H.
B.
4106
(By Delegate Bennett)
[Introduced January 24, 1994; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article four, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to salvage
certificates for certain wrecked or damaged vehicles, fees and
penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article four, 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 4. TRANSFERS OF TITLE OR INTEREST.
§17A-4-10. Salvage certificates for certain wrecked or damaged
vehicles; fee; penalty.
In the event a motor vehicle is determined to be a total loss
or otherwise designated as "totaled" by any insurance company or
insurer, and upon payment of an agreed price as a claim settlement
to any insured or claimant owner for the purchase of the vehicle,
the insurance company or the insurer shall receive the certificate of title and the vehicle. The insurance company or insurer shall
within ten days surrender the certificate of title and a copy of the
claim settlement to the division of motor vehicles. The division
shall issue a "salvage certificate," on a form prescribed by the
commissioner, in the name of the insurance company or the insurer.
Such certificate shall contain on the reverse thereof spaces for one
successive assignment before a new certificate at an additional fee
is required. Upon the sale of the vehicle the insurance company or
insurer shall endorse the assignment of ownership on the salvage
certificate and deliver it to the purchaser. The vehicle shall not
be titled or registered for operation on the streets or highways of
this state unless there is compliance with subsection (b) of this
section. In the event a motor vehicle is determined to be damaged
in excess of seventy-five percent of its retail price as described
in the national automobile dealers association official used car
guide, a junk card will be issued in lieu of a salvage certificate.
(a) Any owner, who scraps, compresses, dismantles or destroys
a vehicle for which a certificate of title or salvage certificate
has been issued, shall, within twenty days, surrender the
certificate of title or salvage certificate to the department
division for cancellation. Any person who purchases or acquires a
vehicle as salvage or scrap, to be dismantled, compressed or
destroyed, shall within twenty days surrender the certificate to the
division. Should a vehicle less than eight years old be determined
to be a complete fire, flood or basket, a photograph of the vehicle
shall accompany the surrendered certificate:
Provided,
That the
term "basket" means a vehicle which has been damaged more than
seventy-five percent of the retail price as described in the
national automobile dealers association official used car guide. If the vehicle is to be reconstructed, the owner must obtain a salvage
certificate and comply with the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section.
(b) If the motor vehicle is a "reconstructed vehicle" as
defined in section one, article one of this chapter, it may not be
titled or registered for operation until it has been inspected by an
official state inspection station and by a representative of the
division of motor vehicles who has been designated by the
commissioner as an investigator. Following an approved inspection,
an application for a new certificate of title may be submitted to
the division; however, the applicant shall be required to retain
all receipts for component parts, equipment and materials used in
the reconstruction. The salvage certificate must also be
surrendered to the division before a certificate of title may be
issued.
(c) The division shall charge a fee of fifteen dollars for the
issuance of each salvage certificate but shall not require the
payment of the five percent privilege tax. However, upon
application for a certificate of title for a reconstructed vehicle,
the division shall collect the five percent privilege tax on the
fair market value of the vehicle as determined by the commissioner
unless the applicant is otherwise exempt from the payment of such
privilege tax. A wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder is exempt from the
five percent privilege tax upon titling a reconstructed vehicle.
The division shall collect a fee of thirty-five dollars per vehicle
for inspections of reconstructed vehicles. These fees shall be
deposited in a special fund created in the state treasurer's office
and may be expended by the division to carry out the provisions of
this article. Licensed wreckers/dismantler/rebuilders may charge a fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars for all vehicles owned by
private rebuilders which are inspected at the place of business of
a wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder.
(d) A certificate of title issued by the department division
for a reconstructed vehicle shall contain markings in bold print on
the face of the title that it is for a reconstructed or salvaged
vehicle.
P
rovided, That if the application for a certificate of
title is accompanied by a certificate of inspection certifying that
no more than two major components (aebuilders which are inspected at
the place of business of a wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder.
(d) A certificate of title issued by the department division
for a reconstructed vehicle shall contain markings in bold print on
the face of the title that it is for a reconstructed or salvaged
vehicle.
P
rovided, That if the application for a certificate of
title is accompanied by a certificate of inspection certifying that
no more than two major components (a1WEV I1B