Senate Bill No. 653
(By Senators Love, Ross, Caldwell, Facemyer, Anderson, Edgell,
Kessler, Minard, Mitchell, Hunter, Rowe, Oliverio, Redd, Sprouse,
McCabe and Sharpe)
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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eighteen-a, article sixteen-a,
chapter seventeen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
exempting
state school buses operating on the West Virginia turnpike
from all toll fee charges.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eighteen-a, article sixteen-a, chapter seventeen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16A. WEST VIRGINIA PARKWAYS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
TOURISM AUTHORITY.
§17-16A-18a. Corridor "L" toll fees authorized; commuter pass;
school bus exemption; annual report.
(a) The parkways authority is hereby authorized to operate the
currently existing toll collection facility located at the
interchange of U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") and said turnpike
subject to the following:
(1) The toll fee charges by the parkways, economic development
and tourism authority at its toll facilities located at the
interchange of U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") and said turnpike shall
not exceed those toll charges levied and collected by the authority
at said interchange as of the first day of January, one thousand
nine hundred ninety, and hereafter, no proposed increase in such
toll fees shall be implemented by the parkways authority unless the
authority shall have first complied with validly promulgated and
legislatively approved rules and regulations pursuant to the
applicable provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code;
(2) As soon as reasonably possible after the effective date of
this legislation, but in no event later than the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred ninety, the authority shall establish,
advertise, implement and otherwise make generally available to all
qualified members of the public, resident or nonresident, a system
of commuter passes, in a form to be determined by the authority: Provided, That said system of commuter passes shall, at a minimum,
permit the holder of such pass or passes, after paying the
applicable fee to the authority, to travel through the U.S. Route
19 (Corridor "L") turnpike interchange and toll facilities on an
unlimited basis, without additional charge therefor, for a period
of one year after the issuance of said commuter pass or passes:
Provided, however, That the cost for such commuter pass or passes
shall in no event aggregate more than five dollars per year for a
full calendar year of unlimited travel through the U.S. Route 19
(Corridor "L") turnpike interchange toll facilities.
To the extent required or necessary, the parkways authority is
further hereby authorized and empowered, in addition to the extent
previously authorized and empowered pursuant to section six and
section thirteen-b, article sixteen-a of this chapter, to
promulgate rules in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code with regard to the implementation of proposed future toll
increases at the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") turnpike toll
facility;
(3) The system of commuter passes implemented in accordance
with the provisions of subdivision (2), subsection (a), above,
shall be available only for use when operating or traveling in a Class A motor vehicle as herein defined. Whoever shall knowingly
or intentionally utilize any commuter pass issued in accordance
with this section while operating other than a Class A motor
vehicle, as herein defined, at the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L")
turnpike toll facility, or any other toll facility at or upon which
such pass may later be usable, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and, for every such offense shall, upon conviction thereof, be
punished in accordance with the provisions of section seventeen,
article sixteen-a of this chapter; and the parkways authority shall
hereafter be authorized and empowered to cancel any such commuter
pass or passes improperly used in accordance with this section;
(4) In addition to the annual report required by section
twenty-six of this article, the parkways authority will prepare and
deliver to the governor, the speaker of the House of Delegates and
the president of the Senate a separate annual report of toll
revenues collected from the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") turnpike
toll facility. The report shall disclose separately the toll
revenues generated from regular traffic and the commuter pass
created herein. The reports shall include, but not be limited to,
disclosing separately the expenditure of said toll revenues
generated from the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") turnpike toll facility including a description of the purposes for which such
toll revenues are expended;
(5) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction shall
issue an order which adjudges that any portion of subdivision (1),
(2) or (3), subsection (a) of this section is illegal,
unconstitutional, unenforceable or in any manner invalid, the
parkways authority shall discontinue, remove and not otherwise
relocate the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") turnpike toll facility
within three hundred sixty-five days after the date upon which said
court order is final or all appeals to said order have been
exhausted;
(6) For the purpose of this section, a Class A vehicle shall
be defined as a motor vehicle of passenger type and truck with a
gross weight of not more than 8,000 pounds and registered or
eligible for registration as a Class A vehicle in accordance with
section one, article ten, chapter seventeen-a of this code as the
same is currently constituted; and
(7) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the code to the
contrary, the parkways authority may not promulgate emergency rules
in accordance with section fifteen, article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code to increase or decrease toll fees or the commuter pass fee established herein.
(b) Nothing in this section is to be construed to apply to,
regulate, or in any manner affect the operation of the three main
line toll barriers and toll collection facilities currently located
on the West Virginia Turnpike and operated by the parkways
authority as Barrier A, Barrier B and Barrier C (I-64, I-77).
(c) Notwithstanding any provision in this article to the
contrary, beginning the first day of July, two thousand one, the
parkways authority shall exempt state school buses operating on the
turnpike from all toll fee charges.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt state school buses
operating on the West Virginia Turnpike from all toll fee charges.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.