BILL REQ. #:  H-5215.1 

Read first time 03/01/2004.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to law enforcement officer accountability when involved in traffic accidents; amending RCW 10.31.100, 46.52.030, 46.52.070, 46.52.130, and 46.63.030; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 10.31.100 and 2000 c 119 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     A police officer having probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is committing a felony shall have the authority to arrest the person without a warrant. A police officer may arrest a person without a warrant for committing a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor only when the offense is committed in the presence of the officer, except as provided in subsections (1) through (10) of this section.
     (1) Any police officer having probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is committing a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor, involving physical harm or threats of harm to any person or property or the unlawful taking of property or involving the use or possession of cannabis, or involving the acquisition, possession, or consumption of alcohol by a person under the age of twenty-one years under RCW 66.44.270, or involving criminal trespass under RCW 9A.52.070 or 9A.52.080, shall have the authority to arrest the person.
     (2) A police officer shall arrest and take into custody, pending release on bail, personal recognizance, or court order, a person without a warrant when the officer has probable cause to believe that:
     (a) An order has been issued of which the person has knowledge under RCW 26.44.063, or chapter 10.99, 26.09, 26.10, 26.26, 26.50, or 74.34 RCW restraining the person and the person has violated the terms of the order restraining the person from acts or threats of violence, or restraining the person from going onto the grounds of or entering a residence, workplace, school, or day care, or prohibiting the person from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance of a location or, in the case of an order issued under RCW 26.44.063, imposing any other restrictions or conditions upon the person; or
     (b) A foreign protection order, as defined in RCW 26.52.010, has been issued of which the person under restraint has knowledge and the person under restraint has violated a provision of the foreign protection order prohibiting the person under restraint from contacting or communicating with another person, or excluding the person under restraint from a residence, workplace, school, or day care, or prohibiting the person from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance of a location, or a violation of any provision for which the foreign protection order specifically indicates that a violation will be a crime; or
     (c) The person is sixteen years or older and within the preceding four hours has assaulted a family or household member as defined in RCW 10.99.020 and the officer believes: (i) A felonious assault has occurred; (ii) an assault has occurred which has resulted in bodily injury to the victim, whether the injury is observable by the responding officer or not; or (iii) that any physical action has occurred which was intended to cause another person reasonably to fear imminent serious bodily injury or death. Bodily injury means physical pain, illness, or an impairment of physical condition. When the officer has probable cause to believe that family or household members have assaulted each other, the officer is not required to arrest both persons. The officer shall arrest the person whom the officer believes to be the primary physical aggressor. In making this determination, the officer shall make every reasonable effort to consider: (i) The intent to protect victims of domestic violence under RCW 10.99.010; (ii) the comparative extent of injuries inflicted or serious threats creating fear of physical injury; and (iii) the history of domestic violence between the persons involved.
     (3) Any police officer having probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is committing a violation of any of the following traffic laws shall have the authority to arrest the person:
     (a) RCW 46.52.010, relating to duty on striking an unattended car or other property;
     (b) RCW 46.52.020, relating to duty in case of injury to or death of a person or damage to an attended vehicle;
     (c) RCW 46.61.500 or 46.61.530, relating to reckless driving or racing of vehicles;
     (d) RCW 46.61.502 or 46.61.504, relating to persons under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs;
     (e) RCW 46.20.342, relating to driving a motor vehicle while operator's license is suspended or revoked;
     (f) RCW 46.61.5249, relating to operating a motor vehicle in a negligent manner.
     (4) A law enforcement officer investigating at the scene of a motor vehicle accident may arrest the driver of a motor vehicle involved in the accident if the officer has probable cause to believe that the driver has committed in connection with the accident a violation of any traffic law or regulation. Law enforcement officers driving motor vehicles involved in accidents while on duty are not exempt from this subsection.
     (5) Any police officer having probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is committing a violation of RCW 79A.60.040 shall have the authority to arrest the person.
     (6) An officer may act upon the request of a law enforcement officer in whose presence a traffic infraction was committed, to stop, detain, arrest, or issue a notice of traffic infraction to the driver who is believed to have committed the infraction. The request by the witnessing officer shall give an officer the authority to take appropriate action under the laws of the state of Washington. Law enforcement officers driving motor vehicles involved in accidents while on duty are not exempt from this subsection.
     (7) Any police officer having probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is committing any act of indecent exposure, as defined in RCW 9A.88.010, may arrest the person.
     (8) A police officer may arrest and take into custody, pending release on bail, personal recognizance, or court order, a person without a warrant when the officer has probable cause to believe that an order has been issued of which the person has knowledge under chapter 10.14 RCW and the person has violated the terms of that order.
     (9) Any police officer having probable cause to believe that a person has, within twenty-four hours of the alleged violation, committed a violation of RCW 9A.50.020 may arrest such person.
     (10) A police officer having probable cause to believe that a person illegally possesses or illegally has possessed a firearm or other dangerous weapon on private or public elementary or secondary school premises shall have the authority to arrest the person.
     For purposes of this subsection, the term "firearm" has the meaning defined in RCW 9.41.010 and the term "dangerous weapon" has the meaning defined in RCW 9.41.250 and 9.41.280(1) (c) through (e).
     (11) Except as specifically provided in subsections (2), (3), (4), and (6) of this section, nothing in this section extends or otherwise affects the powers of arrest prescribed in Title 46 RCW.
     (12) No police officer may be held criminally or civilly liable for making an arrest pursuant to RCW 10.31.100 (2) or (8) if the police officer acts in good faith and without malice.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.52.030 and 1997 c 248 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Unless a report is to be made by a law enforcement officer under subsection (3) of this section, the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or damage to the property of any one person to an apparent extent equal to or greater than the minimum amount established by rule adopted by the chief of the Washington state patrol in accordance with subsection (5) of this section, shall, within four days after such accident, make a written report of such accident to the chief of police of the city or town if such accident occurred within an incorporated city or town or the county sheriff or state patrol if such accident occurred outside incorporated cities and towns. Nothing in this subsection prohibits accident reports from being filed by drivers where damage to property is less than the minimum amount, where a law enforcement officer on duty was the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident, or where a law enforcement officer has submitted a report.
     (2) The original of the report shall be immediately forwarded by the authority receiving the report to the chief of the Washington state patrol at Olympia, Washington. The Washington state patrol shall give the department of licensing full access to the report.
     (3) Any law enforcement officer who investigates an accident for which a report is required under subsection (1) of this section shall submit an investigator's report as required by RCW 46.52.070.
     (4) The chief of the Washington state patrol may require any driver of any vehicle involved in an accident, of which report must be made as provided in this section, to file supplemental reports whenever the original report in the chief's opinion is insufficient, and may likewise require witnesses of any such accident to render reports. For this purpose, the chief of the Washington state patrol shall prepare and, upon request, supply to any police department, coroner, sheriff, and any other suitable agency or individual, sample forms of accident reports required hereunder, which reports shall be upon a form devised by the chief of the Washington state patrol and shall call for sufficiently detailed information to disclose all material facts with reference to the accident to be reported thereon, including the location, the circumstances, the conditions then existing, the persons and vehicles involved, the insurance information required under RCW 46.30.030, personal injury or death, if any, the amounts of property damage claimed, the total number of vehicles involved, whether the vehicles were legally parked, legally standing, or moving, and whether such vehicles were occupied at the time of the accident. Every required accident report shall be made on a form prescribed by the chief of the Washington state patrol and each authority charged with the duty of receiving such reports shall provide sufficient report forms in compliance with the form devised. The report forms shall be designated so as to provide that a copy may be retained by the reporting person.
     (5) The chief of the Washington state patrol shall adopt rules establishing the accident-reporting threshold for property damage accidents. Beginning October 1, 1987, the accident-reporting threshold for property damage accidents shall be five hundred dollars. The accident-reporting threshold for property damage accidents shall be revised when necessary, but not more frequently than every two years. The revisions shall only be for the purpose of recognizing economic changes as reflected by an inflationary index recommended by the office of financial management. The revisions shall be guided by the change in the index for the time period since the last revision.

Sec. 3   RCW 46.52.070 and 1999 c 351 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any police officer of the state of Washington or of any county, city, town or other political subdivision, present at the scene of any accident or in possession of any facts concerning any accident whether by way of official investigation or otherwise shall make report thereof in the same manner as required of the parties to such accident and as fully as the facts in his possession concerning such accident will permit.
     (2) The police officer shall report to the department, on a form prescribed by the director: (a) When a collision has occurred that results in a fatality; and (b) the identity of the operator of a vehicle involved in the collision when the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the operator caused the collision.
     (3) The police officer shall report to the department, on a form prescribed by the director: (a) When a collision has occurred that results in a serious injury; (b) the identity of the operator of a vehicle involved in the collision when the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the operator who caused the serious injury may not be competent to operate a motor vehicle; and (c) the reason or reasons for the officer's belief.
     (4) Nothing in this section exempts a police report from being completed and filed for an accident involving a law enforcement officer while on duty.

Sec. 4   RCW 46.52.130 and 2003 c 367 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A certified abstract of the driving record shall be furnished only to:
     (a) The individual named in the abstract;
     (b) An employer or prospective employer or an agent acting on behalf of an employer or prospective employer, or a volunteer organization for which the named individual has submitted an application for a position that could require the transportation of children under eighteen years of age, adults over sixty-five years of age, or physically or mentally disabled persons;
     (c) An employee or agent of a transit authority checking prospective volunteer vanpool drivers for insurance and risk management needs;
     (d) The insurance carrier that has insurance in effect covering the employer or a prospective employer;
     (e) The insurance carrier that has motor vehicle or life insurance in effect covering the named individual;
     (f) The insurance carrier to which the named individual has applied;
     (g) 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
     (h) City and county prosecuting attorneys.
     (2) 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.
     (3) The director, upon proper request, shall furnish a certified abstract covering the period of not more than the last three years to insurance companies.
     (4) 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.
     (5) 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, to an employer or prospective employer or an agent acting on behalf of an employer or prospective employer of the named individual, or to a volunteer organization for which the named individual has submitted an application for a position that could require the transportation of children under eighteen years of age, adults over sixty-five years of age, or physically or mentally disabled persons, or to an employee or agent of a transit authority checking prospective volunteer vanpool drivers for insurance and risk management needs.
     (6) The abstract, whenever possible, shall include:
     (a) An enumeration of motor vehicle accidents in which the person was driving;
     (b) The total number of vehicles involved;
     (c) Whether the vehicles were legally parked or moving;
     (d) Whether the vehicles were occupied at the time of the accident;
     (e) Whether the accident resulted in any fatality;
     (f) Any reported convictions, forfeitures of bail, or findings that an infraction was committed based upon a violation of any motor vehicle law;
     (g) The status of the person's driving privilege in this state; and
     (h) 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.
     (7) 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)(b)(i).
     (8) 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 46.61.5249 and 46.61.525 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.
     (9) The director shall collect for each abstract the sum of five dollars, which shall be deposited in the highway safety fund.
     (10) 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.
     (11) Any employer or prospective employer or an agent acting on behalf of an employer or prospective employer, or a volunteer organization for which the named individual has submitted an application for a position that could require the transportation of children under eighteen years of age, adults over sixty-five years of age, or physically or mentally disabled persons, 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, or operate a vehicle for a volunteer organization for purposes of transporting children under eighteen years of age, adults over sixty-five years of age, or physically or mentally disabled persons, upon the public highways of this state and shall not divulge any information contained in it to a third party.
     (12) Any employee or agent of a transit authority receiving a certified abstract for its vanpool program shall use it exclusively for determining whether the volunteer licensee meets those insurance and risk management requirements necessary to drive a vanpool vehicle. The transit authority may not divulge any information contained in the abstract to a third party.
     (13) 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.
     (14) Release of a certified abstract of the driving record of an employee, prospective employee, or prospective volunteer requires a statement signed by: (a) The employee, prospective employee, or prospective volunteer that authorizes the release of the record, and (b) the employer or volunteer organization attesting that the information is necessary to determine whether the licensee should be employed to operate a commercial vehicle or school bus, or operate a vehicle for a volunteer organization for purposes of transporting children under eighteen years of age, adults over sixty-five years of age, or physically or mentally disabled persons, 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.
     (15) Any negligent violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.
     (16) Any intentional violation of this section is a class C felony.

Sec. 5   RCW 46.63.030 and 2002 c 279 s 14 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) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) of this section precludes a law enforcement officer who is driving a motor vehicle involved in an accident while on duty from being issued a traffic citation if the law enforcement officer is at fault or otherwise caused the accident.
     (4) 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))) (5) 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 person responsible under RCW 46.55.105. The notice must be entitled "Littering -- Abandoned Vehicle" and give notice of the monetary penalty. 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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.