Senate Bill No. 412
(By Senators Kessler, Oliverio, Foster, Green, Hunter, Jenkins,
Minard, Stollings, Wells, White, Barnes, Caruth, Hall and
McKenzie)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported January 31, 2007.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §17B-2-3a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to providing penalties for
violation of prohibited use of a handheld wireless
communication device while driving by a minor holding a level
one instruction permit or a level two intermediate driver's
license.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17B-2-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE, EXPIRATION AND RENEWAL.
§17B-2-3a. Graduated driver's licenses.
(a) Any person under the age of eighteen may not operate a
motor vehicle unless he or she has obtained a graduated driver's
license in accordance with the three-level graduated driver's
license system described in the following provisions.
(b) Any person under the age of twenty-one, regardless of class or level of licensure, who operates a motor vehicle with any
measurable alcohol in his or her system is subject to the
provisions of section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of
this code and section two, article five-a of said chapter. Any
person under the age of eighteen, regardless of class or licensure
level, is subject to the mandatory school attendance provisions of
section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code.
(c)
Level one instruction permit. -- An applicant who is
fifteen years or older meeting all other requirements prescribed in
this code may be issued a level one instruction permit.
(1)
Eligibility. -- The division shall not issue a level one
instruction permit unless the applicant:
(A) Presents a completed application, as prescribed by the
provisions of section six of this article, and which is accompanied
by a writing, duly acknowledged, consenting to the issuance of the
graduated driver's license and executed by a parent or guardian
entitled to custody of the applicant;
(B) Presents a certified birth certificate issued by a state
or other governmental entity responsible for vital records,
evidencing that the applicant meets the minimum age requirement;
(C) Passes the vision and written knowledge examination and
completes the driving under the influence awareness program, as
prescribed in section seven of this article;
(D) Presents a current school enrollment form or otherwise
shows compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article
eight, chapter eighteen of this code; and
(E) Pays a fee of five dollars.
(2)
Terms and conditions of instruction permit. -- A level one
instruction permit issued under the provisions of this section is
valid until thirty days after the date the applicant attains the
age of eighteen and is not renewable. However, any permit holder
who allows his or her permit to expire prior to successfully
passing the road skills portion of the driver examination, and who
has not committed any offense which requires the suspension,
revocation or cancellation of the instruction permit, may reapply
for a new instruction permit under the provisions of section six of
this article. The division shall immediately revoke the permit
upon receipt of a second conviction for a moving violation of
traffic regulations and laws of the road or violation of the terms
and conditions of a level one instruction permit, which convictions
have become final unless a greater penalty is required by this
section or any other provision of this code. Any person whose
instruction permit has been revoked is disqualified from retesting
for a period of ninety days. However, after the expiration of
ninety days, the person may retest if otherwise eligible. In
addition to all other provisions of this code for which a driver's
license may be restricted, suspended, revoked or canceled, the
holder of a level one instruction permit may only operate a motor
vehicle under the following conditions:
(A) Under the direct supervision of a licensed driver,
twenty-one years of age or older, or a driver's education or
driving school instructor who is acting in an official capacity as an instructor, who is fully alert and unimpaired, and the only
other occupant of the front seat. The vehicle may be operated with
no more than two additional passengers, unless the passengers are
family members;
(B) Between the hours of five a. m. and eleven p. m.;
(C) All occupants must use safety belts in accordance with the
provisions of section forty-nine, article fifteen, chapter
seventeen-c of this code;
(D) Without any measurable blood alcohol content, in
accordance with the provisions of subsection (h), section two,
article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code; and
(E) Maintains current school enrollment or otherwise shows
compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight,
chapter eighteen of this code.
(F) A holder of a level one instruction permit
or a level two
intermediate driver's license who is under the age of eighteen
years may not use a wireless communication device while operating
a motor vehicle, unless the use of the wireless communication
device is for contacting a 9-1-1 system. A law-enforcement officer
may enforce the provisions of this paragraph only as a secondary
action when a law-enforcement officer with probable cause detains
a driver for a suspected violation of another provision of this
code.
A person violating the provisions of this paragraph shall
for the first offense be fined twenty-five dollars; for a second
offense be fined fifty dollars; and for a third or subsequent
offense be fined seventy-five dollars.
(d)
Level two intermediate driver's license. -- An applicant
sixteen years of age or older, meeting all other requirements of
the code, may be issued a level two intermediate driver's license.
(1)
Eligibility. -- The division shall not issue a level two
intermediate driver's license unless the applicant:
(A) Presents a completed application as prescribed in section
six of this article;
(B) Has held the level one instruction permit conviction-free
for the one hundred eighty days immediately preceding the date of
application for a level two intermediate license;
(C) Has completed either a driver's education course approved
by the State Department of Education or thirty hours of behind-the-
wheel driving experience certified by a parent or legal guardian or
other responsible adult over the age of twenty-one as indicated on
the form prescribed by the division:
Provided, That nothing in
this paragraph shall be construed to require any school or any
county board of education to provide any particular number of
driver's education courses or to provide driver's education
training to any student;
(D) Presents a current school enrollment form or otherwise
shows compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article
eight, chapter eighteen of this code;
(E) Passes the road skills examination as prescribed by
section seven of this article; and
(F) Pays a fee of five dollars.
(2)
Terms and conditions of a level two intermediate driver's license. -- A level two intermediate driver's license issued under
the provisions of this section shall expire thirty days after the
applicant attains the age of eighteen, or until the licensee
qualifies for a level three full Class E license, whichever comes
first. In addition to all other provisions of this code for which
a driver's license may be restricted, suspended, revoked or
canceled, the holder of a level two intermediate driver's license
may only operate a motor vehicle under the following conditions:
(A) Unsupervised between the hours of five a. m. and eleven p.
m.;
(B) Only under the direct supervision of a licensed driver,
age twenty-one years or older, between the hours of eleven p.m.
and five a.m. except when the licensee is going to or returning
from:
(i) Lawful employment;
(ii) A school-sanctioned activity;
(iii) A religious event; or
(iv) An emergency situation that requires the licensee to
operate a motor vehicle to prevent bodily injury or death of
another;
(C) All occupants shall use safety belts in accordance with
the provisions of section forty-nine, article fifteen, chapter
seventeen-c of this code;
(D) Operates the vehicle with no more than three passengers
under the age of nineteen, unless the passengers are family
members, in addition to the driver;
(E) Without any measurable blood alcohol content in accordance
with the provisions of subsection (h), section two, article five,
chapter seventeen-c of this code;
(F) Maintains current school enrollment or otherwise shows
compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight,
chapter eighteen of this code;
(G) A holder of
a level one instruction permit or a level two
intermediate driver's license who is under the age of eighteen
years may not use a wireless communication device while operating
a motor vehicle, unless the use of the wireless communication
device is for contacting a 9-1-1 system. A law-enforcement officer
may enforce the provisions of this paragraph only as a secondary
action when a law-enforcement officer with probable cause detains
a driver for a suspected violation of another provision of this
code.
A person violating the provisions of this paragraph shall
for the first offense be fined twenty-five dollars; for a second
offense be fined fifty dollars; and for a third or subsequent
offense be fined seventy-five dollars.
(H) Upon the first conviction for a moving traffic violation
or a violation of paragraph (A), (B), (C), (D) or (G), subdivision
(1), subsection (d) of this section of the terms and conditions of
a level two intermediate driver's license, the licensee shall
enroll in an approved driver improvement program unless a greater
penalty is required by this section or by any other provision of
this code.
At the discretion of the commissioner, completion of an approved driver improvement program may be used to negate the
effect of a minor traffic violation as defined by the commissioner
against the one year conviction-free driving criteria for early
eligibility for a level three driver's license; and
(I) Upon the second conviction for a moving traffic violation
or a violation of the terms and conditions of the level two
intermediate driver's license, the licensee's privilege to operate
a motor vehicle shall be revoked or suspended for the applicable
statutory period or until the licensee's eighteenth birthday,
whichever is longer unless a greater penalty is required by this
section or any other provision of this code. Any person whose
driver's license has been revoked as a level two intermediate
driver, upon reaching the age of eighteen years and if otherwise
eligible may reapply for an instruction permit, then a driver's
license in accordance with the provisions of sections five, six and
seven of this article.
(e)
Level three, full Class E license. -- The level three
license is valid until the day designated by the commissioner of
the month in which the licensee attains the age of twenty-one.
Unless otherwise provided in this section or any other section of
this code, the holder of a level three full Class E license is
subject to the same terms and conditions as the holder of a regular
Class E driver's license.
A level two intermediate licensee whose privilege to operate
a motor vehicle has not been suspended, revoked or otherwise
canceled and who meets all other requirements of the code may be issued a level three full Class E license without further
examination or road skills testing if the licensee:
(1) Has reached the age of seventeen years; and
(A) Presents a completed application as prescribed by the
provisions of section six of this article;
(B) Has held the level two intermediate license conviction
free for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of
the application;
(C) Has completed any driver improvement program required
under paragraph (G), subdivision (2), subsection (d) of this
section; and
(D) Pays a fee of two dollars and fifty cents for each year
the license is valid. An additional fee of fifty cents shall be
collected to be deposited in the Combined Voter Registration and
Driver's Licensing Fund established in section twelve, article two,
chapter three of this code; or
(2) Reaches the age of eighteen years; and
(A) Presents a completed application as prescribed by the
provisions of section six of this article; and
(B) Pays a fee of two dollars and fifty cents for each year
the license is valid. An additional fee of fifty cents shall be
collected to be deposited in the Combined Voter Registration and
Driver's Licensing Fund established in section twelve, article two,
chapter three of this code.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide penalties for violations of prohibited use of a hand held cell phone by a minor.
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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