Senate Bill No. 679
(By Senator Ross)
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[Introduced February 23, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §24A-2-6 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to carriers for hire; and providing
for the regulation of intrastate driving hours of for-hire
carriers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §24A-2-6 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. COMMON CARRIERS BY MOTOR VEHICLES.
§24A-2-6. For hire common carriers of passengers; definitions;
driving time; rules.
(a) When used in this section, the following words and phrases
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
a different meaning:
(1) "Driving time" means all time spent at the driving
controls of a commercial for-hire vehicle designed to transport passengers;
(2) "Eight consecutive days" means the period of eight
consecutive days beginning on any day at the time designated by the
for-hire carrier for a twenty-four-hour period;
(3) "On duty time" means all time from the time a driver
begins to work or is required to be in readiness to work until the
time he or she is relieved from work and all responsibility for
performing work: Provided, That for a taxicab driver who leases a
taxicab pursuant to a written lease approved by the public service
commission, then on duty time shall consist only of driving time;
and
(4) "Twenty-four-hour period" means any twenty-four-
consecutive-hour period beginning at the time designated by the
for-hire carrier for the terminal from which the driver is normally
dispatched.
(b) The provisions of this section apply only to for-hire
carriers operated by an onboard driver which is designed to
transport passengers exclusively on any public highway or road in
this state: Provided, That the provisions of this section do not
apply to taxicab or limousine drivers. The provisions of this
section apply only to intrastate commerce and do not apply where
preempted by federal regulation.
(c) Drivers of for-hire carriers may not:
(1) Engage in driving time of a for-hire vehicle for more than ten consecutive hours without eight consecutive hours off duty;
(2) Engage in
driving time of a for-hire vehicle after the
driver has on duty time of fifteen hours without eight consecutive
hours off duty; or
(3) Engage in
driving time of a for-hire vehicle after the
driver has been on duty for a total of seventy consecutive hours
within eight consecutive days.
(d) For-hire carrier companies, other than taxicab and
limousine companies, shall keep time records, for six months,
indicating the time all for-hire drivers report for duty, the time
of relief from duty, hours driven, hours on duty, and hours off
duty. These records shall be made available to the state police
and the public service commission.
(e) The public service commission may promulgate rules
necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify the regulation
of intrastate driving hours of for-hire carriers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.