H. B. 2791

(By Delegates Michael, Warner,
Proudfoot and Renner)

[Introduced

; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then Finance.]

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 section four, article sixteen, chapter seventeen-c, all relating to exceptions to motor vehicle registration; allowing certain exempted Class A farm use vehicles with valid inspection stickers to use the highways between sunset and sunrise for distances of twenty-five miles or less; and providing for the inspection of the unlicensed class A farm use motor 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; and that section four, article sixteen, chapter seventeen-c of said code,

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 unless the vehicle is classified as a Class A motor vehicle with a farm use exemption

under the provisions of section one, article ten of this chapter and has a valid and current inspection sticker as required by the provisions of article sixteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code and is traveling from one tract of land to another over a distance of twenty-five miles or less;
(C) Any vehicle exempted under this section 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.

§17C-16-4. Commissioner to require periodical inspection; acceptance of certificate of inspection from another state; suspension of registration of unsafe vehicles.

(a) The commissioner of motor vehicles shall once each year require that every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, and pole trailer registered in this state be inspected and that an official certificate of inspection and approval be obtained for each such vehicle.
Such inspections shall be made and such certificates obtained with respect to the mechanism, brakes, and equipment of every such vehicle as shall be designated by the commissioner.
The commissioner is hereby authorized to make necessary rules and regulations for the administration and enforcement of this section and to designate any period or periods of time during which owners of any vehicles, subject to this section, shall display upon such vehicles certificates of inspection and approval or shall produce the same upon demand of any officer or employee of the department designated by the commissioner or any police or peace officer when authorized by the commissioner.
(b) The commissioner may authorize the acceptance in this state of a certificate of inspection and approval issued in another state having an inspection law similar to this chapter and may extend the time within which a certificate shall be obtained by the resident owner of a vehicle which was not in this state during the time an inspection was required.
(c) The commissioner may suspend the registration of any vehicle which he determines is in such unsafe condition as to constitute a menace to safety or which after notice and demand is not equipped as required in this chapter or for which a required certificate has not been obtained.
(d) If requested by the owner thereof

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow Class A farm use vehicles exempted from annual registration certificates and license plates that have passed motor vehicle inspection, to use the highways between sunset and sunrise for a distance not to exceed 25 miles.

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