Introduced Version
Senate Bill 112 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 112
(By Senators Laird, Miller and Beach)
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[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure; and then to the Committee on
the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to repeal §17B-3-3c of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section,
designated §17B-3-14; and to amend and reenact §17B-4-3 of
said code, all relating to the suspension or revocation of
driver's licenses; making legislative findings; establishing
a driver's license restoration program; waiving certain
reinstatement requirements to restore driving privileges;
reducing the period for suspension upon receipt of notice of
driving while suspended for nondriving under the influence
offenses; and granting rule-making authority.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17B-3-3c of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §17B-3-14; and to amend and reenact §17B-4-3 of
said code, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSES.
§17B-3-14. Legislative findings; license restoration program;
rulemaking.
(a) The Legislature finds:
(1) That a growing number of drivers in West Virginia have
their driver's licenses suspended or revoked each year;
(2) That a majority of the suspension and revocation actions
undertaken by the Division of Motor Vehicles are for nondriving
related reasons including the nonpayment of citations and a variety
of other nonsafety related reasons;
(3) That there is a clear relationship between citizens having
a valid driver's license and the ability to gain and maintain
stable employment and other important matters affecting the quality
of life of citizens throughout the state; and
(4) That there are many areas within the state that are not
adequately served by public transportation that provide a
reasonable alternative to transportation by means other than a
privately owned vehicle requiring the operator to have a valid
driver's license.
(b) The division is hereby required to establish a driver's
license restoration program for state drivers who have driver's licenses suspended pursuant to section three-a of this article upon
notice of a state court for failure to resolve a citation or unpaid
tickets. The program shall consist of the waiving of any fees or
other requirements for the reinstatement of a drivers's license or
the privilege to operate a motor vehicle based on an unresolved or
unpaid citation file and any driving while suspended or revoked for
a nondriving under the influence offense related to an unpaid
ticket more than ten years from the effective date of the
suspension. Any offense or file waived in accordance with this
section may not appear on the licensee's driving record.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code to the
contrary, for the period from July 1, 2013, through and including
June 30, 2014, the Division of Motor Vehicles shall close the
unpaid ticket file and any driving while suspended or revoked for
a nondriving under the influence offense, created by an unpaid
ticket license suspension of any person whose driver's license or
privilege to operate a motor vehicle has been suspended or revoked
who presents verification of satisfaction by mail and pays a
reinstatement fee of $25 in lieu of the reinstatement fee required
by section nine of this article. The division may waive any
remaining time on a suspension or revocation reinstated in
accordance with this subsection.
(d) A law-enforcement officer is authorized to bring any driver to a magistrate or municipal judge if one is available if
the law-enforcement officer makes a determination that the driver
has more than three active unpaid citation files from separate
incidents.
(e) This section may not be construed to waive any requirement
for the retesting of a driver's vision, written or road skills if
an offender's driver's license has expired for more than six
months.
(f) The division may not waive any requirements or fees if the
waiver:
(1) Violates any federal laws or federal rules pertaining to
commercial drivers or other licensees;
(2) Disqualifies or jeopardize the ability of this state to
receive federal highway funding or highway safety funding; or
(3) Places this state in noncompliance with any interstate or
reciprocal agreements that may be in effect now or in the future.
(g) The commissioner may propose rules for legislative
approval, in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to implement this section.
(h) Unless otherwise provided in this section, a suspension
under section three-a of this article will continue until the
person provides proof of compliance from the municipal, magistrate
or circuit court and pays the reinstatement fee as provided in section nine of this article. The reinstatement fee is assessed
upon issuance of the order of suspension regardless of the
effective date of suspension.
ARTICLE 4. VIOLATION OF LICENSE PROVISIONS.
§17B-4-3. Driving while license suspended or revoked; driving
while license revoked for driving under the influence
of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs, or while
having alcoholic concentration in the blood of eight
hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, or for
refusing to take secondary chemical test of blood
alcohol contents.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) or (d) of
this section, any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public
highway of this state at a time when his or her privilege to do so
has been lawfully suspended or revoked by this state or any other
jurisdiction is, for the first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor
more than $500; for the second offense, the person is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than $100 nor more than $500; for the third or any subsequent
offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined in jail for a period of not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days and shall be fined not less
than $150 nor more than $500.
(b) Any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public
highway of this state at a time when his or her privilege to do so
has been lawfully revoked for driving under the influence of
alcohol, controlled substances or other drugs, or any combination
thereof, or for driving while having an alcoholic concentration in
his or her blood of eight hundredths of one percent or more, by
weight, or for refusing to take a secondary chemical test of blood
alcohol content, is, for the first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for a
period of not less than thirty days nor more than six months and
shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500; for the
second offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for a period of not
less than six months nor more than one year and shall be fined not
less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000; for the third or any
subsequent offense, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional
facility for not less than one year nor more than three years and,
in addition to the mandatory prison sentence, shall be fined not
less than $3,000 nor more than $5,000.
(c) Upon receiving a record of the first or subsequent conviction of any person under subsection (b) of this section upon
a charge of driving a vehicle while the license of that person was
lawfully suspended or revoked, the division shall extend the period
of the suspension or revocation for an additional period of six
months which may be served concurrently with any other suspension
or revocation. Upon receiving a record of the second or subsequent
conviction of any person under subsection (a) of this section upon
a charge of driving a vehicle while the license of that person was
lawfully suspended or revoked, the division shall extend the period
of the suspension or revocation for an additional period of ninety
thirty days which may be served concurrently with any other
suspension or revocation.
(d) Any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public
highway of this state at a time when his or her privilege to do so
has been lawfully suspended for driving while under the age of
twenty-one years with an alcohol concentration in his or her blood
of two hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, but less than
eight hundredths of one percent, by weight, is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail
for twenty-four hours or shall be fined not less than $50 nor more
than $500, or both fined and confined.
Upon receiving a record of a first or subsequent conviction
under this subsection for a charge of driving a vehicle while the license of that person was lawfully suspended or revoked, the
division shall extend the period of the suspension or revocation
for an additional period of six months which may be served
concurrently with any other suspension or revocation.
(e) An order for home detention by the court pursuant to the
provisions of article eleven-b, chapter sixty-two of this code may
be used as an alternative sentence to any period of incarceration
required by this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill concerns the
suspension or
revocation of driver's licenses. The bill makes legislative
findings. The bill establishes a driver's license restoration
program. The bill permits waiving certain reinstatement
requirements to restore driving privileges. The bill reduces the
period for suspension upon receipt of notice of driving while
suspended for nondriving under the influence offenses from ninety
to thirty days. The bill also grants rule-making authority.
§17B-3-14 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.