SENATE BILL REPORT

                  SSB 6229

              As Passed Senate, February 11, 1998

Title:  An act relating to compliance with aircraft registration laws.

Brief Description:  Enhancing compliance with aircraft registration laws.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Haugen, Morton, Goings, Winsley, Prince, Rasmussen, Prentice and Wood).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Transportation:  1/20/98, 1/27/98 [DPS].

Passed Senate, 2/11/98, 37-5.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6229 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

  Signed by Senators Prince, Chair; Benton, Vice Chair; Wood, Vice Chair; Goings, Haugen, Heavey, Horn, Jacobsen, Morton, Oke, Prentice and Rasmussen.

Staff:  Reema Shawa (786-7301)

Background:  Of the 9,868 aircraft based in Washington State, 4,807 aircraft were registered in 1997.  An additional 2,000 aircraft requiring registration were confirmed to be operating without a registration.  There are only two registration enforcement options currently available:  (1) request the State Patrol to investigate a potential evasion of registration; or (2) send Aviation Division staff out to public use airports to record aircraft identification numbers for purposes of running registration checks at a later time.  Due to various limiting factors of both options, neither of them has been able to significantly reduce the number of unregistered aircraft in the state.  Adding to the problem is the fact that an aircraft can lease or purchase tiedown or hangar space at a local, public-use airport without having to show proof of registration to airport authorities.

Summary of Bill:  Port districts and municipalities who operate an airport must require from an aircraft owner proof of aircraft registration or proof of the intent to register an aircraft as a condition of leasing or selling tiedown or hangar space for an aircraft.  If the owner is found to have an unregistered aircraft, the airport must present the owner with the appropriate state registration forms and direct them to comply with the law.  After doing so, the airport may lease or sell the space to the owner of the unregistered aircraft, as it then becomes the aircraft owner's responsibility to register the aircraft.  At the end of each month, the airport must report the identification numbers of the unregistered aircraft and the names and addresses of the owners to the Aviation Division for further investigation.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Local airports should have the authority to require proof of aircraft registration as a condition of selling or leasing tiedown or hangar space because they feel that they could make a significant impact on current registration enforcement levels.  This measure will help increase aircraft registration and thus, bring in more revenue for both the aeronautics account and the general fund.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  PRO:  Bill Brubaker, WSDOT Aviation Division; Jim Kuntz, Port of Walla Walla; Jack McGoldrick, WA Pilots Association; Tom Jensen, WA Air Search & Rescue.