AN ACT Relating to motor freight carriers; amending RCW 81.80.060, 81.80.070, 81.80.130, 81.80.150, 81.80.211, 81.80.260, 81.80.355, 81.80.371, 81.04.010, 81.04.110, 81.04.130, 81.04.150, 81.04.250, and 81.04.450; adding new sections to chapter 81.80 RCW; repealing RCW 81.80.020, 81.80.140, and 81.80.175; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:

It is the intent of the legislature to adopt a new state policy toward motor freight carriers to the end that rates, charges, and rules affecting that industry reflect market place needs. That policy is intended to:

(1) Recognize and preserve the inherent advantages of each mode of transportation;

(2) Promote safe, adequate, economical, and efficient transportation;

(3) Encourage sound economic conditions in transportation, including sound economic conditions among carriers;

(4) Encourage the establishment and maintenance of reasonable rates for transportation, without unreasonable discrimination or unfair or destructive competitive practices;

(5) Promote cooperation among federal, state, and local agencies, and the officials of federal, state, and local agencies on transportation matters; and

(6) Encourage fair wages and working conditions in the transportation industry.

In adopting this new policy, the legislature intends that transportation by Washington intrastate motor freight carriage shall be exempt when similar products and movements are exempt in interstate and foreign commerce, that the filing of motor freight tariffs by individual carriers be encouraged, and that the administrative regulation of motor freight carriers be reduced to enable the Washington utilities and transportation commission to concentrate more of its time and energies on utility and other rules where the public need is much greater.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:

It is the policy of the state of Washington to promote by impartial regulation competitive and efficient motor freight transportation services in order to:

(1) Meet the needs of shippers, receivers, and consumers;

(2) Allow a variety of quality and price options to meet changing market demands and the diverse requirements of the shipping and consuming public;

(3) Allow the most productive use of equipment and energy resources;

(4) Enable efficient and well-managed carriers to earn adequate profits, attract capital, and maintain fair wages and working conditions;

(5) Provide and maintain service to small communities and small shippers;

(6) Improve and maintain a sound, safe, and competitive privately owned motor carrier system;

(7) Promote greater participation by minorities in the motor carrier system; and

(8) Promote intermodal transportation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:

The provisions of this chapter, except those relating to license, insurance, and safety requirements, and except where specifically otherwise provided, do not apply to the transportation by motor vehicle of the following exempt commodities:

(1) Ordinary livestock;

(2) Agricultural or horticultural commodities (other than manufactured products thereof);

(3) Commodities listed as exempt in the commodity list incorporated in ruling numbered 107, March 19, 1958, bureau of motor carriers, Interstate Commerce Commission, other than frozen fruits, frozen berries, frozen vegetables, cocoa beans, coffee beans, tea, bananas, or hemp, or wool imported from a foreign country, wool tops and noils, or wool waste (carded, spun, woven, or knitted);

(4) Cooked or uncooked fish, whether breaded or not, or frozen or fresh shellfish, or by-products thereof not intended for human consumption, other than fish or shellfish that have been treated for preserving, such as canned, smoked, pickled, spiced, corned, or kippered products;

(5) Livestock and poultry feed and agricultural seeds and plants, if such products (excluding products otherwise exempt under this subsection) are transported to a site of agricultural production or to a business enterprise engaged in the sale to agricultural producers of goods used in agricultural production;

(6) Property (including baggage) as part of a continuous movement which, before or after such part of the continuous movement, has been or will be transported by an air carrier or, to the extent so agreed by the United States and approved by the civil aeronautics board or its successor agency, by a foreign air carrier;

(7) Property in lieu of transportation by aircraft because of adverse weather conditions or mechanical failure of the aircraft or other causes due to circumstances beyond the control of the carrier or shipper;

(8) Used pallets and used empty shipping containers, including intermodal cargo containers, and other used shipping devices, other than containers or devices used in the transportation of motor vehicles or parts of motor vehicles;

(9) Natural crushed, vesicular rock to be used for decorative purposes;

(10) Wood chips;

(11) Broken, crushed, or powdered glass;

(12) Property being transported in a state park or in a national park or national monument;

(13) Property that is part of a through trailer or flatcar movement when a railroad provides for the through intermodal movement from origin to destination;

(14) Property being transported for a federal, state, or municipal agency, or division thereof;

(15) Property being transported without charge for a charitable purpose or for use in a public exhibition; and

(16) Recyclable materials, meaning waste products for recycling or reuse in the furtherance of recognized pollution control programs, being transported without charge or at a reduced rate.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The provisions of this chapter, except those relating to license, insurance, and safety requirements, and except where specifically otherwise provided, do not apply to:

(a) A motor vehicle controlled and operated by a farmer and transporting:

(i) The farmer's agricultural or horticultural commodities and products; or

(ii) Supplies to the farm of the farmer;

(b) A motor vehicle controlled and operated by a cooperative association or by a federation of cooperative associations if the federation has no greater power or purposes than a cooperative association, except that if the cooperative association or federation provides transportation for compensation:

(i) For a nonmember that is not a farmer, cooperative association, federation, or the government of the state of Washington or of the United States, the transportation, except for transportation otherwise exempt under this chapter:

(A) Shall be limited to transportation incidental to the primary transportation operation of the cooperative association or federation and necessary for its effective performance;

(B) May not exceed in each fiscal year twenty-three percent of the total transportation of the cooperative association or federation between those places, measured by tonnage; and

(C) Shall be provided only after the cooperative association or federation notifies the commission of its intent to provide the transportation; and

(ii) The transportation for all nonmembers may not exceed in each fiscal year, measured by tonnage, the total transportation between those places for the cooperative association or federation and its members during that fiscal year.

(2) As used in this section, the term "cooperative association" means any association in which farmers act together in processing, preparing for market, handling, or marketing the farm products of persons so engaged, and also means any association in which farmers act together in purchasing, testing, grading, processing, distributing, or furnishing farm supplies or farm business services. To qualify, such associations shall be operated for the mutual benefit of the members thereof as such producers or purchasers and shall conform to one or both of the following requirements:

(a) No member of the association may be allowed more than one vote because of the amount of stock or membership capital the member may own in it;

(b) The association shall not pay dividends on stock or membership capital in excess of eight percent per annum.

(3) Whether the requirements of subsection (2)(a) or (b) of this section are conformed to, the association shall not deal in farm products, farm supplies, and farm business services with or for nonmembers in an amount greater in value than the total amount of such business transacted by it with or for members. All business transacted by any cooperative association for or on behalf of the United States, the state of Washington, or any agency or instrumentality thereof shall be disregarded in determining the volume of member and nonmember business transacted by such association.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4 of this act, a cooperative association or a federation of cooperative associations that is required to notify the commission under that section shall prepare and maintain such records relating to transportation provided by the association or federation in such form as the commission may require by rule to carry out the provisions of that section. The commission, or an employee designated by the commission, may on demand and display of proper credentials inspect and examine the lands, buildings, and equipment of the association or federation, and inspect and copy any record of the association or federation.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4 of this act, the commission may require a cooperative association or federation of cooperative associations described in subsection (1) of this section to file reports with the commission containing answers to questions about transportation provided by the association or federation.

(3) The commission may bring a civil action to enforce subsections (1) and (2) of this section, or a rule or order of the commission issued under this section, when violated by a cooperative association or federation of cooperative associations described in subsection (1) of this section.

(4) (a) A person required to make a report to the commission, answer a question, or maintain a record under this section, or an officer, agent, or employee of that person, who: (i) Does not make the report; (ii) does not specifically, completely, and truthfully answer the question; or (iii) does not maintain the record in the form and manner prescribed by the commission, is liable for a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for each violation, and for not more than two hundred fifty dollars for each additional day the violation continues.

(b) Trial in a civil action under this subsection shall be in the superior court of the county in which: (i) The cooperative association or federation of cooperative associations has its principal office; (ii) the violation occurred; or (iii) the offender is found. Process in the action may be served in the county in which the offender is an inhabitant or in which the offender may be found.

(5) A person, or an officer, employee, or agent of that person, who by any means knowingly and willfully tries to evade compliance with the provisions of this section shall be fined at least two hundred dollars but not more than two thousand dollars for a subsequent violation.

(6) A person required to make a report to the commission, answer a question, or maintain a record under this section, or an officer, agent, or employee of that person, who: (a) Willfully does not make that report; (b) willfully does not specifically, completely, and truthfully answer that question within thirty days from the date the commission requires the question to be answered; (c) willfully does not maintain that record in the form and manner prescribed by the commission; (d) knowingly and willfully falsifies, destroys, mutilates, or changes that report or record; (e) knowingly and willfully files a false report or record with the commission under this section; (f) knowingly and willfully makes a false or incomplete entry in that record about a business-related fact or transaction; or (g) knowingly and willfully maintains a record in violation of a rule or order of the commission issued under this section, shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars.

Sec. 6. Section 1, chapter 33, Laws of 1969 as amended by section 17, chapter 210, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 81.80.060 are each amended to read as follows:

Every person who engages for compensation to perform a combination of services a substantial portion of which includes transportation of property of others, not exempted from regulation by RCW 81.80.040 or by section 3 or 4 of this act, upon the public highways shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the commission as to such transportation and shall not engage upon the same without first having obtained a common carrier or contract carrier permit to do so. An example of such a combination of services shall include, but not be limited to, the delivery of household appliances for others where the delivering carrier also unpacks or uncrates the appliances and makes the initial installation thereof. Every person engaging in such a combination of services shall advise the commission what portion of the consideration is intended to cover the transportation service and if the agreement covering the combination of services is in writing, the rate and charge for such transportation shall be set forth therein. The rates or charges for the transportation services included in such combination of services shall be subject to control and regulation by the commission in the same manner that the rates of common and contract carriers are now controlled and regulated. Any person engaged in extracting and/or processing and, in connection therewith, hauling materials exclusively for the maintenance, construction, or improvement of a public highway shall not be deemed to be performing a combination of services.

Sec. 7. Section 81.80.070, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 as amended by section 1, chapter 242, Laws of 1963 and RCW 81.80.070 are each amended to read as follows:

No "common carrier," "contract carrier," "freight forwarder," or "temporary carrier" shall operate for the transportation of property for compensation in this state without first obtaining from the commission a permit so to do. No permit may be required for transportation to which the provisions of this chapter are declared inapplicable by RCW 81.80.040 or by section 3 or 4 of this act. Permits heretofore issued or hereafter issued to any carrier, shall be exercised by said carrier to the fullest extent so as to render reasonable service to the public. Applications for common or contract carrier permits or extensions thereof shall be on file for a period of at least thirty days prior to the granting thereof unless the commission finds that special conditions require the earlier granting thereof. The commission shall render an administratively final decision granting or denying an application for a permit within one hundred twenty days of the date the application is filed.

A permit or extension thereof shall be issued to any qualified applicant therefor, authorizing the whole or any part of the operations covered by the application, if it is found that the applicant is fit, willing, and able properly to perform the services proposed and conform to the provisions of this chapter and the requirements, rules, and regulations of the commission thereunder, and that such operations will be consistent with the public interest, and, in the case of common carriers, that the same are or will be required by the present or future public convenience and necessity, otherwise such application shall be denied.

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to confer upon any person or persons the exclusive right or privilege of transporting property for compensation over the public highways of the state.

Sec. 8. Section 81.80.130, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 and RCW 81.80.130 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission shall supervise and regulate every "common carrier," "contract carrier," and "freight forwarder" in this state; ((~~make, fix, alter, and amend,~~)) ensure that just, fair, reasonable((~~, minimum, maximum, or minimum and maximum,~~)) rates, charges, classifications, rules, and regulations ((~~for all~~)) are maintained by each "common carrier((s))," "contract carrier," and "freight forwarder"; regulate the accounts, service, and safety of operations thereof; require the filing of reports and other data thereby; and supervise and regulate all "common carriers" and "contract carriers" in all other matters affecting their relationship with competing carriers of every kind and the shipping and general public((: PROVIDED, The commission may by order approve rates filed by common carriers in respect to certain designated commodities and services when, in the opinion of the commission, it is impractical for the commission to make, fix, or prescribe rates covering such commodities and services)).

Sec. 9. Section 81.80.150, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 2, chapter 116, Laws of 1981 and RCW 81.80.150 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission shall make, fix, construct, compile, promulgate, publish, and distribute tariffs containing compilations of rates, charges, classifications, rules, and regulations to be used by all common carriers other than those engaged in transportation to which the provisions of this chapter are declared inapplicable by RCW 81.80.040 or by section 3 or 4 of this act, and those who compile, publish, and file independent tariffs complying with section 14 of this act. In compiling such tariffs it shall include within any given tariff compilation such carriers, groups of carriers, commodities, or geographical areas as it determines shall be in the public interest. Such compilations and publications may be made by the commission by compiling the rates, charges, classifications, rules, and regulations now in effect, and as they may be amended and altered from time to time after notice and hearing, by issuing and distributing revised pages or supplements to such tariffs or reissues thereof in accordance with the orders of the commission: PROVIDED, That the commission, upon good cause shown, may establish temporary rates, charges, or classification changes which may be made permanent only after publication in an applicable tariff for not less than sixty days, and determination by the commission thereafter that the rates, charges or classifications are just, fair, and reasonable: PROVIDED FURTHER, That temporary rates shall not be made permanent except upon notice and hearing if within sixty days from date of publication, a shipper or common carrier, or representative of either, shall file with the commission a protest alleging such temporary rates to be unjust, unfair, or unreasonable. For purposes of this proviso, the publication of temporary rates in the tariff shall be deemed adequate public notice. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the commission from proceeding on its own motion, upon notice and hearing, to fix and determine just, fair, and reasonable rates, charges, and classifications. The proper tariff, or tariffs, applicable to a carrier's operations shall be available to the public at each agency and office of all common carriers operating within this state. Such compilations and publications shall be sold by the commission for a fee to be determined annually and not to exceed the cost of this service. Corrections to such publications shall be furnished to all subscribers to tariffs in the form of corrected pages to the tariffs, supplements, or reissues thereof. In addition to the initial charge for each tariff, the commission shall charge an annual maintenance fee not to exceed the cost of issuing corrections or supplements and mailing them to subscribers: PROVIDED, That copies may be furnished free to other regulatory bodies and departments of government and to colleges, schools, and libraries. All copies of the compilations, whether sold or given free, shall be issued and distributed under rules and regulations to be fixed by the commission((: PROVIDED FURTHER, That the commission may by order authorize common carriers to publish and file tariffs with the commission and be governed thereby in respect to certain designated commodities and services when, in the opinion of the commission, it is impractical for the commission to make, fix, construct, compile, publish, and distribute tariffs covering such commodities and services)).

Sec. 10. Section 81.80.211, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 and RCW 81.80.211 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission may adopt rules and regulations relating to the hours of duty of motor carrier drivers and operators, including those engaged in transportation to which the provisions of this chapter are declared inapplicable by RCW 81.80.040 or by section 3 or 4 of this act.

Sec. 11. Section 81.80.260, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 as amended by section 3, chapter 69, Laws of 1967 and RCW 81.80.260 are each amended to read as follows:

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any vehicle at the same time in more than one class of operation, except upon approval of the commission and a finding that such operation will be in the public interest. However, a motor freight carrier providing transportation exempt from the jurisdiction of the commission under section 3 of this act may transport property under that section in the same vehicle, and at the same time as property that the carrier is authorized to transport under a permit issued under RCW 81.80.070. Such transportation shall not affect the unregulated status of the exempt property or the regulated status of the property that the carrier is authorized to transport under the permit. Nothing contained in this chapter may be construed to prohibit the issuance of a "common carrier," "contract carrier," or "temporary carrier" permit, or extension thereof, to a "private carrier" upon proper application for the permit and a finding by the commission as required by RCW 81.80.070.

No "exempt carrier" as such shall transport property for compensation except as hereinabove provided.

Sec. 12. Section 81.80.355, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 and RCW 81.80.355 are each amended to read as follows:

Any person not holding a permit authorizing him to operate as a common carrier, contract carrier, or temporary carrier for the transportation of property for compensation in this state, or ((an)) any exempt carrier, who displays on any building, vehicle, billboard or in any manner, any advertisement of, or by circular, letter, newspaper, magazine, poster, card, or telephone directory, advertises the transportation of property for compensation shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable as such. However, nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit advertising by any person offering transportation to which the provisions of this chapter are declared inapplicable by RCW 81.80.040 or by section 3 or 4 of this act.

Sec. 13. Section 9, chapter 59, Laws of 1963 and RCW 81.80.371 are each amended to read as follows:

It shall be unlawful for any carrier to perform a transportation service for compensation upon the public highways of this state without first having secured appropriate authority from the Interstate Commerce Commission, if such authority is required, and without first having registered such authority, if any, with the commission.

It shall also be unlawful for a carrier to perform a transportation service for compensation on the public highways of this state as an interstate carrier of commodities included in the exemptions provided in section ((~~203(b)~~)) 10526 of the Interstate Commerce Act without having first registered as such a carrier with the commission.

Such registration shall be granted upon application, without hearing, upon payment of the appropriate filing fee prescribed by this chapter for other applications for operating authority.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:

Any motor freight carrier holding a valid "common carrier," "freight forwarder," or "temporary carrier" permit has the right, either individually or in combination with one or more other carriers with valid permits, to compile and publish an independent tariff and to be governed by it in the delivery of all transportation services, other than those to which the provisions of this chapter are declared inapplicable by RCW 81.80.040 or by section 3 or 4 of this act. That tariff shall establish rates, including divisions of joint rates, and classifications for transportation and service it may provide under this chapter, and rules and practices on matters related to that transportation or service, including rules and practices on the issuance of receipts, bills of lading, and manifests, the manner and method of presenting, marking, packing, and delivering property for transportation, and the facilities for transportation.

Unless a shorter notice period is authorized by the commission in particular circumstances, an independent tariff and any amendment, alteration, or rescission thereof shall take effect ten days after filing with the commission, except that rate reduction amendments shall take effect five days after filing if:

(1) The carrier, or group of carriers, have notified the commission of the intention to publish an independent tariff at least thirty days before filing the initial tariff with the commission;

(2) The independent tariff and any amendment, alteration, or rescission thereof has been filed with the commission in compliance with such rules as may be adopted by the commission to achieve a reasonably clear tariff with a minimum of technical regulation; and

(3) The independent tariff or an amendment, alteration, or rescission thereof is not suspended by the commission in a proceeding under section 17 of this act.

The commission shall promptly give public notice in each tariff published by it of receipt of all notices to the commission of the intent of a carrier or group of carriers to publish an independent tariff.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:

Any motor freight carrier holding a valid "contract carrier" permit has the right, either individually or in combination with one or more other such carriers with valid permits, to establish and file with the commission actual rates for transportation services that it provides, and rules and practices related to those rates, other than those to which the provisions of this chapter are declared inapplicable by RCW 81.80.040 or by section 3 or 4 of this act. However, this section does not require a motor contract carrier to maintain the same rates and rules related to those rates for the same transportation provided to all shippers served by it.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:

When the commission, after a full hearing, decides that a rate charged or collected by a common carrier for providing transportation subject to its jurisdiction under this chapter by itself, or with another such common carrier, or that a classification, rule, or practice of that carrier, does or will violate this chapter, the commission shall prescribe the rate, including a maximum or minimum rate, or both, classification, rule, or practice to be followed.

When prescribing a rate, classification, rule, or practice for transportation or service by common carriers, the commission shall consider, among other factors, the effect of the prescribed rate, classification, rule, or practice on the movement of traffic by that carrier.

The commission shall also consider the need, in the public interest, of adequate and efficient transportation or service by that carrier at the lowest cost consistent with providing that transportation or service.

The commission shall also consider the inherent advantages of transportation by motor common carrier, or the inherent nature of freight forwarding when the service under consideration involves freight forwarding.

When the commission, after a full hearing, finds that a minimum rate of a contract carrier for transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the commission under this chapter, or a rule or practice related to the rate or the value of the service under it, violates this chapter or the transportation policy of section 2 of this act, the commission may prescribe the minimum rate, rule, or practice for the carrier that is desirable in the public interest and will promote that policy. In prescribing the rate, the commission may not give a contract carrier an advantage or preference in competition with a common carrier if an advantage or preference is unreasonable or inconsistent with the public interest and the transportation policy of section 2 of this act.

When prescribing a minimum rate or rule or practice related to a rate for a contract carrier, the commission shall consider the cost of the transportation provided by the carrier and the effect of a prescribed minimum rate, or rule or practice, on the movement of traffic by that carrier.

The commission may begin a proceeding under this section on its own initiative or on complaint. A complaint under this section shall contain a full statement of the facts and the reasons for the complaint and shall be made under oath.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The commission may begin a proceeding to determine the lawfulness of a proposed rate, classification, rule, or practice immediately, on its own initiative, or on application of an interested party when:

(a) A new individual or joint rate, or individual or joint classification, rule, or practice affecting a rate is filed with the commission by a common carrier under section 14 of this act; or

(b) A new or reduced rate or rule or practice that causes a reduction of a rate is filed with the commission by a contract carrier under section 15 of this act.

The commission shall give reasonable notice before beginning a proceeding under this section but may act without allowing an interested carrier to file an answer or other formal pleading in response to its decision to begin the proceeding. The commission may take whatever final action on a rate, classification, rule, or practice under this section, after a full hearing, whether completed before or after the rate, classification, rule, or practice goes into effect, as it could in a proceeding begun after a rate, classification, rule, or practice became effective.

(2) Pending final commission action in a proceeding under subsection (1) of this section, the commission may suspend the proposed rate, classification, rule, or practice at any time for not more than four months beyond the time it would otherwise go into effect by delivering to each affected carrier, and filing with the proposed rate, classification, rule, or practice a statement of reasons for the suspension. If the commission does not take final action during the suspension period, the proposed rate, classification, rule, or practice is effective at the end of that period.

(3) In a proceeding under this section, the burden is on the carrier proposing the changed rate, classification, rule, or practice to prove that the change is reasonable. Proof by such carrier that the proposed rate, classification, rule, or practice change will result in compensatory rates is prima facie evidence that the change is reasonable. A rate that exceeds the variable cost of the carrier providing the service shall be deemed to be compensatory. The commission shall give proceedings under this section preference over all other proceedings related to that type of carrier pending before it and make its decisions at the earliest practical time.

(4)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the commission may not investigate, suspend, revise, or revoke any rate proposed by a common carrier of property or freight forwarder on the grounds that such rate is unreasonable on the basis that the rate is too high or too low if:

(i) The carrier notifies the commission that it wishes to have the rate considered pursuant to this subsection; and

(ii) The aggregate of increases and decreases in any such rate is not more than ten percent above the rate in effect one year before the effective date of the proposed rate, nor more than ten percent below the lesser of the rate in effect on July 1, 1985, or, in the case of any rate that a carrier first establishes after July 1, 1985, for a service not provided by such carrier on such date, such rate on the date such rate first becomes effective, or the rate in effect one year before the effective date of the proposed rate.

(b) The commission, by rule, may increase the percentages specified in (a)(ii) of this subsection for any group of common carriers of property or freight forwarders if it finds that there is sufficient actual and potential competition to regulate rates, and there are benefits to carriers or freight forwarders, shippers, and the public from further rate flexibility. However, the commission may not increase the percentages by more than five percentage points during any one-year period.

(c) In determining, pursuant to (a)(ii) of this subsection, whether the aggregate of increases and decreases in a proposed rate that is to take effect is more than ten percent (or such other percentage as the commission may establish under (b) of this subsection) above the rate in effect one year before the effective date of the proposed rate, general rate increases obtained in the one-year period before the effective date of the proposed rate shall not be included in such aggregate, except to the extent that such general rate increases exceed five percent of the rate in effect one year before the effective date of the proposed rate.

In the case of a proposed rate that is to take effect after the effective date of this section, the percentage that first appears in (a)(ii) of this subsection, relating to the upper limit of the zone of rate-making freedom, or such other percentage as the commission may establish under (b) of this subsection in lieu of that percentage, shall be increased or decreased, as the case may be, by the percentage change in the producers price index, as published by the United States department of labor, that has occurred during the one-year period before the effective date of the proposed rate.

Sec. 18. Section 81.04.010, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 as amended by section 2, chapter 13, Laws of 1981 and RCW 81.04.010 are each amended to read as follows:

As used in this title, unless specially defined otherwise or unless the context indicates otherwise:

"Commission" means the utilities and transportation commission.

"Commissioner" means one of the members of such commission.

"Corporation" includes a corporation, company, association, or joint stock association.

"Person" includes an individual, a firm, or copartnership.

"Street railroad" includes every railroad by whatsoever power operated, or any extension or extensions, branch or branches thereof, for public use in the conveyance of persons or property for hire, being mainly upon, along, above, or below any street, avenue, road, highway, bridge, or public place within any one city or town, and includes all equipment, switches, spurs, tracks, bridges, right of trackage, subways, tunnels, stations, terminals, and terminal facilities of every kind used, operated, controlled, or owned by or in connection with any such street railroad, within this state.

"Street railroad company" includes every corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership, and person, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, and every city or town, owning, controlling, operating, or managing any street railroad or any cars or other equipment used thereon or in connection therewith within this state.

"Railroad" includes every railroad, other than street railroad, by whatsoever power operated for public use in the conveyance of persons or property for hire, with all bridges, ferries, tunnels, equipment, switches, spurs, tracks, stations, and terminal facilities of every kind used, operated, controlled, or owned by or in connection with any such railroad.

"Railroad company" includes every corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership, or person, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating, controlling, or managing any railroad or any cars or other equipment used thereon or in connection therewith within this state.

"Express company" includes every corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership, and person, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, who shall engage in or transact the business of carrying any freight, merchandise, or property for hire on the line of any common carrier operated in this state.

"Common carrier" includes all railroads, railroad companies, street railroads, street railroad companies, steamboat companies, express companies, car companies, sleeping car companies, freight companies, freight line companies, and every corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership, and person, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, and every city or town, owning, operating, managing, or controlling any such agency for public use in the conveyance of persons or property for hire within this state.

"Vessel" includes every species of watercraft, by whatsoever power operated, for public use in the conveyance of persons or property for hire over and upon the waters within this state, excepting all towboats, tugs, scows, barges, and lighters, and excepting rowboats and sailing boats under twenty gross tons burden, open steam launches of five tons gross and under, and vessels under five tons gross propelled by gas, fluid, naphtha, or electric motors.

"Steamboat company" includes every corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership, and person, their lessees, trustees, or receivers, appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, controlling, leasing, operating, or managing any vessel over and upon the waters of this state.

"Transportation of property" includes any service in connection with the receiving, delivery, elevation, transfer in transit, ventilation, refrigeration, icing, storage, and handling of the property transported, and the transmission of credit.

"Transportation of persons" includes any service in connection with the receiving, carriage, and delivery of the person transported and his baggage and all facilities used, or necessary to be used in connection with the safety, comfort, and convenience of the person transported.

"Public service company" includes every common carrier except for motor freight carriers engaged exclusively in operation of motor vehicles exempt from chapter 81.80 RCW.

The term "service" is used in this title in its broadest and most inclusive sense.

Sec. 19. Section 81.04.110, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 and RCW 81.04.110 are each amended to read as follows:

Complaint may be made by the commission of its own motion or by any person or corporation, chamber of commerce, board of trade, or any commercial, mercantile, agricultural, or manufacturing society, or any body politic or municipal corporation, by petition or complaint in writing, setting forth any act or thing done or omitted to be done by any public service corporation in violation, or claimed to be in violation, of any provision of law or of any order or rule of the commission.

When two or more public service corporations, (meaning to exclude municipal and other public corporations) are engaged in competition in any locality or localities in the state, either may make complaint against the other or others that the rates, charges, rules, regulations, or practices of such other or others with or in respect to which the complainant is in competition, are unreasonable, unremunerative, discriminatory, illegal, unfair, or intending or tending to oppress the complainant, to stifle competition, or to create or encourage the creation of monopoly, and upon such complaint or upon complaint of the commission upon its own motion, the commission shall have power, after notice and hearing as in other cases, to, by its order, subject to appeal as in other cases, correct the abuse complained of by establishing such uniform rates, charges, rules, regulations, or practices in lieu of those complained of, to be observed by all of such competing public service corporations in the locality or localities specified as shall be found reasonable, remunerative, nondiscriminatory, legal, and fair or tending to prevent oppression or monopoly or to encourage competition, and upon any such hearing it shall be proper for the commission to take into consideration the rates, charges, rules, regulations, and practices of the public service corporation or corporations complained of in any other locality or localities in the state. However, nothing in this section may be interpreted to give to the commission the power to establish any rate, charge, rule, regulation, or practice that would require observance by any motor freight carrier in lieu of rates, charges, rules, regulations, or practices that result in compensatory rates for that carrier.

All matters upon which complaint may be founded may be joined in one hearing, and no motion shall be entertained against a complaint for misjoinder of complaints or grievances or misjoinder of parties; and in any review of the courts of orders of the commission the same rule shall apply and pertain with regard to the joinder of complaints and parties as herein provided: PROVIDED, All grievances to be inquired into shall be plainly set forth in the complaint. No complaint shall be dismissed because of the absence of direct damage to the complainant.

Upon the filing of a complaint, the commission shall cause a copy thereof to be served upon the person or corporation complained of, which shall be accompanied by a notice fixing the time when and place where a hearing will be had upon such complaint. The time fixed for such hearing shall not be less than ten days after the date of the service of such notice and complaint, excepting as herein provided. Rules of practice and procedure not otherwise provided for in this title may be prescribed by the commission.

Sec. 20. Section 81.04.130, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 as amended by section 1, chapter 143, Laws of 1984 and RCW 81.04.130 are each amended to read as follows:

Whenever any public service company, other than a motor freight company or a railroad company, files with the commission any schedule, classification, rule, or regulation, the effect of which is to change any rate, fare, charge, rental, or toll previously charged, the commission has power, either upon its own motion or upon complaint, upon notice, to hold a hearing concerning the proposed change and the reasonableness and justness of it. Pending the hearing and the decision the commission may suspend the operation of the rate, fare, charge, rental, or toll, if the change is proposed by a common carrier subject to the jurisdiction of the commission, for a period not exceeding seven months, and, if proposed by a public service company other than such a common carrier, for a period not exceeding ten months from the time the change would otherwise go into effect. After a full hearing the commission may make such order in reference to the change as would be provided in a hearing initiated after the change had become effective.

At any hearing involving any change in any schedule, classification, rule, or regulation the effect of which is to increase any rate, fare, charge, rental, or toll theretofore charged, the burden of proof to show that such increase is just and reasonable is upon the public service company. When any common carrier subject to the jurisdiction of the commission files any tariff, classification, rule, or regulation the effect of which is to decrease any rate, fare, or charge, the burden of proof to show that such decrease is just and reasonable is upon the common carrier.

Sec. 21. Section 81.04.150, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 as amended by section 2, chapter 143, Laws of 1984 and RCW 81.04.150 are each amended to read as follows:

Whenever the commission finds, after hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint as provided in this chapter, that any rate, toll, rental, or charge that has been the subject of complaint and inquiry is sufficiently remunerative to the public service company, other than a motor freight carrier or a railroad company, affected by it, the commission may order that the rate, toll, rental, or charge shall not be changed, altered, abrogated, or discontinued, nor shall there be any change in the classification that will change or alter the rate, toll, rental, or charge without first obtaining the consent of the commission authorizing the change to be made.

Sec. 22. Section 81.04.250, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 as amended by section 3, chapter 143, Laws of 1984 and RCW 81.04.250 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission has the power upon complaint or upon its own motion to prescribe and authorize just and reasonable rates for the transportation of persons or property by carriers other than motor freight carriers or railroad companies, and shall exercise that power whenever and as often as it deems necessary or proper. The commission shall, before any hearing is had upon the complaint or motion, notify the complainants and the carrier concerned of the time and place of the hearing by giving at least ten days' written notice thereof, specifying that at the time and place designated a hearing will be held for the purpose of prescribing and authorizing the rates. The notice is sufficient to authorize the commission to inquire into and pass upon the matters designated in this section.

In exercising this power the commission may use any standard, formula, method, or theory of valuation reasonably calculated to arrive at the objective of prescribing and authorizing just and reasonable rates.

In the exercise of this power the commission may give consideration, in addition to other factors, to the following:

(1) To the effect of the rates upon movement of traffic by the carriers;

(2) To the public need for adequate transportation facilities, equipment, and service at the lowest level of charges consistent with the provision, maintenance, and renewal of the facilities, equipment and service; and

(3) To the carrier need for revenue of a level that under honest, efficient, and economical management is sufficient to cover the cost (including all operating expenses, depreciation accruals, rents, and taxes of every kind) of providing adequate transportation service, plus an amount equal to the percentage of that cost as is reasonably necessary for the provision, maintenance, and renewal of the transportation facilities or equipment and a reasonable profit to the carrier. The relation of carrier expenses to carrier revenues may be deemed the proper test of a reasonable profit.

This section does not apply to motor freight carriers, which shall be regulated in this regard by chapter 81.80 RCW and rules adopted thereunder, or to railroad companies, which shall be regulated in this regard by chapter 81.34 RCW and rules adopted thereunder.

Sec. 23. Section 81.04.450, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 and RCW 81.04.450 are each amended to read as follows:

Upon application of any person the commission shall furnish certified copies of any classification, rate, rule, regulation, or order filed with or established by such commission, and the printed copies published by authority of the commission, or any certified copy of any such classification, rate, rule, regulation, or order, with seal affixed, shall be admissible in evidence in any action or proceeding, and shall be sufficient to establish the fact that the charge, rate, rule, order, or classification therein contained is the official record or act of the commission. When copies of any classification, rate, rule, regulation, or order not contained in the printed reports, or copies of papers, accounts, or records of public service companies filed with the commission shall be demanded from the commission for proper use, the commission shall charge a reasonable compensation therefor.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) Section 81.80.020, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 and RCW 81.80.020;

(2) Section 81.80.140, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 and RCW 81.80.140; and

(3) Section 5, chapter 242, Laws of 1963 and RCW 81.80.175.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 25. 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.