H. B. 4713
(By Delegates Warner, Michael, Beane, Kelley, Laird, Proudfoot
and Miller)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[March 6, 1998]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article six, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; to further amend said article by
adding thereto a new section, designated section seven-b; to
further amend said chapter by adding thereto a new article,
designated article six-d; and to amend and reenact sections
ten and ten-a, article two, chapter seventeen-a of said code,
all relating generally to assessment of public service
businesses; returns of property to board of public works;
valuation of certain classes intrastate public service
corporation motor vehicle businesses either registered or not
registered under a proportional registration agreement;
assessment of interstate public service corporation motor
vehicle businesses registered under a proportional
registration agreement; valuation of certain classes intrastate public service corporation motor vehicle businesses
either registered or not registered under a proportional
registration agreement; interstate public service motor
vehicle business; calculation of tax; form and manner of
making disclosure; failure to make disclosure; criminal
penalty; compelling disclosure; procuring information and
tentative disclosure; failure to give information required by
motor vehicles commissioner; criminal penalty; adjustment of
valuation by interstate commerce appeals board;
appeal from
valuation by board; certification of levies to auditor;
failure of officers to perform duties as to property of
interstate motor vehicle corporations; injunction to restrain
collection of tax; payment of assessment by owner or operator;
no release of taxes assessed against such corporations;
accounting for levies against
interstate commercial motor
vehicle corporations; certification by auditor of amount
chargeable to sheriff from levies against interstate motor
vehicles; payment of amount due municipality; lien of taxes;
notice; collection by suit; operating fund for interstate
commerce assessment division in auditor's office; motor
vehicles commissioner -- reciprocal agreements with other
states;
severability; authorizing the entry of this state into
reciprocal proportional registration agreements; payment of
taxes; issuance of registration plates or markers; promulgation of rules; interagency cooperation; requirement
that all registrants pay tax; intermittent interstate commerce
and promulgation of rules; proportional registration agreement
prevails
.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article six, chapter eleven of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted; that said article be further amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated section seven-b; that said
chapter be further amended by adding thereto a new article,
designated article six-d; and that sections ten and ten-a, article
two, chapter seventeen-a of said code be amended and reenacted, all
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE BUSINESSES.
§11-6-1. Returns of property to board of public works.
(a) On or before the first day of May in each year a return in
writing shall be filed with the board of public works: (1) By the
owner or operator of every railroad, wholly or in part, within this
state; (2) by the owner or operator of every railroad bridge upon
which a separate toll or fare is charged; (3) by the owner or
operator of every car or line of cars used upon any railroad within
the state for transportation or accommodation of freight or
passengers, other than the owners or operators as may
own or
operate a railroad within the state; (4) by the owner or operator of every express company or express line, wholly or in part, within
this state, used for the transportation by steam or otherwise of
freight and other articles of commerce; (5) by the owner or
operator of every pipeline, wholly or in part, within
this state,
used for the transportation of oil or gas or water, whether the oil
or gas or water be owned by the owner or operator or not, or for
the transmission of electrical or other power, or the transmission
of steam or heat and power or of articles by pneumatic or other
power; (6) by the owner or operator of every telegraph or telephone
line, wholly or in part, within this state, except private lines
not operated for compensation; (7) by
the owner and operator of
every gas company and electric lighting company furnishing gas or
electricity for lighting, heating or power purposes; (8) by the
owner or operator of hydroelectric companies for the generation and
transmission of light, heat or power; (9) by the owner or operator
of water companies furnishing or distributing water; (10) by the
owner or operator of all other
public service corporations or
persons engaged in public service business whose property is
located, wholly or in part, within this state; and (11) on or
before the first day of May, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-eight, and on or before the first day of May, each year
thereafter, by the owner or operator of every truck or semitrailer
used as a commercial motor vehicle in the transportation of
property
either exclusively within this state
or within and without this state by commercial motor vehicles
. registered under a
proportional registration agreement pursuant to the provisions of
section ten-a, article two, chapter seventeen-a of this code. For
the purposes of this article,
commercial motor vehicle is defined
as those
vehicles registered under a proportional registration
agreement pursuant to the provisions of section ten-a, article two,
chapter seventeen-a of this code and vehicles that would otherwise
be subject to registration under a proportional registration
agreement as provided in section ten-a except that the vehicle is
only engaged in intrastate commerce.
The procedure for determining
the valuation thereof is exclusively provided for under section
seven-a of this article.
(b) The words "owner or operator," as applied herein to
railroad companies, shall include every railroad company
incorporated by or under the laws of this state for the purpose of
constructing and operating a railroad, or of operating part of a
railroad within this state, whether the railroad or any part of it
be in operation or not; and shall also include every other railroad
company, or persons or associations of persons, owning or operating
a railroad or part of a railroad in this state on which freight or
passengers, or both, are carried for
compensation. The word
"railroad," as used herein includes every street, city, suburban or
electric or other railroad or railway.
(c) The words "owner or operator," as applied herein to express companies, shall include every express company incorporated
by or under the laws of this state, or doing business in this
state, whether incorporated or not, and any
person or association
of persons, owning or operating any express company or express line
upon any railroad or otherwise, doing business partly or wholly
within this state.
(d) The words "owner or operator," as applied herein to trucks
or semitrailers used as a commercial motor vehicle in the
transportation of property, shall include every company
incorporated by or under the laws of this state, or doing business
in this state, whether incorporated or not, and any person or
association of persons, owning or operating any truck or
semitrailer used as a commercial motor vehicle in the
transportation of property doing business
partly or wholly within
this state.
(e) The return shall be signed and sworn to by the owner or
operator if a natural person, or, if the owner or operator shall be
a corporation, shall be signed and sworn to by its president, vice
president, secretary or principal accounting officer.
(f) The return required by this section of every owner or
operator shall cover the year ending on the thirty-first day of
December, next preceding, and shall be made on forms prescribed by
the board of public works, which board is hereby invested with full
power and authority and it is hereby made its duty to prescribe the forms as will require from any owner or operator herein mentioned
information as in the judgment of the board may be of use to it in
determining the true and actual value of the properties of the
owners or operators.
§11-6-7b. Valuation of certain classes intrastate public service
corporation motor vehicle businesses either registered or not
registered under a proportional registration agreement.
On or before the first day of September, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, the tax commissioner shall propose a
legislative rule for submission to the Legislature pursuant to the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
which rule shall describe in detail the methods whereby the tax
commissioner will determine the market value of the following
property:
(a) Intrastate public service corporation motor vehicle
businesses which may or may not be registered under a proportional
registration agreement but which nonetheless is operated
exclusively within the state of West Virginia.
(b) A trailer, semitrailer or road tractor operated
exclusively in this state or a trailer or trailer of a West
Virginia based interstate commerce motor vehicle business
registered under the provisions of section ten-a, article two,
chapter seventeen-a of this code, the tax shall be determined by
multiplying the appraised value by sixty percent to obtain the assessed value which shall be multiplied by the tax rate to obtain
the amount of the tax.
(c) For purposes of equitably assessing the valuations between
and among interstate commercial motor vehicles and intrastate
commercial motor vehicles as defined in section ten-a, article two,
chapter seventeen-a, of this code, the levy rate applied to both
intrastate commercial motor vehicles and interstate motor vehicles
shall run one year in arrears in order for the commissioner of
motor vehicles to provide adequate notice to the facilitator of the
proportional registration agreement and other jurisdictions of the
assessments due and for counties to supply their levy rates to the
state auditor.
As soon as such assessment is made, the secretary of the board
shall notify the owner or operator affected thereby of the amount
thereof by written notice deposited in the United States post
office, addressed to such owner or operator at the principal office
or place of business of such owner or operator. Such assessment
and valuation shall be final and conclusive, unless the same be
appealed from in the manner following, within fifteen days after
such notice is so deposited.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of the code to the
contrary, the department of tax and revenue is hereby authorized to
promulgate an emergency rule for the implementation of this section
ARTICLE 6D. ASSESSMENT OF INTERSTATE PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATION
MOTOR VEHICLE BUSINESSES REGISTERED UNDER A PROPORTIONAL
REGISTRATION AGREEMENT.
§11-6D-1. Valuation of certain classes intrastate public service
corporation motor vehicle businesses either registered or not
registered under a proportional registration agreement.
On or before the first day of September, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, the tax commissioner shall propose a
legislative rule for submission to the Legislature pursuant to the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
which rule shall describe in detail the methods whereby the tax
commissioner will determine the market value of the following
property:
(a) Intrastate public service corporation motor vehicle
businesses which may or may not be registered under a proportional
registration agreement but which nonetheless is operated
exclusively within the state of West Virginia.
(b) A trailer, semitrailer or road tractor operated
exclusively in this state or a trailer or trailer of a West
Virginia based interstate motor vehicle business registered under
the provisions of section ten-a, article two, chapter seventeen-a
of this code, the tax shall be determined by multiplying the
appraised value by sixty percent to obtain the assessed value which
shall be multiplied by the tax rate to obtain the amount of the
tax.
(c) For purposes of equitably assessing the valuations between
and among interstate commercial motor vehicles and intrastate
commercial motor vehicles as defined in section ten-a, article two,
chapter seventeen-a, of this code, the levy rate applied to both
intrastate commercial motor vehicles and interstate motor vehicles
shall run one year in arrears in order for the commissioner of
motor vehicles to provide adequate notice to the facilitator of the
proportional registration agreement and other jurisdictions of the
assessments due and for counties to supply their levy rates to the
state auditor.
As soon as such assessment is made, the secretary of the board
shall notify the owner or operator affected thereby of the amount
thereof by written notice deposited in the United States post
office, addressed to such owner or operator at the principal office
or place of business of such owner or operator. Such assessment
and valuation shall be final and conclusive, unless the same be
appealed from in the manner following, within fifteen days after
such notice is so deposited.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of the code to the
contrary, the department of tax and revenue is hereby authorized to
promulgate an emergency rule for the implementation of this section
§11-6D-2. Disclosure of required information to the tax
commissioner.
(a) "Interstate motor vehicle", for purposes of this article, is defined as every truck, road tractor or semitrailer used as an
interstate public service corporation motor vehicle registered
under a proportional registration agreement
(b) The procedure for determining the value thereof is
exclusively provided for under
section two of this article.
(c) The words "owner or operator," as applied herein to trucks
or semitrailers used as an interstate motor vehicle in the
transportation of property, shall include every company
incorporated by or under the laws of this state, or doing business
in this state, whether incorporated or not, and any person or
association of persons, owning or operating any truck or
semitrailer used as a interstate motor vehicle in the
transportation of property doing business partly or wholly within
this state.
(d) Every interstate commercial motor vehicle covered by this
article shall pay such taxes based upon the assessments as are
required by law pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by
the tax commissioner.
§11-6D-3. Interstate Public Service Motor Vehicle Business;
calculation of tax.
(a) In the case of interstate public service motor vehicles
used for the transportation of property and which are registered
under a proportional registration agreement, pursuant to the
provisions of section ten-a, article two, chapter seventeen-a of this code, the owners, operator or operators, for each interstate
motor vehicle, on forms prescribed by the commissioner of motor
vehicles, shall disclose the total miles driven in West Virginia
and the total miles driven in any other states as reported in the
most recent taxable year to the division of motor vehicles pursuant
to any proportional registration agreement on file therewith. The
return shall, additionally, show the gross capital cost of the
interstate motor vehicle to the purchaser thereof and the year the
purchaser acquired the interstate motor vehicle.
(b) Ad valorem taxes provided for in this chapter shall,
notwithstanding the provisions of section five, article one-c of
this chapter, be determined as follows for: (1) The gross capital
cost of an interstate motor vehicle shall be multiplied by a
percentage factor representing the remainder of the vehicle's value
after depreciation according to a depreciation schedule established
by the tax commissioner, which calculation shall yield the
appraised value of the vehicle; (2) for the interstate truck, road
tractor, or power unit, registered in this state as part of a fleet
registered under any proportional registration agreement under the
provisions of section ten-a, article two, chapter seventeen-a of
this code, the appraised value shall be multiplied by the fraction
comprised of a numerator representing the total miles driven in
West Virginia (regardless whether property is being transported for
commercial purposes) in the taxable year and a denominator representing the total miles driven in the taxable year by the
interstate motor vehicle operator during times property was being
transported for commercial purposes, as reported to the division of
motor vehicles pursuant to any proportional registration agreement
on file therewith to obtain the apportioned value, which
apportioned value shall be multiplied by sixty percent to yield the
assessed value which shall be multiplied by the applicable rate of
tax.
§11-6D-4. Form and manner of making disclosure; failure to make
disclosure; criminal penalty.
All disclosures to be made to the motor vehicles commissioner,
under this chapter, shall be made in conformity with any reasonable
requirement of the motor vehicles commissioner of which the person
making the disclosure shall have had notice, and shall be made upon
forms which may be furnished by the motor vehicles commissioner,
and according to instructions which the motor vehicles commissioner
may give relating thereto, and to the description and itemizing of
the property. Such owner or operator, whether a natural person, or
a corporation or company, failing to make such disclosure as herein
required shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and fined one thousand
dollars for each month such failure continues.
§11-6D-5. Compelling such disclosure; procuring information and
tentative assessments by motor vehicles commissioner.
(a) If any owner or operator fails to make such disclosure within the time required by section one of this article, it shall
be the duty of the commissioner of motor vehicles to take such
steps as may be necessary to compel such compliance, and to enforce
any and all penalties imposed by law for such failure, pursuant to
his or her authority under this article as well as section ten,
article two, chapter seventeen-a, and section ten-a, article two,
chapter seventeen-a, of this code.
(b) The disclosure delivered to the motor vehicles
commissioner shall be examined by him, and if it be found
insufficient in form or in any respect defective, imperfect or not
in compliance with law, he shall compel the person required to make
it to do so in proper and sufficient form, and in all respects as
required by law.
(c) If any such owner or operator fails to make such
disclosure, the motor vehicles commissioner shall proceed, in such
manner as to him may seem best, to obtain the facts and information
required to be furnished by such disclosures.
(d) The motor vehicles commissioner may send for persons and
papers, and may compel the attendance of any person and the
production of any paper necessary, in the opinion of said motor
vehicles commissioner, to enable him to obtain the information
required for the proper discharge of his duties under this section.
(e) The motor vehicles commissioner shall arrange, collate and
tabulate such disclosures and all pertinent information and data contained therein, such further evidence or information as may be
required by the motor vehicles commissioner of such owner or
operator, and all other pertinent evidence, information and data he
has been able to procure, upon suitable work sheets, so that they
may be conveniently considered, and shall on or before the
fifteenth day of September, lay such disclosures and work sheets,
together with his recommendations in the form of a tentative
assessment of the property of each such owner or operator, before
the motor vehicles commissioner. And as soon as the motor vehicles
commissioner has completed the preparation of such work sheets and
tentative assessments, he shall notify the owner or operator
affected thereby of the amount of such tentative assessment by
written notice deposited in the United States post office,
addressed to such owner or operator at the principal office or
place of business of such owner or operator, and the motor vehicles
commissioner shall retain in his office true copies of such work
sheets which shall be available for inspection by any such owner or
operator or his duly authorized representative.
§11-6D-6. Failure to give information required by motor vehicles
commissioner; criminal penalty.
If any person shall refuse to appear before the motor vehicles
commissioner when required to do so, as aforesaid, or shall refuse
to testify before the motor vehicles commissioner in regard to any
matter as to which the motor vehicles commissioner may require him to testify, or if any person shall refuse to produce any paper in
his possession or under his control, which the motor vehicles
commissioner may require him to produce, every such person shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and fined five hundred dollars, and may be
imprisoned not less than one nor more than six months, at the
discretion of the court.
§11-6D-7. Adjustment of valuation by interstate commerce appeals
board.
There is hereby created the interstate commerce appeals board
the membership of which shall be comprised of the tax commissioner
or his or her designee, the motor vehicles commissioner or his or
her designee, and the state auditor or his or her designee. The
interstate commerce appeals board shall meet the first Monday in
July, unless the first Monday is a holiday at which time the
interstate commerce appeals board shall meet upon the first
business day thereafter. In the event of an emergency, the
interstate commerce appeals board may be convened upon the
agreement of two of the three members of the board. Any time before
an owner or operator appeals a valuation to circuit court, as
provided for in section eight of this article, the interstate
commerce appeals board may, after consideration of all relevant
facts and evidence, adjust the valuation made by the interstate
commerce appeals board pursuant to section eleven of this article.
§11-6D-8. Appeal from valuation by board.
Any owner or operator claiming to be aggrieved by any such
decision may, within the time aforesaid, apply by petition in
writing, duly verified, to the circuit court of Kanawha county, and
jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon and declared to exist in such
court, in which such application is filed, to grant, docket and
hear such appeal; and such appeal, as to all of the property so
charged, forthwith be allowed by such court so applied to, and be
heard by such court as to all of such property as soon as possible
after the appeal is docketed, but notice in writing of such
petition shall be given to the motor vehicles commissioner, by
mailing a copy of the petition for an appeal filed as aforesaid,
which said petition shall recite the fact that copies of such
petition have been sent by registered mail. Notice in writing of
the hearing shall be given by the motor vehicles commissioner to
the state tax commissioner and the state auditor at least fifteen
days beforehand. Upon such hearing the court shall hear all such
legal evidence as shall be offered on behalf of the state or any
other county, district or municipal corporation interested, or on
behalf of the appealing owner or operator. If the court be
satisfied that the value so charged by the motor vehicles
commissioner and affirmed or determined by the interstate commerce
appeals board, is correct, it shall confirm the same, but if it be
satisfied that the value so fixed by the board or the motor
vehicles commissioner is either too high or too low, subject to the assessment valuations provided for in subsection-b, in section
eleven of this article, the court shall correct the valuation so
made and shall ascertain and fix the true and actual value of such
property according to the facts proved, and shall certify such
value to the auditor, motor vehicles commissioner and to the tax
commissioner. The state or the owner or operator may appeal to the
supreme court of appeals if the proportional assessed value of the
property be fifty thousand dollars or more.
If the court to which an application for appeal would properly
be made as aforesaid shall not be in session, the judge thereof in
vacation shall forthwith allow the appeal, and if the judge thereof
be disqualified or for any reason not be available, the filing of
the aforesaid petition in the office of the clerk of the circuit
court of Kanawha County, within the time of aforesaid, shall
constitute sufficient compliance with this section, and the appeal
shall thereafter be proceeded with as otherwise provided in this
section.
§11-6D-9. Certification of levies to auditor.
(a)
The clerk of the county court of every county in which any
property lies which was so assessed shall, within thirty days after
the county and district levies are laid by such court, certify to
the auditor the amount levied upon each one hundred dollars' value
of the property of each class in the county for county purposes,
and on each one hundred dollars of the value of the property of each class in each magisterial district for the district purposes.
It shall be the duty of the secretary of the board of education of
every school district and independent district in which any part of
the property lies, within thirty days after the levies are laid
therein for free school and building purposes, or either, to
certify to the auditor the amount so levied on each one hundred
dollars' value of the property of each class therein for each of
such purposes; and it shall be the duty of the recorder, clerk or
other recording officer of every municipal corporation in which any
part of the property lies, within the same time, after levies are
laid therein for any of the purposes authorized by law, to certify
to the auditor the amount levied upon each one hundred dollars'
value of the property of each class therein for each and every
purpose.
(b) Such county levy rates shall be reported to the auditor
for use in the following taxable year's assessment pursuant to the
provisions of section eleven, article six-d of this chapter.
(c) For purposes of establishing the valuation rate to be
supplied to the motor vehicles commissioner by the auditor and the
tax commissioner, the auditor shall use such figures and amounts as
are certified to him or her under
§11-6D-9
of this code one year in
arrears.
§11-6D-10. Failure of officers to perform duties as to property
of interstate motor vehicle corporations.
Any clerk of a county court, secretary of the board of
education, or recorder, clerk or other recording officer of a
municipal corporation, who shall fail to perform any of the duties
herein required of him shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, fined not less than one hundred nor more than
five hundred dollars. In case of the failure of any such officers
to furnish to the auditor the certificate herein required, the
auditor may obtain the rate of taxation for any of said purposes
from the copies of the land books on file in his office, if the
same be found in such books, if not, in such other way or manner as
he may deem necessary or proper for the purpose.
§11-6D-11. Injunction to restrain collection of tax.
No injunction shall be awarded by any court or judge to
restrain the collection of the taxes, or any part of them, so
assessed upon the property of such owner or operator, except upon
the ground that the assessment thereof was in violation of the
constitution of the United States, or of this state; or that the
same were fraudulently assessed, or that there was a mistake made
in the amount of taxes properly chargeable on the property of such
owner or operator; and in the latter case no such injunction shall
be awarded unless application be first made to the interstate
commerce appeals board to correct the mistake claimed, and such
board shall refuse to do so, which fact shall be stated in the
bill, nor unless the complainant pay into the treasury of the state all taxes appearing by the bill of complaint to be owing.
§11-6D-12. Payment of assessment by owner or operator.
Beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine, it shall be the duty of such owner or operator, so
assessed and charged, to pay annually the amount of such taxes, and
such registration fees as are set by the motor vehicles
commissioner as are required into the treasury of the state by
delivering payment of the same to the commissioner of motor
vehicles in the form and manner prescribed by him or her. If such
owner or operator fail to pay such taxes, and registration fees
when due, as prescribed, then interest thereon at the rate of nine
per centum per annum until paid shall be added to any and all other
penalties imposed by the motor vehicles commissioner. The payment
of such taxes by any such owner or operator shall not prejudice or
affect the right of such owner or operator to obtain relief against
the assessment or valuation of its property in proceedings now
pending or hereafter brought under the provisions of section eight
of this article, or in any suit, action or proceeding in which such
relief may be obtainable; and if under the provisions of said
section eight or in any suit, action or proceeding, it be
ascertained that the assessment or valuation of the property of
such owner or operator is too high and the same is accordingly
corrected, it shall be the duty of the auditor of the state to
issue to the owner or operator a certificate showing the amount of taxes and which have been overpaid, and such certificate shall be
receivable thereafter for the amount of such overpayment in payment
of any taxes and assessed against the property of such owner or
operator, its successors or assigns. It shall likewise be the duty
of said auditor to certify to the county court, school districts
and municipalities, the amounts of the respective overpayments
distributable to such counties, school districts and
municipalities.
Implementation of collection of assessments upon interstate
commercial motor vehicles by the commissioner of motor vehicles
shall begin the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine. The motor vehicles commissioner, upon receipt of
funds from other jurisdictions under a proportional registration
agreement, shall deliver such funds received to the auditor
beginning in August, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, and
thereafter every thirty days in arrears. All moneys received by the
auditor under the provisions of this section shall be transmitted
to the several counties within thirty days from receipt thereof.
§11-6D-13. No release of taxes assessed against such corporations.
Neither the county court of any county, nor any board of
education, nor the municipal authorities of any incorporated town,
shall have jurisdiction, power or authority, by compromise or
otherwise, to remit or release any portion of the taxes so assessed
upon the property of any such owner or operator. It shall be the duty of the motor vehicles commissioner to collect the whole
thereof, regardless of any order or direction of any such county
court, board of education or municipal authority to the contrary;
and, if he fail to do so, he and his sureties in his official bond,
of any, shall, unless he be restrained or prohibited from so doing
by legal process from some court having jurisdiction to issue the
same, be liable thereon for such taxes and he may so fail to
collect, if he could have collected the same by the use of due
diligence. Any member of the county court or board of education,
or of the council of a municipal corporation, who shall vote to
remit or release any part of the taxes, so assessed on the property
of any such owner or operator, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
fined five hundred dollars, and shall be removed from his office by
the court by which the judgment of such fine is rendered, in
addition to such fine.
§11-6D-14. Accounting for levies against interstate commercial
motor vehicle corporations.
Subject to the provisions of subsection-b, section eleven of
this article, when such taxes are paid into the treasury, the
auditor shall account to the sheriff of each of the counties, to
which any sum so paid in for county levies belongs, for the amount
due such county, and may arrange the same with such sheriff in any
settlement for state taxes in such a way as may be most convenient;
and the sheriff shall account to the county court of his county for the amount so received by him, in the same manner as for other
county levies. The amount so paid for each district and
independent school district shall be added to the distributable
share of the school fund payable to such district, and shall be
paid upon the requisition of the county superintendent of free
schools in like manner as other school moneys are paid.
§11-6D-15. Certification by auditor of amount chargeable to
sheriff from levies against interstate motor vehicles; payment
of amount due municipality.
For collection year one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, the
auditor shall hold such funds in an interest bearing escrow account
until March twentieth, two thousand, when such funds collected by
the motor vehicles commissioner including the interest in the
escrow account will be disbursed to the counties per the
requirements of section eighteen of this article. Thereafter, the
amount so paid in for each municipal corporation shall, within
thirty days of being received by the auditor, be paid over to the
sheriff, or the treasurer of such municipal corporation, or to such
other officer of the municipality as the council may designate, and
the auditor shall report such payment to the council. But the
failure of the clerk of any county court, or the secretary of any
board of education, or the proper officer of any municipal
corporation, to certify the levies to the auditor within the time
herein prescribed shall not invalidate or prevent the assessment required by this article, but the auditor shall make the assessment
and proceed to collect or certify the same to the sheriff as soon
as practicable after he shall have obtained the information
necessary to make such assessment.
§11-6D-16. Lien of taxes; notice; collection by suit.
The amount of taxes assessed under this article shall
constitute a debt due the state or county, district or municipal
corporation entitled thereto, and shall be a lien on all of the
property and assets of the taxpayer within the state. The lien
shall attach as of the thirty-first day of December following the
commencement of the assessment year, and shall be prior to all
other liens and charges. It shall be the duty of the attorney
general to enforce the collection of such taxes, and for that
purpose he may distrain upon any personal property of such
delinquent taxpayer, or a sufficient amount thereof to satisfy said
taxes, including accrued interest, penalties and costs.
The attorney general may also enforce the lien created by this
section on the real estate of such delinquent taxpayer by
instituting a suit, or suits, in equity in the circuit court of
Kanawha county, in the name of the state, in which such delinquent
taxpayers shall be made defendants. In the bill filed in any such
suit it shall be sufficient to allege that the defendant or
defendants have failed to pay the taxes hereunder and that each of
them justly owes the amount of property taxes, levies and penalties stated therein, which amount shall be computed up to the first day
of the month in which the bill was filed. No such defendant shall
plead that the motor vehicles commissioner failed to give notice as
prescribed by this section. If, upon the hearing of such suit, it
shall appear to the court that any defendant has failed to pay such
taxes and accrued penalties, the court shall enter a decree against
such defendant for the amount due, and if the decree be not paid
within ten days after made, the court shall enter a decree
directing a sale of the real estate subject to said lien, or so
much thereof as may be necessary to satisfy said taxes, including
interest, penalties and costs. When two or more taxpayers are
included in one suit, the court shall apportion the cost thereof
among them as it may deem just.
§11-6D-17. Operating fund for interstate commerce disclosure
division in auditor's office.
The auditor shall establish a special operating fund in the
state treasury for the interstate commerce disclosure division in
his or her office. The auditor shall pay into the fund three
eighths of one percent of the gross receipts of all moneys
collected as provided for in this article. From the fund, the
auditor shall reimburse the department of tax and revenue for the
actual operating expenses incurred in the performance of its duties
required by this article. The reimbursements to the tax department
from the fund shall not exceed fifty percent of the annual deposits to the fund. Any moneys remaining in the special operating fund
after reimbursement to the tax department shall be used by the
auditor for funding the operation of the interstate commerce
disclosure division located in his office.
The interstate commerce disclosure
division is hereby granted
authority and required to share any and all information obtained
by the division in the implementation of this article with state
auditor, tax commissioner and the commissioner of motor vehicles to
effectuate the collection of taxes under this article. The motor
vehicles commissioner is hereby authorized and required to share
any and all information obtained by the department of motor
vehicles in the implementation of this article. The commissioner of
motor vehicles will supply to the interstate commerce disclosure
division the names of, location or locations of, and amount or
amounts paid by West Virginia corporations registered under the
terms of any proportional registration agreement. The tax
commissioner is hereby authorized and required to share any and all
information obtained by the department of tax and revenue. The
state auditor and the interstate commerce disclosure division is
hereby authorized and required to share any and all information
obtained by the auditor or such division.
§11-6D-18. Severability.
If any provisions of this article or the application thereof
to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the article
which can be given effect without the invalid provision or its
application and to this end the provisions of this article are
declared severable.
CHAPTER 17A.
MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION, REGISTRATION, CERTIFICATE OF
TITLE, AND ANTITHEFT PROVISIONS.
ARTICLE 2. DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
§17A-2-10. Motor vehicles commissioner -- Reciprocal agreements
with other states.
The motor vehicle commissioner in cooperation with the
state
auditor, state road commissioner, the public service commission and
the department of public safety may enter into such reciprocal
agreements as he may deem proper or expedient with the proper
authorities of other states, regulating the use, on the roads and
highways of this state, of trucks, automobiles and any other
vehicles owned in such other states and duly licensed under the
laws thereof. The commissioner may confer and advise with the
proper officers and legislative bodies of this and other states and
federal districts of the United States, to promote reciprocal
agreements under which the registration of vehicles owned in this
state, and the licenses of operators and chauffeurs residing in
this state shall be recognized by other states and federal
districts.
§17A-2-10a. Same -- Authorizing the entry of this state into
reciprocal proportional registration agreements;
payment of
taxes; issuance of registration plates or markers;
promulgation of rules; interagency cooperation; requirement
that all registrants pay tax; intermittent interstate commerce
and promulgation of rules; proportional registration agreement
prevails.
(a) The commissioner of motor vehicles is hereby authorized
and empowered to enter into reciprocal agreements on behalf of this
state with any jurisdiction which permits or requires the licensing
of motor vehicles in interstate or combined interstate and
intrastate commerce and the payment of
taxes, registration,
licensing or other
fixed fees
fixed by the motor vehicle
commissioner, pursuant to the execution of this article on an
apportionment basis commensurate with and determined by the miles
traveled on public roads and highways in that jurisdiction, as
compared with the miles traveled on public roads and highways in
other jurisdictions or on any other equitable basis of
apportionment, and if that jurisdiction exempts motor vehicles
registered in other jurisdictions under that apportionment basis
from the requirements of full payment of its own registration,
license or other fixed fees, the commissioner, by agreement may
adopt the exemption as to those motor vehicles, whether owned by
residents or nonresidents of this state and regardless of where the vehicles are registered.
(b) The agreements under such terms, conditions or
restrictions as the commissioner deems proper may provide that
owners of motor vehicles operated in interstate or combined
interstate and intrastate commerce in this state shall be permitted
to pay registration, license or other fees fixed on an
apportionment basis, commensurate with and determined by the miles
traveled on public roads and highways in this state as compared
with the miles traveled on public roads and highways in other
jurisdictions or any other equitable basis of apportionment. Such
agreements shall not authorize or be construed as authorizing any
motor vehicle so registered to be operated without complying with
the provisions of chapter eleven and chapter twenty-four-a of this
code.
(c) Pursuant to the provisions of this section, the
commissioner is expressly authorized and empowered to enter into
and become a member of the international registration plan or such
other designation that may from time to time be given to such
reciprocal plan.
(d) The commissioner shall prescribe the substance, form,
color and context of any registration plate or marker issued under
the provisions of this section, each of which shall be visually
distinguishable from other registration plates or markers produced
by the department of motor vehicles.
(e) The commissioner is authorized to promulgate procedural
rules as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of any
agreements entered into pursuant to this section.
(f) The commissioner is authorized to collect and receive
funds under this article pursuant to the authority rested in him or
her under article six-d of chapter eleven of this code.
(g) The commissioner is hereby authorized an required to share
with the interstate commerce disclosure division of the office of
the state auditor any and all information acquired by the
department of motor vehicles pursuant to the implementation of this
article. The department shall provide tot he interstate commerce
disclosure division, and the department of tax and revenue the name
of the location and amount paid by West Virginia corporations
registered under such proportional registration agreement.
(h) The department of motor vehicles shall not permit
registration of any commercial vehicle without proof that the
public utility tax assessed against it, if any, as certified b the
board of public works, has been paid by production of a receipt
from the division of public utilities in the office of the state
auditor. All such registrants shall pay such assessments regardless
of ownership.
(i)For any other irregular, intermittent, or temporary
interstate commerce activity, the department of motor vehicles is
hereby empowered to promulgate rules for the administration and oversight thereof.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of the code to the
contrary, the requirements of the proportional assessment plan as
contained in §11A-6D-1, et seq, and the provisions of this chapter,
shall prevail in the event of any conflict with any other portion
of the code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant authority to the
motor vehicle commissioner to collect taxes and levies for
interstate public service motor vehicles; develop a separated tax
classification for interstate public service motor vehicles;
establish the basis for assessment of such vehicles and vehicles
engaged in intrastate commerce; promulgate rules; provide for
assessments by the board of public works; certification of levy
rates to auditor by political subdivisions and payment by the
auditor of proceeds of such collections and interest to the
counties.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
Section 11-6-7b and article six-d are new; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.