Senate Bill No. 50
(By Senator Facemyer)
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[Introduced February 14, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Transportation; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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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.