ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 497
(Senators Craigo, Anderson, Bailey, Ball, Boley, Chafin, Deem, Dittmar,
Edgell, Fanning, Helmick, Hunter, Jackson, Kessler, Love, McCabe,
McKenzie, Minard, Minear, Mitchell, Oliverio, Plymale, Prezioso, Redd,
Ross, Schoonover, Sharpe, Snyder, Sprouse, Unger, Walker, Wooton and
Tomblin, Mr. President, original sponsors)
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[Passed March 13, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections one and twelve, article two,
chapter seventeen-b of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
the expiration date of driver's licenses; and allowing the
commissioner of the division of motor vehicles to change the
date that a driver's license expires to the driver's
birthday, and providing for lowering the age for nondriver's
identification cards.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one and twelve, article two, chapter seventeen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE, EXPIRATION AND RENEWAL.
§17B-2-1. Drivers must be licensed; types of licenses; licensees
need not obtain local government license; motorcycle driver
license; identification cards.
(a) No person, except those hereinafter expressly exempted,
may drive any motor vehicle upon a street or highway in this
state or upon any subdivision street, as used in article twenty- four, chapter eight of this code, when the use of such
subdivision street is generally used by the public unless the
person has a valid driver's license under the provisions of this
code for the type or class of vehicle being driven.
Any person licensed to operate a motor vehicle as provided
in this code may exercise the privilege thereby granted as
provided in this code and, except as otherwise provided by law,
shall not be required to obtain any other license to exercise
such privilege by any county, municipality or local board or body having authority to adopt local police regulations.
(b) The division, upon issuing a driver's license, shall
indicate on the license the type or general class or classes of
vehicle or vehicles the licensee may operate in accordance with
the provisions of this code, federal law or rule.
(c) Driver's licenses issued by the division shall be
classified in the following manner:
(1) Class A, B or C license shall be issued to those persons
eighteen years of age or older with two years driving experience
and who have qualified for the commercial driver's license
established by chapter seventeen-e of this code and the federal
Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986, Title XII of public
law
99870 99-570 and subsequent rules, and have paid the required fee.
(2) Class D license shall be issued to those persons
eighteen years and older with one year driving experience who
operate motor vehicles other than those types of vehicles which
require the operator to be licensed under the provisions of
chapter seventeen-e of this code and federal law and rule and
whose primary function or employment is the transportation of
persons or property for compensation or wages and have paid the
required fee. For the purposes of the regulation of the operation of a motor vehicle, wherever the term chauffeur's
license is used in this code, it shall be construed to mean the
Class A, B, C or D license described in this section or chapter
seventeen-e of this code or federal law or rule:
Provided, That
anyone who is not required to be licensed under the provisions of
chapter seventeen-e of this code and federal law or rule and who
operates a motor vehicle which is registered or which is required
to be registered as a Class A motor vehicle as that term is
defined in section one, article ten, chapter seventeen-a of this
code with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than eight
thousand one pounds, is not required to obtain a Class D license.
(3) Class E license shall be issued to those persons who
have qualified under the provisions of this chapter and who are
not required to obtain a Class A, B, C or D license and who have
paid the required fee. The Class E license may be endorsed under
the provisions of section seven-b of this article for motorcycle
operation.
(4) Class F license shall be issued to those persons who
successfully complete the motorcycle examination procedure
provided for by this chapter and have paid the required fee, but
who do not possess a Class A, B, C and D or E driver's license.
(5) All licenses issued under this section may contain
information designating the licensee as a diabetic, if the
licensee requests this information on the license.
(d) No person, except those hereinafter expressly exempted,
shall drive any motorcycle upon a street or highway in this state
or upon any subdivision street, as used in article twenty-four,
chapter eight of this code, when the use of such subdivision
street is generally used by the public unless the person has a
valid motorcycle license or a valid license which has been
endorsed under section seven-b of this article for motorcycle
operation or has a valid motorcycle instruction permit.
(e) (1) A nonoperator identification card may be issued to
any person who:
(A) Is a resident of this state in accordance with the
provisions of section one-a, article three, chapter seventeen-a
of this code;
(B) Does not have a valid driver's license;
(C) Has reached the age of two years. The division may also
issue a nonoperator identification card to a person under the age
of two years for good cause shown.
(D) Has paid the required fee of two dollars and fifty cents per year for each year the identification card is issued to be
valid:
Provided, That such fee is not required if the applicant
is sixty-five years or older or is legally blind; and
(E) Presents a birth certificate or other proof of age and
identity acceptable to the division with a completed application
on a form furnished by the division.
(2) The nondriver identification card shall contain the same
information as a driver's license except that such identification
card shall be clearly marked as identification card. However,
the division may issue an identification card with less
information to persons under the age of sixteen.
The
identification card shall expire every four years. It may be
renewed on application and payment of the fee required by this
section.
(A)
After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six, every Every identification card issued to persons who have
attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on the
last day of
the month
designated by the commissioner in which the applicant's
birthday occurs in those years in which the applicant's age is
evenly divisible by five. Except as provided in paragraph (B) of
this subdivision, no identification card may be issued for less
than three years nor more than seven years
and such
identification card shall be renewed in the month in which the applicant's birthday occurs and shall be valid for
a period of five years expiring in the month in which the applicant's birthday occurs and in a year in which the
applicant's age is evenly divisible by five.
(B) Every identification card issued to persons who have not
attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on the
last day of
the month
designated by the commissioner in the year in which the
applicant attains the age of twenty-one years.
(C) Every identification card issued to persons under the
age of sixteen shall expire on the day of the month designated by
the commissioner in which the applicant's birthday occurs and
shall be issued for a period of two years."
(3) The identification card shall be surrendered to the
division when the holder is issued a driver's license. The
division may issue an identification card to an applicant whose
privilege to operate a motor vehicle has been refused, canceled,
suspended or revoked under the provisions of this code.
(C) Every identification card issued to persons under the
age of sixteen shall expire on the day of the month designated by
the commissioner in which the applicants birthday occurs and
shall be issued for a period of two years."
(f) Any person violating the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not more than five hundred dollars; and upon a second or
subsequent conviction, shall be fined not more than five hundred
dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail not more than
six months, or both.
§17B-2-12. Expiration of licenses; renewal; renewal fees.
(a) Every driver's license shall expire
four five years from the
date of its issuance.
except that the driver's license of any
person in the armed forces shall be is extended for a period of
six months from the date the person is separated under honorable
circumstances from active duty in the armed forces.
(b)
After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six, the following shall apply:
(1) Every driver's license issued to persons who have
attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on the
last day of
the month
designated by the commissioner in which the applicant's
birthday occurs in those years in which the applicant's age is
evenly divisible by five. Except as provided in the following
subdivisions, no driver's license may be issued for less than
three years nor more than seven years
and such a driver's license
shall be renewed in the month in which the applicant's birthday
occurs and shall be valid for a
period of five years, expiring in the month in which the
applicant's birthday occurs and in a year in which the
applicant's age is evenly divisible by five.
(2) Every driver's license issued to persons who have not
attained their twenty-first birthday shall expire on the
last day of
the month
designated by the commissioner in the year in which the
applicant attains the age of twenty-one years.
(3) The driver's license of any person in the armed forces
shall be is extended for a period of six months from the date the person
is separated under honorable circumstances from active duty in the armed forces.
(4) The commissioner may change the date that a driver's
license expires from the last day of the month in those years
specified in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection to the
day of the month in which the applicant's birthday occurs in
those years. If the commissioner changes the expiration date,
the change may only affect new licenses and renewed licenses.
(c) A person who allows his or her driver's license to
expire may apply to the division for renewal
thereof of the license.
Application shall be made upon a form furnished by the division
and shall be accompanied by payment of the fee required by
section eight of this article plus an additional fee of five
dollars. The commissioner shall determine whether
such the person
qualifies for a renewed license and may, in the commissioner's
discretion, renew any expired license without examination of the
applicant.
(d) Each renewal of a driver's license shall contain a new
color photograph of the licensee. By first class mail to the
address last known to the division, the commissioner shall notify
each person who holds a valid driver's license of the expiration
date of the license. The notice shall be mailed at least thirty days prior to the expiration date of the license and shall
include a renewal application form.