BILL REQ. #:  S-1001.1 

Read first time 02/13/2003.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to driver training schools; amending RCW 46.20.100, 46.82.280, 46.82.300, 46.82.310, 46.82.320, 46.82.350, and 46.82.360; reenacting and amending RCW 46.20.055 and 46.20.070; adding a new section to chapter 46.82 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.220 RCW; and repealing RCW 28A.220.010, 28A.220.020, 28A.220.030, 28A.220.050, 28A.220.060, 28A.220.070, and 28A.220.900.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.20.100 and 2002 c 195 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Application. The application of a person under the age of eighteen years for a driver's license or a motorcycle endorsement must be signed by a parent or guardian with custody of the minor. If the person under the age of eighteen has no father, mother, or guardian, then the application must be signed by the minor's employer.
     (2) Traffic safety education requirement. For a person under the age of eighteen years to obtain a driver's license he or she must meet the traffic safety education requirements of this subsection.
     (a) To meet the traffic safety education requirement for a driver's license the applicant must satisfactorily complete a traffic safety education course as defined in RCW ((28A.220.020 for a course offered by a school district, or as defined by the department of licensing)) 46.82.280 for a course offered by a driver training school licensed under chapter 46.82 RCW. ((The course offered by a school district or an approved private school must meet the standards established by the office of the state superintendent of public instruction.)) The course offered by a driver training school must meet the standards established by the department of licensing ((with the advice of)) through the ((driver instructors')) training school advisory committee, pursuant to RCW 46.82.300. The traffic safety education course may be provided by:
     (i) A ((recognized secondary)) public or private school with a traffic safety education course meeting the requirements of chapter 46.82 RCW; or
     (ii) A commercial driver training school licensed under chapter 46.82 RCW that is annually approved by the department of licensing.
     (b) To meet the traffic safety education requirement for a motorcycle endorsement, the applicant must successfully complete a motorcycle safety education course that meets the standards established by the department of licensing.
     (c) The department may waive the traffic safety education requirement for a driver's license if the applicant demonstrates to the department's satisfaction that:
     (i) He or she was unable to take or complete a traffic safety education course;
     (ii) A need exists for the applicant to operate a motor vehicle; and
     (iii) He or she has the ability to operate a motor vehicle in such a manner as not to jeopardize the safety of persons or property.
The department may adopt rules to implement this subsection (2)(c)(( in concert with the supervisor of the traffic safety education section of the office of the superintendent of public instruction)).
     (d) The department may waive the traffic safety education requirement if the applicant was licensed to drive a motor vehicle or motorcycle outside this state and provides proof that he or she has had education equivalent to that required under this subsection.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.20.055 and 2002 c 352 s 10 and 2002 c 195 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) Driver's instruction permit. The department may issue a driver's instruction permit with or without a photograph to an applicant who has successfully passed all parts of the examination other than the driving test, provided the information required by RCW 46.20.091, paid a fee of fifteen dollars, and meets the following requirements:
     (a) Is at least fifteen and one-half years of age; or
     (b) Is at least fifteen years of age and:
     (i) Has submitted a proper application; and
     (ii) Is enrolled in a traffic safety education ((program offered, approved, and accredited by the superintendent of public instruction or)) course offered by a ((driving [driver])) driver training school ((licensed and inspected)) approved by the department of licensing under chapter 46.82 RCW, that includes practice driving.
     (2) Waiver of written examination for instruction permit. The department may waive the written examination, if, at the time of application, an applicant is enrolled in((:
     (a) A traffic safety education course as defined by RCW 28A.220.020(2); or
     (b) A course of instruction offered by a licensed driver training school as defined by RCW 46.82.280(1))) a traffic safety education course offered by a driver training school approved by the department of licensing under chapter 46.82 RCW.
     The department may require proof of registration in such a course as it deems necessary.
     (3) Effect of instruction permit. A person holding a driver's instruction permit may drive a motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, upon the public highways if:
     (a) The person has immediate possession of the permit; and
     (b) An approved instructor, or a licensed driver with at least five years of driving experience, occupies the seat beside the driver.
     (4) Term of instruction permit. A driver's instruction permit is valid for one year from the date of issue.
     (a) The department may issue one additional one-year permit.
     (b) The department may issue a third driver's permit if it finds after an investigation that the permittee is diligently seeking to improve driving proficiency.

Sec. 3   RCW 46.20.070 and 2002 c 352 s 11 and 2002 c 195 s 3 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) Agricultural driving permit authorized. The director may issue a juvenile agricultural driving permit to a person under the age of eighteen years if:
     (a) The application is signed by the applicant and the applicant's father, mother, or legal guardian;
     (b) The applicant has passed the driving examination required by RCW 46.20.120;
     (c) The department has investigated the applicant's need for the permit and determined that the need justifies issuance;
     (d) The department has determined the applicant is capable of operating a motor vehicle without endangering himself or herself or other persons and property; and
     (e) The applicant has paid a fee of fifteen dollars.
     The permit must contain a photograph of the person.
     (2) Effect of agricultural driving permit. (a) The permit authorizes the holder to:
     (i) Drive a motor vehicle on the public highways of this state in connection with farm work. The holder may drive only within a restricted farming locality described on the permit; and
     (ii) Participate in the classroom portion of a traffic safety education course ((authorized under RCW 28A.220.030 or the classroom portion of a traffic safety education course)) offered by a driver training school ((licensed and inspected)) approved by the department of licensing under chapter 46.82 RCW offered in the community where the holder resides.
     (b) The director may transfer the permit from one farming locality to another. A transfer is not a renewal of the permit.
     (3) Term and renewal of agricultural driving permit. An agricultural driving permit expires one year from the date of issue.
     (a) A person under the age of eighteen who holds a permit may renew the permit by paying a fee of fifteen dollars.
     (b) An agricultural driving permit is invalidated when a permittee attains age eighteen. In order to drive a motor vehicle on a highway he or she must obtain a motor vehicle driver's license under this chapter.
     (4) Suspension, revocation, or cancellation. The director has sole discretion to suspend, revoke, or cancel a juvenile agricultural driving permit if:
     (a) The permittee has been found to have committed an offense that requires mandatory suspension or revocation of a driver's license; or
     (b) The director is satisfied that the permittee has violated the permit's restrictions.

Sec. 4   RCW 46.82.280 and 1986 c 80 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section shall apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "Driver training school" means a commercial driver training school ((engaged in the business of giving instruction, for a fee, in the operation of automobiles)), a public school, or a private school providing traffic safety education courses.
     (2) "Commercial driver training school" means a private driver training school engaged in the business of giving traffic safety education for a fee.
     (3) "Public school" means a public high school that teaches children in grades ten through twelve at a minimum.
     (4) "Private school" means a school approved under chapter 28A.195 RCW.
     (5) "Director" means the director of the department of licensing of the state of Washington.
     (((3))) (6) "Advisory committee" means the ((driving instructors')) driver training school advisory committee as created in this chapter.
     (((4))) (7) "Fraudulent practices" means any conduct or representation on the part of a licensee under this chapter tending to induce anyone to believe, or to give the impression, that a license to operate a motor vehicle or any other license granted by the director may be obtained by any means other than those prescribed by law, or furnishing or obtaining the same by illegal or improper means, or requesting, accepting, or collecting money for such purposes.
     (((5))) (8) "Instructor" means any person employed by a driver training school to instruct ((persons in the operation of automobiles)) a traffic safety education course.
     (((6))) (9) "Place of business" means a designated location at which the business of a commercial driver training school is transacted and its records are kept.
     (((7))) (10) "Person" means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, or association.
     (11) "Traffic safety education course" means a course of instruction in traffic safety education that includes classroom instruction and on-street driving instruction. Each phase shall meet basic course requirements that shall be established by the department of licensing and each part of the course shall be taught by an instructor certified under RCW 46.82.320.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 46.82 RCW to read as follows:
     Any public or private school may contract with a commercial driver training school for the instruction of a traffic safety education course.

Sec. 6   RCW 46.82.300 and 2002 c 195 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The director shall be assisted in the duties and responsibilities of this chapter by the driver ((instructors')) training school advisory committee, consisting of five members. Members of the advisory committee shall be appointed by the director for two-year terms and shall consist of a representative of the driver training schools, a representative of the driving instructors (who shall not be from the same school as the school member), a representative of the superintendent of public instruction, a representative of the department of licensing, and a representative from the Washington state traffic safety commission. Members shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060. A member who is receiving a salary from the state shall not receive compensation other than travel expenses incurred in such service.
     (2) The advisory committee shall meet at least semiannually and shall have additional meetings as may be called by the director. The director or the director's representative shall attend all meetings of the advisory committee and shall serve as chairman.
     (3) Duties of the advisory committee shall be to:
     (a) Advise and confer with the director or the director's representative on matters pertaining to the establishment of rules necessary to carry out this chapter;
     (b) Review violations of this chapter and to recommend to the director appropriate enforcement or disciplinary action as provided in this chapter;
     (c) Review and update when necessary a curriculum consisting of a list of items of knowledge and the processes of driving a motor vehicle specifying the minimum requirements adjudged necessary in teaching a proper and adequate course of driver education;
     (d) Review and update instructor certification standards to be consistent with RCW 46.82.330 and take into consideration those standards required to be met by ((traffic safety education)) teachers under ((RCW 28A.220.020(3))) chapter 28A.410 RCW when the instructors are teaching children under the age of eighteen; and
     (e) Prepare the examination for a driver instructor's certificate and review examination results at least once each calendar year for the purpose of updating and revising examination standards.

Sec. 7   RCW 46.82.310 and 2002 c 352 s 24 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) No person shall engage in the business of conducting a commercial driver training school without a license issued by the director for that purpose. An application for a commercial driver training school license shall be filed with the director, containing such information as prescribed by the director, accompanied by an application fee of three hundred dollars, which shall in no event be refunded. If an application is approved by the director, the applicant upon payment of an additional fee of two hundred dollars shall be granted a license valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance.
     (2) The annual fee for renewal of a commercial driver training school license shall be two hundred fifty dollars. The director shall issue a license certificate to each licensee which shall be conspicuously displayed in the place of business of the licensee. If a renewal application has not been received by the director within sixty days from the date a notice of license expiration was mailed to the licensee, the license will be void requiring a new application as provided for in this chapter, including payment of all fees.
     (3) The person to whom a commercial driver training school license has been issued must notify the director in writing within thirty days after any change is made in the officers, directors, or location of the place of business of the school.
     (4) Commercial driver training school licenses shall not be transferable. In the event of any transfer of ownership in the business, an application for a new license, including payment of all fees, must be made. The director shall permit continuance of the business for a period not to exceed sixty days from the date of transfer pending approval of the new application for a school license.
     (5) The director shall not issue or renew a commercial driver training school license certificate until the licensee has filed with the director evidence of liability insurance coverage with an insurance company authorized to do business in this state in the amount of not less than three hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury or death to two or more persons in any one accident, not less than one hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury or death to one person in one accident, and not less than fifty thousand dollars because of property damage to others in one accident, and the coverage shall include uninsured motorists coverage. The insurance coverage shall be maintained in full force and effect and the director shall be notified at least ten days prior to cancellation or expiration of any such policy of insurance.
     (6) The increased insurance requirements of subsection (5) of this section must be in effect by no later than one year after September 1, 1979.

Sec. 8   RCW 46.82.320 and 2002 c 352 s 25 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) No person, including the owner, operator, partner, officer, or stockholder of a driver training school shall give instruction ((in the operation of an automobile for a fee)) for a traffic safety education course without a license issued by the director for that purpose. An application for an instructor's license shall be filed with the director, containing such information as prescribed by the director, accompanied by an application fee of seventy-five dollars, which shall in no event be refunded. If the application is approved by the director and the applicant satisfactorily meets the examination requirements as prescribed in RCW 46.82.330, the applicant shall be granted a license valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance. An instructor shall take a requalification examination every five years.
     (2) The annual fee for renewal of an instructor's license shall be twenty-five dollars. The director shall issue a license certificate to each licensee which shall be conspicuously displayed in the place of business of the employing driver training school. Unless revoked, canceled, or denied by the director, the license shall remain the property of the licensee in the event of termination of employment or employment by another driver training school. If a renewal application has not been received by the director within sixty days from the date a notice of license expiration was mailed to the licensee, the license will be voided requiring a new application as provided for in this chapter, including examination and payment of all fees.
     (3) Persons who qualify under the rules ((jointly)) adopted by the ((superintendent of public instruction and the)) director of licensing to teach only the laboratory phase, shall be subject to a ten dollar examination fee.
     (4) Each licensee shall be provided with a wallet-size identification card by the director at the time the license is issued which shall be carried on the instructor's person at all times while engaged in instructing.
     (5) The person to whom an instructor's license has been issued shall notify the director in writing within thirty days of any change of employment or termination of employment, providing the name and address of the new driver training school by whom the instructor will be employed.

Sec. 9   RCW 46.82.350 and 1979 ex.s. c 51 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The director may suspend, revoke, deny, or refuse to renew an instructor's license or a commercial driver training school license for any of the following causes:
     (a) Upon determination that the licensee has made a false statement or concealed any material fact in connection with the application or license renewal;
     (b) Upon conviction of the applicant, licensee, or any person directly or indirectly interested in the driver training school's business of a felony, or any crime involving violence, dishonesty, deceit, indecency, degeneracy, or moral turpitude;
     (c) Upon determination that the applicant, licensee, or any person directly or indirectly interested in the driver training school's business previously held a driver training school license which was revoked, suspended, or refused renewal by the director;
     (d) Upon determination that the applicant or licensee does not have a place of business as required by this chapter;
     (e) Upon determination that the applicant or licensee has failed to require all persons with financial interest in the driver training school to be signatories to the application;
     (f) Upon determination that the applicant or licensee has been found guilty of fraud or fraudulent practices in relation to the business conducted under the license, or guilty of inducing another to resort to fraud in relation to securing for himself, herself, or another a license to drive a motor vehicle; or
     (g) Upon determination that the applicant or licensee fails to satisfy the other conditions stated in this chapter.

Sec. 10   RCW 46.82.360 and 1989 c 337 s 19 are each amended to read as follows:
     The license of any driver training school or instructor may be suspended, revoked, denied, or refused renewal for failure to comply with the business practices specified in this section.
     (1) No place of business shall be established nor any business of a commercial driver training school conducted or solicited within one thousand feet of an office or building owned or leased by the department of licensing in which examinations for drivers' licenses are conducted. The distance of one thousand feet shall be measured along the public streets by the nearest route from the place of business to such building.
     (2) Any automobile used by a driver training school or an instructor for instruction purposes must be equipped with:
     (a) Dual controls for foot brake and clutch, or foot brake only in a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission;
     (b) An instructor's rear view mirror; and
     (c) A sign displayed on the back or top, or both, of the vehicle not less than twenty inches in horizontal width or less than ten inches in vertical height and having the words "student driver" or "instruction car," or both, in legible, printed, English letters at least two and one-half inches in height near the top and the name of the school in similarly legible letters not less than one inch in height placed somewhere below the aforementioned words, and the street number and name and the telephone number in similarly legible letters at least one inch in height placed next below the name of the school. The lettering and background colors shall be of contrasting shades so as to be clearly readable at one hundred feet in clear daylight. The sign shall be displayed at all times when instruction is being given.
     (3) Instruction may not be given by an instructor to a student in an automobile unless the student possesses a current and valid instruction permit issued pursuant to RCW 46.20.055 or a current and valid driver's license.
     (4) No commercial driver training school or instructor shall advertise or otherwise indicate that the issuance of a driver's license is guaranteed or assured as a result of the course of instruction offered.
     (5) No commercial driver training school or instructor shall utilize any types of advertising without using the full, legal name of the school and identifying itself as a commercial driver training school. Items and services advertised must be available in a manner as might be expected by the average person reading the advertisement.
     (6) A commercial driver training school shall have an established place of business owned, rented, or leased by the school and regularly occupied and used exclusively for the business of giving driver instruction. The established place of business of a commercial driver training school that applies for an initial license after July 23, 1989, shall be located in a district that is zoned for business or commercial purposes. The established place of business, branch office, or classroom or advertised address of any such commercial driver training school shall not consist of or include a house trailer, residence, tent, temporary stand, temporary address, bus, telephone answering service if such service is the sole means of contacting the driver training school, a room or rooms in a hotel or rooming house or apartment house, or premises occupied by a single or multiple-unit dwelling house. To classify as a branch office or classroom the facility must be within a thirty-five mile radius of the established place of business. Nothing in this subsection may be construed as limiting the authority of local governments to grant conditional use permits or variances from zoning ordinances.
     (7) No commercial driver training school or instructor shall conduct any type of instruction or training on a course used by the department of licensing for testing applicants for a Washington driver's license.
     (8) Each driver training school shall maintain records on all of its students, including the student's name and address, the starting and ending dates of instruction, the student's instruction permit or driver's license number, the type of training given, and the total number of hours of instruction. Records of past students shall be maintained for five years following the completion of the instruction.
     (9) Each driver training school shall, at its ((established place of business)) location, display, in a place where it can be seen by all clients, a copy of the required minimum curriculum compiled by the ((driver)) advisory committee. Copies of the required minimum curriculum are to be provided to driver training schools and instructors by the director.
     (10) Driver training schools and instructors shall submit to periodic inspections of their business practices, facilities, records, and insurance by authorized representatives of the director of the department of licensing.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   A new section is added to chapter 28A.220 RCW to read as follows:
     Public and private schools may offer a traffic safety education course under the provisions of chapter 46.82 RCW to meet the traffic safety education requirement in RCW 46.20.100 for persons under the age of eighteen.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
     (1) RCW 28A.220.010 (Legislative declaration) and 1977 c 76 s 1;
     (2) RCW 28A.220.020 (Definitions) and 1990 c 33 s 218, 1979 c 158 s 195, 1977 c 76 s 2, 1969 ex.s. c 218 s 1, & 1963 c 39 s 2;
     (3) RCW 28A.220.030 (Administration of program -- Powers and duties of school officials) and 2000 c 115 s 9, 1979 c 158 s 196, 1977 c 76 s 3, 1969 ex.s. c 218 s 2, & 1963 c 39 s 3;
     (4) RCW 28A.220.050 (Information on proper use of left-hand lane) and 1986 c 93 s 4;
     (5) RCW 28A.220.060 (Information on effects of alcohol and drug use) and 1991 c 217 s 2;
     (6) RCW 28A.220.070 (Rules) and 2000 c 115 s 11; and
     (7) RCW 28A.220.900 (Purpose) and 1991 c 217 s 1, 1969 ex.s. c 218 s 7, & 1963 c 39 s 1.