BILL REQ. #:  H-3135.2 

Read first time 01/10/12.   Referred to Committee on Environment.

     AN ACT Relating to increasing the penalties for littering; amending RCW 70.93.060; reenacting and amending RCW 7.80.120; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 70.93.060 and 2003 c 337 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) It is a violation of this section to abandon a junk vehicle upon any property. In addition, no person shall throw, drop, deposit, discard, or otherwise dispose of litter upon any public property in the state or upon private property in this state not owned by him or her or in the waters of this state whether from a vehicle or otherwise including but not limited to any public highway, public park, beach, campground, forest land, recreational area, trailer park, highway, road, street, or alley except:
     (a) When the property is designated by the state or its agencies or political subdivisions for the disposal of garbage and refuse, and the person is authorized to use such property for that purpose;
     (b) Into a litter receptacle in a manner that will prevent litter from being carried away or deposited by the elements upon any part of the private or public property or waters.
     (2)(a) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, it is a class 3 civil infraction as provided in RCW 7.80.120 for a person to litter in an amount less than or equal to one cubic foot.
     (b) It is a misdemeanor for a person to litter in an amount greater than one cubic foot but less than one cubic yard. The person shall also pay a litter cleanup restitution payment equal to ((twice)) three times the actual cost of cleanup, or ((fifty)) one hundred dollars per cubic foot of litter, whichever is greater. The court shall distribute ((one-half)) one-third of the restitution payment to the landowner ((and one-half)), one-third of the restitution payment to the law enforcement agency investigating the incident, and one-third to the Washington conservation corps. The court may, in addition to or in lieu of part or all of the cleanup restitution payment, order the person to pick up and remove litter from the property, with prior permission of the legal owner or, in the case of public property, of the agency managing the property. The court may suspend or modify the litter cleanup restitution payment for a first-time offender under this section, if the person cleans up and properly disposes of the litter.
     (c) It is a gross misdemeanor for a person to litter in an amount of one cubic yard or more. The person shall also pay a litter cleanup restitution payment equal to ((twice)) three times the actual cost of cleanup, or ((one)) two hundred dollars per cubic foot of litter, whichever is greater. The court shall distribute ((one-half)) one-third of the restitution payment to the landowner ((and one-half)), one-third of the restitution payment to the law enforcement agency investigating the incident, and one-third to the Washington conservation corps. The court may, in addition to or in lieu of part or all of the cleanup restitution payment, order the person to pick up and remove litter from the property, with prior permission of the legal owner or, in the case of public property, of the agency managing the property. The court may suspend or modify the litter cleanup restitution payment for a first-time offender under this section, if the person cleans up and properly disposes of the litter.
     (d) If a junk vehicle is abandoned in violation of this section, RCW 46.55.230 governs the vehicle's removal, disposal, and sale, and the penalties that may be imposed against the person who abandoned the vehicle.
     (3) If the violation occurs in a state park, the court shall, in addition to any other penalties assessed, order the person to perform twenty-four hours of community restitution in the state park where the violation occurred if the state park has stated an intent to participate as provided in RCW 79A.05.050.
     (4) It is a class 1 civil infraction as provided in RCW 7.80.120 for a person to discard, in violation of this section, potentially dangerous litter in any amount.

Sec. 2   RCW 7.80.120 and 2003 c 365 s 3 and 2003 c 337 s 4 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) A person found to have committed a civil infraction shall be assessed a monetary penalty.
     (a) The maximum penalty and the default amount for a class 1 civil infraction shall be two hundred fifty dollars, not including statutory assessments, except for an infraction of state law involving potentially dangerous litter as specified in RCW 70.93.060(4), in which case the maximum penalty and default amount is seven hundred fifty dollars, and an infraction of state law involving violent video or computer games under RCW 9.91.180, in which case the maximum penalty and default amount is five hundred dollars;
     (b) The maximum penalty and the default amount for a class 2 civil infraction shall be one hundred twenty-five dollars, not including statutory assessments;
     (c) The maximum penalty and the default amount for a class 3 civil infraction shall be fifty dollars, not including statutory assessments; and
     (d) The maximum penalty and the default amount for a class 4 civil infraction shall be twenty-five dollars, not including statutory assessments.
     (2) The supreme court shall prescribe by rule the conditions under which local courts may exercise discretion in assessing fines for civil infractions.
     (3) Whenever a monetary penalty is imposed by a court under this chapter it is immediately payable. If the person is unable to pay at that time the court may grant an extension of the period in which the penalty may be paid. If the penalty is not paid on or before the time established for payment, the court may proceed to collect the penalty in the same manner as other civil judgments and may notify the prosecuting authority of the failure to pay.
     (4) The court may also order a person found to have committed a civil infraction to make restitution.