H-2269

AN ACT Relating to junk vehicles; and amending RCW 46.55.010 and 46.55.230.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 46.55.010 and 1989 c 111 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The definitions set forth in this section apply throughout this chapter:

(1) "Abandoned vehicle" means a vehicle that a registered tow truck operator has impounded and held in the operator's possession for ninety-six consecutive hours.

(2) "Abandoned vehicle report" means the document prescribed by the state that the towing operator forwards to the department after a vehicle has become abandoned.

(3) "Impound" means to take and hold a vehicle in legal custody. There are two types of impounds--public and private.

(a) "Public impound" means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by a public official having jurisdiction over the public property upon which the vehicle was located.

(b) "Private impound" means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a person having control or possession of the private property upon which the vehicle was located.

(4) "Junk vehicle" means a vehicle certified under RCW 46.55.230 as meeting all the following requirements:

(a) Is three years old or older;

(b) Is extensively damaged, such damage including but not limited to any of the following: A broken window or windshield or missing wheels, tires, motor, or transmission;

(d) Is without a valid, current registration plate;

(e) Has ((a)) an approximate fair market value equal only to the approximate value of the scrap in it.

(5) "Master log" means the document or an electronic facsimile prescribed by the department and the Washington state patrol in which an operator records transactions involving impounded vehicles.

(6) "Registered tow truck operator" or "operator" means any person who engages in the impounding, transporting, or storage of unauthorized vehicles or the disposal of abandoned vehicles.

(7) "Residential property" means property that has no more than four living units located on it.

(8) "Tow truck" means a motor vehicle that is equipped for and used in the business of towing vehicles with equipment as approved by the state patrol.

(9) "Tow truck number" means the number issued by the department to tow trucks used by a registered tow truck operator in the state of Washington.

(10) "Tow truck permit" means the permit issued annually by the department that has the classification of service the tow truck may provide stamped upon it.

(11) "Tow truck service" means the transporting upon the public streets and highways of this state of vehicles, together with personal effects and cargo, by a tow truck of a registered operator.

(12) "Unauthorized vehicle" means a vehicle that is subject to impoundment after being left unattended in one of the following public or private locations for the indicated period of time:

Subject to removal after:

(a) Public locations:

(i) Constituting an accident or a traffic hazard as

defined in RCW 46.55.113......................... Immediately

(ii) On a highway and tagged as

described in RCW 46.55.085.......................... 24 hours

(iii) In a publicly owned or controlled

parking facility, properly posted

under RCW 46.55.070.............................. Immediately

(b) Private locations:

(i) On residential property........................... Immediately

(ii) On private, nonresidential property,

properly posted under

RCW 46.55.070.................................... Immediately

(iii) On private, nonresidential property,

not posted.......................................... 24 hours

Sec. 2. RCW 46.55.230 and 1987 c 311 s 19 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any law enforcement officer having jurisdiction or any person authorized by the director may inspect and certify that a vehicle meets the requirements of a junk vehicle. The person making the certification shall record the make and vehicle identification number or license number of the vehicle if available, and shall also describe in detail the damage or missing equipment to verify that the approximate value of the junk vehicle is equivalent only to the approximate value of the scrap in it.

(2) The law enforcement officer or department representative shall provide information on the vehicle's registered and legal owner to the landowner.

(3) Upon receiving information on the vehicle's registered and legal owner, the landowner shall obtain a junk vehicle notification form from the department. The landowner shall send by certified mail, notification to the registered and legal owners shown on the records of the department. The notification shall describe the redemption procedure and the right to contest the sale of a junk vehicle in a district court hearing.

(4) If the vehicle remains unclaimed more than fifteen days after the landowner has mailed notification to the registered and legal owner, the landowner may sign an affidavit of sale to be used as a title document.

(5) If no information on the vehicle's registered and legal owner is found in the records of the department, the landowner shall place a legal notice of custody and sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The newspaper notice shall include (a) the description of the vehicle; (b) the address of the location of the junk vehicle; (c) the date by which the registered or legal owner must redeem the vehicle; and (d) a telephone number where the landowner can be reached. If the vehicle remains unclaimed more than twenty days after publication of the notice, the landowner may sign an affidavit of sale to be used as a title document.

(6) The landowner of the property upon which the junk vehicle is located is entitled to recover from the vehicle's registered owner any costs incurred in the removal of the junk vehicle.

(7) For the purposes of this section, the term "landowner" includes a legal owner of private property, a person with possession or control of private property, or a public official having jurisdiction over public property.

(8) A person complying in good faith with the requirements of this section is immune from any liability arising out of an action taken or omission made in the compliance.