COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 550
(By Senators Redd, Love and Snyder)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Transportation;
reported April 2, 2001.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections five and six, article sixteen,
chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to fees for
motor vehicle inspections and charges for inspection stickers;
requiring posted notices for fees; and authorized proposed
rules.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five and six, article sixteen, chapter
seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. INSPECTION OF VEHICLES.
§17C-16-5. Permit for official inspection stations; fees for and
certificate of inspection.
The superintendent of the
department of public safety state
police shall be responsible for the inspection as provided in this
article and shall prescribe requirements and qualifications for
official inspection stations. He or she shall select and designate
such the stations and shall issue permits therefor and furnish
instructions and all necessary forms thereto for the inspection of
vehicles as herein required and the issuance of official
certificates of inspection and approval. The certificate of
inspection shall be a paper sticker or decal to be affixed to the
windshield of a motor vehicle, shall be serially numbered and shall
properly identify the official inspection station by which issued.
A charge of one dollar per sticker shall be charged by the
department of public safety state police to the inspection station
and the funds so received shall be deposited into the state
treasury and credited to the account of the
department of public
safety state police for application in the administration and
enforcement of the provisions of this article. Any balance
remaining in the fund on the last day of June of each fiscal year,
not required for
operating expenses, construction, repairs or alterations of police barracks for the ensuing fiscal year and for
the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this
article shall be transferred to the state road fund. The
superintendent is authorized to exchange stickers or to make
refunds to official inspection stations for stickers on hand when
permits are revoked or when, for any reason, the stickers become
obsolete.
Application for permit shall be made upon an official form
prescribed by the superintendent and permits shall be granted only
when the superintendent is satisfied that the station is properly
equipped and has competent personnel to make
such the inspections
and adjustments and that the inspections and adjustments will be
properly conducted. The superintendent, before issuing a permit,
may require the applicant to file a bond with surety approved by
the superintendent, conditioned that such applicant, as a station
operator, will make compensation for any damage to a vehicle during
an inspection or adjustment due to negligence on the part of
such
the station operator or employees thereof.
The superintendent shall properly supervise and cause
inspections to be made of
such the stations. Upon finding that a
station is not properly equipped or conducted, the superintendent
may, upon a first violation, suspend the permit for a period of up
to one year. Upon a second or subsequent finding that a station is not properly equipped or conducted, the superintendent shall
permanently revoke and require the surrender of the permit. The
superintendent may reinstate the permit of any person whose permit
was permanently revoked prior to the effective date of this section
upon a first finding that a station was not properly equipped or
conducted, upon application, at any time after the expiration of
six months from the time of revocation and shall reinstate
such the
permit, upon application, after the expiration of one year. He or
she shall maintain and post at his
or her office and at such other
places as he or she may select lists of all stations holding
permits and of those whose permits have been suspended or revoked.
§17C-16-6. Assignment, transfer and posting of official inspection
station permit; issuance and record of certificate of
inspection; inspection fee.
No permit for an official inspection station shall be assigned
or transferred or used at any location other than therein
designated and every said permit shall be posted in a conspicuous
place at the station location designated.
The person operating any
such station shall issue a
certificate of inspection and approval, upon an official form, to
the owner of a vehicle upon inspecting
such the vehicle and
determining that its equipment required hereunder is in good
condition and proper adjustment, but otherwise no certificate shall be issued, except such as may be issued pursuant to section two of
this article. When required by the superintendent, a record and
report shall be made of every inspection and every certificate so
issued.
A fee of not more than seven dollars may be charged for an
inspection and any necessary headlight adjustment to proper focus,
not including any replacement parts required, and the issuance of
such the certificate.
Effective on or after the first day of November, two thousand
one, a fee greater than seven dollars may be charged for each
inspection and certification made on or after the first day of
November, two thousand one, at any official inspection station
where there has been posted for at least ninety days, in an open
and prominent place visible to customers at or near the place of
payment by customers for the service, a notice of the amount of any
fee in excess of the amount of seven dollars which may be charged
for the inspection and certificate. Nothing in this section shall
present a charge from being made in any amount less than the amount
posted in the notice.
The posted notice shall state the following:
THIS ESTABLISHMENT CHARGES THE FOLLOWING
FEE FOR WEST VIRGINIA MOTOR VEHICLE
INSPECTIONS AND OFFICIAL CERTIFICATES
$__________
THIS FEE IS EFFECTIVE NINETY (90) DAYS FROM THE DATE
OF THE POSTING OF THIS NOTICE AS SHOWN BELOW:
DATE OF POSTING: _______________
SIGNED BY OWNER:_________________
The size of the notice document shall be no smaller than
sixteen inches by ten inches with lettering legible from at least
ten feet. The state police, by rule proposed for promulgation by
the Legislature, may specify a uniform shape and size of the notice
and its lettering and may specify location and placement of the
notice. The state police, or other law enforcement officers are
authorized to enforce the provisions of this section.
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NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove the requirement
upon an inspection station that it not charge more than $7.00 for
an inspection; and to require stations to post their fees.
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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FINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
On page two, section five, line twenty, after the word "for"
by inserting the words "operating expenses, construction, repairs
or alterations of police barracks for the ensuing fiscal year and
for";
On page four, section six, line twenty-four, after the word
"fee" by inserting the word "no";
And,
On page four, section six, line twenty-four, by striking out the word "seven" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "twelve".
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