Senate Bill No. 676
(By Senators Buckalew and Snyder)
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[Introduced February 23, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Transportation; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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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 increasing fees for inspection stickers; and
inspections of motor vehicles.
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 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
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
the 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 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 that 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 fifteen 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 a certificate, but the imposition of
such the charge
shall may not be mandatory.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the fees for
inspection stickers and inspections of motor vehicles.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.