Chap. 232.—An ACT to abolish the existing Division of Motor Vehicles in the
Department of Finance and the office of Director of the Division of Motor
Vehicles; to establish, in the Department of Finance, Department of State
Police and a new Division of Motor Vehicles; to provide for a Superintendent
of the Department of State Police and a Commissioner of the Division of Motor
Vehicles ; and to declare what powers and duties of the Director of the Division
of Motor Vehicles and the said division shall be transferred to and exercised or
performed by the Superintendent of the Department of State Police and the
Department of State Police and what powers and duties shall be transferred to
and exercised or performed by the Commissioner of the Division of Motor
Vehicles and the Division of Motor Vehicles. - [H B 292]

Approved March 14, 1942
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, as follows:

Section 1. The Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department of
Finance and the office of Director in the Division of Motor Vehicles, as
at present existing, are hereby abolished and all the powers conferred and
all the duties imposed by law upon the said division and director are
hereby transferred, and shall be hereafter exercised or performed, as in
this act provided.

Section 2. There is hereby established in the Department of Fi1-
nance a Department of State Police and a Division of Motor Vehicles.
Department of State Police shall be headed by a Superintendent of State
Police, and the Division of Motor Vehicles shall be headed by a Com-
missioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles. The said Superintendent
and the said Commissioner shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to
confirmation by the General Assembly if in session when such appoint-
ments are made, and if not in session, then at its next succeeding session.
Each such officer shall hold his office at the pleasure of the Governor for
a term coincident with that of each Governor making the appointment,
or until his successor shall be appointed and qualified. Vacancies shall be
filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as original appoint-
ments are made.

The Superintendent of State Police and the Commisggoner of the
Division of Motor Vehicles, before entering upon the discharge of their
duties, shall each take an oath that he will faithfully and impartially
discharge and perform all the duties of his office, and each shall give bond
in such penalty as may be fixed by the Governor, conditioned upon the
faithful discharge of his duties, the premium on which bonds to be paid
out of the funds available for the maintenance and operation of their
offices, respectively. Each such officer shall receive such salary as may be
appropriated for the purpose, or until specific appropriations are made,
such sum as may be fixed by the Governor not exceeding five thousand
dollars per annum.

Section 3. The highway patrol, or State police patrol as it is some-
times called, the police school, the State police radio or communications
system, the garage operated for the maintenance and repair of police
cars, the examination of applicants for, and holders of chauffeurs’ and
operators’ licenses, the administration, training, disciplining and assign-
ment of examiners of applicants for operators’ and chauffeurs’ licenses,
provided, however, that the disposition and assignment of such exam-
iners, as may be necessary, shall comply with the schedule of examinations
as determined by the Division of Motor Vehicles; the supervision of
inspection stations and of inspectors of motor vehicles, the promotion of
highway safety, and the adoption of standards for motor vehicle appli-
ances, accessories and safety devices shall be in the Department of State
Police, and wherever the words “Director of the Division of Motor
Vehicles”, “director”, “division”, or “Division of Motor Vehicles”, or
other words denoting that officer or division, appear in any statute or
part of any statute enacted before July first, nineteen hundred and forty-
two and not repealed, the same shall be construed to mean the Superin-
tendent of State Police, or the Department of State Police, as the case
may be, in so far as such statute or part thereof relates to the highway
patrol or State police patrol, the police school, the State police radio or
communication system, the garage operated for the maintenance and
repair of police cars, the examination of applicants for, and holders ot
chauffeurs’ and operators’ licenses, the inspection of motor vehicles, the
supervision of inspection stations and of inspectors of motor vehicles,
the promotion of highway safety, and the adoption of standards for motor
vehicle appliances, accessories and safety devices.

Section 4. The administration of the motor vehicle license, registra-
tion, title, the issuance, suspension and revocation of operators’ and
chauffeurs’ licenses, and safety responsibility laws, and fuel tax laws, and
such other laws or parts of laws involving the existing Division of Motor
Vehicles as are not covered by section three of this act shall be in the
Division of Motor Vehicles established by this act; provided, however,
that all examinations required by the Virginia Operators’ and Chauffeurs’
License Act to be administered to applicants for, or holders of, operators’
or chauffeurs’ licenses and permits shall be referred by the Commissioner
of the Division of Motor Vehicles to the Superintendent and adminis-
tered through the Department of State Police under the direction of the
Superintendent; and wherever the words “Director of the Division otf
Motor Vehicles”, “director”, “division”, or “Division of Motor Vehicles”,
or other words denoting that officer or division, appear in any statute or
part of any statute enacted before July first, nineteen hundred and forty-
two and not repealed, the same shall be construed to mean the Commis-
sioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles, or the Division of Motor
Vehicles established by this act, as the case may be, in so far as such
statute or part thereof relates to the issuance of motor vehicle licenses,
the registration of motor vehicles, the issuance of certificates of title, and
other matters concerning titles, the issuance, suspension and revocation of
chauffeurs’ and operators’ licenses, and the safety responsibility laws,
and other matters concerning the licensing of operators of motor vehicles,
the collection of the taxes on motor vehicle fuels and making the refunds
required by law, and such other functions involving the existing Division
of Motor Vehicles as are not covered by section three of this act.

The provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code of Virginia relating to
the service of process upon the Director of the Division of Motor Ve-
hicles in actions or proceedings against non-residents shall hereafter be
deemed to refer to the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Section 5. On the effective date of this act, the entire personnel,
records, equipment, realty, and supplies assigned to the Finance Section
of the Division of Motor Vehicles are hereby transferred to the Division
of Motor Vehicles established by this act; and the entire personnel
records, equipment, realty, and supplies assigned to the Police and Safety
Section of the Division of Motor Vehicles are hereby transferred to the
Department of State Police.

Section 6. All appropriations made to the Division of Motot
Vehicles payable out of the State Highway Maintenance and Constructior
Fund shall be available for expenditure by the Superintendent of the
Department of State Police or the Commissioner of the Division 01
Motor Vehicles established by this act, as the case may be, for the objects
and purposes for which such appropriations are made, respectively, except
to the extent that they may be inconsistent with the provisions of this act
and subject to any conditions attached thereto, and the same are hereby
transferred accordingly. .

Section 7. Nothing in this act shall be construed as repealing or in
any way affecting any statute or part thereof, or the operation of any
statute or part thereof, except to the extent expressly stated herein.

2. Be it further enacted, That this act shall be in force on and
after July first, nineteen hundred and forty-two.