§18B-4-6. Regulation of parking, speed flow of traffic on campus roads and driveways; civil and criminal penalties; disposition of revenue.

(a) Notwithstanding any other motor vehicle or traffic law or regulation to the contrary, a governing board may regulate and control at any state institution under its jurisdiction the speed, flow and parking of vehicles on campus roads, driveways and parking facilities or areas.

(1) Rules for this purpose shall be promulgated by the governing boards in the manner prescribed in section six, article one of this chapter.

(2) When so promulgated, the rules have the force and effect of law.

(3) The governing board shall post in a conspicuous location in each parking facility or area, a summary of the rules governing the use of the facility or area including, but not limited to, the availability of temporary parking permits and where these permits may be obtained and the penalties which may be imposed for violations of the rules.

(4) The governing board shall post in a conspicuous location along each campus road and driveway notice signs pertaining to the speed of vehicles, spaces available for parking, directional flow of traffic and penalties which may be imposed for violations of the rules.

(b) Any person parking or operating a vehicle in violation of the rules shall be issued a citation:

(1) Describing the offense charged; and

(2) Ordering an appearance:

(A) Within ten days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays observed by the state institution, before a designated official of the institution;

(B) Before a magistrate located in the county if the person cited fails to appear within the ten days; or

(C) Before the judge of the municipal court, if the state institution is located within a municipality having such an official and the person cited fails to appear within the ten days.

(c) The designated official of the state institution has exclusive jurisdiction of the offense during the ten-day period until the citation is forwarded to a magistrate. For the state institutions of higher education under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and for the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, the designated official of the institution has exclusive jurisdiction of the offense for thirty days following the violation. After thirty days the official shall forward the citation to a magistrate. Any person cited may plead no contest to the offense and, by so pleading, is subject to a civil penalty to be determined uniformly by the designated official and commensurate with the severity of the offense. For the state institutions under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and for the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, the amount imposed may not exceed $20. For all other institutions the amount may not exceed $10, for each offense as partial reimbursement to the state institution of higher education for the cost of regulating traffic and parking. In the case of the state institutions under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and in the case of the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, the designated official shall determine the penalty uniformly, commensurate with the severity of the offense, and may apply academic restrictions in lieu of requiring a student to appear in court and receive penalties otherwise provided in this section. Moneys derived from civil penalties imposed in this subsection shall be deposited in the institution's auxiliary and auxiliary capital fees fund.

(d) Upon expiration of the ten-day or thirty-day period, as applicable, or upon a pleading of not guilty before the designated official of the state institution within the applicable period, the magistrate or judge of the municipal court has jurisdiction of the offense. Any person cited under this section, upon a finding of guilty by the magistrate or municipal judge, is subject to a fine for each offense by the state institutions under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and for the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, of up to $40, and at all other state institutions not less than $10 nor more than $20, the amount to be commensurate with the severity of the offense.

(e) Each designated official of a state institution presiding over a case under this section shall keep a record of every citation which alleges a violation of the provisions, or the rules promulgated in accordance with this section, and shall keep a record of every official action in reference to the citation including, but not limited to, a record of every plea of no contest, conviction or acquittal, of the offense charged, and the amount of the fine or civil penalty resulting from each citation.

(f) Whenever a vehicle is parked on any state institution campus road, driveway or parking facility or area in a manner which violates posted rules and substantially impedes the flow of traffic or endangers the health and safety, in addition to issuing a citation and any procedures set forth in this section, the institution may remove the vehicle, by towing or otherwise, to an area owned by the institution or areas designated for this purpose. The vehicle, having been towed to the designated area or areas, may be rendered immovable by use of locking wheel blocks or other device not damaging to the vehicle. The state institution of higher education shall maintain any vehicle towed in the same condition as it was immediately prior to being towed, but is not liable for any damage to a vehicle towed to, or kept in, a designated area pursuant to this section. The state institution of higher education shall pay for the cost of removing the vehicle and has a right to reimbursement from the owner for this cost and for the reasonable cost of keeping the vehicle in the designated area. Until payment of these costs, the state institution of higher education may retain possession of the vehicle and the institution shall have a lien on the vehicle for the amount due. The state institution of higher education may enforce this lien in the manner provided in section fourteen, article eleven, chapter thirty-eight of this code for the enforcement of other liens. For the state institutions of higher education under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and for the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, this subsection also apply when a vehicle is subject to three or more unpaid citations.

(g) If, at any time, Mountwest Community and Technical College ceases to share a physical campus location with Marshall University, it may not be included as an institution under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University for the purposes of subsections (c), (d) and (f) of this section.