AN ACT Relating to
abandoned vessels; amending RCW 63.21.080; adding a new section to chapter
88.12 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 88 RCW; and repealing RCW 88.12.370.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec.
1. Unless the context
clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout
this chapter.
(1) "Charges"
means charges of the commission for moorage and storage, and all other charges
related to the vessel and owing to or that become owing to the commission,
including but not limited to costs of securing, disposing, or removing vessels,
damages to any commission facility, and any costs of sale and related legal
expenses for implementing sections 2 and 3 of this act.
(2)
"Commission" means the Washington state parks and recreation
commission.
(3) "Commission facility"
means any property or facility owned, leased, operated, managed, or otherwise
controlled by the commission or by a person pursuant to a contract with the
commission.
(4) "Owner"
means a person who has a lawful right to possession of a vessel by purchase,
exchange, gift, lease, inheritance, or legal action whether or not the vessel
is subject to a security interest, and shall not include the holder of a bona
fide security interest.
(5) "Person"
means any natural person, firm, partnership, corporation, association,
organization, or any other entity.
(6)(a) "Registered
owner" means any person that is either: (i) Shown as the owner in a
vessel certificate of documentation issued by the secretary of the United
States department of transportation under 46 U.S.C. Sec. 12103; or (ii) the
registered owner or legal owner of a vessel for which a certificate of title
has been issued under chapter 88.02 RCW; or (iii) the owner of a vessel
registered under the vessel registration laws of another state under which laws
the commission can readily identify the ownership of vessels registered with
that state. (b) "Registered owner" also includes: (i) Any
holder of a security interest or lien recorded with the United States
department of transportation with respect to a vessel on which a certificate of
documentation has been issued; (ii) any holder of a security interest
identified in a certificate of title for a vessel registered under chapter
88.02 RCW; or (iii) any holder of a security interest in a vessel where the
holder is identified in vessel registration information of a state with vessel
registration laws that fall within (a)(iii) of this subsection and under which
laws the commission can readily determine the identity of the holder.
(c) "Registered owner"
does not include any vessel owner or holder of a lien or security interest in a
vessel if the vessel does not have visible information affixed to it (such as
name and hailing port or registration numbers) that will enable the commission
to obtain ownership information for the vessel without incurring unreasonable
expense.
(7) "Registered
vessel" means a vessel having a registered owner.
(8) "Secured
vessel" means any vessel that has been secured by the commission that
remains in the commission's possession and control.
(9) "Unauthorized
vessel" means a vessel using a commission facility of any type whose owner
has not paid the required moorage fees or has left the vessel beyond the posted
time limits, or a vessel otherwise present without permission of the
commission.
(10) "Vessel"
means every watercraft or part thereof constructed, used, or capable of being
used as a means of transportation on the water. It includes any equipment or
personal property on the vessel that is used or capable of being used for the
operation, navigation, or maintenance of the vessel.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
2. (1) The commission may
take reasonable measures, including but not limited to the use of anchors,
chains, ropes, and locks, or removal from the water, to secure unauthorized
vessels located at or on a commission facility so that the unauthorized vessels
are in the possession and control of the commission. At least ten days before
securing any unauthorized registered vessel, the commission shall send
notification by registered mail to the last registered owner or registered
owners of the vessel at their last known address or addresses.
(2) The commission may
take reasonable measures, including but not limited to the use of anchors,
chains, ropes, locks, or removal from the water, to secure any vessel if the
vessel, in the opinion of the commission, is a nuisance, is in danger of
sinking or creating other damage to a commission facility, or is otherwise a
threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the public or environment at a
commission facility. The costs of any such procedure shall be paid by the vessel's
owner.
(3) At the time of
securing any vessel under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the commission
shall attach to the vessel a readily visible notice or, when practicable, shall
post such notice in a conspicuous location at the commission facility in the
event the vessel is removed from the premises. The notice shall be of a
reasonable size and shall contain the following information:
(a) The date and time
the notice was attached or posted;
(b) A statement that
the vessel has been secured by the commission and that if the commission's
charges, if any, are not paid and the vessel is not removed by
. . . . . . (the thirty-fifth consecutive day
following the date of attachment or posting of the notice), the vessel will be
considered abandoned and will be sold at public auction to satisfy the charges;
(c) The address and
telephone number where additional information may be obtained concerning the
securing of the vessel and conditions for its release; and
(d) A description of
the owner's or secured party's rights under this chapter.
(4) With respect to
registered vessels: Within five days of the date that notice is attached or
posted under subsection (3) of this section, the commission shall send such
notice, by registered mail, to each registered owner.
(5) If a vessel is
secured under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the owner, or any person
with a legal right to possess the vessel, may claim the vessel by:
(a) Making arrangements
satisfactory to the commission for the immediate removal of the vessel from the
commission's control or for authorized storage or moorage; and
(b) Making payment to
the commission of all reasonable charges incurred by the commission in securing
the vessel under subsections (1) and (2) of this section and of all moorage
fees owed to the commission.
(6) A vessel is
considered abandoned if, within the thirty-five day period following the date
of attachment or posting of notice in subsection (3) of this section, the
vessel has not been claimed under subsection (5) of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
3. (1) The commission may
provide for the public sale of vessels considered abandoned under section 2 of
this act. At such sales, the vessels shall be sold for cash to the highest and
best bidder.
(2) Before a vessel is
sold, the commission shall make a reasonable effort to provide notice of sale,
at least twenty days before the day of the sale, to each registered owner of a
registered vessel and each owner of an unregistered vessel. The notice shall
contain the time and place of the sale, a reasonable description of the vessel
to be sold, and the amount of charges then owing with respect to the vessel,
and a summary of the rights and procedures under this chapter. A notice of
sale shall be published at least once, more than ten but not more than twenty
days before the sale, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in
which the commission facility is located. This notice shall include: (a) If
known, the name of the vessel and the last owner and the owner's address; and
(b) a reasonable description of the vessel. The commission may bid all or part
of its charges at the sale and may become a purchaser at the sale.
(3) Before a vessel is
sold, any person seeking to redeem a secured vessel may commence a lawsuit in
the superior court for the county in which the vessel was secured to contest
the commission's decision to secure the vessel or the amount of charges owing.
This lawsuit shall be commenced within fifteen days of the date the
notification was posted under section 2(3) of this act, or the right to a
hearing is deemed waived and the owner is liable for any charges owing the
commission. In the event of litigation, the prevailing party is entitled to
reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
(4) The proceeds of a
sale under this section shall be applied first to the payment of the amount of
the reasonable charges incurred by the commission and moorage fees owed to the
commission, then to the owner or to satisfy any liens of record or security
interests of record on the vessel in the order of their priority. If an owner
cannot in the exercise of due diligence be located by the commission within one
year of the date of the sale, any excess funds from the sale, following the
satisfaction of any bona fide security interest, shall revert to the department
of revenue under chapter 63.29 RCW. If the sale is for a sum less than the
applicable charges, the commission is entitled to assert a claim for the
deficiency against the vessel owner. Nothing in this section prevents any lien
holder or secured party from asserting a claim for any deficiency owed the lien
holder or secured party.
(5) If no one purchases
the vessel at a sale, the commission may proceed to properly dispose of the
vessel in any way the commission considers appropriate, including, but not
limited to, destruction of the vessel or by negotiated sale. The commission
may assert a claim against the owner for any charges incurred thereby. If the
vessel, or any part of the vessel, or any rights to the vessel, are sold under
this subsection, any proceeds from the sale shall be distributed in the manner
provided in subsection (4) of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
4. If the full amount of all
charges due the commission on an unauthorized vessel is not paid to the
commission within thirty days after the date on which notice is affixed or
posted under section 2(3) of this act, the commission may bring an action in
any court of competent jurisdiction to recover the charges, plus reasonable
attorneys' fees and costs incurred by the commission.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
5. The rights granted to the
commission under sections 1 through 5 of this act are in addition to any other
legal rights the commission may have to secure, hold, and sell a vessel and in
no manner does this section alter those rights, or affect the priority of other
liens on a vessel.
Sec. 6. RCW 63.21.080 and 1985 c
7 s 125 are each amended to read as follows:
This chapter shall not
apply to:
(1) Motor vehicles
under chapter 46.52 RCW;
(2) Unclaimed property
in the hands of a bailee under chapter 63.24 RCW; ((and))
(3) Uniform disposition
of unclaimed property under chapter 63.29 RCW; and
(4) Secured vessels
under chapter 88.‑- RCW (sections 1 through 5 of this act).
NEW SECTION. Sec.
7. RCW 88.12.370 and 1989 c
393 s 2 are each repealed.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
8. A new section is added
to chapter 88.12 RCW to read as follows:
The provisions of RCW
88.12.185 through 88.12.225 do not apply to vessels secured pursuant to chapter
88.-- RCW (sections 1 through 5 of this act).
NEW SECTION. Sec.
9. Sections 1 through 5 of
this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 88 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
10. If any provision of this
act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or
circumstances is not affected.
