Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That §46.2-1158.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows: §46.2-1158.1. Extension of validity of vehicle safety inspection approval stickers issued for vehicles whose registered owners are persons in the armed services of the United States. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, any vehicle
safety inspection approval sticker issued for any vehicle that is principally
garaged outside the Commonwealth while its registered owner is a person in the
armed services of the United States shall be held not to have expired during
the period of the owner's official absence from the Commonwealth in the armed
services of the United States, regardless of whether such vehicle is operated
in or through the Commonwealth during the owner's official absence from the
Commonwealth in the armed services of the United States. Should the armed
services member be domiciled in another state of the United States, nothing in
this section shall be construed to absolve such person from obtaining a current
inspection sticker from his state of domicile, if required by such state. In
cases where a vehicle's owner has been officially absent from the Commonwealth
because of service in the armed services of the United States but returns to
Virginia following such official absence and the vehicle becomes operational in
the Commonwealth, the vehicle's owner will have Motor vehicles owned and operated by persons on active duty with the United States armed forces who are Virginia residents stationed outside the Commonwealth at the time the inspection expires may be operated on the highways of the Commonwealth while persons on active duty are on leave, provided such vehicle displays a valid inspection sticker issued by another state. For the purposes of this section, "service in the armed services of the United States" includes active duty service with the regular armed forces of the United States or the National Guard or other reserve component. |