H. B. 4687
(By Delegates Facemyer and Michael)
[Introduced February 25, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article three, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
sections one and three, article ten of said chapter, all
relating to motor vehicle registration of all-terrain
vehicles; removing the exemption for all-terrain vehicles from
requirements of annual motor vehicle registration; classifying
all-terrain vehicles for purposes of motor vehicle
registration; and providing an annual motor vehicle
registration fee for all-terrain vehicles.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article three, chapter seventeen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that sections one and three,
article ten of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-2. Every motor vehicle, etc., subject to registration and
certificate of title provisions; exceptions.
(a) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer
and recreational vehicle when driven or moved upon a highway is
subject to the registration and certificate of title provisions of
this chapter except:
(1) Any vehicle driven or moved upon a highway in conformance
with the provisions of this chapter relating to manufacturers,
transporters, dealers, lienholders or nonresidents or under a
temporary registration permit issued by the division as authorized
under this chapter;
(2) Any implement of husbandry upon which is securely attached
a machine for spraying fruit trees and plants of the owner or
lessee or for any other implement of husbandry which is used
exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes on lands
owned or leased by the owner of the implement and which is not
operated on or over any public highway of this state for any other
purpose other than for the purpose of operating it across a highway
or along a highway other than an expressway as designated by the
commissioner of the division of highways from one point of the owner's land to another part of the owner's land, irrespective of
whether or not the tracts adjoin: Provided, That the distance
between the points may not exceed twenty-five miles, or for the
purpose of taking it or other fixtures attached to the implement,
to and from a repair shop for repairs. The exemption in this
subdivision from registration and license requirements also applies
to any vehicle described in this subsection or to any farm trailer
owned by the owner or lessee of the farm on which the trailer is
used, when the trailer is used by the owner of the trailer for the
purpose of moving farm produce and livestock from the farm along a
public highway for a distance not to exceed twenty-five miles to a
storage house or packing plant, when the use is a seasonal
operation:
(A) The exemptions contained in this section also apply to
farm machinery and tractors: Provided, That the machinery and
tractors may use the highways in going from one tract of land to
another tract of land regardless of whether the land is owned by
the same or different persons;
(B) Any vehicle exempted under this subsection from the
requirements of annual registration certificate and license plates
and fees for the registration certificate and license plate may not
use the highways between sunset and sunrise;
(C) Any vehicle exempted under this section subdivision from
the requirements of annual registration certificate and license plates may use the highways as provided in this section whether the
exempt vehicle is self-propelled, towed by another exempt vehicle
or towed by another vehicle required to be registered;
(D) Any vehicle used as an implement of husbandry exempt under
this section shall have the words "farm use" affixed to both sides
of the implement in ten inch letters. Any vehicle which would be
subject to registration as a Class A or B vehicle if not exempted
by this section shall display a farm-use exemption certificate on
the lower driver's side of the windshield:
(i) The farm-use exemption certificate shall be provided by
the commissioner and shall be issued annually by the assessor of
the applicant's county of residence. The assessor shall issue a
farm-use exemption certificate to the applicant upon his or her
determination pursuant to an examination of the property books or
documentation provided by the applicant that the vehicle has been
properly assessed as Class I personal property. The assessor shall
charge a fee of two dollars for each certificate, which shall be
retained by the assessor;
(ii) A farm-use exemption certificate shall not exempt the
applicant from maintaining the security required by chapter
seventeen-d of this code on any vehicle being operated on the roads
or highways of this state;
(iii) No person charged with the offense of operating a
vehicle without a farm-use exemption certificate, if required under this section, may be convicted of the offense if he or she produces
in court, or in the office of the arresting officer, a valid
farm-use exemption certificate for the vehicle in question within
five days;
(3) Any vehicle which is propelled exclusively by electric
power obtained from overhead trolley wires though not operated upon
rails;
(4) Any vehicle of a type subject to registration which is
owned by the government of the United States;
(5) Any wrecked or disabled vehicle towed by a licensed
wrecker or dealer on the public highways of this state;
(6) The following recreational vehicles are exempt from the
requirements of annual registration, license plates and fees,
unless otherwise specified by law, but are subject to the
certificate of title provisions of this chapter regardless of
highway use: Motorboats all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles; and
(7) Any special mobile equipment as defined in subsection (r),
section one, article one of this chapter.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section:
(1) Mobile homes or manufactured homes are exempt from the
requirements of annual registration, license plates and fees;
(2) House trailers may be registered and licensed; and
(3) Factory-built homes are subject to the certificate of title provisions of this chapter.
ARTICLE 10. FEES FOR REGISTRATION, LICENSING, ETC.
§17A-10-1. Classification of vehicles for purpose of registration.
Vehicles subject to registration under the provisions of this
chapter shall be placed in the following classes for the purpose of
registration:
Class A. Motor vehicles of passenger type and trucks with a
gross weight of not more than eight thousand pounds;
Class B. Motor vehicles designated as trucks with a gross
weight of more than eight thousand pounds, truck tractors or road
tractors;
Class C. All trailers and semitrailers, except house trailers
and trailers or semitrailers designed to be drawn by Class A motor
vehicles and having a gross weight of less than two thousand
pounds;
Class G. Motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and parking
enforcement vehicles;
Class H. Motor vehicles operated regularly for the
transportation of persons for compensation under a certificate of
convenience and necessity or contract carrier permit issued by the
public service commission;
Class J. Motor vehicles operated for transportation of
persons for compensation by common carriers, not running over a
regular route or between fixed termini;
Class M. Mobile equipment as defined in subdivision (oo),
section one, article one of this chapter;
Class R. House trailers;
Class T. Trailers or semitrailers of a type designed to be
drawn by Class A vehicles and having a gross weight of less than
two thousand pounds; and
Class Farm Truck. Motor vehicles designated as trucks having
a minimum gross weight of more than eight thousand pounds and a
maximum gross weight of eighty thousand pounds, used exclusively in
the conduct of a farming business, engaged in the production of
agricultural products by means of: (a) The planting, cultivation
and harvesting of agricultural, horticultural, vegetable or other
products of the soil; or (b) the raising, feeding and care of
livestock, poultry, bees and dairy cattle. A farm truck may be
used only for the transportation of agricultural products produced
by the owner of the truck, for the transportation of agricultural
supplies used in the production or for private passenger use.
§17A-10-3. Registration fees for vehicles equipped with pneumatic
tires.
The following registration fees for the classes indicated
shall be paid to the division for the registration of vehicles
subject to registration under this chapter when equipped with
pneumatic tires:
(a) Registration fees for the following classes shall be paid to the division annually:
(1) Class A. -- The registration fee for all motor vehicles of
this class is twenty-eight dollars and fifty cents: Provided, That
the registration fees and any other fees required by this chapter
for Class A vehicles under the optional biennial staggered
registration system shall be multiplied by two and paid biennially
to the division.
No license fee may be charged for vehicles owned by churches,
or by trustees for churches, which are regularly used for
transporting parishioners to and from church services.
Notwithstanding the exemption, the certificate of registration and
license plates shall be obtained the same as other cards and plates
under this article.
(2) Class B. -- The registration fee for all motor vehicles of
this class is as follows:
(A) For declared gross weights of eight thousand one pounds to
sixteen thousand pounds -- twenty-eight dollars plus five dollars
for each one thousand pounds or fraction of one thousand pounds
that the gross weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles
exceeds eight thousand pounds.
(B) For declared gross weights greater than sixteen thousand
pounds, but less than fifty-five thousand pounds -- seventy-eight
dollars and fifty cents plus ten dollars for each one thousand
pounds or fraction of one thousand pounds that the gross weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles exceeds sixteen thousand
pounds.
(C) For declared gross weights of fifty-five thousand pounds
or more -- seven hundred thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents plus
fifteen dollars and seventy-five cents for each one thousand pounds
or fraction of one thousand pounds that the gross weight of the
vehicle or combination of vehicles exceeds fifty-five thousand
pounds.
(3) Class G. -- The registration fee for each motorcycle,
all-terrain vehicle or parking enforcement vehicle is eight
dollars.
(4) Class H. -- The registration fee for all vehicles for this
class operating entirely within the state is five dollars; and for
vehicles engaged in interstate transportation of persons, the
registration fee is the amount of the fees provided by this section
for Class B, reduced by the amount that the mileage of the vehicles
operated in states other than West Virginia bears to the total
mileage operated by the vehicles in all states under a formula to
be established by the division of motor vehicles.
(5) Class J. -- The registration fee for all motor vehicles of
this class is eighty-five dollars. Ambulances and hearses used
exclusively as ambulances and hearses are exempt from the special
fees set forth in this section.
(6) Class M. -- The registration fee for all vehicles of this class is seventeen dollars and fifty cents.
(7) Class farm truck. -- The registration fee for all motor
vehicles of this class is as follows:
(A) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of eight
thousand one pounds to sixteen thousand pounds -- thirty dollars.
(B) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of sixteen
thousand one pounds to twenty-two thousand pounds -- sixty dollars.
(C) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of twenty-two
thousand one pounds to twenty-eight thousand pounds -- ninety
dollars.
(D) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of twenty-eight
thousand one pounds to thirty-four thousand pounds -- one hundred
fifteen dollars.
(E) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of thirty-four
thousand one pounds to forty-four thousand pounds -- one hundred
sixty dollars.
(F) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of forty-four
thousand one pounds to fifty-four thousand pounds -- two hundred
five dollars.
(G) For farm trucks of declared gross weights of fifty-four
thousand one pounds to eighty thousand pounds -- two hundred fifty
dollars: Provided, That the provisions of subsection (a), section
eight, article one, chapter seventeen-e do not apply if the vehicle
exceeds sixty-four thousand pounds and is a truck tractor or road tractor.
(b) Registration fees for the following classes shall be paid
to the division for a maximum period of three years, or portion of
a year based on the number of years remaining in the three-year
period designated by the commissioner:
(1) Class R. -- The annual registration fee for all vehicles
of this class is twelve dollars.
(2) Class T. -- The annual registration fee for all vehicles
of this class is eight dollars.
(c) The fees paid to the division for a multiyear registration
provided for by this chapter shall be the same as the annual
registration fee established by this section and any other fee
required by this chapter multiplied by the number of years for
which the registration is issued.
(d) The registration fee for all Class C vehicles is fifty
dollars. On or before the first day of July, two thousand, all
Class C trailers shall be registered for the duration of the
owner's interest in the trailer and do not expire until either sold
or otherwise permanently removed from the service of the owner.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require all-terrain
vehicles to be registered with the Division of Motor Vehicles and
to be subject to an annual registration fee.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.