ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 274
(By Senators Schoonover and Love)
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[Originating in the Committee on Transportation;
reported February 24, 1995.]
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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, relating to license
plates; authorizing issuance of unlimited license plates to
drug and violent crime task forces for vehicles involved in
undercover work; authorizing issuance of twenty Class A
license plates for vehicles used by the criminal investigation
division of the department of tax and revenue; and criminal
penalties.
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 to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
ยง17A-3-23. Registration plates to state, county, municipal and
other governmental vehicles; use for undercover activities.
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 shall have displayed and attached to the front thereof, 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 and 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.
Such 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 shall prescribe. The rear plate
shall also 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 registration plates issued
to counties, municipalities and other governmental agencies
authorized to receive colored plates hereunder shall be affixed to
both the front and rear of such vehicles.
The commissioner is authorized to 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.
Upon application and payment of fees, the commissioner is
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.
The commissioner is authorized to issue an unlimited number of
license plates per applicant to authorized drug and violent crime
task forces in the state of West Virginia when the chairperson of
the control group of a drug and violent crime task force signs a
written affidavit stating that the vehicle or vehicles for which
the plates are being requested will be used only for official
undercover work conducted by such drug and violent crime task
force.
The commissioner is authorized to issue twenty Class A license
plates to the criminal investigation division of the department of
tax and revenue for use by its investigators.
No other registration plate shall be issued for, or attached
to, any such 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 such
vehicles shall start with the number "five hundred" and the
commissioner shall issue consecutive numbers for all state-owned
cars.
It shall be the duty of each office, department, bureau,
commission or institution furnished any such vehicle to have such
plates affixed thereto prior to the operation of such vehicle by
any official or employee.
Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall
be 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.