Title: An act relating to the creation and distribution of funds for additional patrols along high-accident corridors.

Brief Description: Providing for additional patrols along high-accident corridors.

Sponsors: Senators Haugen, Swecker, Murray and Kauffman.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Transportation: 2/19/07, 2/27/07 [DPS, DNP].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5937 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.Signed by Senators Haugen, Chair; Marr, Vice Chair; Murray, Vice Chair; Swecker, Ranking Minority Member; Berkey, Delvin, Jacobsen, Kastama, Kauffman, Kilmer, Pflug, Sheldon and Spanel.

Minority Report: Do not pass.Signed by Senators Clements and Holmquist.

Staff: David Ward (786-7341)

Background: The current fee for an abstract of driving record is five dollars. Revenue from the fee is deposited in the Highway Safety Account. Appropriations from the account fund the Department of Licensing's (DOL) Driver's Services Division.

Summary of Bill: The bill as referred to committee not considered.

Summary of Proposed Substitute As Heard In Committee (Transportation): The fee for an abstract of driving record is increased from five dollars to ten dollars. Half of the revenue will continue to be deposited in the Highway Safety Fund and fund DOL's Driver's Services activities. The other half of the revenue will be apportioned as follows:
   1)   two-thirds of the surcharge is deposited into the State Patrol Highway Account, and used for additional emphasis patrols to be conducted by State Patrol in high-accident-corridor locations on state routes;
   2)   the remaining one-third is deposited into the highway safety fund, and used to create a county road high-accident-corridor emphasis patrol program administered by the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission (Commission).

County sheriffs may apply to the Commission for emphasis patrols on specific high-accident-corridors within their county. According to criteria established by the Commission, the Commission prioritizes county requests for emphasis patrols, which are performed by State Patrol at no cost to the county.

EFFECT OF CHANGES MADE BY RECOMMENDED SUBSTITUTE AS PASSED COMMITTEE (Transportation): All revenue derived from the incremental increase in the cost of abstracts of driving records is deposited to the State Patrol Highway Account.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect on August 1, 2007.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: The Commission would like to see funding authorized for a public education component and eligibility for funds made available to local law enforcement in cases where the State Patrol is unable to support emphasis patrols on a given corridor.

OTHER: Similar past emphasis patrol efforts in Pierce County resulted in a dramatic increase in local court cases. There is a request that funding be made available for additional, local court related costs and that local courts be notified when a High Accident Corridor emphasis patrol is about to be undertaken. The Insurance industry appreciates the move away from insurance surcharges as a funding mechanism for this activity and would characterize the move to abstract fees as our preferred alternative.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Steve Lind, Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

OTHER: Yvonne Pettus, District and Municipal Court Management Association; Cliff Webster, American Insurance Association.