A BILL to amend and reenact sections one, one-a, two, three, three-a, five, six, seven, seven-b, eight, eleven and twelve, article two, chapter seventeen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact sections five and eight, article six, chapter eighteen of said code, all relating to implementing a graduated driver's license program for persons under the age of eighteen; updating sections relating to timeframes for new residents to obtain a driver's license; establishing a minimum thirty-day instruction period prior to the skills test for adults previously unlicensed; and revising driver license reciprocity provisions to reflect reciprocal agreements with other states and countries.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

§17B-2-1. Drivers must be licensed; types of licenses; licensees need not obtain local government license; motorcycle driver license; identification cards; penalty.

§17B-2-1a. Surrender of license from other state or jurisdiction prior to receipt of license from this state; examination; fees required.

(b) Every driver shall, within thirty days after taking up residence in this state, apply to the division for a driver's license as prescribed in this article. For the purposes of this chapter the presumption that a natural person is a resident of this state is based on the provisions of section one-a, article three, chapter seventeen-a of this code. The division may assign the driver's license class, type, endorsements or restrictions based on the applicant's prior licensing status, age and the type of licensing system used by the state of prior licensing.
(c)

§17B-2-2. Persons exempt from license.

§17B-2-3a. Junior driver's license and graduated driver's license.

After the thirty-first day of December, two thousand, the division shall not issue a junior driver's license to any person. However, any junior drivers license issued before the first day of January, two thousand one, unless otherwise suspended, revoked or canceled will continue to be valid, and under the same restrictions, until the licensee's eighteenth birthday.

(g) On and after the first day of January, two thousand one, any person under the age of eighteen who does not possess a junior or regular driver's license may not operate a motor vehicle unless he or she has obtained a graduated driver's license in accordance with the three level graduated driver's license system described in the following provisions.
(h) Any person under the age of twenty-one, regardless of class or level or licensure, who operates a motor vehicle with any measurable alcohol in his or her system is subject to the provisions of section two, article five, and section two, article five-a both of chapter seventeen-c of this code. Any person under the age of eighteen, regardless of class or licensure level, is subject to the mandatory school attendance provisions of section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code.
(i)

-- An applicant who is fifteen years six months or older meeting all other requirements prescribed in this code may be issued a level one instruction permit.
(1)

-- The division shall not issue a level one instruction permit unless the applicant:
(A) Presents a completed application, as prescribed by the provisions of section six of this article, and which is accompanied by a writing, duly acknowledged, consenting to the issuance of the graduated driver's license and executed by a parent or guardian entitled to custody of the applicant;
(B) Presents a certified birth certificate issued by a state or other governmental entity responsible for vital records, evidencing that the applicant meets the minimum age requirement;
(C) Passes the vision and written knowledge examination, and completes the driving under the influence awareness program, as prescribed in section seven of this article;
(D) Presents a current school enrollment form or otherwise shows compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code; and
(E) Pays a fee of five dollars.
(2)

-- A level one instruction permit issued under the provisions of this section is valid for a period of one year and is not renewable. However, any permit holder who allows his or her permit to expire prior to successfully passing the road skills portion of the driver examination, and who has not committed any offense which requires the suspension, revocation or cancellation of the instruction permit, may reapply for a new instruction permit. The division shall immediately revoke the permit upon receipt of a second conviction for a moving violation of traffic regulations and laws of the road or violation of the terms and conditions of a level one instruction permit, which convictions have become final unless a greater penalty is required by this section or any other provision of this code. Any person whose instruction permit has been revoked is disqualified from retesting for a period of ninety days. However, after the expiration of ninety days, the person may retest if otherwise eligible. In addition to all other provisions of this code for which a driver's license may be restricted, suspended, revoked or canceled, the holder of a level one instruction permit may only operate a motor vehicle under the following conditions:
(A) Under the direct supervision of a licensed driver, twenty-one years of age or older, or a driver's education or driving school instructor who is acting in an official capacity as an instructor, who is fully alert and unimpaired, and the only other occupant of the front seat. The vehicle may be operated with no more than two additional passengers, unless the passengers are family members;

(B) Between the hours of five a.m. and eleven p.m.;

(C) All occupants must use safety belts in accordance with the provisions of section forty-nine, article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code;

(D) Without any measurable blood alcohol content, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (h), section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code; and
(E) Maintains current school enrollment or otherwise shows compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code.
(j)

-- An applicant sixteen years of age or older, meeting all other requirements of the code, may be issued a level two intermediate driver's license.
(1)

-- The division shall not issue a level two intermediate driver's license unless the applicant:
(A) Presents a completed application as prescribed in section six of this article;

(B) Has held the level one instruction permit conviction-free for the one hundred eighty days immediately preceding the date of application for a level two intermediate license;
(C) Has completed either a driver's education course approved by the state department of education or fifty hours of behind the wheel driving experience certified by a parent or legal guardian or other responsible adult over the age of twenty-one as indicated on the form prescribed by the division:

That nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require any school or any county board of education to provide any particular number of driver's education courses or to provide driver's education training to any student;
(D) Presents a current school enrollment form or otherwise shows compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code;
(E) Passes the road skills examination as prescribed by section seven of this article; and
(F) Pays a fee of five dollars.
(2)

-- A level two intermediate driver's license issued under the provisions of this section shall expire on the day designated by the commissioner of the month in which the applicant attains the age of eighteen, or until the licensee qualifies for a level three full Class E license, whichever comes first. In addition to all other provisions of this code for which a driver's license may be restricted, suspended, revoked or canceled, the holder of a level two intermediate driver's license may only operate a motor vehicle under the following conditions:
(A) Unsupervised between the hours of five a.m. and eleven p.m.;
(B) Only under the direct supervision of a licensed driver, age twenty-one years or older, between the hours of eleven p.m. and five a.m. except when the licensee is going to or returning from:
(i) Lawful employment;
(ii) A school sanctioned activity;
(iii) A religious event; or
(iv) An emergency situation that requires the licensee to operate a motor vehicle to prevent bodily injury or death of another;
(C) All occupants shall use safety belts in accordance with the provisions of section forty-nine, article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code;
(D) Operates the vehicle with no more than three passengers under the age of nineteen, unless the passengers are family members, in addition to the driver;

(E) Without any measurable blood alcohol content in accordance with the provisions of subsection (h), section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code;
(F) Maintains current school enrollment or otherwise shows compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code;
(G) Upon the first conviction for a moving traffic violation or a violation of paragraph (A), (B), (C) or (D) of subdivision one, subsection (j) of this section of the terms and conditions of a level two intermediate driver's license, the licensee shall enroll in an approved driver improvement program unless a greater penalty is required by this section or by any other provision of this code.
At the discretion of the commissioner, completion of an approved driver improvement program may be used to negate the effect of a minor traffic violation as defined by the commissioner against the one year conviction free driving criteria for early eligibility for a level three driver's license; and
(H) Upon the second conviction for a moving traffic violation or a violation of the terms and conditions of the level two intermediate driver's license, the licensee's privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be revoked or suspended for the applicable statutory period or until the licensee's eighteenth birthday, whichever is longer unless a greater penalty is required by this section or any other provision of this code. Any person whose driver's license has been revoked as a level two intermediate driver, upon reaching the age of eighteen years and if otherwise eligible may reapply for an instruction permit, then a driver's license in accordance with the provisions of sections five, six and seven of this article.

-- A licensee at least seventeen years of age, who meets all other requirements of the code, may be issued a level three full Class E license without further examination or road skills testing.
(1)

-- The division may not issue a level three full Class E license unless the licensee has reached the age of eighteen and paid the appropriate fees; or
(A) Presents a completed application as prescribed by the provisions of section six of this article;
(B) Has held the level two intermediate license conviction-free for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of application;
(C) Has completed any driver improvement program required under paragraph (G), subdivision (2), subsection (j) of this section; and
(D) Pays a fee of two dollars and fifty cents for each year the license is valid. An additional fee of fifty cents shall be collected to be deposited in the combined voter registration and driver's licensing fund established in the provisions of section twelve, article two, chapter three of this code.
(2)

-- The level three license is valid until the day designated by the commissioner of the month in which the licensee attains the age of twenty-one. Unless otherwise provided in this section or any other section of the code, the holder of a level three, full Class E license is subject to the same terms and conditions as the holder of a regular class driver's license. However, nothing in this subsection may be construed as conferring upon the licensee, any benefit or duty determined solely by age.
(l) Unless a greater penalty is required in this code, any person who violates the restrictions, terms or conditions of either a level one instruction permit or a level two intermediate graduated driver's license is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars and upon a second or subsequent conviction shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail not more than six months, or both.

§17B-2-5. Qualifications, issuance and fee for instruction permits.