COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 307
(By Senator Jones)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported March 3, 1994.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-three, article three,
chapter seventeen-a, of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further
amend said article by adding thereto a new section,
designated section twenty-four, all relating to registration
plates for state, county, municipal and other governmental
vehicles; limits on number of vehicles; requirements for
registration plates; annual renewal of registration plates;
plates for undercover investigations; criminal penalties;
enforcement jurisdiction; and requiring the division of
motor vehicles to keep an exact count of these registration
plates and to issue appropriate devices to be attached to
the plates each year.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-three, article three, chapter seventeen-
a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article
be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
section twenty-four, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-23. Registration plates to state, county, municipal and
other governmental vehicles.
Any motor vehicle designed to carry passengers, owned or
leased by the state of West Virginia, or any of its departments,
bureaus, commissions or institutions, except vehicles used by the
governor, treasurer, vehicles operated by the department of
public safety, not to exceed six vehicles operated by
conservation officers of the division of natural resources, not
to exceed ten vehicles operated by the arson investigators of the
office of state fire marshal, and not to exceed sixteen vehicles
operated by inspectors of the office of the alcohol beverage
control commissioner, shall not be operated or driven by any
person unless it has displayed and attached to the front of the
vehicle, in the same manner as regular motor vehicle registration
plates are attached, a plate of the same size as the regular
registration plate, with white lettering on a green background
bearing the words "West Virginia" in one line. The words "State
Car" in another line, and the lettering for the words "State Car"
shall be of sufficient size to be plainly readable from a
distance of one hundred feet during daylight.
The vehicle shall also have attached to the rear a plate
bearing a number and such other words and figures as the
commissioner of motor vehicles prescribes. The rear plate shallalso be green with the number in white.
On registration plates issued to vehicles owned by counties,
the color shall be white on red with the word "County" on top of
the plate and the words "West Virginia" on the bottom. On any
registration plates issued to a city or municipality, the color
shall be white on blue with the word "City" on top, and the words
"West Virginia" on the bottom. The colors may not be reversed
and shall be of reflectorized material. The commissioner may
designate the colors and design of any other registration plates
that are issued without charge to any other agency in accordance
with the motor vehicle laws. The registration plates issued to
counties, municipalities and other governmental agencies
authorized to receive colored plates under this section shall be
affixed to both the front and rear of the vehicles: Provided,
That upon application and payment of fees, the commissioner is
hereby authorized to issue a maximum of five Class A license
plates per applicant to be used by county sheriffs and
municipalities on law-enforcement vehicles while engaged in
undercover investigations.
No other registration plate shall be issued for, or attached
to, any state-owned vehicle.
The commissioner of motor vehicles shall have a sufficient
number of both front and rear plates produced to attach to all
state-owned cars. The numbered registration plates for the
vehicles shall start with the number "five hundred" and the
commissioner shall issue consecutive numbers for all state-owned
cars.
Any registration plate issued under the provisions of thissection is valid for a period of one year and must be renewed
annually.
It is the duty of each office, department, bureau,
commission or institution furnished any vehicle to have the
registration plates affixed to the vehicle prior to operation of
the vehicle by any official or employee and to annually apply to
the commissioner for renewal of the registration plates.
Each vehicle shall have an appropriate device attached to
the registration plate each year to indicate the year for which
the vehicle was registered or the date the registration expires.
This device shall be the same device designated by the
commissioner for all other motor vehicle registration plates.
There shall be a fee of one dollar for each separate device to be
attached to the government vehicles' registration plates.
Any person violating the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred
dollars.
Magistrates shall have concurrent jurisdiction with circuit
and criminal courts for the enforcement of this section.
§17A-3-24. The state and local government vehicle accountability
act.
The commissioner shall keep an exact and separate count of
all government vehicles registered under section twenty-three of
this article, by the state or a county, municipality or other
government agency and of the government vehicles registered for
each state, county, municipality and other government department,
division and agency and report this information, annually, to thegovernor and the Legislature on the tenth day of January.