H-1039.1                  _______________________________________________

                                                      HOUSE BILL 1742

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Representatives Zellinsky, Schmidt, Orr, Mielke, R. Meyers, Ballard, Jacobsen and Wood

Read first time 02/08/93.  Referred to Committee on Transportation.

Requiring a thumb print for issuing a driver's license or identicard.

          AN ACT Relating to thumb prints on applications for drivers' licenses and identicards; amending RCW 46.20.091, 46.20.117, and 46.20.118; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that identification document fraud is pervasive in Washington state and undermines the anticrime policies of this state.  Identification document fraud often involves checks, credit cards, licensing, voter registration cards, insurance, welfare, money laundering, and the trafficking of illegal drugs.  This abuse has significant legal, economic, and political consequences and undermines the public confidence in governmental and commercial institutions.

          The state driver's license and identification cards are the most commonly used documents for identification in private and public transactions.  The legislature finds that the driver's license is used not merely to certify driver qualification, nor is the identification card a document that should be issued without adequate proof of identity.

        Sec. 2.  RCW 46.20.091 and 1990 c 250 s 35 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) Every application for an instruction permit or for an original driver's license shall be made upon a form prescribed and furnished by the department which shall be sworn to and signed by the applicant before a person authorized to administer oaths.  Every application for an instruction permit containing a photograph shall be accompanied by a fee of five dollars.  The department shall forthwith transmit the fees collected for instruction permits and temporary drivers' permits to the state treasurer.

          (2) Every such application shall state the full name, date of birth, sex, and Washington residence address of the applicant, and briefly describe the applicant, and shall state whether the applicant has theretofore been licensed as a driver or chauffeur, and, if so, when and by what state or country, and whether any such license has ever been suspended or revoked, or whether an application has ever been refused, and, if so, the date of and reason for such suspension, revocation, or refusal, and shall state such additional information as the department shall require.

          (3) Every application for an original or duplicate driver's license must include a legible thumb print.

(4) Whenever application is received from a person previously licensed in another jurisdiction, the department shall request a copy of such driver's record from such other jurisdiction.  When received, the driving record shall become a part of the driver's record in this state.

          (((4))) (5) Whenever the department receives request for a driving record from another licensing jurisdiction, the record shall be forwarded without charge if the other licensing jurisdiction extends the same privilege to the state of Washington.   Otherwise there shall be a reasonable charge for transmittal of the record, the amount to be fixed by the director of the department.

        Sec. 3.  RCW 46.20.117 and 1986 c 15 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) The department shall issue "identicards," containing a picture, to ((individuals)) nondrivers for a fee of four dollars.  However, the fee shall be the actual cost of production to recipients of continuing public assistance grants under Title 74 RCW who are referred in writing to the department by the secretary of social and health services.  The fee shall be deposited in the highway safety fund.  To be eligible, each applicant shall produce evidence as required by the rules adopted by the director that positively proves identity.  The evidence must include a legible thumb print for each applicant for an original, renewed, or duplicate identicard.  The "identicard" shall be distinctly designed so that it will not be confused with the official driver's license.  The identicard shall expire on the fifth anniversary of the applicant's birthdate after issuance.

          (2) The department may cancel an "identicard" upon a showing by its records or other evidence that the holder of such "identicard" has committed a violation relating to "identicards" defined in RCW 46.20.336.

        Sec. 4.  RCW 46.20.118 and 1990 c 250 s 37 are each amended to read as follows:

          The department shall maintain a ((negative)) file((.  It shall contain negatives of)) containing all pictures and thumb prints taken by the department of licensing as authorized by RCW 46.20.070 through 46.20.119.  ((Negatives)) Pictures and thumb prints in the file shall not be available for public inspection and copying under chapter 42.17 RCW.  The department may make the file available and provide legible copies to official governmental enforcement agencies to assist in the investigation by the agencies of suspected criminal activity.  The department may also provide a print to the driver's next of kin in the event the driver is deceased.

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