Senate Bill No. 74
(By Senator Dittmar)
[Introduced February 20, 1997 ; referred to the
Committee on Transportation.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article three, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to registration
and certificate of title provisions; exceptions thereto,
including certain special mobile equipment not subject to
registration and certificate of title provisions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article three, chapter seventeen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-2. Every motor vehicle, etc., subject to registration
and certificate of title provisions; exceptions.
(a) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer
and recreational vehicle when driven or moved upon a highway
shall be subject to the registration and certificate of title
provisions of this chapter except:
(1) Any
such vehicle driven or moved upon a highway in
conformance with the provisions of this chapter relating to
manufacturers, transporters, dealers, lienholders or nonresidents
or under a temporary registration permit issued by the department
as hereinafter authorized;
(2) Any implement of husbandry upon which is securely
attached a machine for spraying fruit trees and plants of the
owner or lessee or for any other implement of husbandry which is
used exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes on
lands owned or leased by the owner thereof and which is not
operated on or over any public highway of this state for any
other purpose other than for the purpose of operating it across
a highway or along a highway other than an expressway as
designated by the commissioner of the division of highways from
one point of the owner's land to another part thereof,
irrespective of whether or not the tracts adjoin:
Provided, That
the distance between the points
shall may not exceed twenty-five
miles, or for the purpose of taking it or other fixtures thereto
attached, to and from a repair shop for repairs. The foregoing
exemption from registration and license requirements shall also apply to any vehicle hereinbefore described or to any farm
trailer owned by the owner or lessee of the farm on which
such
the trailer is used, when
such the trailer is used by the owner
thereof for the purpose of moving farm produce and livestock from
such the farm along a public highway for a distance not to exceed
twenty-five miles to a storage house or packing plant, when
such
the use is a seasonal operation.
(A) The exemptions contained in this section shall also
apply to farm machinery and tractors:
Provided, That
such the
machinery and tractors may use the highways in going from one
tract of land to another tract of land regardless of whether
such
the land be owned by the same or different persons.
(B) Any vehicle exempted hereunder from the requirements of
annual registration certificate and license plates and fees
therefor
shall may not be permitted to use the highways between
sunset and sunrise.
(C) Any vehicle exempted hereunder from the requirements of
annual registration certificate and license plates shall be
permitted to use the highways as herein provided whether
such the
exempt vehicle is self-propelled, towed by another exempt vehicle
or towed by another vehicle for which registration is required.
(D) Any vehicle used as an implement of husbandry exempt
hereunder must have the words "farm use" affixed to both sides of
the implement in ten inch letters. Any vehicle which would be subject to registration as a Class A or B vehicle if not exempted
by this section shall display a farm use exemption certificate on
the lower driver's side of the windshield.
(i) The farm use exemption certificate shall be provided by
the commissioner and shall be issued annually by the assessor of
the applicant's county of residence. The assessor shall issue a
farm use exemption certificate upon his or her determination
pursuant to an examination of the property books or documentation
provided by the applicant that the vehicle has been properly
assessed as Class I personal property. The assessor shall charge
a fee of two dollars for each certificate, one dollar of the fee
shall be retained by the assessor and one dollar shall be
remitted by the assessor to the commissioner of the division of
motor vehicles to be deposited in a special revolving fund to be
used in the administration of this section.
(ii) A farm use exemption certificate shall in no way exempt
the applicant from maintaining the security as required by
chapter seventeen-d of this code on any vehicle being operated on
the roads or highways of this state.
(iii) No person charged with operating a vehicle without a
farm use exemption certificate, if required under this section,
shall be convicted if he or she produces in court or in the
office of the arresting officer a valid farm use exemption
certificate for the vehicle in question within five days;
(3) Any vehicle which is propelled exclusively by electric
power obtained from overhead trolley wires though not operated
upon rails;
(4) Any vehicle of a type subject to registration owned by
the government of the United States;
(5) Any wrecked or disabled vehicle which is being towed by
a licensed wrecker or dealer on the public highways of this
state;
(6) The following recreational vehicles shall be exempt from
the requirements of annual registration, license plates and fees,
unless otherwise specified by law, but shall be subject to the
certificate of title provisions of this chapter regardless of
highway use: Motorboats, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles;
(7) Special mobile equipment not designed for or employed
for general travel or transportation upon a highway; including,
but not limited to, special mobile equipment for which special
permits may be obtained for occasional travel or transportation
upon a highway.
(b) The provisions of this article relating to recreational
vehicles shall become effective on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that special mobile equipment which will not travel along the highways, such
as off-road construction equipment, is not subject to the
registration and certificate of title provisions.
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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