PERMANENT RULES
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The amendment to WAC 308-61-135(3) is to add language dictated by amendments to chapter 9.45 RCW, RCW 46.12.101(6) and 46.12.102 enacted in 2006 by SSB 6676. The amendment to WAC 308-61-175(2) is dictated by amendments to RCW 46.55.130(1) in 2006 by SHB 1504. The amendment in WAC 308-61-175 new subsection (10) is at the request of the Washington state patrol to check for stolen vehicles.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 308-61-135 and 308-61-175.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 46.55.190.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 06-19-101 on September 19, 2006.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: January 22, 2007.
Mykel D. Gable
Assistant Director
OTS-9213.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 02-20-035, filed 9/24/02,
effective 10/25/02)
WAC 308-61-135
Miscellaneous provisions.
(1) The
properly executed written authority to tow or other evidence
of lawful possession shall suffice in lieu of current license
plates or trip permits for unauthorized or abandoned vehicles.
(2) Billing invoices must indicate the time of day when an unauthorized or abandoned vehicle arrived at the secure storage area.
(3) A seller's report of sale properly filed with the department on a form prescribed by the department shall relieve a registered owner from liability for costs incurred in the removal and storage of an unauthorized/abandoned vehicle, in addition to relieving that person from other liability pursuant to RCW 46.12.101, unless the transferee on the seller's report had no knowledge of the filing.
(4) The junk vehicle affidavit of sale as described in RCW 46.55.230 may be used to sell a vehicle to a licensed hulk hauler, scrap processor, vehicle wrecking yard or it may be used as a supporting document for issuance of a title.
(5) A stored vehicle may be redeemed any time before the start of auctioning of that particular vehicle.
(6) The notification to be sent by first-class mail within twenty-four hours after the impound must be sent to any lessor or lessee, as well as to the last known registered and legal owner (lien holder) of the vehicle.
(7) The written notice of the right of redemption and opportunity for a hearing to contest the validity of an impoundment, to be sent with the twenty-four hour impoundment notice on an unauthorized vehicle impoundment, must be separate and in addition to the notice of opportunity for a hearing given to those who redeem vehicles.
(8) As the record required in RCW 46.05.150(2) the registered tow truck operator must keep a copy of its twenty-four-hour impound notice to law enforcement.
(9) Information contained in the master log must include:
(a) The dates of impound and release of vehicles;
(b) Storage lot used if multiple lots;
(c) If impound was from public or from private property and the location where the vehicle was impounded;
(d) Identity of vehicle by year, make, model, license number, and vehicle identification number;
(e) Dates of all required notices to law enforcement and to vehicle owners;
(f) Date of auction advertisement and of auction;
(g) Amount of towing and storage lien;
(h) Amount of auction proceeds;
(i) Amount of surplus funds.
Entries on the master log must be made within seventy-two hours following the activity being logged.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 46.55.190. 02-20-035, § 308-61-135, filed 9/24/02, effective 10/25/02; 00-01-058, § 308-61-135, filed 12/10/99, effective 1/10/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.55.190, 46.79.080 and 46.80.140. 93-08-076, § 308-61-135, filed 4/6/93, effective 5/7/93. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.55.190. 90-01-060, § 308-61-135, filed 12/18/89, effective 1/18/90. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.55.190, 46.80.140 and 46.79.080. 88-06-025 (Order DLR 164), § 308-61-135, filed 2/25/88. Statutory Authority: Chapter 46.55 RCW. 86-03-011 (Order DLR-088), § 308-61-135, filed 1/6/86.]
(1) For purposes of advertising the sale of abandoned vehicles the vehicle identification number must be used if no license plates are on the vehicle.
(2) ((A newspaper of general circulation in the county
shall mean a newspaper which is one of three with the largest
circulation in the county where the sale will be conducted. The publisher need not reside in that same county.
(3))) If a vehicle in the custody of an operator is not identifiable, including no license plates or registration, the operator must conduct an examination of the vehicle only to determine its make, model, year and vehicle identification number which must be included on the abandoned vehicle report to the department.
(((4))) (3) If the department cannot provide owner
information on a vehicle after the operator submits an
abandoned vehicle report, the operator may then inspect the
vehicle as permitted in RCW 46.55.100(5) to determine whether
owner information is within the vehicle.
(((5))) (4) Upon inspection of the vehicle as provided in
subsection (((4))) (3) of this section the operator may return
the original abandoned vehicle report with additional
information from the inspection of the vehicle to assist the
department in providing owner information.
(((6))) (5) The department may require an inspection by
the appropriate law enforcement agency to verify the vehicle
identification number of an unidentified vehicle. All such
information must be reported to the department, which will
communicate with such other states as may be necessary to
determine whether the registered and legal owner information
is available for the vehicle.
(((7))) (6) After all reasonable efforts to obtain the
owner information have proved unsuccessful, the vehicle may be
disposed of in accordance with all procedures except that the
notification to the registered and legal owners by certified
or registered mail may be omitted. A record of all steps
taken to locate the owner(s) of the vehicle must be kept by
the operator for a period of three years.
(((8))) (7) If the operator elects to bid at auction,
that bid must be disclosed as such, and must not merely be an
effort to set a minimum for other bids. If an operator is the
successful bidder and the bid exceeds the lien for towing and
storage, the surplus funds must be remitted to the department
just as in any other sale. The operator cannot elect to
retain a vehicle at auction because the operator feels that
the bidding is insufficient.
(((9))) (8) The ((three-hour)) public viewing period
required in RCW 46.55.130(1) must be held at all times during
daylight hours.
(((10))) (9) Auctions may be held on Saturdays or Sundays
which are not legal holidays.
(10) Three days prior to any vehicle auction, tow companies must fax a listing of all vehicles, including year, make, model, and vehicle identification number, to their Washington state patrol business inspector. If there are any changes to the list, an updated/amended list must also be faxed to the Washington state patrol inspector.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 46.55.190. 02-20-035, § 308-61-175, filed 9/24/02, effective 10/25/02; 00-01-058, § 308-61-175, filed 12/10/99, effective 1/10/00; 91-20-121, § 308-61-175, filed 9/30/91, effective 10/31/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.55.190, 46.80.140 and 46.79.080. 88-06-025 (Order DLR 164), § 308-61-175, filed 2/25/88. Statutory Authority: Chapter 46.55 RCW. 86-03-011 (Order DLR-088), § 308-61-175, filed 1/6/86.]