Senate Bill No. 597
(By Senators Boley, Unger and Foster)
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[Introduced February 15, 2007; referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure; and then to the Committee on
the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §17B-3-3a, §17B-3-3c and §17B-3-4 of
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
providing that accessible parking violations will be
considered motor vehicle violations and criminal offenses for
certain penalty and record-keeping purposes.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17B-3-3a, §17B-3-3c and §17B-3-4 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSES.
§17B-3-3a. Suspending license for failure to pay fines or
penalties imposed by magistrate court or municipal
court.
The division shall suspend the license of any resident of this
state or the privilege of a nonresident to drive a motor vehicle in
this state upon receiving notice from a magistrate court or
municipal court of this state, pursuant to subsection (b), section
two-a, article three, chapter fifty or subsection (b), section
two-a, article ten, chapter eight of this code, that such person
has defaulted on the payment of costs, fines, forfeitures or
penalties, which were imposed on the person by the magistrate court
or municipal court upon conviction of any motor vehicle violation,
after one hundred eighty days following such conviction, or that
such person has failed to appear in court when charged with a motor
vehicle violation. For the purposes of this section, section
two-a, article three, chapter fifty and section two-a, article ten,
chapter eight, "motor vehicle violation" shall be defined as any
violation designated in chapter seventeen-a, seventeen-b,
seventeen-c, seventeen-d or seventeen-e of this code, or the
violation of any municipal ordinance relating to the operation of
a motor vehicle for which the violation thereof would result in a
fine or penalty: Provided, That,
except for
an accessible parking
(formerly referred to as handicapped parking) violation pursuant to
chapter seventeen-c, article thirteen, section six
of this code,
any a parking violation or other violation for which a citation may
be issued to an unattended vehicle shall not be considered a motor
vehicle violation for the purposes of this section, section two-a, article three, chapter fifty or section two-a, article ten, chapter
eight of this code.
§17B-3-3c. Suspending license for failure to pay fines or
penalties imposed as the result of criminal
conviction or for failure to appear in court.
(a) The division shall suspend the license of any resident of
this state or the privilege of a nonresident to drive a motor
vehicle in this state upon receiving notice from a circuit court,
magistrate court or municipal court of this state, pursuant to
section two-b, article three, chapter fifty of this code or section
two-b, article ten, chapter eight of said code or section
seventeen, article four, chapter sixty-two of said code, that such
person has defaulted on the payment of costs, fines, forfeitures,
penalties or restitution imposed on the person by the circuit
court, magistrate court or municipal court upon conviction for any
criminal offense by the date such court had required such person to
pay the same, or that such person has failed to appear in court
when charged with such an offense. For the purposes of this
section; section two-b, article three, chapter fifty of said code;
section two-b, article ten, chapter eight of said code; and section
seventeen, article four, chapter sixty-two of said code, "criminal
offense" shall be defined as any violation of the provisions of
this code, or the violation of any municipal ordinance, for which
the violation thereof may result in a fine, confinement in jail or imprisonment in a correctional facility of this state: Provided,
That
except for
an accessible parking (formerly referred to as
handicapped parking) violation pursuant to chapter seventeen-c,
article thirteen, section six
of this code,
any parking violation
or other violation for which a citation may be issued to an
unattended vehicle shall not be considered a criminal offense for
the purposes of this section; section two-b, article ten, chapter
eight of said code; section two-b, article three, chapter fifty of
said code; or section seventeen, article four, chapter sixty-two of
said code.
(b) A copy of the order of suspension shall be forwarded to
such person by certified mail, return receipt requested. No order
of suspension becomes effective until ten days after receipt of a
copy of such order. The order of suspension shall advise the
person that because of the receipt of notice of the failure to pay
costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties, or the failure to appear,
a presumption exists that the person named in the order of
suspension is the same person named in the notice. The
commissioner may grant an administrative hearing which
substantially complies with the requirements of the provisions of
section two, article five-a, chapter seventeen-c of this code upon
a preliminary showing that a possibility exists that the person
named in the notice of conviction is not the same person whose
license is being suspended. Such request for hearing shall be made within ten days after receipt of a copy of the order of suspension.
The sole purpose of this hearing shall be for the person requesting
the hearing to present evidence that he or she is not the person
named in the notice. In the event the commissioner grants an
administrative hearing, the commissioner shall stay the license
suspension pending the commissioner's order resulting from the
hearing.
(c) A suspension under this section and section three-a of
this chapter will continue until the person provides proof of
compliance from the municipal, magistrate or circuit court and pays
the reinstatement fee as provided in section nine of this article.
The reinstatement fee is assessed upon issuance of the order of
suspension regardless of the effective date of suspension.
§17B-3-4. Abstract of judgment of conviction for violation of
motor vehicle laws to be sent to division.
Whenever a conviction is had in any court of record, or in a
justice's magistrate court, or in the police court or mayor's court
of any incorporated municipality, for the violation of any law of
this state governing or regulating the licensing or operation of
any motor vehicle, or for the violation of any provision of a
charter, or bylaw, or ordinance of such incorporated municipality
governing or regulating the operation of motor vehicles, except
regulations governing standing or parking, the clerk of every such
court, or the justice, or the clerk or recorder of such municipality, as the case may be, shall in each case transmit to
the division within seventy-two hours after such the conviction is
had a certified abstract of the judgment on such conviction:
Provided, That an accessible parking (formerly referred to as
handicapped parking) violation pursuant to section six, article
thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code is subject to the
requirements of this section.
For the purposes of this chapter, a forfeiture of bail or
collateral deposited to secure a defendant's appearance in court,
which forfeiture has not been vacated, shall be equivalent to a
conviction.
Wilful Willful failure, refusal or neglect to comply with the
provisions of this section shall subject the person who is guilty
thereof to a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty
dollars and may be the grounds for removal from office.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that accessible
parking (formerly referred to as handicapped parking) violations
will be considered motor vehicle violations and criminal offenses
for certain penalty and record keeping purposes.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.