Persons, firms, corporations, and other business entities operating commuter buses for compensation in intrastate commerce shall maintain records of all maintenance performed on such buses. Such records shall include the dates of service, the odometer reading of the bus on that date, the maintenance performed, and the name of the person or persons performing the maintenance. Such records shall be open to inspection during the operator's normal business hours by employees of the Department of State Police specifically designated by the Superintendent. Employees of the Department of State Police designated for that purpose by the Superintendent shall also be authorized with the consent of the owner, operator, or agent in charge or with an appropriate warrant obtained under the procedure prescribed in Chapter 24 (§ 19.2-393 et seq.) of Title 19.2 to go onto the property of business entities operating commuter buses for compensation in intrastate commerce to inspect buses directly on such property or on the property where such buses are principally garaged at any time during normal business hours. Such inspections may be either for the purpose of determining the safe condition of the buses or to verify the accuracy of the maintenance logs or for both purposes.

A violation of any provision of this section shall constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to local or regional governments, to authorities created to provide local or regional mass transit service, or to buses which those governments or authorities own or operate.

For the purpose of this section, "commuter bus" means a motor vehicle which has a seating capacity of more than seventeen passengers, is used primarily to transport workers directly to and from factories, plants, offices, or other places where they work, and is registered with the Department for such operation.

1983, c. 203, § 46.1-326.1:1; 1989, c. 727; 1997, c. 283.