Senate Bill No. 417
(By Senators Macnaughtan, Bailey and Wiedebusch)
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[Introduced February 16, 1996; referred to the Committee
on Transportation; and then to the Committee on Finance
.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three-a, article ten, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the issuance of
personalized license plates for antique motor vehicles.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-a, article ten, 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 10. FEES FOR REGISTRATION, LICENSING, ETC.
§17A-10-3a. Special registration of antique motor vehicles and
motorcycles.
(a) The annual registration fee for any antique motor
vehicle or motorcycle as defined in this section is two dollars.
"Antique motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle which is over
twenty-five years old and is owned solely as a collector's item.
"Antique motorcycle" means any motorcycle which is over thirty-five years old and is owned solely as a collector's item:
Provided, That upon appropriate application, together with a
special annual fee of fifteen dollars, which is in addition to
all other fees required by this chapter, there shall be issued
to the owner of an antique motor vehicle a special registration
plate for any number of antique motor vehicles titled in the name
of the qualified applicant bearing a combination of letters or
numbers requested by that applicant, with the maximum number of
letters or numbers to be determined by the commissioner.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, antique
motor vehicles or motorcycles may not be used for general
transportation but may only be used for:
(1) Participation in club activities, exhibits, tours,
parades and similar events;
(2) The purpose of testing their operation, obtaining
repairs or maintenance and transportation to and from events as
described in subdivision (1); and
(3) Recreational purposes on Saturdays, Sundays and
holidays.
(c) A West Virginia motor vehicle or motorcycle displaying
license plates of the same year of issue as the model year of
the antique motor vehicle or motorcycle, as authorized in this
section, may be used for general transportation purposes if the
following conditions are met:
(1) The license plate's physical condition has been inspected and approved by the division of motor vehicles;
(2) The license plate is registered to the specific motor
vehicle or motorcycle by the division of motor vehicles;
(3) The owner of the motor vehicle or motorcycle annually
registers the motor vehicle or motorcycle and pays an annual
registration fee for the motor vehicle or motorcycle equal to
that charged to obtain regular state license plates;
(4) The motor vehicle or motorcycle passes an annual safety
inspection; and
(5) The motor vehicle or motorcycle displays a sticker
attached to the license plate, issued by the division, indicating
that the motor vehicle or motorcycle may be used for general
transportation.
(d) If more than one request is made for license plates
having the same number, the division shall accept only the first
application.
(e) The commissioner may promulgate rules in accordance with
the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code as may be
necessary or convenient for the carrying out of the provisions of
this section.
NOTE: This bill authorizes the issuance of special
personalized license plates for owners of antique motor vehicles.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.