H. B. 4643
(By Delegate Miley)
[Introduced February 22, 2010
; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17A-3-23 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to authorizing the Commissioner
of
the Division
of Motor Vehicles to issue a limited number of
Class A licenses to county prosecutors for vehicles to be used
by investigators in the county prosecutor's offices for
undercover purposes.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17A-3-23 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§§17A-3-23. Registration plates to state, county, municipal and
other governmental vehicles; use for undercover
activities.
(a) Any motor vehicle designed to carry passengers, owned or leased by the State of West Virginia, or any of its departments,
bureaus, commissions or institutions, except vehicles used by the
Governor, Treasurer, three vehicles per elected office of the Board
of Public Works, vehicles operated by the State Police, not to
exceed five vehicles operated by the Office of the Secretary of
Military Affairs and Public Safety, not to exceed five vehicles
operated by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
Management, vehicles operated by conservation officers of the
Division of Natural Resources, not to exceed ten vehicles operated
by the arson investigators of the Office of State Fire Marshal, not
to exceed two vehicles operated by the Division of Protective
Services, not to exceed sixteen vehicles operated by inspectors of
the Office of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner and
vehicles operated by probation officers employed under the Supreme
Court of Appeals may not be operated or driven by any person unless
it has displayed and attached to the front thereof, in the same
manner as regular motor vehicle registration plates are attached,
a plate of the same size as the regular registration plate, with
white lettering on a green background bearing the words "West
Virginia" in one line and the words "State Car" in another line and
the lettering for the words "State Car" shall be of sufficient size
to be plainly readable from a distance of one hundred feet during
daylight.
The vehicle shall also have attached to the rear a plate
bearing a number and any other words and figures as the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall prescribe. The rear plate
shall also be green with the number in white.
(b) On registration plates issued to vehicles owned by
counties, the color shall be white on red with the word "County" on
top of the plate and the words "West Virginia" on the bottom. On
any registration plates issued to a city or municipality, the color
shall be white on blue with the word "City" on top and the words
"West Virginia" on the bottom
. Provided, That after the
thirty-first day of December, two thousand six Registration plates
issued to a city or municipality law-enforcement department shall
include blue lettering on a white background with the word "West
Virginia" on top of the plate and shall be further designed by the
commissioner to include a law-enforcement shield together with
other insignia or lettering sufficient to identify the motor
vehicle as a municipal law-enforcement department motor vehicle.
The colors may not be reversed and shall be of reflectorized
material. The registration plates issued to counties,
municipalities and other governmental agencies authorized to
receive colored plates hereunder shall be affixed to both the front
and rear of the vehicles. Every municipality shall provide the
commissioner with a list of law-enforcement vehicles operated by
the law-enforcement department of the municipality, unless
otherwise provided in this section.
and a fee of ten dollars for
each vehicle submitted by the first day of July, two thousand six
(c) Registration plates issued to vehicles operated by county sheriffs shall be designed by the commissioner in cooperation with
the sheriffs' association with the word "Sheriff" on top of the
plate and the words "West Virginia" on the bottom. The plate shall
contain a gold shield representing the sheriff's star and a number
assigned to that plate by the commissioner. Every county sheriff
shall provide the commissioner with a list of vehicles operated by
the sheriff, unless otherwise provided in this section.
and a fee
of ten dollars for each vehicle submitted by the first day of July,
two thousand two
(d) The commissioner is authorized to designate the colors and
design of any other registration plates that are issued without
charge to any other agency in accordance with the motor vehicle
laws.
(e) Upon application, the commissioner is authorized to issue
a maximum of five Class A license plates per applicant to be used
by county sheriffs and municipalities on law-enforcement vehicles
while engaged in undercover investigations.
(f) Upon application, the commissioner is authorized to issue
a maximum of two Class A license plates to a county prosecutor, to
be used on vehicles assigned to investigators within the
prosecuting attorney's office while engaged in undercover
operations.
(f) (g) The commissioner is authorized to issue an unlimited
number of license plates per applicant to authorized drug and
violent crime task forces in the State of West Virginia when the chairperson of the control group of a drug and violent crime task
force signs a written affidavit stating that the vehicle or
vehicles for which the plates are being requested will be used only
for official undercover work conducted by a drug and violent crime
task force.
(g) (h) The commissioner is authorized to issue twenty Class
A license plates to the Criminal Investigation Division of the
Department of Revenue for use by its investigators.
(h) (i) The commissioner may issue a maximum of ten Class A
license plates to the Division of Natural Resources for use by
conservation officers. The commissioner shall designate the color
and design of the registration plates to be displayed on the front
and the rear of all other state-owned vehicles owned by the
Division of Natural Resources and operated by conservation
officers.
(i) (j) The commissioner is authorized to issue an unlimited
number of Class A license plates to the Commission on Special
Investigations for state-owned vehicles used for official
undercover work conducted by the Commission on Special
Investigations. The commissioner is authorized to issue a maximum
of two Class A plates to the Division of Protective Services for
state-owned vehicles used by the Division of Protective Services in
fulfilling its mission.
(j) (k) No other registration plate may be issued for, or
attached to, any state-owned vehicle.
(k) (l) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall have a
sufficient number of both front and rear plates produced to attach
to all state-owned cars. The numbered registration plates for the
vehicles shall start with the number "five hundred" and the
commissioner shall issue consecutive numbers for all state-owned
cars.
(l) (m) It is the duty of each office, department, bureau,
commission or institution furnished any vehicle to have plates as
described herein affixed thereto prior to the operation of the
vehicle by any official or employee.
(m) (n) The commissioner may issue special registration plates
for motor vehicles titled in the name of the Division of Public
Transit or in the name of a public transit authority as defined in
this subsection and operated by a public transit authority or a
public transit provider to transport persons in the public
interest. For purposes of this subsection, "public transit
authority" means an urban mass transportation authority created
pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-seven, chapter eight
of this code or a nonprofit entity exempt from federal and state
income taxes under the Internal Revenue Code and whose purpose is
to provide mass transportation to the public at large. The special
registration plate shall be designed by the commissioner and shall
display the words "public transit" or words or letters of similar
effect to indicate the public purpose of the use of the vehicle.
The special registration plate shall be issued without charge.
(n) (o) Any person who violates the provisions of this section
is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than $50 nor more than $100. Magistrates have
concurrent jurisdiction with circuit courts for the enforcement of
this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the
Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue a limited
number of license plates to County Prosecutors for use on vehicles
used by investigators to conduct undercover operations.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.