AN ACT Relating to
procedures for handling and processing violations of RCW 46.55.105; and
amending RCW 46.20.031, 46.20.289, 46.52.100, 46.55.105, and 46.63.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 46.20.031 and 1993 c
501 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
The department shall
not issue a driver's license hereunder:
(1) To any person who
is under the age of sixteen years;
(2) To any person whose
license has been suspended during such suspension, nor to any person whose
license has been revoked, except as provided in RCW 46.20.311;
(3) To any person who
has been evaluated by a program approved by the department of social and health
services as being an alcoholic, drug addict, alcohol abuser, and/or drug
abuser: PROVIDED, That a license may be issued if the department determines
that such person has been granted a deferred prosecution, pursuant to chapter
10.05 RCW, or is satisfactorily participating in or has successfully completed
an alcohol or drug abuse treatment program approved by the department of social
and health services and has established control of his or her alcohol and/or
drug abuse problem;
(4) To any person who
has previously been adjudged to be mentally ill or insane, or to be incompetent
due to any mental disability or disease, and who has not at the time of
application been restored to competency by the methods provided by law: PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, That no person so adjudged shall be denied a license for such cause if
the superior court should find him able to operate a motor vehicle with safety
upon the highways during such incompetency;
(5) To any person who
is required by this chapter to take an examination, unless such person shall
have successfully passed such examination;
(6) To any person who
is required under the laws of this state to deposit proof of financial
responsibility and who has not deposited such proof;
(7) To any person when
the department has good and substantial evidence to reasonably conclude that
such person by reason of physical or mental disability would not be able to
operate a motor vehicle with safety upon the highways; subject to review by a
court of competent jurisdiction;
(8) To a person when
the department has been notified by a court that the person has violated his or
her written promise to appear, respond, or comply regarding a notice of
infraction issued for a violation of RCW 46.55.105, unless the department has
received notice from the court showing that the person has been found not to
have committed the violation of RCW 46.55.105, or that the person has paid all
monetary penalties owing, including completion of community service, and that
the court is satisfied that the person has made restitution as provided by RCW
46.55.105(2).
Sec. 2. RCW 46.20.289 and 1993 c
501 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
The department shall
suspend all driving privileges of a person when the department receives notice
from a court under RCW 46.63.070(5) or 46.64.025 that the person has failed to
respond to a notice of traffic infraction, failed to appear at a requested hearing,
violated a written promise to appear in court, or has failed to comply with the
terms of a notice of traffic infraction or citation, other than for a notice of
a violation of RCW 46.55.105 or a standing, stopping, or parking
violation. A suspension under this section takes effect thirty days after the
date the department mails notice of the suspension, and remains in effect until
the department has received a certificate from the court showing that the case
has been adjudicated, and until the person meets the requirements of RCW
46.20.311. A suspension under this section does not take effect if, prior to
the effective date of the suspension, the department receives a certificate
from the court showing that the case has been adjudicated.
Sec. 3. RCW 46.52.100 and 1994 c
275 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
Every district court,
municipal court, and clerk of superior court shall keep or cause to be kept a
record of every traffic complaint, traffic citation, notice of infraction, or
other legal form of traffic charge deposited with or presented to the court or
a traffic violations bureau, and shall keep a record of every official action
by the court or its traffic violations bureau in reference thereto, including but
not limited to a record of every conviction, forfeiture of bail, judgment of
acquittal, finding that a traffic infraction has been committed, dismissal of a
notice of infraction, and the amount of fine, forfeiture, or penalty resulting
from every traffic complaint, citation, or notice of infraction deposited with
or presented to the district court, municipal court, superior court, or traffic
violations bureau.
The Monday following
the conviction, forfeiture of bail, or finding that a traffic infraction was
committed for violation of any provisions of this chapter or other law
regulating the operating of vehicles on highways, every magistrate of the court
or clerk of the court of record in which such conviction was had, bail was
forfeited, or the finding made shall prepare and immediately forward to the
director of licensing at Olympia an abstract of the record of the court
covering the case, which abstract must be certified by the person so required
to prepare the same to be true and correct. Report need not be made of any
finding involving the illegal parking or standing of a vehicle.
The abstract must be
made upon a form or forms furnished by the director and shall include
the name and address of the party charged, the number, if any, of the party's
driver's or chauffeur's license, the registration number of the vehicle
involved if required by the director, the nature of the offense, the
date of hearing, the plea, the judgment, whether the offense was an
alcohol-related offense as defined in RCW 46.01.260(2), whether bail forfeited,
whether the determination that a traffic infraction was committed was
contested, and the amount of the fine, forfeiture, or penalty as the case may
be.
Every court of record
shall also forward a like report to the director upon the conviction of any
person of ((manslaughter or other)) a felony in the commission of
which a vehicle was used.
The failure of any such
judicial officer to comply with any of the requirements of this section shall
constitute misconduct in office and shall be grounds for removal therefrom.
The director shall keep
all abstracts received hereunder at the director's office in Olympia and the
same shall be open to public inspection during reasonable business hours.
Venue in all district
courts shall be before one of the two nearest district judges in incorporated
cities and towns nearest to the point the violation allegedly occurred:
PROVIDED, That in counties with populations of one hundred twenty-five thousand
or more such cases may be tried in the county seat at the request of the
defendant.
It shall be the duty of
the officer, prosecuting attorney, or city attorney signing the charge or
information in any case involving a charge of driving under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or any drug immediately to make request to the director for
an abstract of convictions and forfeitures which the director shall furnish.
Sec. 4. RCW 46.55.105 and 1993 c
314 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The abandonment of
any vehicle creates a prima facie presumption that the last registered owner of
record is responsible for the abandonment and is liable for costs incurred in
removing, storing, and disposing of the abandoned vehicle, less amounts
realized at auction.
(2) If an unauthorized
vehicle is found abandoned under subsection (1) of this section and removed
at the direction of law enforcement, the last registered owner of record is
guilty of a traffic infraction ((under chapter 46.63 RCW)), unless the
vehicle is redeemed ((after impound)) as provided in RCW 46.55.120. In
addition to ((the)) any other monetary penalty payable under ((that))
chapter 46.63 RCW, the court shall not consider all monetary
penalties as having been paid until the court is satisfied that the person
found to have committed the infraction ((is also liable for)) has
made restitution in the amount of the deficiency remaining after disposal
of the vehicle under RCW 46.55.140.
(3) Filing a report of
sale or transfer regarding the vehicle involved in accordance with RCW
46.12.101(1) or a vehicle theft report filed with a law enforcement agency
relieves the last registered owner of liability under subsections (1) and (2)
of this section.
(4) For the purposes of
reporting notices of traffic infraction to the department under RCW
46.20.270 and 46.52.100, and for purposes of reporting notices of failure to
appear, respond, or comply regarding a notice of traffic infraction to the
department under RCW 46.63.070(5)(((b))), a traffic infraction under
subsection (2) of this section is ((a moving violation and is)) not
considered to be a standing, stopping, or parking violation.
(5) A notice of
infraction for a violation of this section may be filed with a court of limited
jurisdiction organized under Title 3, 35, or 35A RCW, or with a violations
bureau subject to the court's jurisdiction.
Sec. 5. RCW 46.63.030 and 1994 c
176 s 3 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, upon receiving a
complaint by a registered tow truck operator that has incurred costs in
removing, storing, and disposing of an abandoned vehicle, an officer of
the law enforcement agency responsible for directing the removal of the vehicle
shall send a notice of infraction by certified mail to the last known address
of the registered owner of the vehicle. The officer shall append to the
notice of infraction, on a form prescribed by the department of licensing, a
notice indicating the amount of costs incurred as a result of removing,
storing, and disposing of the abandoned vehicle, less any amount realized at
auction, and a statement that monetary penalties for the infraction will not be
considered as having been paid until the monetary penalty payable under this
chapter has been paid and the court is satisfied that the person has made
restitution in the amount of the deficiency remaining after disposal of the
vehicle.
