S 2047

S‑2047.3 _____________________________________________

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5274

_____________________________________________

State of Washington 57th Legislature 2001 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Gardner, Haugen and McCaslin)

READ FIRST TIME 03/08/01.

_1 AN ACT Relating to motor vehicle licensing subagents; and

_2 amending RCW 46.01.140.

_3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

_4 Sec. 1. RCW 46.01.140 and 1996 c 315 s 1 are each amended to read

_5 as follows:

_6 (1) The county auditor, if appointed by the director of

_7 licensing shall carry out the provisions of this title relating to

_8 the licensing of vehicles and the issuance of vehicle license

_9 number plates under the direction and supervision of the director

10 and may with the approval of the director appoint assistants as

11 special deputies and recommend subagents to accept applications

12 and collect fees for vehicle licenses and transfers and to deliver

13 vehicle license number plates.

14 (2) A county auditor appointed by the director may request that

15 the director appoint subagencies within the county. Upon

16 authorization of the director, the auditor shall ((~~advertise a~~

17 ~~request for proposals and use the process for soliciting vendors~~

18 ~~under RCW 39.04.190(2), except that the provision requiring the~~

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_1 ~~contract to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder shall not~~

_2 ~~apply~~)) use an open competitive process including, but not limited

_3 to, a written business proposal and oral interview to determine

_4 the qualifications of all interested applicants. A subagent may

_5 recommend a successor who is either the subagent's sibling,

_6 spouse, or child, or a subagency employee. The recommended

_7 successor must participate in the open, competitive process used

_8 to select an applicant. The auditor shall submit all proposals to

_9 the director, and shall recommend the appointment of one or more

10 subagents who have applied through the ((~~request for proposal~~))

11 open competitive process. The auditor shall include in his or her

12 recommendation to the director, not only the name of the successor

13 who is a relative or employee, if applicable and if otherwise

14 qualified, but also the name of one other applicant who is

15 qualified and was chosen through the open competitive process. If

16 the only qualified applicant is the successor who is a relative or

17 employee, the auditor need not submit two names for the director's

18 consideration. The director has final appointment authority and,

19 for each subagency vacancy, shall appoint the successor from the

20 two names provided by the auditor.

21 (3)(a) A county auditor who is appointed as an agent by the

22 department shall enter into a standard contract provided by the

23 director, developed with the advice of the title and registration

24 advisory committee.

25 (b) A subagent appointed under subsection (2) of this section

26 shall enter into a standard contract with the county auditor,

27 developed with the advice of the title and registration advisory

28 committee. The director shall provide the standard contract to

29 county auditors.

30 (c) The contracts provided for in (a) and (b) of this

31 subsection must contain at a minimum provisions that:

32 (i) Describe the responsibilities, and where applicable, the

33 liability, of each party relating to the service expectations and

34 levels, equipment to be supplied by the department, and equipment

35 maintenance;

36 (ii) Require the specific type of insurance or bonds so that

37 the state is protected against any loss of collected motor vehicle

38 tax revenues or loss of equipment;

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_1 (iii) Specify the amount of training that will be provided by

_2 the state, the county auditor, or subagents;

_3 (iv) Describe allowable costs that may be charged to vehicle

_4 licensing activities as provided for in (d) of this subsection;

_5 (v) Describe the causes and procedures for termination of the

_6 contract, which may include mediation and binding arbitration.

_7 (d) The department shall develop procedures that will

_8 standardize and prescribe allowable costs that may be assigned to

_9 vehicle licensing and vessel registration and title activities

10 performed by county auditors.

11 (e) The contracts may include any provision that the director

12 deems necessary to ensure acceptable service and the full

13 collection of vehicle and vessel tax revenues.

14 (f) The director may waive any provisions of the contract

15 deemed necessary in order to ensure that readily accessible

16 service is provided to the citizens of the state.

17 (4)(a) At any time any application is made to the director, the

18 county auditor, or other agent pursuant to any law dealing with

19 licenses, registration, or the right to operate any vehicle or

20 vessel upon the public highways or waters of this state, excluding

21 applicants already paying such fee under RCW 46.16.070 or

22 46.16.085, the applicant shall pay to the director, county

23 auditor, or other agent a fee of three dollars for each

24 application in addition to any other fees required by law.

25 (b) Counties that do not cover the expenses of vehicle

26 licensing and vessel registration and title activities may submit

27 to the department a request for cost-coverage moneys. The request

28 must be submitted on a form developed by the department. The

29 department shall develop procedures to verify whether a request is

30 reasonable. Payment shall be made on requests found to be allowable

31 from the licensing services account.

32 (c) Applicants for certificates of ownership, including

33 applicants paying fees under RCW 46.16.070 or 46.16.085, shall pay

34 to the director, county auditor, or other agent a fee of four

35 dollars in addition to any other fees required by law.

36 (d) The fees under (a) and (c) of this subsection, if paid to

37 the county auditor as agent of the director, or if paid to a

38 subagent of the county auditor, shall be paid to the county

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_1 treasurer in the same manner as other fees collected by the county

_2 auditor and credited to the county current expense fund. If the fee

_3 is paid to another agent of the director, the fee shall be used by

_4 the agent to defray his or her expenses in handling the

_5 application.

_6 (5) A subagent shall collect a service fee of (a) ((~~seven~~))

_7 eight dollars and fifty cents for changes in a certificate of

_8 ownership, with or without registration renewal, or verification

_9 of record and preparation of an affidavit of lost title other than

10 at the time of the title application or transfer and (b) three

11 dollars and fifty cents for registration renewal only, issuing a

12 transit permit, or any other service under this section.

13 (6) If the fee is collected by the state patrol as agent for

14 the director, the fee so collected shall be certified to the state

15 treasurer and deposited to the credit of the state patrol highway

16 account. If the fee is collected by the department of

17 transportation as agent for the director, the fee shall be

18 certified to the state treasurer and deposited to the credit of

19 the motor vehicle fund. All such fees collected by the director or

20 branches of his office shall be certified to the state treasurer

21 and deposited to the credit of the highway safety fund.

22 (7) Any county revenues that exceed the cost of providing

23 vehicle licensing and vessel registration and title activities in

24 a county, calculated in accordance with the procedures in

25 subsection (3)(d) of this section, shall be expended as determined

26 by the county legislative authority during the process established

27 by law for adoption of county budgets.

28 (8) The director may adopt rules to implement this section.

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