Relating to authorizing the Division of Highways to promulgate a legislative rule relating to supporting electronic toll collection and enforcement
Summary
HB2282 authorizes the Parkways Authority to promulgate a legislative rule concerning support for electronic toll collection and enforcement. The bill does not itself create a new tolling program or change toll rates; instead, it approves a previously filed legislative rule, 184 CSR 05, that was submitted and then modified to address objections from the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee before being refiled. In practical terms, the measure gives the Parkways Authority formal authority to proceed with the administrative rule governing how electronic toll collection and related enforcement will operate.
The bill is a narrow rule-authorization measure within West Virginia’s legislative rule process. It amends the state code section that lists approved agency rules, thereby making the Parkways Authority’s toll-collection rule effective as authorized state law. The affected parties are primarily the Parkways Authority, motorists who use toll facilities, and any entities involved in toll collection, billing, and enforcement.
Impact
HB2282 updates West Virginia Code §64-8-1 to authorize a specific legislative rule for the Parkways Authority, allowing the agency to implement and enforce electronic toll collection procedures under 184 CSR 05. Its legal effect is to validate the rule through legislative approval, which can affect toll operations, collection practices, and enforcement mechanisms on state toll facilities. The bill does not appear to alter substantive toll policy directly, but it enables the administrative framework under which toll collection and enforcement will be carried out.
Sentiment
The available record suggests little overt controversy or debate around HB2282. There are no committee transcripts or recorded votes in the provided materials, and the bill appears to have been presented as a routine authorization of an agency rule after it was revised to satisfy the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee. The overall sentiment is therefore best characterized as procedural and neutral, with the bill functioning as a standard legislative approval of a regulatory rule rather than a contested policy change.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the underlying electronic toll collection and enforcement rule itself, including how tolls are collected, how violations are enforced, and what obligations are imposed on drivers. However, the provided materials do not show any specific objections, amendments, or opposition from legislators or stakeholders. The only documented issue is that the rule was modified to meet objections from the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee before being refiled, indicating technical or legal compliance concerns rather than broad policy disagreement.