H. B. 4585
(By Delegate Henderson)
[Introduced February 26, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article sixteen,
chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
motor vehicle certificates of inspection and approval;
permitting a new motor vehicle dealer to issue with any new
motor vehicle it sells, a certificate of inspection and
approval which is valid for three years from the date of
purchase or until the vehicle's odometer has registered
fifty thousand miles, whichever event occurs first in time.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article sixteen, 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 16. INSPECTION OF VEHICLES.
§17C-16-4. Commissioner to require periodical inspection; acceptance of certificate of inspection from
another state; suspension of registration of
unsafe vehicles.
(a) The commissioner of motor vehicles shall once each year
require that every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, and pole
trailer registered in this state be inspected and that an
official certificate of inspection and approval be obtained for
each such vehicle.
Such inspections shall be made and such certificates
obtained with respect to the mechanism, brakes, and equipment of
every such vehicle as shall be designated by the commissioner.
The commissioner is hereby authorized to make necessary
rules and regulations for the administration and enforcement of
this section and to designate any period or periods of time
during which owners of any vehicles, subject to this section,
shall display upon such vehicles certificates of inspection and
approval or shall produce the same upon demand of any officer or
employee of the department division designated by the
commissioner or any police or peace officer when authorized by
the commissioner.
(b) The commissioner may authorize the acceptance in this
state of a certificate of inspection and approval issued in
another state having an inspection law similar to this chapter
and may extend the time within which a certificate shall be obtained by the resident owner of a vehicle which was not in this
state during the time an inspection was required.
(c) The commissioner may suspend the registration of any
vehicle which he determines is in such unsafe condition as to
constitute a menace to safety or which after notice and demand is
not equipped as required in this chapter or for which a required
certificate has not been obtained.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision in this article to the
contrary, a new motor vehicle dealer may issue with any new motor
vehicle it sells, a certificate of inspection and approval which
shall expire in three years from the date of purchase of the
vehicle or when the vehicle's odometer has registered fifty
thousand miles, whichever event occurs first in time. For
purposes of this subdivision, "new motor vehicle" and "new motor
vehicle dealer" are defined as set forth in section four, article
six-a, chapter seventeen-a of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit a new motor
vehicle dealer to issue with any new motor vehicle it sells, a
state inspection sticker valid for three years or fifty thousand
miles, whichever occurs first.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.