HD42 - The Revision of Title 46.1 of the Code of Virginia

  • Published: 1989
  • Author: Virginia Code Commission
  • Enabling Authority: House Joint Resolution 271 (Regular Session, 1987)

Executive Summary:
House Joint Resolution No. 271, approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 1987, requested the Virginia Code Commission to undertake a revision of Title 46.1 of the Code of Virginia. Following its completion of revisions of Titles 10 and 54, the Commission began its consideration of Title 46.1 in the spring of 1988. The many changes made by the General Assembly to Virginia's motor vehicle laws over the three decades since Virginia's motor vehicle laws were systematically revised made it appropriate to reexamine the title as a whole, to remove ambiguities, simplify language and structure, and generally improve the clarity of the law.

The requested revision has been completed, and has resulted in a recodification of Title 46.1 as Title 46.2. The proposed revision consists of four subtitles: General Provisions, Department of Motor Vehicles Titling, Registration, and Licensure; Operation; and Dealers. A more detailed outline of proposed Title 46.2 is contained in Appendix I. Notes following each section of the proposed text explain the changes.

In revising present Title 46.1 the Commission was guided by several goals:

• Simplification of language wherever possible;
• Substitution of commonly used terms for technical jargon in appropriate instances;
• Substitution of classified penalties (traffic infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies) for nonstandard penalties, absent cogent reasons for their retention;
• Alphabetical arrangement of terms in definition sections;
• Comporting outdated or excessively cumbersome legal and administrative procedures to modern practice; and
• Identification of affected localities by name, rather than by population brackets or other circumlocutions.

While consideration had been given to relocating those provisions of the title dealing with habitual offenders and drunk driving to other titles, the Commission decided that, on balance, they should be retained with other Virginia's other motor vehicle laws. The only significant portion of present Title 46.1 which the Commission recommends relocating elsewhere is Chapter 9: Open-Air Theatres. The utility of these provisions has considerably declined in recent years as the popularity of outdoor theatres has waned. The Commission feels that these matters can be dealt with just as effectively through regulations of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, and the relevant provisions have been relocated to Title 33.1.