AN ACT Relating to junk
vehicles; and amending RCW 46.55.010, 46.55.240, and 46.63.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 46.55.010 and 1991 c
292 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)) at
least three of 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;
(c) Is apparently
inoperable;
(d) ((Is without a
valid, current registration plate;
(e))) Has 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 46.55.240 and 1991 c
292 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A city, town, or
county that adopts an ordinance or resolution concerning unauthorized,
abandoned, or impounded vehicles shall include the applicable provisions of
this chapter.
(a) A city, town, or
county may, by ordinance, authorize other impound situations that may arise
locally upon the public right-of-way or other publicly owned or controlled
property.
(b) A city, town, or
county ordinance shall contain language that establishes a written form of
authorization to impound, which may include a law enforcement notice of
infraction or citation, clearly denoting the agency's authorization to impound.
(c) A city, town, or
county may, by ordinance, provide for release of an impounded vehicle by means
of a promissory note in lieu of immediate payment, if at the time of redemption
the legal or registered owner requests a hearing on the validity of the
impoundment. If the municipal ordinance directs the release of an impounded
vehicle before the payment of the impoundment charges, the municipality is
responsible for the payment of those charges to the registered tow truck
operator within thirty days of the hearing date.
(d) The hearing
specified in RCW 46.55.120(2) and in this section may be conducted by an
administrative hearings officer instead of in the district court. A decision
made by an administrative hearing officer may be appealed to the district court
for final judgment.
(2) A city, town, or
county may adopt an ordinance establishing procedures for the abatement and
removal as public nuisances of junk vehicles or parts thereof from private
property. Costs of removal may be assessed against the registered owner of the
vehicle if the identity of the owner can be determined, unless the owner in the
transfer of ownership of the vehicle has complied with RCW 46.12.101, or the
costs may be assessed against the owner of the property on which the vehicle is
stored. A city, town, or county may also provide for the payment to the tow
truck operator or wrecker as a part of a neighborhood revitalization program.
(3) Ordinances
pertaining to public nuisances shall contain:
(a) A provision
requiring notice to the last registered owner of record and the property owner
of record that a hearing may be requested and that if no hearing is requested,
the vehicle will be removed;
(b) A provision
requiring that if a request for a hearing is received, a notice giving the
time, location, and date of the hearing on the question of abatement and removal
of the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance shall be mailed, by
certified mail, with a five-day return receipt requested, to the owner of the
land as shown on the last equalized assessment roll and to the last registered
and legal owner of record unless the vehicle is in such condition that
identification numbers are not available to determine ownership;
(c) A provision that
the ordinance shall not apply to (i) a vehicle or part thereof that is
completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not
visible from the street or other public or private property or (ii) a vehicle
or part thereof that is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property
in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler or licensed vehicle
dealer and is fenced according to RCW 46.80.130;
(d) A provision that
the owner of the land on which the vehicle is located may appear in person at
the hearing or present a written statement in time for consideration at the
hearing, and deny responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the land,
with his reasons for the denial. If it is determined at the hearing that the
vehicle was placed on the land without the consent of the landowner and that he
has not subsequently acquiesced in its presence, then the local agency shall
not assess costs of administration or removal of the vehicle against the
property upon which the vehicle is located or otherwise attempt to collect the
cost from the owner;
(e) A provision that
after notice has been given of the intent of the city, town, or county to
dispose of the vehicle and after a hearing, if requested, has been held, the
vehicle or part thereof shall be removed at the request of a law enforcement
officer with notice to the Washington state patrol and the department of
licensing that the vehicle has been wrecked. The city, town, or county may
operate such a disposal site when its governing body determines that commercial
channels of disposition are not available or are inadequate, and it may make
final disposition of such vehicles or parts, or may transfer such vehicle or
parts to another governmental body provided such disposal shall be only as
scrap.
(4) A registered
disposer under contract to a city or county for the impounding of vehicles
shall comply with any administrative regulations adopted by the city or county
on the handling and disposing of vehicles.
Sec. 3. RCW 46.63.030 and 1987 c
66 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A law enforcement
officer has the authority to issue a notice of traffic infraction:
(a) When the infraction
is committed in the officer's presence;
(b) When the officer is
acting upon the request of a law enforcement officer in whose presence the
traffic infraction was committed; or
(c) If an officer
investigating at the scene of a motor vehicle accident has reasonable cause to
believe that the driver of a motor vehicle involved in the accident has
committed a traffic infraction.
(2) A court may issue a
notice of traffic infraction upon receipt of a written statement of the officer
that there is reasonable cause to believe that an infraction was committed.
(3) If any motor
vehicle without a driver is found parked, standing, or stopped in violation of
this title or an equivalent administrative regulation or local law, ordinance,
regulation, or resolution, the officer finding the vehicle shall take its
registration number and may take any other information displayed on the vehicle
which may identify its user, and shall conspicuously affix to the vehicle a
notice of traffic infraction.
(4) In
the case of failure to redeem an abandoned vehicle under RCW 46.55.120 an
officer shall send a notice of infraction by certified mail to the last known
address of the registered owner of the vehicle.
