AN ACT Relating to
vehicles that have been rebuilt from salvage; and amending RCW 46.12.005,
46.12.050, and 46.12.075.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 46.12.005 and 1967 c
140 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
((As used in this
amendatory act,)) The definitions set forth in this section apply
throughout this chapter.
(1) The words
"delivery,"((,)) "notice,"((,))
"send," and "security interest" ((shall))
have the same meaning as these terms are defined in RCW 62A.1-201 ((as now
and hereafter amended)); the word((,)) "secured party" ((shall
have)) has the same meaning as this term is defined in RCW 62A.9‑105
((as now and hereafter amended)).
(2) "Salvage
vehicle" means a vehicle whose certificate of ownership has been
surrendered to the department under RCW 46.12.070 due to the vehicle's
destruction or declaration as a total loss or for which there is documentation
indicating that the vehicle has been declared salvage or has been damaged to
the extent that the owner, an insurer, or other person acting on behalf of the
owner, has determined that the cost of parts and labor plus the salvage value
has made it uneconomical to repair the vehicle. The term does not include a
motor vehicle having a model year designation of a calendar year that is at
least six years before the calendar year in which the vehicle was wrecked,
destroyed, or damaged.
Sec. 2. RCW 46.12.050 and 1993 c
307 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
The department, if
satisfied from the statements upon the application that the applicant is the
legal owner of the vehicle or otherwise entitled to have a certificate of
ownership thereof in the applicant's name, shall issue an appropriate
electronic record of ownership or a written certificate of ownership, over the
director's signature, authenticated by seal, and if required, a new written
certificate of license registration if certificate of license registration is
required.
The certificates of
ownership and the certificates of license registration shall contain upon the
face thereof, the date of application, the registration number assigned to the
registered owner and to the vehicle, the name and address of the registered
owner and legal owner, the vehicle identification number, and such other
description of the vehicle and facts as the department shall require, and in
addition thereto, if the vehicle described in such certificates shall have ever
been licensed and operated as an exempt vehicle or a taxicab, or if it ((is
less than four years old and)) has been rebuilt after ((having been
totaled out by an insurance carrier)) becoming a salvage vehicle,
such fact shall be clearly shown thereon.
All certificates of
ownership of motor vehicles issued after April 30, 1990, shall reflect the
odometer reading as provided by the odometer disclosure statement submitted
with the title application involving a transfer of ownership.
A blank space shall be
provided on the face of the certificate of license registration for the
signature of the registered owner.
Upon issuance of the
certificate of license registration and certificate of ownership and upon any
reissue thereof, the department shall deliver the certificate of license
registration to the registered owner and the certificate of ownership to the
legal owner, or both to the person who is both the registered owner and legal
owner.
Sec. 3. RCW 46.12.075 and 1995 c
256 s 24 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Effective January
1, 1997, the department shall issue a unique certificate of ownership and
certificate of license registration, as required by chapter 46.16 RCW, for
vehicles ((less than four years old)) that are rebuilt after ((surrender
of the certificate of ownership to the department under RCW 46.12.070 due to
the vehicle's destruction or declaration as a total loss)) becoming a
salvage vehicle. Each certificate shall conspicuously display across its
front, a word indicating that the vehicle was rebuilt.
(2) Beginning January
1, 1997, upon inspection of a salvage vehicle that has been rebuilt
under RCW 46.12.030, the state patrol shall securely affix or inscribe a
marking at the driver's door latch pillar indicating that the vehicle has
previously been destroyed or declared a total loss.
(3) It is a class C
felony for a person to remove the marking prescribed in subsection (2) of this
section.
(4) The
department may adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.
