SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2006 SESSION
068250766Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 46.2-819.2 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 46.2-819.2. Driving a motor vehicle from establishment where motor fuel offered for sale; suspension of license; penalty.
A. No person shall drive a motor vehicle off the premises of
an establishment at which motor fuel offered for retail sale was dispensed into
the fuel tank of such motor vehicle unless payment for such fuel has been made.
[ There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the
motor vehicle described in the summons was the motor
vehicle into which the fuel was dispensed in violation of this section and that
the registered owner, lessee, or renter of the vehicle committed the violation.
Such presumption shall be rebutted if the owner, lessee, or renter of the
vehicle (i) files an affidavit by regular mail with the clerk of the general
district court that he was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the
alleged violation or (ii) testifies in open court under oath that he was not
the operator of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation. Such
presumption shall also be rebutted if a certified copy of a police report,
showing that the vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the
time of the alleged violation of this section, is presented, prior to the
return date established on the summons issued pursuant to this section, to the
court adjudicating the alleged violation.
A summons for a violation of this section may be
executed pursuant to § 19.2-76.2. Notwithstanding the provisions of §
19.2-76.2, a summons for a violation of this section may be executed by mailing
by first-class mail a copy thereof to the address of the owner, lessee, or
renter of the vehicle as shown, in the case of vehicle owners, in the records
of the Department of Motor Vehicles or, in the case of vehicle lessees or
renters, in the records of the lessor or renter. Every such mailing shall
include, in addition to the summons, a notice of (i) the summoned person's
ability to rebut the presumption that he was the operator of the vehicle at the
time of the alleged violation through the filing of an affidavit as provided in
this section and (ii) instructions for filing such affidavit, including the
address to which the affidavit is to be sent. If the summoned person fails to
appear on the date of return set out in the summons mailed pursuant to this
section, the summons shall be executed in the manner set out in § 19.2-76.2.
]
B. Any person who violates this section shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $250 and applicable court costs if the matter proceeds to court.
C. The driver's license of any person found to have violated this section (i) may be suspended, for the first offense, for a period of up to 30 days and (ii) shall be suspended for a period of 30 days for the second and subsequent offenses.
D. Nothing herein shall preclude a prosecution for larceny.