DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING

[Filed June 12, 2019, 12:54 p.m.]

Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 308-61-158 Storage of vehicles.

Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: SSB 5652, passed during the 2019 legislative session, requires the department to adopt rules prescribing the content and format of the personal belongings storage request form. The amendment updates agency rules concerning the storage of vehicles and the storage of personal belongings in those vehicles. The amendment allows a vehicle's owner to retrieve personal belongings from the vehicle and/or request that the registered tow truck operator (RTTO) store the personal belongings for thirty days from the date of signing a storage request form.

Reasons Supporting Proposal: This change will allow owners of impounded vehicles a way to request that any personal belongings not registered to the department be stored by RTTO.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 46.55.190.

Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 401, Laws of 2019.

Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

Name of Proponent: Department of licensing, governmental.

Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting and Implementation: Heidi Graham, Business and Professions Division, 405 Black Lake Boulevard, Building 2, Olympia, WA 98502, 360-664-1893; and Enforcement: Lt. Timothy Coley, Washington State Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, 106 11th Avenue S.W., Olympia, WA 98501, 360-596-3802.

This notice meets the following criteria to use the expedited adoption process for these rules:

Content is explicitly and specifically dictated by statute.

Have been the subject of negotiated rule making, pilot rule making, or some other process that involved substantial participation by interested parties before the development of the proposed rule.

Explanation of the Reason the Agency Believes the Expedited Rule-Making Process is Appropriate: SSB 5652 requires the agency to adopt rules to state the content of a simple form only. The interested/affected stakeholders have been consulted and the agency has worked with the stakeholders and have [has] obtained agreement on the content of the form.

THIS RULE IS BEING PROPOSED UNDER AN EXPEDITED RULE-MAKING PROCESS THAT WILL ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR THE AGENCY TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS, PREPARE A SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT, OR PROVIDE RESPONSES TO THE CRITERIA FOR A SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATIVE RULE. IF YOU OBJECT TO THIS USE OF THE EXPEDITED RULE-MAKING PROCESS, YOU MUST EXPRESS YOUR OBJECTIONS IN WRITING AND THEY MUST BE SENT TO Heidi Graham, Department of Licensing, P.O. Box 9039, Olympia, WA 98507-9039, phone 360-664-1893, email hgraham@dol.wa.gov, AND RECEIVED BY August 19, 2019.

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 02-20-035, filed 9/24/02, effective 10/25/02)

WAC 308-61-158Storage of vehicles.

How must the registered tow truck operator handle stored vehicles?

(1) Handling and returning vehicles in substantially the same condition means that vehicles are to be handled with care so that their value is not diminished. The operator must not remove parts or equipment which are affixed to the vehicle.

(2) A vehicle being held for storage by agreement or being held under police authority, other than a suspended license impound, or pursuant to a writ or court order shall not be considered abandoned, nor shall it be processed as such. Any storage fees accrued while under agreement or under police hold, other than a suspended license impound, or pursuant to a writ or court order, shall not be included in the abandoned vehicle lien. Upon the expiration of a storage agreement, the lifting of a police hold other than a suspended license impound, or when the writ or court order is no longer in effect, the operator must begin the unauthorized abandoned vehicle processing, including the notification to vehicle owners by first class mail within twenty-four hours.

(3) When vehicles are stored pursuant to a writ or court order, the operator must keep evidence of the inception and termination dates of the writ or court order in the vehicle transaction file.

(4) When a vehicle is being held pursuant to a suspended license impound, and the vehicle is not redeemed even after the payment of a security deposit, and upon expiration of the hold, the operator must send the notice provided in RCW 46.55.110(2) and schedule its auction accordingly.

(5) Vehicles in the custody of an operator must be kept entirely within a secure area owned or operated under that registration.

(6) An operator must not charge for relocating vehicles between separate secure storage areas which he/she owns or operates.

(7) A vehicle's owner or agent may request that the operator store personal belongings from their vehicle for a period of thirty days from the date of signing a personal belongings storage request form. The personal belongings storage request form shall contain the requestor's vehicle identification number, license plate number, make, model, and year. The form shall also contain the RTTO company's name, street address, city, state and zip code where the personal belongings will be stored, the requestor's name and signature, and the date the request form was signed.