COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2310
(By Delegates Amores, Staton, Beane and Mahan)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[March 15, 2001]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article one, chapter
twenty-four-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section five, article five of said chapter, all relating to
the regulation of motor carriers of passengers and property
for hire; making certain motor vehicles subject to the safety
and insurance rules of the public service commission;
providing a minimum amount of required insurance for certain
vehicles; eliminating the requirement of costs being assessed
against the losing party; and clarifying the employment status
of certain employees of the public service commission.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article one, chapter twenty-four-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section five, article
five of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 1. PURPOSES, DEFINITIONS AND EXEMPTIONS.
§24A-1-3. Exemptions from chapter.
The provisions of this chapter, except where specifically
otherwise provided, shall do not apply to:
(1) Motor vehicles operated exclusively in the transportation
of United States mail or in the transportation of newspapers:
Provided, That such the vehicles and their operators shall be are
subject to the safety rules promulgated by the commission;
(2) Motor vehicles owned and operated by the United States of
America, the state of West Virginia or any county, municipality or
county board of education, urban mass transportation authority
established and maintained pursuant to article twenty-seven,
chapter eight of this code, or by any department thereof of their
departments, and any motor vehicles operated under a contract with
a county board of education exclusively for the transportation of
children to and from school or other legitimate transportation for the schools as the commission may specifically authorize;
(3) Motor vehicles used exclusively in the transportation of
agricultural or horticultural products, livestock, poultry and
dairy products from the farm or orchard on which they are raised or
produced to markets, processing plants, packing houses, canneries,
railway shipping points and cold storage plants, and in the
transportation of agricultural or horticultural supplies to farms
or orchards to be used thereon where they are to be used: Provided,
That the vehicles and their operators are subject to the safety and
insurance rules promulgated by the commission;
(4) Motor vehicles used exclusively in the transportation of
human or animal excreta;
(5) Motor vehicles used exclusively in ambulance service or
duly chartered rescue squad service;
(6) Motor vehicles used exclusively for volunteer fire
department service;
(7) Motor vehicles used exclusively in the transportation of
coal from mining operations to loading facilities for further
shipment by rail or water carriers: Provided, That the vehicles
and their operators shall be are subject to the safety and insurance rules promulgated by the commission;
(8) Motor vehicles used by petroleum commission agents and oil
distributors solely for the transportation of petroleum products
and related automotive products when the transportation is
incidental to the business of selling said the products: Provided,
That the vehicles and their operators shall be are subject to the
safety and insurance rules promulgated by the commission;
(9) Motor vehicles owned, leased by or leased to any person
and used exclusively for the transportation of processed
source-separated recycled materials, generated by commercial,
institutional and industrial customers, transported free of charge
from such the customers to a facility for further processing:
Provided, That the vehicles and their operators shall be are
subject to the safety and insurance rules promulgated by the
commission;
(10) Motor vehicles specifically preempted from state economic
regulation of intrastate motor carrier operations by the provisions
of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994
(Pub. L. 103-305 §601 108 Stat. 1605 (1994)) 49 U. S. C. §14501 as
amended by title I, section 103 of the federal "Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995": Provided, That the vehicles
and their operators shall be are subject to the safety and
insurance regulations promulgated by the commission;
(11) Motor vehicles designated by the West Virginia bureau of
senior services for use and operation by local county aging
programs: Provided, That the vehicles and their operators shall be
are subject to the safety rules promulgated by the commission.
§24A-5-5. Further regulatory powers of the commission.
(a) The commission shall:
(a) Rules and practice and procedure. -- Prescribe prescribe
rules of practice and procedure including, the method and manner of
holding hearings, and for taking evidence on all matters that may
come before it, and enter such entering orders as may be just and
lawful. In the investigations, preparations, and hearings of cases
investigation, preparation and hearing of cases, the commission
shall is not be bound by the technical rules of pleading and
evidence, but in that respect it may exercise such discretion as
will to facilitate its efforts to understand and learn all the
facts bearing upon the right and justness of the matters before it.
(b) Employees. -- Appoint such employees
, and shall fix their respective salaries or
compensation. Such employees shall hold office during the pleasure
of the commission. The commission may designate such employees as
it deems necessary to take evidence at any hearing held or required
by the provisions of this chapter, which employees. These
employees are hereby empowered to administer oaths in all parts of
the state so far as the exercise of such this power is properly
incidental to the performance of their duties in connection
accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(c) Schedule of fees. -- Prescribe The commission shall
prescribe a schedule of fees to accompany (i) applications for
certificates of convenience and necessity and, (ii) applications
for permits, and for the (iii) filing other filings and recordation
recordings of other papers with the commission. The commission
shall likewise prescribe a schedule of fees to be charged for (i)
the certification of all records and papers and sums to be paid
(ii) the payment of witnesses and (iii) other costs necessary and
incident to hearings before it or its employees and order the same
paid by the unsuccessful party. Sums collected in this manner
accordance with this subsection, except witness fees, shall are to be paid into the state treasury and be credited to the public
service commission motor carrier fund provided for in section six
of, article six of this chapter. The witness Witness fees shall are
to be paid to the persons who are entitled thereto to them.
(d) System of accounts. -- Establish The commission shall
establish a system of accounts to be kept by motor carriers; or
classify motor carriers and establish a system of accounts for each
class, and. The commission shall prescribe the manner in which
such the accounts shall are to be kept. It may also in its
discretion prescribe the form of accounts, records, and memoranda
to be kept by such the motor carriers, including the accounts,
records, and memoranda for the movement of traffic as well as, the
receipts and expenditures of money, and any other forms, records
and memoranda which in the judgment of the commission may be
necessary to carry out any of the provisions of this chapter.
(e) Information to be furnished commission. -- Require The
commission shall require persons subject to the provisions of this
chapter, to furnish any information which may be in their
possession, or obtainable from their accounting or other records,
respecting rates, charges, classifications, or practices in conducting their business, and to furnish the. The commission at
all times for inspection has the authority to inspect any books or,
papers or reports and statements, which reports and. Any
statements shall required by this subsection are to be under oath,
when so required by the commission, and the. The form of all
reports required under this chapter shall are to be prescribed by
the commission.
(f) Witnesses; testimony; subpoenas. -- Either as a
commission The commission as a whole or by any of its members, or
by designated employees, shall subpoena witnesses and, take
testimony, and administer oaths to any witness in any proceeding or
examination instituted before it or conducted by it with reference
to any matter within its jurisdiction. In all hearings or
proceedings before the commission or its designated employees, the
evidence of witnesses and the production of documentary evidence
may be required at any designated place of hearing within the
state; and in. In the case of disobedience to a subpoena or other
process, the commission or any party to the proceedings before the
commission may invoke the aid of any circuit court in the state in
requiring the evidence and testimony of witnesses and the
production of papers, books, and documents. And such The court, in the case of a refusal to obey the subpoena issued to any person or
to any motor carrier subject to the provisions of this chapter,
shall issue an order requiring such motor carrier or any the person
or motor carrier to appear before the commission or its designated
employees and produce all requested books and papers, if so
ordered, and give evidence touching relating to the matter in
question. Any failure to obey such the order of the court may be
punished by such the court as contempt thereof. A claim that such
testimony or evidence may tend to incriminate the person giving the
same shall testimony or evidence does not excuse such witness the
person from testifying, but such witness shall the person may not
be prosecuted for any offense concerning which he is or she has
been compelled hereunder to testify.
(g) Insurance. -- Require The commission shall require common
carriers by motor vehicle and contract carriers by motor vehicle
subject to the provisions of this chapter either to procure
insurance from a company authorized to write such insurance in West
Virginia, or to qualify as a self-insurer, or to deposit such
security, upon such terms and conditions and for such limits of
liability as the commission shall determine to be necessary for the
reasonable protection of the traveling, shipping, and general public against injury, loss, damage or default for which such the
carrier may be liable, and. It shall prescribe rules and
regulations governing the filing of evidence of such insurance and
such security with the commission. In fixing the amount of such
the insurance policy or policies, the qualifications as a self-
insurer, or the deposit of security, the commission shall give due
consideration to the character and amount of traffic, the value of
the property transported, the number of persons affected, and the
degree of danger involved in any such motor carrier operation:
Provided, That the amount set by the commission for for-hire
vehicles, that haul nonhazardous property with a gross vehicle
weight of ten thousand or more pounds, shall be at least seven
hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
(h) Cooperation with federal government. -- Cooperate The
commission shall cooperate with the federal government and the
interstate commerce commission of the United States or any other
commission or organized delegated authority to regulate interstate
or foreign commerce by motor vehicles, and it shall be its duty so
to do, to the end to ensure that the transportation of persons and
property by motor vehicles in interstate and foreign commerce into and through the state of West Virginia may be regulated and the
laws of the United States and the state of West Virginia enforced
and administered cooperatively in the public interest.
(i) Reciprocal agreements. -- Make The commission shall make
agreements on behalf of the state of West Virginia with any other
state or states providing for reciprocal rights, privileges, and
courtesies between the licensees or holders of certificates and
permits of the said state or states and the state of West Virginia
respecting. These agreements may include provisions regarding
certificates and permits, fees, assessments, and uniform vehicle
identification cards, and the transportation of either persons or
property into or through the respective state or states and the
state of West Virginia, and all. All existing agreements between
a state or states and the state of West Virginia for reciprocal
rights, privileges, and courtesies may, provided constitutional and
contractual rights are not violated, be declared void by the
commission, and new agreements negotiated.
(j) Safety rules and regulations. -- Promulgate The
commission shall promulgate (i) safety rules and regulations
applicable to motor vehicles subject to the provisions of this chapter and promulgate regulations, (ii) rules governing the
qualifications and maximum hours of service of drivers and
chauffeurs of common and contract carriers by motor vehicle of
passengers and property subject to the provisions of this chapter,
and (iii) promulgate any other rules and regulations which that the
commission may deem proper to carry out the provisions and intent
of this chapter.