Senate Bill No. 553
(By Senators Bowman, Bailey and Anderson)
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[Introduced March 21, 2001; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section seven, article two-a, chapter seventeen-d of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to providing for a fine of up to fifty dollars if a person is operating a motor vehicle designated for off-highway use on the roads and highways of this state without the required security in effect, if the motor vehicle is not properly registered and licensed or if the required security was canceled.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seven, article two-a, chapter seventeen-d of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

§17D-2A-7. Suspension or revocation of license, registration; reinstatement.

(a) Any owner of a motor vehicle, subject to the provisions of this article, who fails to have the required security in effect at the time such vehicle is being operated upon the roads or highways of this state, shall have his or her driver's license suspended by the commissioner of the division of motor vehicles for a period of thirty days and shall have his or her motor vehicle registration revoked until such time as he or she shall present to the division of motor vehicles the proof of security required by this article: Provided,

That if a motor vehicle is registered in more than one name, the driver's license of only one of the owners shall be suspended by the commissioner.
(b) Any person who knowingly operates a motor vehicle upon the roads or highways of this state, which does not have the security required by the provisions of this article, shall have his or her driver's license suspended by the commissioner for a period of thirty days.
(c) A person's driver's license shall be suspended for a period of thirty days A person shall be fined up to fifty dollars if the person is operating a motor vehicle designated for off highway use upon the roads and highways of this state without the required security in effect, if the motor vehicle is not properly registered and licensed, or if the required security was canceled.
(d) The commissioner may withdraw a suspension of a driver's license provided that the commissioner is satisfied that there was not a violation of the provisions of required security related to operation of a motor vehicle upon the roads or highways of this state by such person. The commissioner may request additional information as needed in order to make such determination.
(e) No person shall have his or her driver's license or motor vehicle registration suspended or revoked under any provisions of this section unless he or she shall first be given written notice of such suspension or revocation sent by certified mail, at least twenty days prior to the effective date of such suspension or revocation, and upon such person's written request, sent by certified mail, he or she shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing thereupon as well as a stay of the commissioner's order of suspension or revocation and an opportunity for judicial review of such hearing. Upon affirmation of the commissioner's order, the period of suspension or revocation shall commence to run.
(f) Such suspended driver's license shall be reinstated following the period of suspension upon compliance with the conditions set forth in this article and such revoked motor vehicle registration shall be reissued only upon lawful compliance with the provisions of this article.
(g) If the commissioner has previously suspended the person's driver's license under the provisions of this section or section five of this article, the period of suspension shall be for a period of ninety days.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.