cranes and wood-sawing
equipment.
(pp) "Factory-built home" includes mobile homes, house
trailers and manufactured homes.
(qq) "Manufactured home" has the same meaning as the term is
defined in section two, article nine, chapter twenty-one of this
code which meets the National Manufactured Housing Construction
and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §5401 et seq.),
effective on the fifteenth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
seventy-six, and the federal manufactured home construction and
safety standards and regulations promulgated by the secretary of
the United States department of housing and urban development.
(rr) "Mobile home" means a transportable structure that is
wholly, or in substantial part, made, fabricated, formed or
assembled in manufacturing facilities for installation or
assembly and installation on a building site and designed for
long-term residential use and built prior to enactment of the
federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §5401 et seq.), effective on the fifteenth
day of June, one thousand nine hundred seventy-six, and usually
built to the voluntary industry standard of the American national
standards institute (ANSI) -- A119.1 standards for mobile homes.
(ss) "House trailers" means all trailers designed and used
for human occupancy on a continual nonrecreational basis, but may
not include fold down camping and travel trailers, mobile homes
or manufactured homes.
(tt) "Parking Enforcement Vehicle" means a motor vehicle
which does not fit into any other classification of vehicle in
this chapter, has three or four wheels and is designed for use in
an incorporated municipality by a city, county, state or other
governmental entity primarily for parking enforcement or other
governmental purposes with an operator area with sides
permanently enclosed with rigid construction and a top which may
be convertible, sealed beam headlights, turn signals, brake
lights, horn, at least one rear view mirror on each side and such
other equipment that will enable it to pass a standard motorcycle
vehicle inspection.
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-2. Every motor vehicle, etc., subject to registration and
certificate of title provisions; exceptions.
(a) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer
and recreational vehicle when driven or moved upon a highway
shall be subject to the registration and certificate of title
provisions of this chapter except:
(1) Any vehicle driven or moved upon a highway in conformance
with the provisions of this chapter relating to manufacturers,
transporters, dealers, lienholders or nonresidents or under a
temporary registration permit issued by the department as
hereinafter authorized;
(2) Any implement of husbandry upon which is securely attached
a machine for spraying fruit trees and plants of the owner or
lessee or for any other implement of husbandry which is used
exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes on lands
owned or leased by the owner thereof and which is not operated on
or over any public highway of this state for any other purpose
other than for the purpose of operating it across a highway or
along a highway other than an expressway as designated by the
commissioner of the division of highways from one point of the
owner's land to another part thereof, irrespective of whether or
not the tracts adjoin:
Provided, That the distance between the
points may not exceed twenty-five miles, or for the purpose of
taking it or other fixtures thereto attached, to and from a
repair shop for repairs. The foregoing exemption from
registration and license requirements shall also apply to any
vehicle hereinbefore described or to any farm trailer owned by
the owner or lessee of the farm on which the trailer is used,
when the trailer is used by the owner thereof for the purpose of moving farm produce and livestock from the farm along a public
highway for a distance not to exceed twenty-five miles to a
storage house or packing plant, when the use is a seasonal
operation:
(A) The exemptions contained in this section shall also apply
to farm machinery and tractors:
Provided, That the machinery and
tractors may use the highways in going from one tract of land to
another tract of land regardless of whether the land be owned by
the same or different persons.
(B) Any vehicle exempted hereunder from the requirements of
annual registration certificate and license plates and fees
therefor may not be permitted to use the highways between sunset
and sunrise.
(C) Any vehicle exempted hereunder from the requirements of
annual registration certificate and license plates shall be
permitted to use the highways as herein provided whether the
exempt vehicle is self-propelled, towed by another exempt vehicle
or towed by another vehicle for which registration is required.
(D) Any vehicle used as an implement of husbandry exempt
hereunder must have the words "farm use" affixed to both sides of
the implement in ten inch letters. Any vehicle which would be
subject to registration as a Class A or B vehicle if not exempted
by this section shall display a farm use exemption certificate on the lower driver's side of the windshield:
(i) The farm use exemption certificate shall be provided by
the commissioner and shall be issued annually by the assessor of
the applicant's county of residence. The assessor shall issue a
farm use exemption certificate upon his or her determination
pursuant to an examination of the property books or documentation
provided by the applicant that the vehicle has been properly
assessed as Class I personal property. The assessor shall charge
a fee of two dollars for each certificate, one dollar of the fee
shall be retained by the assessor and one dollar shall be
remitted by the assessor to the commissioner of the division of
motor vehicles to be deposited in a special revolving fund to be
used in the administration of this section.
(ii) A farm use exemption certificate in no way exempts the
applicant from maintaining the security as required by chapter
seventeen-d of this code on any vehicle being operated on the
roads or highways of this state.
(iii) No person charged with operating a vehicle without a
farm use exemption certificate, if required under this section,
shall be convicted if he or she produces in court, or in the
office of the arresting officer, a valid farm use exemption
certificate for the vehicle in question within five days;
(3) Any vehicle which is propelled exclusively by electric
power obtained from overhead trolley wires though not operated upon rails;
(4) Any vehicle of a type subject to registration owned by the
government of the United States;
(5) Any wrecked or disabled vehicle which is being towed by a
licensed wrecker or dealer on the public highways of this state;
(6) The following recreational vehicles shall be exempt from
the requirements of annual registration, license plates and fees,
unless otherwise specified by law, but shall be subject to the
certificate of title provisions of this chapter regardless of
highway use: Motorboats, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles;
and
(7) Any special mobile equipment as defined in subsection (r),
section one, article one of this chapter.
(b) The provisions of this article relating to recreational
vehicles shall become effective on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b)
of this section:
(1) Mobile homes or manufactured homes are exempt from the
requirements of annual registration, license plates and fees;
(2) House trailers may be registered and licensed; and
(3) Factory-built homes are subject to the certificate of
title provisions of this chapter.
§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, whether original issues or
duplicates, may not be issued or furnished by the division of
motor vehicles or any other officer 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. 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.
(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 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 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 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, Class K
or Class E vehicles registered at a gross weight of fifty-five
thousand pounds or more, or to the titling of Class C or Class L
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, Class K or Class E vehicles in excess of
fifty-five thousand pounds and Class C or Class L semitrailers,
full trailers, pole trailers and converter gear may 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, 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
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.
(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 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 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. 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 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 in the county or
regional jail for not more than one year or, both fined and
imprisoned. For each subsequent offense, the fine may be
increased to not more than two thousand dollars, with
imprisonment in the county or regional jail not more than one
year or, both fined and imprisoned.
(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.
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 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
may deem 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 shall thereupon send or deliver it to
the holder of the first lien.
§17A-4A-15. Expiration of lien or encumbrance; refiling.
The filing of any lien or encumbrance and its recordation
upon the face of a certificate of title to any vehicle as
provided in this article shall be valid for a period of ten years
only from the date of filing, unless the lien or encumbrance is
refiled in the manner provided in this article for filing and
recordation in the first instance, in which event the lien or
encumbrance shall be valid for successive additional periods of
two years from the date of each refiling:
Provided, That in the case of a mobile home or manufactured home, the filing of any
lien or encumbrance and its recordation upon the face of a
certificate of title to the mobile home or manufactured home
shall be valid for a period of thirty-three years from the date
of filing.
When the last lien or encumbrance shown on a certificate of
title becomes invalid by the passage of time as provided in this
section, the commissioner of motor vehicles shall not be required
to maintain a lien index as to the certificate of title.
ARTICLE 6. LICENSING OF DEALERS AND WRECKERS OR DISMANTLERS;
SPECIAL PLATES; TEMPORARY PLATES OR MARKERS, ETC.
§17A-6-1. Definitions.
(a) Unless the context in which used clearly requires a
different meaning, as used in this article:
(1) "New motor vehicle dealer" means every person (other than
agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope of
their authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the
public to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling
five or more new motor vehicles or new and used motor vehicles in
any fiscal year of a type required to be registered under the
provisions of this chapter, except, for the purposes of this
article only, motorcycles.
(2) "Used motor vehicle dealer" means every person (other than agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope of
their authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the
public to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling
five or more used motor vehicles in any fiscal year of a type
required to be registered under the provisions of this chapter,
except, for the purposes of this article only, motorcycles.
(3) "House trailer dealer" means every person (other than
agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope of
their authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the
public to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling
new and/or used house trailers, or new or used or both house
trailers and trailers or new or used, or both manufactured homes
and mobile homes.
(4) "Trailer dealer" means every person (other than agents and
employees, if any, while acting within the scope of their
authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the public
to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling new or
used trailers.
(5) "Motorcycle dealer" means every person (other than agents
and employees, if any, while acting within the scope of their
authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the public
to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling new or
used motorcycles.
(6) "Used parts dealer" means every person (other than agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope of their
authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the public
to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling any used
appliance, accessory, member, portion or other part of any
vehicle.
(7) "Wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder" means every person (other
than agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope
of their authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the
public to be engaged in, the business in this state of dealing in
wrecked or damaged motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts for the
purpose of selling the parts thereof or scrap therefrom or who is
in the business of rebuilding salvage motor vehicles for the
purpose of resale to the public.
(8) "New motor vehicles" means all motor vehicles, except
motorcycles and used motor vehicles, of a type required to be
registered under the provisions of this chapter.
(9) "Used motor vehicles" means all motor vehicles, except
motorcycles, of a type required to be registered under the
provisions of this chapter which have been sold and operated, or
which have been registered or titled, in this or any other state
or jurisdiction.
(10) "House trailers" means all trailers designed and used
for human occupancy on a continual nonrecreational basis, but may
not include fold down camping and travel trailers, mobile homes or manufactured homes.
(11) "Trailers" means all types of trailers other than house
trailers, and shall include, but not be limited to, pole trailers
and semitrailers but excluding recreational vehicles.
(12) "Sales instrument" means any document resulting from the
sale of a vehicle, which shall include, but not be limited to, a
bill of sale, invoice, conditional sales contract, chattel
mortgage, chattel trust deed, security agreement or similar
document.
(13) "Sell", "sale" or "selling" shall, in addition to the
ordinary definitions of the terms, include offering for sale,
soliciting sales of, negotiating for the sale of, displaying for
sale or advertising for sale, any vehicle, whether at retail,
wholesale or at auction. "Selling" shall, in addition to the
ordinary definition of that term, also include buying and
exchanging.
(14) "Applicant" means any person making application for an
original or renewal license certificate under the provisions of
this article.
(15) "Licensee" means any person holding any license
certificate issued under the provisions of this article.
(16) "Predecessor" means the former owner or owners or
operator or operators of any new motor vehicle dealer business or
used motor vehicle dealer business.
(17) "Established place of business" means, in the case of a
new motor vehicle dealer, a permanent location, not a temporary
stand or other temporary quarters, owned or leased by the
licensee or applicant and actually occupied or to be occupied by
him or her, as the case may be, which is or is to be used
exclusively for the purpose of selling new motor vehicles or new
and used motor vehicles, which shall have space under roof for
the display of at least one new motor vehicle and facilities and
space therewith for the servicing and repair of at least one
motor vehicle, which servicing and repair facilities and space
shall be adequate and suitable to carry out servicing and to make
repairs necessary to keep and carry out all representations,
warranties and agreements made or to be made by the dealer with
respect to motor vehicles sold by him or her, which shall be
easily accessible to the public, which shall conform to all
applicable laws of this state and the ordinances of the
municipality in which it is located, if any, which shall display
thereon at least one permanent sign, clearly visible from the
principal public street or highway nearest the location and
clearly stating the business which is or shall be conducted
thereat, and which shall have adequate facilities to keep,
maintain and preserve records, papers and documents necessary to
carry on the business and to make the business available to
inspection by the commissioner at all reasonable times:
Provided, That each established place of business shall have a
display area which may be outside or inside or a combination
thereof of at least twelve hundred square feet which is to be
used exclusively for the display of vehicles which are offered
for sale by the dealer, office space of at least one hundred
forty-four square feet and a telephone listed in the name of the
dealership. Each established place of business shall be open to
the public a minimum of twenty hours per week at least forty
weeks per calendar year with at least ten of those hours being
between the hours of nine-thirty a.m. and eight-thirty p.m.,
Monday through Saturday:
Provided, however, That the requirement
of exclusive use shall be met even though: (A) Some new and any
used motor vehicles sold or to be sold by the dealer or sold or
are to be sold at a different location or locations not meeting
the definition of an established place of business of a new motor
vehicle dealer, if each location is or is to be served by other
facilities and space of the dealer for the servicing and repair
of at least one motor vehicle, adequate and suitable as
aforesaid, and each location used for the sale of some new and
any used motor vehicles otherwise meets the definition of an
established place of business of a used motor vehicle dealer; (B)
house trailers, trailers or motorcycles are sold or are to be
sold thereat, if, subject to the provisions of section five of this article, a separate license certificate is obtained for each
type of vehicle business, which license certificate remains
unexpired, unsuspended and unrevoked; (C) farm machinery is sold
thereat; and (D) accessory, gasoline and oil, or storage
departments are maintained thereat, if the departments are
operated for the purpose of furthering and assisting in the
licensed business or businesses.
(18) "Farm machinery" means all machines and tools used in the
production, harvesting or care of farm products.
(19) "Established place of business" shall, in the case of a
used motor vehicle dealer, mean a permanent location, not a
temporary stand or other temporary quarters, owned or leased by
the licensee or applicant and actually occupied or to be occupied
by him or her, as the case may be, which is or is to be used
exclusively for the purpose of selling used motor vehicles, which
shall have facilities and space therewith for the servicing and
repair of at least one motor vehicle, which servicing and repair
facilities and space shall be adequate and suitable to carry out
servicing and to make repairs necessary to keep and carry out all
representations, warranties and agreements made or to be made by
the dealer with respect to used motor vehicles sold by him or
her, which shall be easily accessible to the public, shall
conform to all applicable laws of this state, and the ordinances
of the municipality in which it is located, if any, which shall display thereon at least one permanent sign, clearly visible from
the principal public street or highway nearest the location and
clearly stating the business which is or shall be conducted
thereat, and which shall have adequate facilities to keep,
maintain and preserve records, papers and documents necessary to
carry on the business and to make the business available to
inspection by the commissioner at all reasonable times:
Provided, That each established place of business shall have a
display area which may be outside or inside or a combination
thereof of at least twelve hundred square feet which is to be
used exclusively for the display of vehicles which are offered
for sale by the dealer, office space of at least one hundred
forty-four square feet and a telephone listed in the name of the
dealership. Each established place of business shall be open to
the public a minimum of twenty hours per week at least forty
weeks per calendar year with at least ten of those hours being
between the hours of nine-thirty a.m. and eight-thirty p.m.,
Monday through Saturday:
Provided, however, That if a used motor
vehicle dealer has entered into a written agreement or agreements
with a person or persons owning or operating a servicing and
repair facility or facilities adequate and suitable as aforesaid,
the effect of which agreement or agreements is to provide the
servicing and repair services and space in like manner as if the servicing and repair facilities and space were located in or on
the dealer's place of business, then, so long as the agreement or
agreements are in effect, it shall not be necessary for the
dealer to maintain the servicing and repair facilities and space
at the place of business in order for the place of business to be
an established place of business as herein defined:
Provided
further, That the requirement of exclusive use shall be met even
though: (A) House trailers, trailers or motorcycles are sold or
are to be sold thereat, if, subject to the provisions of section
five of this article, a separate license certificate is obtained
for each type of vehicle business, which license certificate
remains unexpired, unsuspended and unrevoked; (B) farm machinery
is sold thereat; and (C) accessory, gasoline and oil, or storage
departments are maintained thereat, if the departments are
operated for the purpose of furthering and assisting in the
licensed business or businesses.
(20) "Established place of business" shall, in the case of a
house trailer dealer, trailer dealer, recreational vehicle
dealer, motorcycle dealer, used parts dealer and wrecker or
dismantler, mean a permanent location, not a temporary stand or
other temporary quarters, owned or leased by the licensee or
applicant and actually occupied or to be occupied by the
licensee, as the case may be, which shall be easily accessible to the public, which shall conform to all applicable laws of this
state and the ordinances of the municipality in which it is
located, if any, which shall display thereon at least one
permanent sign, clearly visible from the principal public street
or highway nearest the location and clearly stating the business
which is or shall be conducted thereat, and which shall have
adequate facilities to keep, maintain and preserve records,
papers and documents necessary to carry on the business and to
make the business available to inspection by the commissioner at
all reasonable times.
(21) "Manufacturer" means every person engaged in the business
of reconstructing, assembling or reassembling vehicles with a
special type body required by the purchaser if the vehicle is
subject to the title and registration provisions of this code.
(22) "Transporter" means every person engaged in the business
of transporting vehicles to or from a manufacturing, assembling
or distributing plant to dealers or sales agents of a
manufacturer, or purchasers.
(23) "Recreational vehicle dealer" means every person (other
than agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope
of their authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the
public to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling
new or used recreational vehicles, or both.
(24) "Motorboat" means any vessel propelled by an electrical, steam, gas, diesel or other fuel propelled or driven motor,
whether or not the motor is the principal source of propulsion,
but may not include a vessel which has a valid marine document
issued by the bureau of customs of the United States government
or any federal agency successor thereto.
(25) "Motorboat trailer" means every vehicle designed for or
ordinarily used for the transportation of a motorboat.
(26) "All-terrain vehicle" (ATV) means any motor vehicle
designed for off-highway use and designed for operator use only
with no passengers, having a seat or saddle designed to be
straddled by the operator, and handlebars for steering control.
(27) "Travel trailer" means every vehicle, mounted on wheels,
designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational,
camping or travel use of such size or weight as not to require
special highway movement permits when towed by a motor vehicle
and of gross trailer area less than four hundred square feet.
(28) "Fold down camping trailer" means every vehicle
consisting of a portable unit mounted on wheels and constructed
with collapsible partial sidewalls which fold for towing by
another vehicle and unfold at the camp site to provide temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use.
(29) "Motor home" means every vehicle, designed to provide
temporary living quarters, built into an integral part of or
permanently attached to a self-propelled motor vehicle, chassis or van including: (1) Type A motor home built on an incomplete
truck chassis with the truck cab constructed by the second stage
manufacturer; (2) Type B motor home consisting of a van-type
vehicle which has been altered to provide temporary living
quarters; and (3) Type C motor home built on an incomplete van or
truck chassis with a cab constructed by the chassis manufacturer.
(30) "Snowmobile" means a self-propelled vehicle intended for
travel primarily on snow and driven by a track or tracks in
contact with the snow and steered by a ski or skis in contact
with the snow.
(31) "Recreational vehicle" means a motorboat, motorboat
trailer, all-terrain vehicle, travel trailer, fold down camping
trailer, motor home or snowmobile.
(32) "Major component" means any one of the following
subassemblies of a motor vehicle: (A) Front clip assembly
consisting of fenders, grille, hood, bumper and related parts;
(B) engine; (C) transmission; (D) rear clip assembly consisting
of quarter panels and floor panel assembly; or (E) two or more
doors.
(33) "Factory-built home" includes mobile homes, house
trailers and manufactured homes.
(34) "Manufactured home" has the same meaning as the term is
defined in section two, article nine, chapter twenty-one of this
code which meets the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §5401 et seq.),
effective on the fifteenth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
seventy-six, and the federal manufactured home construction and
safety standards and regulations promulgated by the secretary of
the United States department of housing and urban development.
(35) "Mobile home" means a transportable structure that is
wholly, or in substantial part, made, fabricated, formed or
assembled in manufacturing facilities for installation or
assembly and installation on a building site and designed for
long-term residential use and built prior to enactment of the
federal manufactured housing construction and safety standards
institute (ANSI) -- A119.1 standards for mobile homes.
(b) Under no circumstances whatever may the terms "new motor
vehicle dealer", "used motor vehicle dealer", "house trailer
dealer", "trailer dealer", "recreational vehicle dealer",
"motorcycle dealer", "used parts dealer" or
"wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder" be construed or applied under this
article in such a way as to include a banking institution,
insurance company, finance company, or other lending or financial
institution, or other person, the state or any agency or
political subdivision thereof, or any municipality, who or which
owns or comes in possession or ownership of, or acquires contract
rights, or security interests in or to, any vehicle or vehicles
or any part thereof and sells the vehicle or vehicles or any part thereof for purposes other than engaging in and holding out to
the public to be engaged in the business of selling vehicles or
any part thereof.
(c) It is recognized that throughout this code the term
"trailer" or "trailers" is used to include, among other types of
trailers, house trailers. It is also recognized that throughout
this code the term "trailer" or "trailers" is seldom used to
include semitrailers or pole trailers. However, for the purposes
of this article only, the term "trailers" has the meaning
ascribed to it in subsection (a) of this section.
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