AN ACT Relating to special fuel bonds; and amending RCW 82.38.020 and 82.38.110.

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

Sec. 1. Section 3, chapter 175, Laws of 1971 ex. sess. as amended by section 2, chapter 40, Laws of 1979 and RCW 82.38.020 are each amended to read as follows:

As hereinafter used in this chapter:

(1) "Person" means every natural person, fiduciary, association or corporation. The term "person" as applied to an association means and includes the partners or members thereof, and as applied to corporations, the officers thereof.

(2) "Department" means the department of licensing.

(3) "Highway" means every way or place open to the use of the public, as a matter of right, for the purpose of vehicular travel.

(4) "Motor vehicle" means every self-propelled vehicle designed for operation upon land utilizing special fuel as the means of propulsion.

(5) "Special fuel" means and includes all combustible gases and liquids suitable for the generation of power for propulsion of motor vehicles, except that it does not include motor vehicle fuel as defined in chapter 82.36 RCW.

(6) "Bulk storage" means the placing of special fuel by a special fuel dealer into a receptacle other than the fuel supply tank of a motor vehicle.

(7) "Special fuel dealer" means any person engaged in the business of delivering special fuel into the fuel supply tank or tanks of a motor vehicle not then owned or controlled by him, or into bulk storage facilities for subsequent use in a motor vehicle. For this purpose the term "fuel supply tank or tanks" does not include cargo tanks even though fuel is withdrawn directly therefrom for propulsion of the vehicle.

(8) "Special fuel user" means any person purchasing special fuel into bulk storage without payment of the special fuel tax for subsequent use in a motor vehicle, or any person engaged in interstate commercial operation of motor vehicles any part of which is within this state.

(9) "Special fuel supplier" means any person engaged in the business of selling special fuel where delivery thereof is made other than, or in addition to, the manner prescribed under the definition of "special fuel dealer", but does not include any person making retail sales of special fuel exclusively for heating purposes.

(10) "Service station" means any location at which fueling of motor vehicles is offered to the general public.

(11) "Unbonded service station" means any service station at which an unbonded special fuel dealer regularly makes sales of special fuel by means of delivery thereof into the fuel supply tanks of motor vehicles.

(12) "Bond" means: (a) A bond duly executed by such special fuel dealer or special fuel user as principal with a corporate surety qualified under the provisions of chapter 48.28 RCW which bond shall be payable to the state of Washington conditioned upon faithful performance of all requirements of this chapter, including the payment of all taxes, penalties, and other obligations of such dealer, arising out of this chapter; or (b) a deposit with the state treasurer by the special fuel dealer or special fuel user, under such terms and conditions as the department may prescribe, a like amount of lawful money of the United States or bonds or other obligations of the United States, the state of Washington, or any county of said state, of an actual market value not less than the amount so fixed by the department; or (c) such other instruments as the department may determine and prescribe by rule to protect the interests of the state and to insure compliance of the requirements of this chapter.

(13) "Lessor" means any person (a) whose principal business is the bona fide leasing or renting of motor vehicles without drivers for compensation to the general public, and (b) who maintains established places of business and whose lease or rental contracts require such motor vehicles to be returned to the established places of business.

(14) "Natural gas" means naturally occurring mixtures of hydrocarbon gases and vapors consisting principally of methane, whether in gaseous or liquid form.

(15) "Standard pressure and temperature" means fourteen and seventy-three hundredths pounds of pressure per square inch at sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

Sec. 2. Section 12, chapter 175, Laws of 1971 ex. sess. as last amended by section 2, chapter 242, Laws of 1983 and RCW 82.38.110 are each amended to read as follows:

Application for a special fuel dealer's license, special fuel supplier's license, or a special fuel user's license((,)) shall be made to the department. The application shall be filed upon a form prepared and furnished by the department and shall contain such information as the department deems necessary.

No special fuel dealer's license ((~~or special fuel user's license shall~~)) may be issued to any person or continued in force unless such person has furnished bond, as defined in RCW 82.38.020, in such form as the department may require, to secure his compliance with this chapter, and the payment of any and all taxes, interest, and penalties due and to become due hereunder. The requirement of furnishing a bond shall be waived ((~~for special fuel users having valid Washington vehicle license plates on all of their licensed vehicles and having an estimated tax liability of less than five hundred dollars per year and~~)) for special fuel dealers who only deliver special fuel into the fuel tanks of marine vessels.

The department may require a special fuel user to post a bond if the special fuel user, after having been licensed, has failed to file timely reports or has failed to remit taxes due, or when an investigation or audit indicates problems severe enough that the department, in its discretion, determines that a bond is required to protect the interests of the state. The department may also adopt rules prescribing conditions that, in the department's discretion, require a bond to protect the interests of the state.

The total amount of the bond or bonds required of any special fuel dealer or special fuel user shall be equivalent to three times the estimated monthly fuel tax, determined in such manner as the department may deem proper: PROVIDED, That those special fuel dealers ((~~and special fuel users~~)) having held a special fuel license for five or more years without having said license suspended or revoked by the department shall be permitted to reduce the amount of their bond to twice the estimated monthly tax liability: PROVIDED FURTHER, That the total amount of the bond or bonds shall never be less than five hundred dollars nor more than fifty thousand dollars.