HB 2039 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Provide volunteer firemen free license plates and vehicle registration

HB 2039 would allow volunteer firefighters in West Virginia with at least five years of service to receive free license plates and vehicle registration for one personal vehicle. The bill requires annual verification from the firefighter's fire chief confirming continued eligibility. It waives all associated license plate and registration fees for qualifying individuals, directly benefiting eligible volunteer firefighters statewide. The policy change is administrative, focusing solely on fee exemptions without altering other vehicle registration requirements.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 12, 2025 Last action Feb 13, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from an Introduced Version to a Committee Substitute version, primarily adding new content about low-speed vehicle regulations and expanding the bill's purpose statement to include fee waivers for volunteer firefighters. The original text focused on farm vehicle exemptions, while the substitute version adds detailed rules for low-speed vehicles and clarifies the firefighter registration fee waiver program.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from primarily covering farm vehicle exemptions to also include comprehensive low-speed vehicle regulations and volunteer firefighter registration fee waivers.

SCOPE

Added new subsection (c) establishing detailed regulations for low-speed vehicles, including operational restrictions to roads with speed limits of 25 mph or less and requirements for 49 C.F.R. §571.500 compliance.

ELIGIBILITY

Added new subsection (d) creating a fee waiver program for volunteer firefighters with five or more years of service, requiring annual affidavits from their chiefs to confirm eligibility.

DEFINITION

Added new subsection (b) clarifying that mobile homes are exempt from registration fees while house trailers may be registered and factory-built homes are subject to title provisions.

REQUIREMENT

Added specific requirements for low-speed vehicle owners to certify under penalty of false swearing that lights, brakes, tires, and seat belts are in good working condition during registration renewal.

Added requirement that any person operating a low-speed vehicle must hold a valid driver's license rather than an instruction permit.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 13, 2025

Committee

To House Government Adminstration

lower

Feb 12, 2025

Committee

To House Government Organization

lower

Feb 12, 2025

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Feb 12, 2025

Committee

To Government Organization then Finance

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors