Senate Bill No. 35
(By Senators Redd, Love and Snyder)
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[Introduced January 9, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Transportation and the to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections five and six, article
sixteen, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all
relating to fees for motor vehicle inspections and charges
for inspection stickers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five and six, article sixteen, chapter
seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. INSPECTION OF VEHICLES.
§17C-16-5. Permit for official inspection stations; fees for
and certificate of inspection.
The superintendent of the department of public safety state police shall be responsible for the inspection as provided in
this article and shall prescribe requirements and qualifications
for official inspection stations. He or she shall select and
designate such the stations and shall issue permits therefor and
furnish instructions and all necessary forms thereto for the
inspection of vehicles as herein required and the issuance of
official certificates of inspection and approval. The
certificate of inspection shall be a paper sticker or decal to
be affixed to the windshield of a motor vehicle, shall be
serially numbered and shall properly identify the official
inspection station by which issued. A charge of one dollar per
sticker shall be charged by the department of public safety
state police to the inspection station, and the funds so
received shall be deposited into the state treasury and credited
to the account of the department of public safety state police
for application in the administration and enforcement of the
provisions of this article. Any balance remaining in the fund
on the last day of June of each fiscal year, not required for
operating expenses, construction, repairs or alterations of
police barracks for the ensuing fiscal year and for the
administration and enforcement of the provisions of this
article, shall be transferred to the state road fund. The
superintendent is authorized to exchange stickers or to make refunds to official inspection stations for stickers on hand
when permits are revoked or when, for any reason, the stickers
become obsolete.
Application for permit shall be made upon an official form
prescribed by the superintendent and permits shall be granted
only when the superintendent is satisfied that the station is
properly equipped, and has competent personnel to make such the
inspections and adjustments and that the inspections and
adjustments will be properly conducted. The superintendent,
before issuing a permit, may require the applicant to file a
bond with surety approved by the superintendent, conditioned
that such applicant, as a station operator, will make
compensation for any damage to a vehicle during an inspection or
adjustment due to negligence on the part of such the station
operator or employees thereof.
The superintendent shall properly supervise and cause
inspections to be made of such the stations. Upon finding that
a station is not properly equipped or conducted, the
superintendent may, upon a first violation, suspend the permit
for a period of up to one year. Upon a second or subsequent
finding that a station is not properly equipped or conducted,
the superintendent shall permanently revoke and require the
surrender of the permit. The superintendent may reinstate the permit of any person whose permit was permanently revoked prior
to the effective date of this section upon a first finding that
a station was not properly equipped or conducted, upon
application, at any time after the expiration of six months from
the time of revocation, and shall reinstate such the permit,
upon application, after the expiration of one year. He or she
shall maintain and post at his or her office and at such other
places as he or she may select lists of all stations holding
permits and of those whose permits have been suspended or
revoked.
§17C-16-6. Assignment, transfer and posting of official
inspection station permit; issuance and record
of certificate of inspection; inspection fee.
No permit for an official inspection station shall be
assigned or transferred or used at any location other than
therein designated and every said permit shall be posted in a
conspicuous place at the station location designated.
The person operating any such station shall issue a
certificate of inspection and approval, upon an official form,
to the owner of a vehicle upon inspecting such the vehicle and
determining that its equipment required hereunder is in good
condition and proper adjustment, but otherwise no certificate
shall be issued, except such as may be issued pursuant to section two of this article. When required by the
superintendent, a record and report shall be made of every
inspection and every certificate so issued.
A fee of not more than seven dollars may be charged for an
inspection and any necessary headlight adjustment to proper
focus, not including any replacement parts required, and the
issuance of such the certificate, but the imposition of such
charge shall not be mandatory.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove the requirement
upon an inspection station that it not charge more than $7.00
for an inspection.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.