West Virginia Press Association Staff Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on Monday, advanced legislation seeking to clarify that it is not required for an administratively-altered, suspended or revoked driver’s license to be surrendered to the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles.
Proposed by Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, and explained by Committee Counsel Marey Casey, HB 5019, “Is really just a short bill, adding just a couple words and a couple commas.”
“Under current law, the Division of Motor Vehicles may not require that a license be surrendered to the DMV if it is suspended or revoked,” Carey said. “This bill adds the words ‘disqualifying’ and ‘downgrading,’ meaning that a license would not need to be surrendered if it is disqualified or downgraded.”
According to Carey, this would also apply to commercial licenses, such as in the case of a medical disqualification that prevents an individual from driving a commercial vehicle, but not a passenger vehicle.
Without questions or further discussion, HB 5019 was adopted by the committee, and will now be forwarded to the full Senate for further consideration.
In other business, the committee adopted six Senate Concurrent Resolutions (SCR), all seeking to name roadways after West Virginia military veterans. All six resolutions were explained by Committee Intern James Humen.
The first proposed resolution, SCR 21, seeks to establish the “US Army MSG James E. Jackson Jr. Memorial Road,” in Summers County.
“Mr. Jackson served in the Army during the Vietnam War during an Army medic,” Humen said. “He was captured by the VietCong for 495 days. After his release, he returned to teach at Ft. Bragg, and received a Bronze Star for his service.”
The next, SCR 23, seeks to name a road in Wyoming County the “US Navy LT Lewis Joseph D’Antoni Memorial Road.”
“(D’Antoni) served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and served for 44 months,” Humen explained. “Upon his return, he became a teacher and coach at Pineville High, Mullins High, and Chesapeake High. His coaching career had a total of 450 wins and 200 losses. He also coached many teams through regional and all-star competitions.”
The third proposed resolution, SCR 25, seeks to establish the “US Army SGT Wyatt K. Hinton Memorial Bridge,” also in Summers County.
“Mr. Hinton served in the U.S. Army during World War II, achieving the rank of Sergeant commission fourth-grade, until he was honorably discharged,” Humen told committee members. “He was the oldest veteran in Summers County until his death in 2021.”
The next three resolutions each had a committee substitute offered. The substitute for SCR 4 calls for the establishment of “US Army 2LT Eston Kuhn Memorial Bridge,” in Boone County.
“Mr. Kuhn served in the Army Air Forces during World War II,” Human explained. “He was co-piloting a glider plane mission in France when his plane went down. The crew survived, however they were captured by a German unit. Mr. Kuhn and the other service members were being transported via truck when Allied Forces attacked the convoy, killing Mr. Kuhn and a few other servicemen.”
According to Humen, the committee substitute was necessary due to the introduced bill seeking to dedicate a road rather than a bridge.
The committee’s substitute for SCR 22 seeks to establish the “US Army and Marine Corps Major and Olympic Gold Medalist Cornelius Burdette Memorial Road,” in Boone County.
“Mr. Burdette served in the U.S. Army and United States Marine Corps in the Philippines and in Cuba,” Humen noted. “For his skill as a marksman, he was awarded the Distinguished Marksman Medal. Upon his retirement from the Marines, he joined the West Virginia National Guard, where he served as a rifle instructor, and was selected to represent the United States in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm.”
Humen explained that the SCR’s original title referred to Burdette as an “Olympic Gold Medalist.” Biographical data is prohibited from appearing in legislative names by federal law, thus necessitating the committee substitute.
The last resolution, the committee substitute for SCR 26, calls for the creation of the “US Army PFC Clarence William (Buck) Holliday Memorial Road,” in Greenbrier County.
“Mr. Holliday served in the 104th Division, and was likely serving in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest,” Humen explained. “In 1944, he received major machine gun fire, and was killed in action.”
The committee substitute, Humen said, clarifies the beginning and end points of the road with GPS coordinates.
All six resolutions will be forwarded to the full Senate with the committee’s recommendation for adoption.
