ENROLLED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2435

(By Delegates Proudfoot, Boggs, Prunty,

Stemple, Claypole, Border and Evans)

[Passed April 12, 1997; in effect ninety days from passage.]


An Act 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 for conservation officers.

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.

§17A-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, three plates per elected office of the board of public works, vehicles operated by the state police, 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 may not be operated or driven by any person unless it shall have has 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 The vehicle shall also have attached to the rear a plate bearing a number and such any 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 the 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. : Provived, That the division of natural resources may designate the color, design and numbering system of registration plates for vehicles operated by conservation officers.
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 a 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.
HB2435 SFA Anderson 4/9 #1
Graham 4841

Senator Anderson moved to amend the bill on page four, section twenty-three, after line sixty-one, by inserting the following:
The commissioner may issue a maximum of ten Class A license plates to the division of natural resources for use by conservation officers. The commissioner shall designate the color and design of the registration plates to be displayed on the front and the rear of all other state-owned vehicles owned by the division of natural resources and operated by conservation officers.

Adopted
Rejected
No other registration plate shall may 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 the vehicles shall start with the number "five hundred" and the commissioner shall issue consecutive numbers for all state-owned cars.
It shall be is the duty of each office, department, bureau, commission or institution furnished any such vehicle to have such plates as described herein affixed thereto prior to the operation of such the 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.