BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to traffic infractions that result in a fatality; amending RCW 46.52.100, 46.52.120, and 46.20.322; reenacting and amending RCW 46.52.130; and providing an effective date.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 46.52.100 and 1995 c 219 s 3 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 the incident that gave rise to the offense charged resulted in any fatality, 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 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. 2. RCW 46.52.120 and 1993 c 501 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The director shall keep a case record on every motor vehicle driver licensed under the laws of this state, together with information on each driver, showing all the convictions and findings of traffic infractions certified by the courts, together with an index cross-reference record of each accident reported relating to such individual with a brief statement of the cause of the accident and whether or not the accident resulted in any fatality. The chief of the Washington state patrol shall furnish the index cross-reference record to the director, with reference to each driver involved in the reported accidents.

(2) The records shall be for the confidential use of the director, the chief of the Washington state patrol, the director of the Washington traffic safety commission, and for such police officers or other cognizant public officials as may be designated by law. Such case records shall not be offered as evidence in any court except in case appeal is taken from the order of the director, suspending, revoking, canceling, or refusing a vehicle driver's license.

(3) The director shall tabulate and analyze vehicle driver's case records and suspend, revoke, cancel, or refuse a vehicle driver's license to a person when it is deemed from facts contained in the case record of such person that it is for the best interest of public safety that such person be denied the privilege of operating a motor vehicle. The director shall also suspend a person's driver's license if the person fails to complete the driver improvement interview when required under RCW 46.20.322(3). Whenever the director orders the vehicle driver's license of any such person suspended, revoked, or canceled, or refuses the issuance of a vehicle driver's license, such suspension, revocation, cancellation, or refusal is final and effective unless appeal from the decision of the director is taken as provided by law.

Sec. 3. RCW 46.52.130 and 1996 c 307 s 4 and 1996 c 183 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

A certified abstract of the driving record shall be furnished only to the individual named in the abstract, an employer or prospective employer or an agent acting on behalf of an employer or prospective employer, the insurance carrier that has insurance in effect covering the employer or a prospective employer, the insurance carrier that has insurance in effect covering the named individual, the insurance carrier to which the named individual has applied, an alcohol/drug assessment or treatment agency approved by the department of social and health services, to which the named individual has applied or been assigned for evaluation or treatment, or city and county prosecuting attorneys. City attorneys and county prosecuting attorneys may provide the driving record to alcohol/drug assessment or treatment agencies approved by the department of social and health services to which the named individual has applied or been assigned for evaluation or treatment. The director, upon proper request, shall furnish a certified abstract covering the period of not more than the last three years to insurance companies. Upon proper request, the director shall furnish a certified abstract covering a period of not more than the last five years to state approved alcohol/drug assessment or treatment agencies, except that the certified abstract shall also include records of alcohol-related offenses as defined in RCW 46.01.260(2) covering a period of not more than the last ten years. Upon proper request, a certified abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department shall be furnished to a city or county prosecuting attorney, to the individual named in the abstract or to an employer or prospective employer or an agent acting on behalf of an employer or prospective employer of the named individual. The abstract, whenever possible, shall include an enumeration of motor vehicle accidents in which the person was driving; the total number of vehicles involved; whether the vehicles were legally parked or moving; whether the vehicles were occupied at the time of the accident; whether the accident resulted in any fatality; any reported convictions, forfeitures of bail, or findings that an infraction was committed based upon a violation of any motor vehicle law; and the status of the person's driving privilege in this state. The enumeration shall include any reports of failure to appear in response to a traffic citation or failure to respond to a notice of infraction served upon the named individual by an arresting officer. Certified abstracts furnished to prosecutors and alcohol/drug assessment or treatment agencies shall also indicate whether a recorded violation is an alcohol-related offense as defined in RCW 46.01.260(2) that was originally charged as one of the alcohol-related offenses designated in RCW 46.01.260(2)((~~(a)~~)) (b)(i).

The abstract provided to the insurance company shall exclude any information, except that related to the commission of misdemeanors or felonies by the individual, pertaining to law enforcement officers or fire fighters as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or any officer of the Washington state patrol, while driving official vehicles in the performance of occupational duty. The abstract provided to the insurance company shall include convictions for RCW 46.61.525 (1) and (2) except that the abstract shall report them only as negligent driving without reference to whether they are for first or second degree negligent driving. The abstract provided to the insurance company shall exclude any deferred prosecution under RCW 10.05.060, except that if a person is removed from a deferred prosecution under RCW 10.05.090, the abstract shall show the deferred prosecution as well as the removal.

The director shall collect for each abstract the sum of four dollars and fifty cents which shall be deposited in the highway safety fund.

Any insurance company or its agent receiving the certified abstract shall use it exclusively for its own underwriting purposes and shall not divulge any of the information contained in it to a third party. No policy of insurance may be canceled, nonrenewed, denied, or have the rate increased on the basis of such information unless the policyholder was determined to be at fault. No insurance company or its agent for underwriting purposes relating to the operation of commercial motor vehicles may use any information contained in the abstract relative to any person's operation of motor vehicles while not engaged in such employment, nor may any insurance company or its agent for underwriting purposes relating to the operation of noncommercial motor vehicles use any information contained in the abstract relative to any person's operation of commercial motor vehicles.

Any employer or prospective employer or an agent acting on behalf of an employer or prospective employer receiving the certified abstract shall use it exclusively for his or her own purpose to determine whether the licensee should be permitted to operate a commercial vehicle or school bus upon the public highways of this state and shall not divulge any information contained in it to a third party.

Any alcohol/drug assessment or treatment agency approved by the department of social and health services receiving the certified abstract shall use it exclusively for the purpose of assisting its employees in making a determination as to what level of treatment, if any, is appropriate. The agency, or any of its employees, shall not divulge any information contained in the abstract to a third party.

Release of a certified abstract of the driving record of an employee or prospective employee requires a statement signed by: (1) The employee or prospective employee that authorizes the release of the record, and (2) the employer attesting that the information is necessary to determine whether the licensee should be employed to operate a commercial vehicle or school bus upon the public highways of this state. If the employer or prospective employer authorizes an agent to obtain this information on their behalf, this must be noted in the statement.

Any violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.

Sec. 4. RCW 46.20.322 and 1979 c 61 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Whenever the department proposes to suspend or revoke the driving privilege of any person or proposes to impose terms of probation on a person's driving privilege or proposes to refuse to renew a driver's license, notice and an opportunity for a driver improvement interview shall be given before taking such action, except as provided in RCW 46.20.324 and 46.20.325.

(2) Whenever the department proposes to suspend, revoke, restrict, or condition a minor driver's driving privilege the department may require the appearance of the minor's legal guardian or father or mother, otherwise the parent or guardian having custody of the minor.

(3) Whenever a driver has forfeited bail on an infraction that resulted in any fatality or has been found to have committed an infraction that resulted in any fatality, the department shall require such driver to participate in a driver improvement interview. If the driver fails to complete the driver improvement interview, the department shall suspend the driver's driving privilege until such time as the driver has completed the driver improvement interview.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act takes effect January 1, 1998.