Senate Bill No. 472
(By Senator Prezioso)
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[Introduced March 24, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Education.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article four, chapter
eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to increasing the
maximum fine for parking violations at a college or
university.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article four, chapter eighteen-b of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL ADMINISTRATIONS.
§18B-4-6. Acquisition, operation and regulation of parking
areas and facilities at state institutions of
higher education; regulation of parking, speed and
flow of traffic on campus roads and driveways; civil and criminal penalties; disposition of
revenue.
(a) The governing boards are hereby authorized to construct,
maintain and operate automobile parking facilities or areas upon
any premises owned or leased at any state institution of higher
education under their jurisdiction for use by students, faculty,
staff and visitors. The governing boards may charge fees for use
of the parking facilities or areas under their control. All
moneys collected for the use of the parking facilities or areas
shall be paid to the credit of the state institution of higher
education at which the fees were charged into a special fund
which is hereby created in the state treasury. The moneys in the
fund shall be used first to pay the cost of maintaining and
operating the parking facilities or areas, but any excess not
needed for this purpose may be used for the acquisition of
property by lease or purchase and the construction
thereon on the
property of additional parking facilities or areas. Any money in
the fund not needed immediately for the acquisition,
construction, maintenance or operation of the parking facilities
or areas may be temporarily invested by the governing boards with
the state board of investments to the credit of the state
institution of higher education at which the fees were charged.
(b) Notwithstanding any other motor vehicle or traffic law or regulation to the contrary, the
respective board is governing
boards are hereby authorized to regulate and control at any state
institution of higher education under their jurisdiction the
speed, flow and parking of vehicles on campus roads, driveways
and parking facilities or areas. Rules for this purpose shall be
promulgated by the governing boards in the manner prescribed in
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and when so promulgated shall
have the force and effect of law. In each parking facility or
area a summary of the rules governing the use of the facility or
area including, but not limited to, the availability of temporary
parking permits and where
same the temporary parking permits may
be obtained, and of the penalties which may be imposed for
violations of the rules shall be conspicuously posted. Along
each campus road and driveway, notice signs pertaining to the
speed of vehicles, spaces available for parking, directional flow
of traffic and penalties which may be imposed for violations of
the rules shall be conspicuously posted.
(c) Any person parking any vehicle or operating any vehicle
in violation of the rules shall be issued a citation describing
the offense charged and ordering an appearance within ten days,
excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays observed by the college
or university, before a designated official of the state
institution of higher education and, if the person cited fails to
appear within said ten days,
the state institution of higher education may order ordering an appearance before a magistrate
located in the county in which the state institution of higher
education is located or before the judge of the municipal court,
if the state institution of higher education is located within a
municipality having such an official.
The designated official of the state institution of higher
education shall have exclusive jurisdiction of the offense
until
the offense is forwarded to the magistrate court. during the
ten-day period. Any person so cited may plead no contest to the
offense and, by so pleading, shall be subject to a civil penalty
to be determined uniformly by the designated official and
commensurate with the severity of the
parking offense in an
amount
of not more than
fifty ten dollars for each offense as
partial reimbursement
for the parking offense, except for
handicap violations which will not exceed one hundred dollars.
The penalty for traffic and speeding offenses shall be
commensurate with the severity of the offense in an amount of not
more than fifty dollars for each traffic or spending offense.
These funds shall be used to reimburse to the state institution
of higher education for the cost of regulating traffic and
parking. Moneys derived from civil penalties imposed
herein by
this section shall be deposited in the special fund in the state
treasury created by this section and credited to the state
institution of higher education at which the penalty was paid.
Upon the expiration of the ten days, or Upon a pleading of
not guilty before the designated official of the state
institution of higher education
or upon referral from the state
institution of higher education, within the ten days, the
magistrate or judge of the municipal court shall have
jurisdiction of the offense, and any person cited under the
provisions of this section, upon a finding of guilty by the
magistrate or municipal judge, shall be subject to a fine of not
less than ten dollars nor more than twenty dollars for each
offense, the amount to be commensurate with the severity of the
offense.
The state institution of higher education may utilize
academic restrictions in lieu of the court system for students
enrolled at their institution.
Each designated official of the state institution of higher
education presiding over a case under the provisions of this
section shall keep or cause to be kept a record of every citation
which alleges a violation of
such these provisions, or the rules
promulgated in accordance
therewith, with these provisions, and
shall keep a record of every official action in reference
thereto
to these provisions including, but not limited to, a record of
every plea of no contest, conviction or acquittal of the offense
charged and the amount of the fine or of the civil penalty
resulting from each citation.
(d) Whenever a vehicle is parked on any state institution of higher education campus road, driveway or parking facility or
area in a manner which violates posted rules and substantially
impedes the flow of traffic or endangers the health and safety,
or the vehicle is owned or operated by one who habitually
violates posted regulations (a habitual violator shall be a
person receiving five or more citations) or the operator or owner
of a vehicle cannot be determined, the institution may, in
addition to the issuing of a citation and subsequent procedures
set forth
herein in this section, remove the vehicle, by towing
or otherwise, to an area owned by the institution or areas
designated for this purpose. The vehicle, having been towed to
the designated area or areas, may be rendered immovable by use of
locking wheel blocks or other device not damaging to the vehicle.
The state institution of higher education shall maintain any
vehicle so towed in the same condition as it was immediately
prior to being towed, but shall not be liable for any damage to
a vehicle towed to, or kept in, a designated area pursuant to the
provisions of this section. The state institution of higher
education shall pay for the cost of removing the vehicle and
shall have a right to reimbursement from the owner for this cost
and for the reasonable cost of keeping the vehicle in the
designated area. Until payment of these costs, the state
institution of higher education may retain possession of the
vehicle, and the institution shall have a lien on the vehicle for the amount due. The state institution of higher education may
enforce this lien in the manner provided in section fourteen,
article eleven, chapter thirty-eight of this code for the
enforcement of other liens.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to give state
institutions of higher education discretion relating to parking
violations.
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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