SB3 SUB1
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 3
(By Senator Anderson, Mitchell and Minard)
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[Originating in the Committee on Judiciary;
reported March 7, 2001.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article nine-a,
chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to
amend and reenact section six, article three, chapter
seventeen-b, all relating to use or possession of
tobacco or tobacco products by minors aged fifteen or
older; providing for delay in eligibility for or
suspension of driver's license for minors violating the
provisions of this section; and allowing for
substitution of tobacco abstention courses.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article nine-a, chapter sixteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section
six, article three, chapter seventeen-b of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.
ARTICLE 9A. TOBACCO USAGE RESTRICTIONS.
§16-9A-3. Use or possession of tobacco or tobacco products
by persons under the age of eighteen years; penalty;
delayed eligibility for driver's license.
(a) No person under the age of eighteen years shall have
on or about his or her person or premises or use any
cigarette, or cigarette paper or any other paper prepared,
manufactured or made for the purpose of smoking any tobacco
products, in any form; or, any pipe, snuff, chewing tobacco
or tobacco product: Provided, That minors participating in
the inspection of locations where tobacco products are sold
or distributed pursuant to section seven of this article
shall not be deemed considered to violate the provisions of
this section. Any person violating the provisions of this
section shall for the first violation be fined twenty-five
dollars and be required to serve eight hours of community
service, four hours of which may be met by attending tobacco
abstention counseling or courses, if such are available through government or private entities in the county of
conviction or adjudication; for a second violation, the
person shall be fined fifty dollars and be required to serve
sixteen hours of community service; and for a third and each
subsequent violation, the person shall be fined one hundred
dollars and be required to serve twenty-four hours of
community service. Notwithstanding the provisions of section
two, article five, chapter forty-nine, the magistrate court
shall have concurrent jurisdiction.
(b) In addition to any other penalty imposed by the
provisions of this section, any minor age fifteen and older
who is convicted or adjudicated of a second or subsequent
violation of subsection (a) of this section, upon application
for a permit or license to the division of motor vehicles,
shall be ineligible for issuance of either a permit or
license to operate a motor vehicle for a period of ninety
days following the application. If the minor possesses a
permit or license to operate a motor vehicle, it shall be
suspended for a period of ninety days: Provided, That each
violation shall not result in more than one ninety day period
of ineligibility or suspension. Upon the conviction or adjudication of a minor for violation of subsection (a) of
this section, the court shall send to the division of motor
vehicles a copy of the finding with the minor's name and
social security number. The commissioner of motor vehicles
shall delay issuance of a permit or license or suspend said
license or permit as provided herein.
CHAPTER 17B. MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVER'S LICENSES.
ARTICLE 3. CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF
LICENSES.
§17B-3-6. Authority of division to suspend or revoke
license; hearing.
(a) The division is hereby authorized to suspend the
driver's license of any person without preliminary hearing
upon a showing by its records or other sufficient evidence
that the licensee:
(1) Has committed an offense for which mandatory
revocation of a driver's license is required upon conviction;
(2) Has by reckless or unlawful operation of a motor
vehicle, caused or contributed to an accident resulting in
the death or personal injury of another or property damage;
(3) Has been convicted with such frequency of serious
offenses against traffic regulations governing the movement of vehicles as to indicate a disrespect for traffic laws and
a disregard for the safety of other persons on the highways;
(4) Is an habitually reckless or negligent driver of a
motor vehicle;
(5) Is incompetent to drive a motor vehicle;
(6) Has committed an offense in another state which if
committed in this state would be a ground for suspension or
revocation;
(7) Has failed to pay or has defaulted on a plan for the
payment of all costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed
by a magistrate court or municipal court within ninety days,
as required by section two-a, article three, chapter fifty or
section two-a, article ten, chapter eight of this code;
(8) Has failed to appear or otherwise respond before a
magistrate court or municipal court when charged with a motor
vehicle violation as defined in section three-a of this
article;
(9) Is under the age of eighteen and has withdrawn
either voluntarily or involuntarily from a secondary school,
as provided in section eleven, article eight, chapter
eighteen of this code;
(10) Has been adjudged to have violated the provisions of section three, article nine-a, chapter three; or
(10) (11) Has failed to pay overdue child support or
comply with subpoenas or warrants relating to paternity or
child support proceedings, if a circuit court has ordered the
suspension of the license as provided in article five-a,
chapter forty-eight-a of this code and the child support
enforcement division has forwarded to the division a copy of
the court order suspending the license, or has forwarded its
certification that the licensee has failed to comply with a
new or modified order that stayed the suspension and provided
for the payment of current support and any arrearage due.
(b) The driver's license of any person having his or her
license suspended shall be reinstated if:
(1) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (7), subsection (a) of this section and the
payment of costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by
the applicable court has been made;
(2) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (8), subsection (a) of this section, and the
person having his or her license suspended has appeared in
court and has prevailed against the motor vehicle violations
charged;
(3) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision 10, subsection (a) of this section, and the costs
and fines imposed for such violation have been paid and the
public service requirements imposed have been fulfilled;
Provided, That the period of suspension shall be for a period
of ninety days; or
(3) (4) The license was suspended under the provisions
of subdivision (10) (11), subsection (a) of this section, and
the division has received a court order restoring the license
or a certification by the child support enforcement division
that the licensee is complying with the original support
order or a new or modified order that provides for the
payment of current support and any arrearage due.
(c) Any reinstatement of a license under subdivision
(1), (2), or (3) or (4), subsection (b) of this section shall
be subject to a reinstatement fee designated in section nine
of this article.
(d) Upon suspending the driver's license of any person
as hereinbefore in this section authorized, the division
shall immediately notify the licensee in writing, sent by
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address
given by the licensee in applying for license, and upon his request shall afford him an opportunity for a hearing as
early as practical within not to exceed twenty days after
receipt of such request in the county wherein the licensee
resides unless the division and the licensee agree that such
hearing may be held in some other county. Upon such hearing
the commissioner or his duly authorized agent may administer
oaths and may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses
and the production of relevant books and papers and may
require a reexamination of the licensee. Upon such hearing
the division shall either rescind its order of suspension or,
good cause appearing therefor, may extend the suspension of
such license or revoke such license. The provisions of this
subsection (d) providing for notice and hearing are not
applicable to a suspension under subdivision (10) (11),
subsection (a) of this section.
(e) The sole issue at a hearing held pursuant to the
provisions of subsection (d) of this section at the request
of a minor whose eligibility for a permit or license to
operate a motor vehicle was delayed pursuant to the
provisions of subdivision (10), subsection (a) of this
section or whose permit or license was suspended pursuant to
the provisions of subdivision (10), subsection (a) of this section shall be whether he or she is, in fact, the same
person who was convicted of a violation of section three,
article nine-a, chapter three of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to:
(1) Replace 4 hours of community service with four hours
of anti-smoking education classes for 1st offenders; and
(2) Require a ninety day licensure delay or 90 day
driver's license suspension for minors convicted a 2nd or
subsequent time for a tobacco violation.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.