BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to commercial driver's licenses; amending RCW 46.25.010, 46.25.080, 46.25.090, and 46.20.205; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 46.25.010 and 1989 c 178 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

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

(1) "Alcohol" means any substance containing any form of alcohol, including but not limited to ethanol, methanol, propanol, and isopropanol.

(2) "Alcohol concentration" means:

(a) The number of grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of blood; or

(b) The number of grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath.

(3) "Commercial driver's license" (CDL) means a license issued in accordance with the requirements of this chapter to an individual that authorizes the individual to drive a class of commercial motor vehicle.

(4) The "commercial driver's license information system" (CDLIS) is the information system established pursuant to the CMVSA to serve as a clearinghouse for locating information related to the licensing and identification of commercial motor vehicle drivers.

(5) "Commercial driver's instruction permit" means a permit issued under RCW 46.25.060(4).

(6) "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle designed or used to transport passengers or property:

(a) If the vehicle has a gross weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds;

(b) If the vehicle is designed to transport sixteen or more passengers, including the driver; or

(c) If the vehicle is transporting hazardous materials and is required to be identified by a placard in accordance with 49 C.F.R. part 172, subpart F((~~; or~~

~~(d) If the vehicle is a school bus as defined in RCW 46.04.521 regardless of weight or size~~)).

(7) "Conviction" has the definition set forth in RCW 46.20.270.

(8) "Disqualification" means a prohibition against driving a commercial motor vehicle.

(9) "Drive" means to drive, operate, or be in physical control of a motor vehicle in any place open to the general public for purposes of vehicular traffic. For purposes of RCW 46.25.100, 46.25.110, and 46.25.120, "drive" includes operation or physical control of a motor vehicle anywhere in the state.

(10) "Drugs" are those substances as defined by RCW 69.04.009.

(11) "Employer" means any person, including the United States, a state, or a political subdivision of a state, who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle, or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle.

(12) "Gross vehicle weight rating" (GVWR) means the value specified by the manufacturer as the maximum loaded weight of a single or a combination or articulated vehicle, or the registered gross weight, ((~~whichever is greater~~)) where this value cannot be determined. The GVWR of a combination or articulated vehicle, commonly referred to as the "gross combined weight rating" or GCWR, is the GVWR of the power unit plus the GVWR of the towed unit or units.

(13) "Hazardous materials" has the same meaning found in Section 103 of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (49 App. U.S.C. 1801 et ((~~seg~~)) seq.).

(14) "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power used on highways, or any other vehicle required to be registered under the laws of this state, but does not include a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer operated exclusively on a rail.

(15) "Out-of-service order" means a temporary prohibition against driving a commercial motor vehicle.

(16) "Serious traffic violation" means:

(a) Excessive speeding, defined as fifteen miles per hour or more in excess of the posted limit;

(b) Reckless driving, as defined under state or local law;

(c) A violation of a state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control, other than a parking violation, arising in connection with an accident or collision resulting in death to any person; and

(d) Any other violation of a state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control, other than a parking violation, that the department determines by rule to be serious.

(17) "State" means a state of the United States and the District of Columbia.

(18) "Tank vehicle" means a vehicle that is designed to transport a liquid or gaseous material within a tank that is either permanently or temporarily attached to the vehicle or the chassis. Tank vehicles include, but are not limited to cargo tanks and portable tanks. However, this definition does not include portable tanks having a rated capacity under one thousand gallons.

(19) "United States" means the fifty states and the District of Columbia.

Sec. 2. RCW 46.25.080 and 1989 c 178 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The commercial driver's license must be marked "commercial driver's license" or "CDL," and must be, to the maximum extent practicable, tamperproof. It must include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(a) The name and residence address of the person;

(b) The person's color photograph;

(d) Date of birth;

(e) The person's Social Security number or any number or identifier deemed appropriate by the department;

(f) The person's signature;

(g) The class or type of commercial motor vehicle or vehicles that the person is authorized to drive, together with any endorsements or restrictions;

(h) The name of the state; and

(i) The dates between which the license is valid.

(2) Commercial driver's licenses may be issued with the classifications, endorsements, and restrictions set forth in this subsection. The holder of a valid commercial driver's license may drive all vehicles in the class for which that license is issued and all lesser classes of vehicles except motorcycles and vehicles that require an endorsement, unless the proper endorsement appears on the license.

(a) Licenses may be classified as follows:

(i) Class A is a combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 pounds or more, if the GVWR of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

(ii) Class B is a single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more, and any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds.

(iii) Class C is a single vehicle with a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds or any such vehicle towing a vehicle with a GVWR not in excess of 10,000 pounds consisting of:

(A) Vehicles designed to transport sixteen or more passengers, including the driver; or

(B) Vehicles used in the transportation of hazardous materials that requires the vehicle to be identified with a placard under 49 C.F.R., part 172, subpart F((~~; and~~

~~(C) School buses designed to carry fewer than sixteen passengers~~)).

(b) The following endorsements and restrictions may be placed on a license:

(i) "H" authorizes the driver to drive a vehicle transporting hazardous materials.

(ii) "K" restricts the driver to vehicles not equipped with air brakes.

(iii) "T" authorizes driving double and triple trailers.

(iv) "P1" authorizes driving all vehicles carrying passengers.

(v) "P2" authorizes driving vehicles with a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds carrying passengers.

(vi) "N" authorizes driving tank vehicles.

((~~(vi)~~)) (vii) "X" represents a combination of hazardous materials and tank vehicle endorsements.

The license may be issued with additional endorsements and restrictions as established by rule of the director.

(3) Before issuing a commercial driver's license, the department shall obtain driving record information through the commercial driver's license information system, the national driver register, and from the current state of record.

(4) Within ten days after issuing a commercial driver's license, the department must notify the commercial driver's license information system of that fact, and provide all information required to ensure identification of the person.

(5) A commercial driver's license shall expire in the same manner as provided in RCW 46.20.181.

(6) When applying for renewal of a commercial driver's license, the applicant shall complete the application form required by RCW 46.25.070(1), providing updated information and required certifications. If the applicant wishes to retain a hazardous materials endorsement, the applicant shall take and pass the written test for a hazardous materials endorsement.

Sec. 3. RCW 46.25.090 and 1989 c 178 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of not less than one year if a report has been received by the department pursuant to RCW 46.25.120, or if the person has been convicted of a first violation, within this or any other jurisdiction, of:

(a) Driving a commercial motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or any drug;

(b) Driving a commercial motor vehicle while the alcohol concentration in the person's system is 0.04 or more as determined by any testing methods approved by law in this state or any other state or jurisdiction;

(d) Using a commercial motor vehicle in the commission of a felony;

(e) Refusing to submit to a test to determine the driver's alcohol concentration while driving a motor vehicle.

If any of the violations set forth in this subsection occurred while transporting a hazardous material required to be identified by a placard, the person is disqualified for a period of not less than three years.

(2) A person is disqualified for life if it has been determined that the person has committed or has been convicted of two or more violations of any of the offenses specified in subsection (1) of this section, or any combination of those offenses, arising from two or more separate incidents. Only offenses committed after October 1, 1989, may be considered in applying this subsection.

(3) The department may adopt rules, in accordance with federal regulations, establishing guidelines, including conditions, under which a disqualification for life under subsection (2) of this section may be reduced to a period of not less than ten years.

(4) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for life who uses a commercial motor vehicle in the commission of a felony involving the manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance, as defined by chapter 69.50 RCW, or possession with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance, as defined by chapter 69.50 RCW.

(5) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of not less than sixty days if convicted of or found to have committed two serious traffic violations, or one hundred twenty days if convicted of or found to have committed three serious traffic violations, committed in a commercial motor vehicle arising from separate incidents occurring within a three-year period.

(6) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of:

(a) Not less than ninety days nor more than one year if convicted of or found to have committed a first violation of an out-of-service order;

(b) Not less than one year nor more than five years if, during a ten-year period, the person is convicted of or is found to have committed two violations of out-of-service orders in separate incidents;

(c) Not less than three years nor more than five years if, during a ten-year period, the person is convicted of or is found to have committed three or more violations of out-of-service orders in separate incidents;

(d) Not less than one hundred eighty days nor more than two years if the person is convicted of or is found to have committed a first violation of an out-of-service order while transporting hazardous materials required to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (46 U.S.C. Sec. 1801-1813), or while operating motor vehicles designed to transport sixteen or more passengers, including the driver. A person is disqualified for a period of not less than three years nor more than five years if, during a ten-year period, the person is convicted of or is found to have committed subsequent violations of out-of-service orders, in separate incidents, while transporting hazardous materials required to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, or while operating motor vehicles designed to transport sixteen or more passengers, including the driver.

(7) Within ten days after suspending, revoking, or canceling a commercial driver's license, the department shall update its records to reflect that action. After suspending, revoking, or canceling a nonresident commercial driver's privileges, the department shall notify the licensing authority of the state that issued the commercial driver's license.

Sec. 4. RCW 46.20.205 and 1994 c 57 s 52 are each amended to read as follows:

Whenever any person after applying for or receiving a driver's license or identicard moves from the address named in the application or in the license or identicard issued to him or her or when the name of a licensee or holder of an identicard is changed by marriage or otherwise, the person shall within ten days thereafter notify the department in writing on a form provided by the department of his or her old and new addresses or of such former and new names and of the number of any license then held by him or her. The written notification, or other means as designated by rule of the department, is the exclusive means by which the address of record maintained by the department concerning the licensee or identicard holder may be changed. The form must contain a place for the person to indicate that the address change is not for voting purposes. The department of licensing shall notify the secretary of state by the means described in RCW 29.07.270(3) of all change of address information received by means of this form except information on persons indicating that the change is not for voting purposes. Any notice regarding the cancellation, suspension, revocation, disqualification, probation, or nonrenewal of the driver's license, commercial driver's license, driving privilege, or identicard mailed to the address of record of the licensee or identicard holder is effective notwithstanding the licensee's or identicard holder's failure to receive the notice.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act takes effect October 1, 1996.