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2001 SESSION


CHAPTER 338
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 15.2-2159 and 46.2-752 of the Code of Virginia, relating to fees for solid waste disposal.
[H 2737]
Approved March 19, 2001

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 15.2-2159 and 46.2-752 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 15.2-2159. Fee for solid waste disposal by counties.

A. Floyd County, Highland County, any county with a population between 53,000 and 55,000, any county with a population between 39,550 and 41,550, and any county with a population between 31,650 and 32,000 may levy a fee for the disposal of solid waste not to exceed the actual cost incurred by the county in procuring, developing, maintaining, and improving the landfill and for such reserves as may be necessary for capping and closing such landfill in the future. Such fee as collected shall be deposited in a special account to be expended only for the purposes for which it was levied. Except in Floyd County and any county with a population between 39,550 and 41,450, such fee shall not be used to purchase or subsidize the purchase of equipment used for the collection of solid waste. In Highland County and any county with a population between 53,000 and 55,000, such fee (i) may only be levied upon persons whose residential solid waste is disposed of at a county landfill or county solid waste collection or disposal facility and (ii) shall not be levied upon persons whose residential waste is not disposed of in such landfill or facility if such nondisposal is documented by the collector or generator of such waste as required by ordinance of such county. Documentation provided by a collector of such waste pursuant to clause (ii) shall not be disclosed by the county to any other person.

B. Any fee imposed by subsection A when combined with any other fee or charge for disposal of waste shall not exceed the actual cost incurred by the county in procuring, developing, maintaining, and improving its landfill and for such reserves as may be necessary for capping and closing such landfill in the future.

C. Any county which imposes the fee allowed under subsection A may enter into a contractual agreement with any water or heat, light, and power company or other corporation coming within the provisions of Chapter 26 (§ 58.1-2600 et seq.) of Title 58.1 except Appalachian Power Company, Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, BARC Electric Cooperative and Powell Valley Electric Cooperative for the collection of such fee. The agreement may include a commission for such service in the form of a deduction from the fee remitted. The commission shall be provided for by ordinance, which shall set the rate not to exceed five percent of the amount of fees due and collected.

D. Any county which imposes the fee allowed under subsection A and has a population between 39,550 and 41,550 has the following authority regarding collection of said fee:

1. To prorate said fee depending upon the period a resident or business is located in said county during the year of fee levy;

2. To levy penalty for late payment of fee as set forth in § 58.1-3916 of the Code of Virginia;

3. To levy interest on unpaid fees as set forth in § 58.1-3916 of the Code of Virginia;

4. To credit the fee first against the most delinquent use fee account owing;

5. To require payment of the fee prior to approval of an application for rezoning, special exception, variance or other land use permit.

§ 46.2-752. Taxes and license fees imposed by counties, cities, and towns; limitations on amounts; disposition of revenues; requiring evidence of payment of personal property taxes; prohibiting display of licenses after expiration; failure to display valid local license required by other localities.

A. Except as provided in § 46.2-755, counties, cities, and towns may levy and assess taxes and charge license fees on motor vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers. However, none of these taxes and license fees shall be assessed or charged by any county on vehicles owned by residents of any town located in the county when such town constitutes a separate school district if the vehicles are already subject to town license fees and taxes. The amount of the license fee or tax imposed by any county, city, or town on any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer shall not be greater than the amount of the license tax imposed by the Commonwealth on the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer. The license fees and taxes shall be imposed in such manner, on such basis, for such periods, and subject to proration for fractional periods of years, as the proper local authorities may determine. Local licenses may be issued free of charge for any or all of the following:

1. Vehicles powered by clean special fuels as defined in § 58.1-2101, including dual-fuel and bi-fuel vehicles,

2. Vehicles owned by volunteer rescue squads,

3. Vehicles owned by volunteer fire departments,

4. Vehicles owned or leased by active members of volunteer rescue squads,

5. Vehicles owned or leased by active members of volunteer fire departments,

6. Vehicles owned or leased by auxiliary police officers,

7. Vehicles owned or leased by volunteer police chaplains,

8. Vehicles owned by surviving spouses of persons qualified to receive special license plates under § 46.2-739,

9. Vehicles owned or leased by auxiliary deputy sheriffs or volunteer deputy sheriffs,

10. Vehicles owned by persons qualified to receive special license plates under § 46.2-739,

11. Vehicles owned by any of the following who served at least ten years in the locality: former members of volunteer rescue squads, former members of volunteer fire departments, former auxiliary police officers, former volunteer police chaplains, and former volunteer special police officers appointed under § 15.2-1737. In the case of active members of volunteer rescue squads and volunteer fire departments, applications for such licenses shall be accompanied by written evidence, in a form acceptable to the locality, of their active membership, and no member shall be issued more than one such license free of charge, or

12. All vehicles having a situs for the imposition of licensing fees under this section in the locality.

The governing body of any county, city, or town issuing licenses under this section may by ordinance provide for a fifty percent reduction in the fee charged for the issuance of any such license issued for any vehicle owned or leased by any person who is sixty-five years old or older. No such discount, however, shall be available for more than one vehicle owned or leased by the same person.

The governing body of any county, city, or town issuing licenses free of charge under this subsection may by ordinance provide for (i) the limitation, restriction, or denial of such free issuance to an otherwise qualified applicant, including without limitation the denial of free issuance to a taxpayer who has failed to timely pay personal property taxes due with respect to the vehicle and (ii) the grounds for such limitation, restriction, or denial.

The situs for the imposition of licensing fees under this section shall in all cases, except as hereinafter provided, be the county, city, or town in which the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is normally garaged, stored, or parked. If it cannot be determined where the personal property is normally garaged, stored, or parked, the situs shall be the domicile of its owner. In the event the owner of the motor vehicle is a full-time student attending an institution of higher education, the situs shall be the domicile of such student, provided the student has presented sufficient evidence that he has paid a personal property tax on the motor vehicle in his domicile.

B. The revenue derived from all county, city, or town taxes and license fees imposed on motor vehicles, trailers, or semitrailers shall be applied to general county, city, or town purposes.

C. A county, city, or town may require that no motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer shall be locally licensed until the applicant has produced satisfactory evidence that all personal property taxes on the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to be licensed have been paid and satisfactory evidence that any delinquent motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer personal property taxes owing have been paid which have been properly assessed or are assessable against the applicant by the county, city, or town. A county, city, or town may also provide that no motor vehicle license shall be issued unless the tangible personal property taxes properly assessed or assessable by that locality on any tangible personal property used or usable as a dwelling titled by the Department of Motor Vehicles and owned by the taxpayer have been paid. Any county and any town within any such county may by agreement require that all personal property taxes assessed by either the county or the town on any vehicle be paid before licensure of such vehicle by either the county or the town.

C1. Any county having a population of at least 24,000, but no more than 24,600, or having a population of at least 39,550, but no more than 41,550, may, by ordinance or resolution adopted after public notice and hearing and, with the consent of the treasurer, require that no license may be issued under this section unless the applicant has produced satisfactory evidence that all fees, including delinquent fees, payable to such county or local solid waste authority, for the disposal of solid waste pursuant to the Virginia Water and Waste Authorities Act (§ 15.2-5100 et seq.), or pursuant to § 15.2-2159, have been paid in full. For purposes of this subsection, all fees, including delinquent fees, payable to a county for waste disposal services described herein, shall be paid to the treasurer of such county; however, in any county with a population between 39,550 and 41,550, the fee shall be paid to the county or its agent.

D. The Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William and towns within them and any city may require that no motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer shall be licensed by that jurisdiction unless all fines owed to the jurisdiction by the owner of the vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer for violation of the jurisdiction's ordinances governing parking of vehicles have been paid. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to vehicles owned by firms or companies in the business of renting motor vehicles.

E. If in any county imposing license fees and taxes under this section, a town therein imposes like fees and taxes on vehicles of owners resident in the town, the owner of any vehicle subject to the fees or taxes shall be entitled, on the owner's displaying evidence that he has paid the fees or taxes, to receive a credit on the fees or taxes imposed by the county to the extent of the fees or taxes he has paid to the town. Nothing in this section shall deprive any town now imposing these licenses and taxes from increasing them or deprive any town not now imposing them from hereafter doing so, but subject to the limitations provided in subsection D of this section. The governing body of any county and the governing body of any town in that county wherein each imposes the license tax herein provided may provide mutual agreements so that not more than one license plate or decal in addition to the state plate shall be required.

F. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection E of this section, in a consolidated county wherein a tier-city exists, the tier-city may, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement or plan of consolidation, impose license fees and taxes under this section in addition to those fees and taxes imposed by the county, provided that the combined county and tier-city rates do not exceed the maximum provided in subsection A of this section. No credit shall be allowed on the fees or taxes imposed by the county for fees or taxes paid to the tier-city, except as may be provided by the consolidation agreement or plan. The governing body of any county and the governing body of any tier-city in said county wherein each imposes the license tax herein may provide by mutual agreement that no more than one license plate or decal in addition to the state license plate shall be required.

G. Any county, city, or town may by ordinance provide that it shall be unlawful for any owner or operator of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to fail to obtain and display the local license required by any ordinance of the county, city or town in which the vehicle is registered or to display upon a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer any such local license after its expiration date. The ordinance may provide that a violation shall constitute a misdemeanor the penalty for which shall not exceed that of a Class 4 misdemeanor and may, in the case of a motor vehicle registered to a resident of the locality where such vehicle is registered, authorize the issuance by local law-enforcement officers of citations, summonses, parking tickets, or uniform traffic summonses for violations. Any such ordinance may also provide that a violation of the ordinance by the registered owner of the vehicle may not be discharged by payment of a fine except upon presentation of satisfactory evidence that the required license has been obtained.

H. Except as provided by subsections E and F, no vehicle shall be subject to taxation under the provisions of this section in more than one jurisdiction.

I. Purchasers of new or used motor vehicles shall be allowed at least a ten-day grace period, beginning with the date of purchase, during which to pay license fees charged by local governments under authority of this section.

J. Beginning October 1, 1992, the treasurer or director of finance of any county, city, or town may enter into an agreement with the Commissioner whereby the Commissioner will refuse to issue or renew any vehicle registration of any applicant therefor who owes to such county, city or town any delinquent tangible personal property tax levied with respect to such vehicle in excess of $50. Before being issued any vehicle registration or renewal of such license or registration by the Commissioner, the applicant must first satisfy all such delinquent taxes and present evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner that all such delinquent taxes have been paid in full. The Commissioner shall charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs of such enforcement action, and the treasurer or director of finance may add the cost of this fee to the delinquent tax bill. The treasurer or director of finance of any county, city, or town seeking to collect delinquent taxes through the withholding of registration or renewal thereof by the Commissioner as provided for in this subsection shall notify the Commissioner in the manner provided for in his agreement with the Commissioner and supply to the Commissioner information necessary to identify the debtor whose registration or renewal is to be denied. Any agreement entered into pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall provide the debtor notice of the intent to deny renewal of registration at least thirty days prior to the expiration date of a current vehicle registration. For the purposes of this subsection, notice by first-class mail to the registrant's address as maintained in the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles shall be deemed sufficient.

K. The governing bodies of any two or more counties, cities, or towns may enter into compacts for the regional enforcement of local motor vehicle license requirements. The governing body of each participating jurisdiction may by ordinance require the owner or operator of any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to display on his vehicle a valid local license issued by another county, city, or town that is a party to the regional compact, provided that the owner or operator is required by the jurisdiction of situs, as provided in § 58.1-3511, to obtain and display such license. The ordinance may provide that a violation shall constitute a misdemeanor the penalty for which shall not exceed that of a Class 4 misdemeanor. Any such ordinance may also provide that a violation of the ordinance by the owner of the vehicle may not be discharged by payment of a fine except upon presentation of satisfactory evidence that the required license has been obtained.