Senate Bill No. 289
(By Senator Schoonover)
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[Introduced February 2, 1996; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance
.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article eighteen,
chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
standardizing fines for traffic offenses.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article eighteen, chapter seventeen-c of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 18. PENALTIES.
§17C-18-1. Violations of chapter; penalties for misdemeanor.
(a) It is a misdemeanor for any person to violate any of the
provisions of this chapter unless such violation is by this
chapter or other law of this state declared to be a felony.
(b) Every person convicted of a misdemeanor for a violation
of any of the provisions of this chapter for which another
penalty is not provided shall for a first conviction thereof be
punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by
imprisonment for not more than ten days; for a second such
conviction within one year thereafter such person shall be
punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or by
imprisonment for not more than twenty days or by both such fine
and imprisonment; upon a third or subsequent conviction such
person shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred
dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months or both
such fine and imprisonment.
(c) The director of motor vehicles shall promulgate rules to
standardize fines for traffic violations and redesign the uniform
traffic citation form to include a list of fines and further
provide for clear, concise and plainly spoken procedures for
contesting the citation or paying the fine.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to standardize traffic
fines and provide plainly spoken information on the procedure for
contesting or paying the fine.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.