COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 219
(By Senators Foster, McCabe, Oliverio, Yoder, Minard and Hunter)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure; reported February 3, 2006.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated
§17B-2-3b; and to
amend and reenact
§17B-3-6 of said code, all relating to
prohibiting wireless communication use while driving by a
minor holding a level one instruction permit or a level two
intermediate driver's license; suspending licenses for
violations; and related procedures.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated
§17B-2-3b
; and that
§17B-3-6 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE, EXPIRATION AND RENEWAL.
§17B-2-3b. Prohibition against use of wireless communication
device while driving by minor holding
a level one
instruction permit or a level two intermediate driver's license
.
(a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "9-1-1 system" means an emergency telephone system or
enhanced emergency telephone system as defined in section two,
article six, chapter twenty-four of this code.
(2) "Wireless communication device" means a handheld or hands
free device used to access a wireless telephone service, or a text
messaging device.
(b)
A holder of a level one instruction permit or a level two
intermediate driver's license who is under the age of eighteen
years may not use a wireless communication device while operating
a motor vehicle, unless the use of the wireless communication
device is for contacting a 9-1-1 system.
(c) If the Division of Motor Vehicles receives satisfactory
evidence that an individual has violated subsection (b) of this
section, the commissioner may suspend the individual's driver's
license for not more than ninety days.
(d) A law-enforcement officer may enforce this section only as
a secondary action when the law-enforcement officer detains a
driver for a suspected violation of another provision of this code.
(e) An individual may request a hearing as provided in section
six, article three, chapter seventeen-B of this code for
suspensions or revocations.
ARTICLE 3. CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSES.
§17B-3-6. Authority of division to suspend or revoke license; hearing.
(a) The division is hereby authorized to suspend the driver's
license of any person without preliminary hearing upon a showing by
its records or other sufficient evidence that the licensee:
(1) Has committed an offense for which mandatory revocation of
a driver's license is required upon conviction;
(2) Has by reckless or unlawful operation of a motor vehicle,
caused or contributed to an accident resulting in the death or
personal injury of another or property damage;
(3) Has been convicted with such frequency of serious offenses
against traffic regulations governing the movement of vehicles as
to indicate a disrespect for traffic laws and a disregard for the
safety of other persons on the highways;
(4) Is an habitually reckless or negligent driver of a motor
vehicle;
(5) Is incompetent to drive a motor vehicle;
(6) Has committed an offense in another state which if
committed in this state would be a ground for suspension or
revocation;
(7) Has failed to pay or has defaulted on a plan for the
payment of all costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by a
magistrate court or municipal court within ninety days, as required
by section two-a, article three, chapter fifty or section two-a,
article ten, chapter eight of this code;
(8) Has failed to appear or otherwise respond before a
magistrate court or municipal court when charged with a motor vehicle violation as defined in section three-a of this article;
(9) Is under the age of eighteen and has withdrawn either
voluntarily or involuntarily from a secondary school, as provided
in section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code; or
(10) Has failed to pay overdue child support or comply with
subpoenas or warrants relating to paternity or child support
proceedings, if a circuit court has ordered the suspension of the
license as provided in article five-a, chapter forty-eight-a of
this code and the child support enforcement division has forwarded
to the division a copy of the court order suspending the license,
or has forwarded its certification that the licensee has failed to
comply with a new or modified order that stayed the suspension and
provided for the payment of current support and any arrearage due;
or
(11) Is under the age of eighteen and has used a wireless
communication device while driving a motor vehicle when the minor
holds a level one instruction permit or a level two intermediate
driver's license, as provided in section three-b, article two of
this chapter.
(b) The driver's license of any person having his or her
license suspended shall be reinstated if:
(1) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (7), subsection (a) of this section and the payment of
costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by the applicable
court has been made;
(2) The license was suspended under the provisions of subdivision (8), subsection (a) of this section, and the person
having his or her license suspended has appeared in court and has
prevailed against the motor vehicle violations charged; or
(3) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (10), subsection (a) of this section, and the division
has received a court order restoring the license or a certification
by the child support enforcement division that the licensee is
complying with the original support order or a new or modified
order that provides for the payment of current support and any
arrearage due.
(c) Any reinstatement of a license under subdivision (1), (2)
or (3), subsection (b) of this section shall be subject to a
reinstatement fee designated in section nine of this article.
(d) Upon suspending the driver's license of any person as
hereinbefore in this section authorized, the division shall
immediately notify the licensee in writing, sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested, to the address given by the licensee in
applying for license, and upon his or her request shall afford him
or her an opportunity for a hearing as early as practical within
not to exceed twenty days after receipt of such request in the
county wherein the licensee resides unless the division and the
licensee agree that such hearing may be held in some other county.
Upon such hearing the commissioner or his or her duly authorized
agent may administer oaths and may issue subpoenas for the
attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant books and
papers and may require a reexamination of the licensee. Upon such hearing the division shall either rescind its order of suspension
or, good cause appearing therefor, may extend the suspension of
such license or revoke such license. The provisions of this
subsection (d) providing for notice and hearing are not applicable
to a suspension under subdivision (10), subsection (a) of this
section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit
wireless
communication use while driving by a minor holding a learner's
instructional permit or provisional license.
§17B-2-3b
is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.