H-3736.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2647
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 54th Legislature 1996 Regular Session
By Representatives Delvin, Morris and Sterk
Read first time 01/16/96. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
AN ACT Relating to hit-and-run accidents; and adding a new section to chapter 46.16 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 46.16 RCW to read as follows:
(1) To renew a vehicle license, an applicant must satisfy all allegations of a hit-and-run accident for the vehicle incurred while the vehicle was registered in the applicant's name and forwarded to the department under subsection (4) of this section. For the purposes of this section, allegations of a hit-and-run accident include only those violations for which notice has been received from local agencies by the department one hundred twenty days or more before the date the vehicle license expires and that are placed on the records of the department. Notice of the violation received by the department later than one hundred twenty days before that date that are not satisfied must be considered by the department in connection with any applications for license renewal in any subsequent license year. The renewal application may be processed by the department or its agents only if the applicant:
(a) Presents a preprinted renewal application showing no allegation of a hit-and-run accident, or in the absence of such a presentation, the agent verifies the information that would be contained on the preprinted renewal application; or
(b) If a hit-and-run accident did occur, presents proof of a resolution of the accident issued by the relevant court or municipality where the accident occurred.
(2) If there is a change in the registered owner of the vehicle, the department must forward the information regarding the change to the local charging jurisdiction and release any hold on the renewal of the vehicle license resulting from an allegation of a hit-and-run accident that was incurred while the certificate of license registration was in a previous registered owner's name.
(3) The department must send to all registered owners of vehicles who have been reported to have been involved in a hit-and-run accident, at the time of renewal, a statement setting out the dates and jurisdictions in which the accident occurred.
(4) Every municipality having jurisdiction over regulating the operation of motor vehicles on highways may forward to the department within ten days of failure to respond, failure to pay a penalty, failure to appear at a hearing to contest an allegation of a hit-and-run accident or failure to appear at a hearing to explain mitigating circumstances, an abstract of the citation record in the form prescribed by rule of the department, showing the finding by the municipality that a hit-and-run accident has occurred, and indicating the nature of the defendant's failure to act. The violation may not have occurred while the vehicle is stolen from the registered owner or is leased or rented under a bona fide commercial vehicle lease or rental agreement between a lessor engaged in the business of leasing vehicles and a lessee who is not the vehicle's registered owner. The department may enter into agreements of reciprocity with the duly authorized representatives of the states for reporting to each other violations of laws governing allegations of hit-and-run accidents.
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