AN ACT Relating to motor vehicle licenses; amending RCW 46.20.342 and 46.12.240; adding new sections to chapter 46.16 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1. Section 3, chapter 148, Laws of 1980 and RCW 46.20.342 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public highway of this state at a time when his privilege so to do is suspended or revoked in this or any other state or when his policy of insurance or bond, when required under this chapter, ((~~shall have~~)) has been canceled or terminated, ((~~shall be~~)) is guilty of a misdemeanor((~~: PROVIDED, That~~)), and the offenses described in RCW 46.20.021 and 46.20.190((~~, as now or hereafter amended,~~)) are lesser included offenses within the offense described by this section. Upon the first conviction therefor, ((he)) the person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten days nor more than six months. Upon the second ((~~such~~)) conviction therefor, ((he)) the person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ninety days nor more than one year. Upon the third ((~~such~~)) conviction therefor, ((he)) the person shall be punished by imprisonment for one year. There may also be imposed in connection with each ((~~such~~)) conviction a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.

(2) The department upon receiving a record of conviction of any person or upon receiving an order by any juvenile court or any duly authorized court officer of the conviction of any juvenile under this section upon a charge of driving a vehicle while the license of ((~~such~~)) the person is under suspension shall extend the period of ((~~such~~)) the suspension for an additional like period, and if the conviction was upon a charge of driving while a license was revoked the department shall not issue a new license for an additional period of one year from and after the date ((~~such~~)) the person would otherwise have been entitled to apply for a new license.

(3) At the time of arrest for a violation of subsection (1) of this section, the arresting officer shall confiscate the vehicle license and license plates of the vehicle being driven by the arrested person. Upon confiscation, the arresting officer shall, on behalf of the department serve notice in accordance with section 3 of this 1985 act of the department's intention to cancel the vehicle license in accordance with section 2 of this 1985 act. The officer shall replace any confiscated license or license plate with a temporary license or plate that expires forty-five days after the arrest, or at the time the department's cancellation is sustained at a hearing conducted under section 4 of this 1985 act, whichever occurs first.

(4) After confiscation under subsection (3) of this section, the arresting officer shall transmit to the department, together with the confiscated license and plates, a sworn report indicating that the officer had reasonable grounds to believe that the arrested driver was driving in violation of subsection (1) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 46.16 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Upon receipt of the sworn report of an arresting officer transmitted pursuant to RCW 46.20.342(4), the department shall review its records, and if it ascertains that the arrested driver's privilege to drive was suspended or revoked at the time of his arrest and that the arrested driver is the registered owner of the vehicle identified in the report, the department shall cancel the vehicle registration as follows:

(a) For a first report resulting in cancellation, the registration shall be canceled for ninety days;

(b) For a second report within five years, the registration shall be canceled for one year;

(2) For purposes of this section, cancellation means that the existing registration shall be canceled and no new registration may be issued to the arrested driver for the prescribed period. Cancellation takes effect beginning forty-five days after arrest, or at the time the cancellation is sustained by a hearing held under section 4 of this act, whichever occurs first. If the department does not cancel registration under subsection (1) of this section, it shall return any confiscated vehicle license or license plates to the registered owner of the vehicle.

(3) No cancellation under this section may affect the right of any person to transfer or acquire title in the vehicle, or the right of any person other than the arrested driver to become the registered owner of the vehicle.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 46.16 RCW to read as follows:

No cancellation under section 2 of this act is effective until the department or a law enforcement officer acting on its behalf notifies the arrested driver in writing by personal service, by certified mail or by first class mail addressed to that driver's last known address of record with the department, of the department's intention to cancel registration and of the cancellation together with the grounds therefor and allows the driver a seven-day period to request in writing that the department provide a hearing as provided in section 4 of this act. The notice shall specify the steps the driver must take to obtain a hearing. If no written request for a hearing is received by the department within seven days from the date of notification, the order of the department becomes effective as provided in section 2 of this act. If a request for a hearing is filed in time, the department shall give the driver an opportunity for a hearing as provided in section 4 of this act, and the suspension or revocation will not be effective until a final determination has been made by the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 46.16 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Administrative hearings held to determine the propriety of any registration cancellation imposed under section 2 of this act shall be in accordance with rules adopted by the director.

(2) The department shall fix a time, no more than forty-five days after arrest, and place for a hearing to be held in the county in which the arrest was made. The hearing may be set for some other county by agreement between the department and the driver.

(3) The department shall give the driver at least twenty-one days advance notice of the time and place of hearing, but the period of notice may be waived by the driver. The department shall issue a subpoena upon the request of any party and, to the extent required by department rule, upon a statement showing the general relevance and reasonable scope of the evidence sought. The subpoena may be issued with like effect by the driver's attorney of record or the office of the attorney general, and the form of the subpoena in each case may be the same as when issued by the agency, except that it shall only be subscribed by the signature of the driver's attorney or an assistant attorney general. Every party has the right of cross-examination of any witness who testifies and has the right to submit rebuttal evidence. Subpoenas issued under this section may be enforced in the manner provided by RCW 34.04.105(5).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 46.16 RCW to read as follows:

If the cancellation under section 2 of this act is sustained at the hearing held under section 4 of this act, the driver whose vehicle registration is canceled has the right to file a petition in the superior court of the county in which the person resides or, if a nonresident of this state, the superior court of Thurston county, for review of the final order of cancellation by the department. The petition shall be filed within ten days following receipt by the person of the department's final order, or the right to appeal is deemed to have been waived. The review shall be conducted by the court without a jury, and shall be confined to the record, except that in cases of alleged irregularities in procedure before the department, not shown in the record, testimony on that issue may be taken in court. The scope of the review is limited to that prescribed by RCW 7.16.120, governing writs of certiorari.

(2) The filing of the appeal does not stay the effective date of the cancellation unless it is stayed by the court after motion and argument. A stay may be granted only if the court finds upon the arguments and affidavits presented that there is a reasonable probability that the petitioner will prevail upon the merits of the petition, that the public interest will not be substantially harmed by the stay, and that the petitioner will suffer irreparable harm if the order is not stayed.

(3) The court may affirm the department's decision, remand the matter for further administrative proceedings, or reverse the department's order of suspension or revocation.

(4) The actual costs of preparing and transmitting the record to superior court shall be borne by the petitioner and awarded by the court to the department if the department's decision is affirmed. The costs shall be borne by the department if the department's decision is remanded or reversed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 46.16 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The director or the director's designee shall administer and enforce sections 2 through 5 of this act.

(2) The director may adopt such rules and prescribe and provide such forms as may be necessary to carry out sections 2 through 5 of this act.

Sec. 7. Section 46.20.340, chapter 12, Laws of 1961 as amended by section 42, chapter 121, Laws of 1965 ex. sess. and RCW 46.12.240 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The suspension, revocation, cancellation, or refusal by the director of any license or certificate provided for in chapters 46.12 and 46.16 RCW ((~~shall be~~)) is conclusive unless the person whose license or certificate is suspended, revoked, canceled, or refused appeals to the superior court of Thurston county, or at his option to the superior court of the county of his residence, for the purpose of having the suspension, revocation, cancellation, or refusal of ((~~such~~)) the license or certificate set aside. Notice of appeal must be filed within ten days after receipt of the notice of suspension, revocation, cancellation, or refusal. Upon the filing of the notice of appeal the court shall issue an order to the director to show cause why the license should not be granted or reinstated, which order shall be returnable not less than ten days after the date of service thereof upon the director. Service shall be in the manner prescribed for service of summons and complaint in other civil actions. Upon the hearing on the order to show cause, the court shall hear evidence concerning matters with reference to the suspension, revocation, cancellation, or refusal of the license or certificate and shall enter judgment either affirming or setting aside ((~~such~~)) the suspension, revocation, cancellation, or refusal.

(2) This section does not apply to vehicle registration cancellations under sections 2 through 6 of this 1985 act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.