Title: An act relating to limiting access to law enforcement and emergency equipment and vehicles.

Brief Description: Limiting access to law enforcement and emergency equipment and vehicles.

Sponsors: By House Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Representatives Kilmer, Lantz and Ericks).

Brief History:

Transportation: 1/16/06, 1/31/06 [DPS].

Floor Activity:

Passed House: 2/10/06, 98-0.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 26 members: Representatives Wallace, Vice Chair; Woods, Ranking Minority Member; Appleton, Buck, Campbell, Clibborn, Curtis, Dickerson, Ericksen, Flannigan, Holmquist, Hudgins, Jarrett, Kilmer, Lovick, Morris, Nixon, Rodne, Schindler, Sells, Shabro, Simpson, B. Sullivan, Takko, Upthegrove and Wood.

Staff: Jerry Long (786-7306).

Background:

In statute, the definition of an authorized emergency vehicle is any vehicle of any fire department, police department, sheriff's office, coroner, prosecuting attorney, Washington State Patrol, ambulance service, public or private. A person or entity wanting to have a vehicle registered as an authorized emergency vehicle will apply to the Washington State Patrol to have the vehicle classified as an emergency vehicle. The Washington State Patrol also has the authority to make rules and regulations relating to emergency vehicles.

The majority of emergency vehicles are manufactured by the vehicle manufacturers and then the emergency equipment and designations are added by the purchasing entity or a business that provides that service.

When an emergency vehicle has reached the end of its useful life to the entity, the vehicle is disposed of through sale, auction, donation, transfer or can be scrapped.

A person can be guilty of criminal impersonation in the second degree if the person claims to be a law enforcement officer or creates an impression that he or she is a law enforcement officer.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

In addition to a public agency, a business, entity, or person cannot sell or give emergency vehicle lighting equipment or other equipment to a person who lawfully can not operate the equipment on public streets and highways.

Prior to selling or giving an emergency vehicle to a person or entity that is not a state or local law enforcement or emergency agency, the seller or donor must remove all emergency lighting, radios, decals, law enforcement designations, and other emergency equipment that was not originally installed by the original vehicle manufacturer.

If the emergency equipment is not sold to another state or law enforcement or emergency agency, the equipment must be dismantled with the individual parts being recycled or destroyed prior to being disposed of.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: It is illegal to impersonate a law enforcement officer. There are law enforcement and emergency agencies that are not removing the emergency equipment prior to selling the vehicles. It is important that this equipment is removed so persons acquiring these vehicles cannot mislead people into thinking they are law enforcement when their real intent is to harm a person.

There are a couple of areas that the bill does not address and would recommend an amendment to add these areas. The first item is recognizing that emergency personnel may be public or private. The second area is that in addition to state and local law enforcement and emergency agencies, the entities eligible to receive vehicles either sold or donated would be a recognized law enforcement or emergency agency in other countries and private ambulance services.

A recommendation to add a section to the bill to address the current process where an emergency agency sells or donates a vehicle to a broker or charitable organization with the intent to resell or donate the vehicle to another emergency agency.

Testimony Against: None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Kilmer, prime sponsor; Representative Lantz; Pat Jones, Retired Sheriff of Kitsap County; and Bob Berschauer, Washington Ambulance Association.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.