§17B-7-5. Program acceptance; development of consolidated repayment schedule; no other court fee payments required.

(a) A person wishing to participate in the Second Chance Driver’s License Program shall complete an application form prepared by the director.

(b) Upon receipt of a person’s application, the director shall coordinate with the courts and the commissioner to verify the total amount of the applicant’s unpaid court costs in the state of West Virginia at the time of the application.

(c) All courts shall provide a full accounting of all unpaid court costs assignable to the applicant within 30 days of the request of the director. The accounting shall separately identify the portion of the court costs that constitute a fine, forfeiture, penalty, or the amount due as restitution to a crime victim or costs to be credited to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund pursuant to §62-5-10 of this code remaining unpaid by the applicant for each order of the court for which unpaid balances remain.

(d) Any unpaid court costs not reported to the director by a court as provided by subsection (c) of this section may not be collected separately by the court during the time in which the applicant is a participant in the program.

(e) If a participant completes the program, any unpaid court costs, except for unpaid fines, and unpaid amounts due as restitution to a crime victim or costs to be credited to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund pursuant to §62-5-10 of this code, not submitted to the director pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall be considered waived unless the unpaid court costs were part of an order entered after the date upon which the director requested information for a participant. The driver’s license suspension or revocation with respect to any unpaid fine not reported by a court shall be released upon completion of the program by the participant.

(f) Within 30 days after receipt of information concerning unpaid court costs, the director shall determine if the applicant is eligible to participate in the program. Upon determination, the director shall promptly notify the applicant of his or her acceptance into the program.

(g) Upon acceptance of the applicant as a participant in the program, the director shall develop a consolidated repayment schedule for the participant, which will require the participant to remit payments on a monthly basis to the director according to guidelines established by the director in legislative rules, subject to the following conditions:

(1) The monthly payment shall be determined based on the participant’s monthly income and expenditures, but may not be less than $50 per month; and

(2) The consolidated repayment schedule shall require full payment of the unpaid court costs within one year.

(h) The consolidated repayment schedule may be amended to reflect changes in a participant’s circumstances.

(i) The director may permit a hardship waiver of the requirements of subsection (g) of this section, upon a determination that the applicant’s circumstances may have changed, and that the objectives of this article are best accomplished if the consolidated repayment schedule requires a lesser monthly payment or a longer period of time to remit the unpaid court costs: Provided, That the director may not waive the total amount of unpaid court costs submitted by the courts according to subsection (a) of this section.

(j) Upon acceptance into the program, a participant in good standing with the program is under no obligation to make separate or additional payments of unpaid court costs directly to a court if those unpaid court costs are included in the consolidated repayment schedule.