CHAPTER 243

An Act to amend and reenact § 46.1-149 of the Code of Virginia, relating
to fees of vehicles designed and used for transportation of passengers;
weights used for computing fees; burden of proof. CH 321]

Approved March 11, 1960

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 46.1-149 of the Code of Virginia be amended and reenacted
as follows:

§ 46.1-149. (a) The annual registration fees for motor vehicles,
trailers and semitrailers, designed and used for the transportation of
passengers upon the highways of this State are:

(1) $10.00 for a private motor vehicle other than a motorcycle with
a normal seating capacity of not more than * 10 persons, including the
driver, if such private motor vehicle is not used for the transportation of
passengers for compensation and is not kept or used for rent or for hire,
or is not operated under a lease without a chauffeur.

(2) 30c per one hundred pounds of weight or major fraction thereof
for a private motor vehicle other than a motorcycle with a normal seating
capacity of more than * 10 adult persons including the driver if such
private motor vehicle is not used for the transportation of passengers for
compensation and is not kept or used for rent or for hire or is not operated
under a lease without chauffeur. Provided that in no case shall the fee be
less than $10.00.

(3) 80c per hundred pounds of weight or major fraction thereof for
a * school bus, public or private; provided that in no case shall the fee
be less than $10.00.

(4) $7.50 for trailer or semitrailer designed for use as living quarters
for human beings.

(5) 30c per hundred pounds of weight or major fraction thereof for
each motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer used as a common carrier of
passengers, operating either intrastate or interstate; but the preceding
portion of this paragraph shall become effective at the beginning of the
nineteen hundred fifty-nine license year beginning April one, nineteen
hundred fifty-nine, and annually thereafter until otherwise provided by law;
provided, however, that until the license year beginning April one, nine-
teen hundred fifty-nine, the annual registration fee for such vehicles shall
be 70c per one hundred pounds of weight or major fraction thereof for
each such vehicle. Starting with the nineteen hundred fifty-nine license
year beginning April one, nineteen hundred fifty-nine, interstate common
carriers of interstate passengers may elect to be licensed and pay the fees
therefor as prescribed in subsection (5a) of this section upon submission
to the Commissioner of a declaration of operations and equipment as he
may prescribe.

(5a) 70c per hundred pounds of weight or major fraction thereof for
each motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer used as a common carrier of
interstate passengers if election is made to be licensed under this sub-
section. Starting with the nineteen hundred fifty-nine license year begin-
ning April one, nineteen hundred fifty-nine, in lieu of the foregoing fee of
70c per hundred pounds a motor carrier of passengers, operating two or
more vehicles both within and without this State under authority of the In-
terstate Commerce Commission, may make application to the Commissioner
for proration registration and upon the filing of such application, in such
form as the Commissioner may prescribe, the Commissioner is authorized
and directed to apportion the registration fees provided in this subpara-
graph so that the total registration fees to be paid for such vehicles of
such carrier shall be that proportion of the total fees, if there were no
apportionment, that the total number of miles travelled by such vehicles of
such carrier within the State bears to the total number of miles travelled
by such vehicles within and without this State, such total mileage in each
instance being the estimated total mileage to be travelled by such vehicles
during the license year for which such fees are paid, subject to adjust-
ment in accordance with an audit to be made by representatives of the
Commissioner at the end of such license year, the expense of such audit
to be borne by the carrier being audited; provided that each vehicle pass-
ing into or through this State shall be registered and licensed in this State
and the annual registration fee to be paid for each such vehicle shall not
be less than $25.00. For the purpose of determining such apportioned
registration fees, only those motor vehicles, trailers, or semitrailers oper-
ated both within and without the State shall be subject to inclusion in
determining the apportionment provided for herein.

(6) 80c per hundred pounds of weight or major fraction thereof for
each motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer kept or used for rent or for hire
or operated under a lease without chauffeur for the transportation of
passengers. This subsection does not apply to vehicles used as common

ers.

(7) 90c per hundred pounds of weight or major fraction thereof for
a taxicab and other vehicles kept for rent or hire operated with a chauffeur
for the transportation of passengers, which operates or should operate
under permits issued by the Corporation Commission as required by law.
This subsection does not apply to vehicles used as common carriers.

(8) $3.00 for a motorcycle.

(9) $2.00 for a sidecar.

(10) $10.00 for a bus used exclusively for transportation to and from
Sunday school or church, for the purposes of divine worship.

(11) 70c per hundred pounds of weight or major fraction thereof for
other passenger-carrying vehicles.

(b) The manufacturer’s shipping weight or scale weight shall be
used for computing all fees required by this section to be based upon the
weight of the vehicle.

(c) The applicant for registration bears the burden of proof that the
vehicle for which registration is sought is entitled by weight, design and
use to be registered at the fee tendered by the applicant to the Commis-
sioner or to his authorized agent.