BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to motor vehicle sellers' reports; amending RCW 46.16.216 and 46.20.270; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature intends that this act will more effectively ensure that an owner who has made a bona fide sale or transfer of a vehicle is not mistakenly deemed civilly or criminally liable for the operation of the vehicle by another person after the completion of the sale or transfer.

Sec. 2. RCW 46.16.216 and 1990 2nd ex.s. c 1 s 401 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) To renew a vehicle license, an applicant shall satisfy all listed standing, stopping, and parking violations for the vehicle incurred while the vehicle was registered in the applicant's name and forwarded to the department pursuant to RCW 46.20.270(3). For the purposes of this section, "listed" standing, stopping, and parking violations 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 such violations received by the department later than one hundred twenty days before that date that are not satisfied shall 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 listed standing, stopping, and parking violations, or in the absence of such presentation, the agent verifies the information that would be contained on the preprinted renewal application; or

(b) If listed standing, stopping, and parking violations exist, presents proof of payment and pays a fifteen dollar surcharge.

(2) The surcharge shall be allocated as follows:

(a) Ten dollars shall be deposited in the motor vehicle fund to be used exclusively for the administrative costs of the department of licensing; and

(b) Five dollars shall be retained by the agent handling the renewal application to be used by the agent for the administration of this section.

(3) If there is a change in the registered owner of the vehicle, or a seller's report as described in RCW 46.12.101(1) has been filed, the department shall forward the information regarding the change to the local charging jurisdiction and release any hold on the renewal of the vehicle license resulting from parking violations incurred while the certificate of license registration was in a previous registered owner's name.

(4) The department shall send to all registered owners of vehicles who have been reported to have outstanding listed parking violations, at the time of renewal, a statement setting out the dates and jurisdictions in which the violations occurred as well as the amounts of unpaid fines and penalties relating to them and the surcharge to be collected.

Sec. 3. RCW 46.20.270 and 1990 2nd ex.s. c 1 s 402 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Whenever any person is convicted of any offense for which this title makes mandatory the suspension or revocation of the driver's license of such person by the department, the privilege of the person to operate a vehicle is suspended until the department takes the action required by this chapter, and the court in which such conviction is had shall forthwith secure the immediate forfeiture of the driver's license of such convicted person and immediately forward such driver's license to the department, and on failure of such convicted person to deliver such driver's license the judge shall cause such person to be confined for the period of such suspension or revocation or until such driver's license is delivered to such judge: PROVIDED, That if the convicted person testifies that he or she does not and at the time of the offense did not have a current and valid vehicle driver's license, the judge shall cause such person to be charged with the operation of a motor vehicle without a current and valid driver's license and on conviction punished as by law provided, and the department may not issue a driver's license to such persons during the period of suspension or revocation: PROVIDED, ALSO, That if the driver's license of such convicted person has been lost or destroyed and such convicted person makes an affidavit to that effect, sworn to before the judge, the convicted person may not be so confined, but the department may not issue or reissue a driver's license for such convicted person during the period of such suspension or revocation: PROVIDED, That perfection of notice of appeal shall stay the execution of sentence including the suspension and/or revocation of the driver's license.

(2) Every court having jurisdiction over offenses committed under this chapter, or any other act of this state or municipal ordinance adopted by a local authority regulating the operation of motor vehicles on highways, or any federal authority having jurisdiction over offenses substantially the same as those set forth in Title 46 RCW which occur on federal installations within this state, shall forward to the department within ten days of a forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the defendant's appearance in court, a payment of a fine or penalty, a plea of guilty or a finding of guilt, or a finding that any person has committed a traffic infraction an abstract of the court record in the form prescribed by rule of the supreme court, showing the conviction of any person or the finding that any person has committed a traffic infraction in said court for a violation of any said laws other than regulations governing standing, stopping, parking, and pedestrian offenses.

(3) Every municipality having jurisdiction over offenses committed under this chapter, or under any other act of this state or municipal ordinance adopted by a local authority 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 the determination that a violation of any statute, ordinance, or regulation relating to standing, stopping, or parking has been committed, 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 such municipality that two or more violations of laws governing standing, stopping, and parking have been committed and indicating the nature of the defendant's failure to act. Such violations 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 standing, stopping, and parking.

(4) If there is a change in ownership of the vehicle, and the previous owner has complied with the requirements in RCW 46.12.102, the local charging jurisdiction shall rely upon the seller's report as described in RCW 46.12.101(1) for information about subsequent transferees for purposes of forwarding information to the department as provided in this section.

(5) For the purposes of Title 46 RCW the term "conviction" means a final conviction in a state or municipal court or by any federal authority having jurisdiction over offenses substantially the same as those set forth in Title 46 RCW which occur on federal installations in this state, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure a defendant's appearance in court, the payment of a fine, a plea of guilty, or a finding of guilt on a traffic law violation charge, regardless of whether the imposition of sentence or sanctions are deferred or the penalty is suspended, but not including entry into a deferred prosecution agreement under chapter 10.05 RCW.

((~~(5)~~)) (6) For the purposes of Title 46 RCW the term "finding that a traffic infraction has been committed" means a failure to respond to a notice of infraction or a determination made by a court pursuant to this chapter. Payment of a monetary penalty made pursuant to RCW 46.63.070(2) is deemed equivalent to such a finding.