BILL REQ. #:  S-2068.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/01/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to commercial parking businesses; and adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Commercial parking business" means the ownership, lease, operation, or management of a commercial parking lot.
     (2) "Commercial parking lot" means a covered or uncovered area with or without stalls for the purpose of parking motor vehicles for a fee.
     (3) "Event parking" means parking for which fees are charged outside of the rates normally charged for hourly or other periodic parking, or of the rates specified in any sign that may be posted on the commercial parking lot under section 2(1) of this act.
     (4) "Parking charge" means a monetary fee charged to a parking customer for parking in a commercial parking lot, and includes fees charged for monthly parking, fees charged for reserved parking, fees charged for parking for a given amount of time, fees charged for event parking, fees charged for unauthorized parking, late fees, and collection agency fees.
     (5) "Parking customer" means a person who parks a vehicle in a commercial parking lot, and the registered owner of the vehicle; and also means a person or entity that enters into an agreement, written or otherwise, with a commercial parking business for parking services.
     (6) "Unauthorized parking" means parking a vehicle in a commercial parking lot in an area not designated for parking; in a reserved stall or area without permission of the commercial parking business; in a stall or area without paying the posted parking charge or without paying a sufficient parking charge for the length of time the vehicle is parked; in more than one stall simultaneously without paying the appropriate parking charge for each stall; in a stall or area during event parking without paying the event parking rate; or in a stall or area without paying the parking charge provided in, or otherwise without complying with, the terms of an agreement between the parking customer and the commercial parking business.
     (7) "Unauthorized vehicle" means a vehicle parked in a manner constituting unauthorized parking.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this section, a commercial parking business may not charge a parking charge unless a sign is conspicuously posted on the parking lot that clearly indicates:
     (a) The times and circumstances in which a parking charge will be charged;
     (b) The amount of the parking charge, a schedule of hourly or daily rates, or a schedule of parking charges for different circumstances or durations; and
     (c) The name, telephone number, and address of the commercial parking business.
     (2) A commercial parking business need not comply with subsection (1) of this section to charge a parking charge with respect to a specific parking customer when the commercial parking business has an agreement, written or otherwise, with the parking customer for parking services.
     (3) A commercial parking business need not comply with subsection (1) of this section to charge a parking charge with respect to a specific parking customer when the information required under subsection (1) of this section is contained in a ticket, card, or other written memorandum provided to the parking customer upon entry into the commercial parking lot.
     (4) A commercial parking business need not comply with subsection (1) of this section to charge a parking charge for event parking, provided the parking charge for the event is clearly disclosed to the parking customer upon entry to the commercial parking lot by an on-site attendant or by conspicuous signage posted at the entrance to the commercial parking lot.
     (5) A sign is "conspicuously posted" for the purposes of this chapter only when the sign: (a) Is clearly visible at all times, including after dark, to a person seated in the driver's seat of a vehicle fifty feet away; (b) contains no information other than as is required under this section or RCW 46.55.070; and (c) is in compliance with the rules adopted by the department of licensing under RCW 46.55.070.
     (6) A commercial parking business shall neither authorize nor allow:
     (a) The impounding of any vehicle engaged in unauthorized parking, unless:
     (i) The unauthorized parking constitutes a traffic hazard or obstruction;
     (ii) A customer of the commercial parking business requests removal of a vehicle that is engaging in unauthorized parking in the customer's reserved stall at the time of the request; or
     (iii) The commercial parking business has twice previously notified the registered owner of the vehicle pursuant to section 3 of this act that the vehicle had parked without authorization at a facility owned, leased, operated, or managed by the commercial parking business; has either collected or attempted to collect, and has not waived the unauthorized parking fee in either previous instance; and has with at least one of the notices provided pursuant to section 3 of this act informed the registered owner in writing that the vehicle could be subject to impound if the vehicle engaged in unauthorized parking at any of the parking business's facilities again; or
     (b) The immobilization, or impound-in-place, of a vehicle that is engaging in unauthorized parking.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A parking customer who engages in unauthorized parking shall be liable to the commercial parking business for a reasonable parking charge if notice of the amount of the parking charge is provided to such customer. If the customer fails to pay the reasonable parking charge within fifteen days and after notice as provided in this section, then the customer shall also be liable to the commercial parking business for a late fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars and for reasonable collection agency fees in the event the account is assigned to a collection agency licensed under chapter 19.16 RCW. In addition, in the event of court action on the parking charges, it shall be the burden of the party bringing the action to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, both that the claimed unauthorized parking occurred, including that payment of the posted parking charge was not tendered, and that the commercial parking business was, at the time of the alleged unauthorized parking, in compliance with section 2 of this act. The court shall award statutory costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party in any action brought to recover or defend against parking charges pursuant to this chapter.
     (1) The following shall be presumed reasonable parking charges for unauthorized parking:
     (a) The posted parking charge that would be charged for the actual time the vehicle remains parked at the commercial parking lot; or
     (b) A fee not to exceed fifty dollars.
     (2) If a reasonable parking charge for unauthorized parking is to be charged in an amount other than the posted parking charge that would be charged for the actual time the vehicle remains parked, then the amount of the reasonable parking charge shall be stated in a sign or signs that are conspicuously posted on the premises of the commercial parking lot. In addition, written notice of the amount of the parking charge, however calculated, and the date or dates of the unauthorized parking, the license number of the unauthorized vehicle, and the name and address of the commercial parking business shall be provided by any of the following means:
     (a) By affixing the notice to the windshield of the vehicle, or otherwise conspicuously affixing it to the vehicle, while the vehicle is still parked at the commercial parking lot;
     (b) By mailing the notice via first class mail, postage prepaid, to the registered owner of the vehicle within the later of ninety days after the effective date of this act or ninety days after the date the unauthorized parking occurred; or
     (c) By delivering the notice to the registered owner of the vehicle through any commercially reasonable means within the later of ninety days after the effective date of this act or ninety days after the date the unauthorized parking occurred.
     (3) If a late fee is to be charged, then the amount of the late fee shall be stated in a sign or signs that are conspicuously posted on the premises of the commercial parking lot. In addition, written notice of the amount of the fee and the date or dates of the unauthorized parking, the license number of the unauthorized vehicle, and the name and address of the commercial parking business shall be provided by any of the following means:
     (a) By affixing the notice to the windshield of the vehicle, or otherwise conspicuously affixing it to the vehicle, while the vehicle is still parked at the commercial parking lot;
     (b) By mailing the notice via first class mail, postage prepaid, to the registered owner of the vehicle within the later of ninety days after the effective date of this act or ninety days after the date the unauthorized parking occurred; or
     (c) By delivering the notice to the registered owner of the vehicle through any commercially reasonable means within the later of ninety days after the effective date of this act or ninety days after the date the unauthorized parking occurred.
     (4) If a reasonable collection fee is to be charged, the commercial parking business or its agent shall provide notice of the possibility of assignment to collection of the fee, or the method of its calculation, not less than fifteen days prior to assessment of such fee. The amount to be paid for collection services shall be left to the agreement of the commercial parking business and its collection agency or agencies, but a contingent fee of the full amount of the debt up to one hundred dollars and of fifty percent of the debt over one hundred dollars per account is reasonable. The notice required under this subsection can be given by any of the following means, and can be combined with any other notice given to the parking customer:
     (a) By including the notice in the sign or signs that are required to be posted at the commercial parking lot or that are otherwise conspicuously posted on the premises of the commercial parking lot;
     (b) By affixing the notice to the windshield of the vehicle, or otherwise conspicuously affixing it to the vehicle, while the vehicle is still parked at the commercial parking lot;
     (c) By mailing the notice via first class mail, postage prepaid, to the registered owner of the vehicle within the later of ninety days after the effective date of this act or ninety days after the date the unauthorized parking occurred; or
     (d) By delivering the notice to the registered owner of the vehicle through any commercially reasonable means within the later of ninety days after the effective date of this act or ninety days after the date the unauthorized parking occurred.
     (5) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a commercial parking business or its agent from allowing more than fifteen days for a parking customer to pay a reasonable parking charge prior to assessing a late fee or a collection agency fee. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a commercial parking business or its agent from discounting any parking charges for payment within a specified time frame, or from notifying a parking customer that any parking charges will be discounted if paid within such time frame.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The registered owner of an unauthorized vehicle in a commercial parking lot is presumed to be liable for parking charges. It shall be an affirmative defense of the registered owner, provable by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person who parked the vehicle at the commercial parking lot was not authorized, either actually or impliedly, by the registered owner to use or drive the vehicle. Any notice provided under this chapter to the registered owner of an unauthorized vehicle shall conclusively be presumed to have been provided to every parking customer responsible for the parking charges associated with the unauthorized vehicle.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) Nothing in this chapter precludes the right to commence action in a court under chapter 12.40 RCW for small claims.
     (2) This chapter shall apply to all parking charges incurred on or after the effective date of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Sections 1 through 5 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.