Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION
                Introduced House Bill 5576
               By Delegate Young [Introduced February 12, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Technology and Infrastructure]
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  A BILL to amend and reenact §17A-3-23 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating
            to authorizing municipal fire departments specialized license plates.
     Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     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, not to exceed eight vehicles operated by investigators of the Office of the
  Attorney General, three vehicles per elected office of the Board of Public Works not otherwise
  specified, 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 natural
  resources police officers of the Division of Natural Resources, not to exceed 10 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 16 vehicles operated by inspectors of the
 Office of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner, vehicles operated by the West Virginia
 Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, 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 100 feet during daylight: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2019,
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 state vehicle license plates shall be gold with blue lettering.
           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: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2019, state vehicle
 license plates shall be gold with blue lettering.
           (b) Registration plates issued to vehicles owned by counties shall be white on red with the
 word "County" on top of the plate and the words "West Virginia" on the bottom.
           (c) Registration plates issued to a city or municipality shall be white on blue with the word
 "City" on top and the words "West Virginia" on the bottom.
           (d) (1) Registration plates issued to a city or municipality law-enforcement department
 shall include blue lettering on a white background with the words "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.
           (2) Registration plates issued to a city or municipality fire department shall include blue
 lettering on a white background with the words "West Virginia" on top of the plate and shall be
 further designed by the commissioner to include a fire department insignia together with other
 lettering sufficient to identify the motor vehicle as a municipal fire department vehicle. The colors
 may not be reversed and shall be of reflectorized material.
           (e) (1) 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
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 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 $10 for each vehicle submitted by July 1, 2002.
           (2) Registration plates issued to vehicles operated by the West Virginia Wing of the Civil Air
 Patrol shall be designed by the commissioner in cooperation with the Civil Air Patrol and include
 the words "Civil Air Patrol" on the plate. The Civil Air Patrol shall provide the commissioner with a
 list of vehicles operated by the Civil Air Patrol, unless otherwise provided in this section, and a fee
 of $10 for each new vehicle for which a Civil Air Patrol license plate is requested.
           (f) The commissioner is authorized to designate the colors and design of any other
 registration plates that are issued without charge to any other agency or nonstate government
 entity entitled to registration plates at no charge in accordance with the motor vehicle
 laws: Provided, That where the institutions of higher education opt to have their logo displayed on
 the state license plate, such institution shall bear any additional costs of those added features:
 Provided, however, That no public service districts or designated nongovernmental organizations
 shall be issued a license plate designated for vehicles owned or leased by the State of West
 Virginia, or any of its departments, bureaus, commissions, or institutions.
           (g) 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.
           (h) The commissioner is authorized to issue a maximum of five Class A license plates to be
 used on vehicles assigned to the Division of Motor Vehicles investigators for commercial driver
 examination fraud investigation and driver’s license issuance fraud detection and fraud
 prevention.
           (i) 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
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 official undercover work conducted by a drug and violent crime task force.
           (j) The commissioner is authorized to issue 20 Class A license plates to the Criminal
 Investigation Division of the Department of Revenue for use by its investigators.
           (k) The commissioner may issue a maximum of 10 Class A license plates to the Division of
 Natural Resources for use by natural resources police 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 natural
 resources police officers.
           (l) 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.
           (m) 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.
           (n) The commissioner is authorized to issue Class A registration plates for vehicles used
 by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit created by §9-7-7 of this code.
           (o) The commissioner is authorized to issue Class A registration plates for vehicles used
 by the West Virginia Insurance Fraud Unit created by §33-41-8 of this code.
           (p) No other registration plate may be issued for, or attached to, any state-owned vehicle.
           (q) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall have a sufficient number of both front and
 rear plates produced to attach to all state-owned or leased vehicles.
           (r) The commissioner shall, after consultation with the Fleet Management Division
 established pursuant to §5A-12-1 et seq. of this code and the Enterprise Resource Planning Board
 established pursuant to §12-6D-1 et seq. of this code, develop and adopt a standardized naming
 convention for the title, registration, and licensing of state vehicles, pursuant to §17A-3-25 of this
 code. The naming convention adopted shall be consistent with the naming convention adopted for
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  the centralized accounting system as maintained by the Enterprise Resource Planning Board for
  the purpose of creating and maintaining an accurate and up to date inventory of the state vehicle
  fleet.
           (s) 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.
           (t) 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 §8-27-1 et seq. 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.
           (u) Each green registration plate with white letters affixed to a state vehicle, and each
 corresponding title and registration certificate for all state vehicles, other than those vehicles with
 Class A registration plates as provided in this section, terminates at midnight on December 31,
 2018. Each spending unit assigned a state vehicle that is required to display a state vehicle license
 plate and registration shall obtain a new title, new registration card, and new state vehicle license
 plate prior to January 1, 2019: Provided, That no state vehicle license plate shall be issued unless
 the spending unit has provided an affirmative statement that the vehicle is a state asset recorded
 in the central accounting system as maintained by the Enterprise Resource Planning Board, and
 the same has been verified by the commissioner, as required by §17A-3-25 of this code. When
 new registrations are issued pursuant to this article and for subsequent, nonClass A registrations
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 of state owned or leased vehicles, the state vehicle registration plate and certificate shall be valid
 for a period of not more than 24 months and shall be required to be renewed every two years.
           (v) The commissioner is authorized to prepare and promulgate emergency rules, pursuant
 to §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code in order to implement amendments to this section.
           (w) 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 Division of Motor Vehicles to issue special motor vehicle plates for municipal fire department vehicles.
                Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced Version: 17A-3-23