BILL REQ. #:  S-0570.9 

Read first time 02/10/2005.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to vehicle licensing fees; amending RCW 46.01.140, 46.16.085, 46.16.135, 46.68.030, and 46.68.035; reenacting and amending RCW 46.16.0621 and 46.16.070; creating a new section; and repealing RCW 46.16.071.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.01.140 and 2003 c 370 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The county auditor, if appointed by the director of licensing shall carry out the provisions of this title relating to the licensing of vehicles and the issuance of vehicle license number plates under the direction and supervision of the director and may with the approval of the director appoint assistants as special deputies and recommend subagents to accept applications and collect fees for vehicle licenses and transfers and to deliver vehicle license number plates.
     (2) A county auditor appointed by the director may request that the director appoint subagencies within the county.
     (a) Upon authorization of the director, the auditor shall use an open competitive process including, but not limited to, a written business proposal and oral interview to determine the qualifications of all interested applicants.
     (b) A subagent may recommend a successor who is either the subagent's sibling, spouse, or child, or a subagency employee, as long as the recommended successor participates in the open, competitive process used to select an applicant. In making successor recommendation and appointment determinations, the following provisions apply:
     (i) If a subagency is held by a partnership or corporate entity, the nomination must be submitted on behalf of, and agreed to by, all partners or corporate officers.
     (ii) No subagent may receive any direct or indirect compensation or remuneration from any party or entity in recognition of a successor nomination. A subagent may not receive any financial benefit from the transfer or termination of an appointment.
     (iii) (a) and (b) of this subsection are intended to assist in the efficient transfer of appointments in order to minimize public inconvenience. They do not create a proprietary or property interest in the appointment.
     (c) The auditor shall submit all proposals to the director, and shall recommend the appointment of one or more subagents who have applied through the open competitive process. The auditor shall include in his or her recommendation to the director, not only the name of the successor who is a relative or employee, if applicable and if otherwise qualified, but also the name of one other applicant who is qualified and was chosen through the open competitive process. The director has final appointment authority.
     (3)(a) A county auditor who is appointed as an agent by the department shall enter into a standard contract provided by the director, developed with the advice of the title and registration advisory committee.
     (b) A subagent appointed under subsection (2) of this section shall enter into a standard contract with the county auditor, developed with the advice of the title and registration advisory committee. The director shall provide the standard contract to county auditors.
     (c) The contracts provided for in (a) and (b) of this subsection must contain at a minimum provisions that:
     (i) Describe the responsibilities, and where applicable, the liability, of each party relating to the service expectations and levels, equipment to be supplied by the department, and equipment maintenance;
     (ii) Require the specific type of insurance or bonds so that the state is protected against any loss of collected motor vehicle tax revenues or loss of equipment;
     (iii) Specify the amount of training that will be provided by the state, the county auditor, or subagents;
     (iv) Describe allowable costs that may be charged to vehicle licensing activities as provided for in (d) of this subsection;
     (v) Describe the causes and procedures for termination of the contract, which may include mediation and binding arbitration.
     (d) The department shall develop procedures that will standardize and prescribe allowable costs that may be assigned to vehicle licensing and vessel registration and title activities performed by county auditors.
     (e) The contracts may include any provision that the director deems necessary to ensure acceptable service and the full collection of vehicle and vessel tax revenues.
     (f) The director may waive any provisions of the contract deemed necessary in order to ensure that readily accessible service is provided to the citizens of the state.
     (4)(a) At any time any application is made to the director, the county auditor, or other agent pursuant to any law dealing with licenses, registration, or the right to operate any vehicle or vessel upon the public highways or waters of this state, ((excluding applicants already paying such fee under RCW 46.16.070 or 46.16.085,)) the applicant shall pay to the director, county auditor, or other agent a fee of three dollars for each application in addition to any other fees required by law.
     (b) Counties that do not cover the expenses of vehicle licensing and vessel registration and title activities may submit to the department a request for cost-coverage moneys. The request must be submitted on a form developed by the department. The department shall develop procedures to verify whether a request is reasonable. Payment shall be made on requests found to be allowable from the licensing services account.
     (c) Applicants for certificates of ownership, including applicants paying fees under RCW 46.16.070 or 46.16.085, shall pay to the director, county auditor, or other agent a fee of four dollars in addition to any other fees required by law.
     (d) The fees under (a) and (c) of this subsection, if paid to the county auditor as agent of the director, or if paid to a subagent of the county auditor, shall be paid to the county treasurer in the same manner as other fees collected by the county auditor and credited to the county current expense fund. If the fee is paid to another agent of the director, the fee shall be used by the agent to defray his or her expenses in handling the application.
     (e) Applicants required to pay the three-dollar fee established under (a) of this subsection, except those applicants required to be licensed under RCW 46.16.070 and 46.16.085, must pay an additional seventy-five cents, which must be collected and remitted to the state treasurer and distributed as follows:
     (i) Fifty cents must be deposited into the department of licensing services account of the motor vehicle fund and must be used for agent and subagent support, which is to include but not be limited to the replacement of department-owned equipment in the possession of agents and subagents.
     (ii) Twenty-five cents must be deposited into the license plate technology account created under RCW 46.16.685.
     (5) A subagent shall collect a service fee of (a) eight dollars and fifty cents for changes in a certificate of ownership, with or without registration renewal, or verification of record and preparation of an affidavit of lost title other than at the time of the title application or transfer and (b) three dollars and fifty cents for registration renewal only, issuing a transit permit, or any other service under this section.
     (6) If the fee is collected by the state patrol as agent for the director, the fee so collected shall be certified to the state treasurer and deposited to the credit of the state patrol highway account. If the fee is collected by the department of transportation as agent for the director, the fee shall be certified to the state treasurer and deposited to the credit of the motor vehicle fund. All such fees collected by the director or branches of his office shall be certified to the state treasurer and deposited to the credit of the highway safety fund.
     (7) Any county revenues that exceed the cost of providing vehicle licensing and vessel registration and title activities in a county, calculated in accordance with the procedures in subsection (3)(d) of this section, shall be expended as determined by the county legislative authority during the process established by law for adoption of county budgets.
     (8) The director may adopt rules to implement this section.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.16.0621 and 2003 c 1 s 2 and 2002 c 352 s 7 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (((1) License tab fees are required to be $30 per year for motor vehicles, regardless of year, value, make, or model.
     (2) For the purposes of this section, "license tab fees" are defined as the general fees paid annually for licensing motor vehicles and trailers as defined in RCW 46.04.620 and 46.04.623, including cars, sport utility vehicles, motorcycles, and motor homes. Trailers licensed under RCW 46.16.068 or 46.16.085 and campers licensed under RCW 46.16.505 are not required to pay license tab fees under this section.)) (1) The annual vehicle licensing fee for motor vehicles and trailers, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, shall be based on the scale weight set forth in schedule B provided in RCW 46.16.070. The department shall rely on the vehicle empty scale weights as provided by vehicle manufacturers, or other sources defined by the department, to determine the weight of each vehicle. The department shall adopt rules for determining weight for vehicles without manufacturer empty scale weights.
     (2) When the scale weight of a motor home is 6,667 pounds or greater, the scale weight shall be multiplied by one hundred fifty percent to determine the annual vehicle licensing fee.
     (3) If the resultant weight according to this section is not listed in RCW 46.16.070, it shall be increased to the next higher weight pursuant to chapter 46.44 RCW.
     (4) Trailers licensed under RCW 46.16.068 or 46.16.085 are not required to pay annual fees under this section. Private use trailers of two thousand pounds scale weight or less are subject to a vehicle licensing fee of fifteen dollars. This fee shall not apply to trailers held for rental to the public or used in any commercial or business endeavor.
     (5) Proceeds from the fees collected under this section shall be distributed in accordance with RCW 46.68.035.

Sec. 3   RCW 46.16.070 and 2003 c 361 s 201 and 2003 c 1 s 3 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) In lieu of all other vehicle licensing fees, unless specifically exempt, and in addition to the mileage fees prescribed for buses and stages in RCW 46.16.125, there shall be paid and collected annually for each truck, motor truck, truck tractor, road tractor, tractor, bus, auto stage, or for hire vehicle with seating capacity of more than six, based upon the declared combined gross weight or declared gross weight under chapter 46.44 RCW, the following licensing fees by ((such gross)) weight:

Sec. 4   RCW 46.16.085 and 1991 c 163 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     In lieu of all other licensing fees, an annual license fee of ((thirty-six)) thirty-four dollars shall be collected in addition to the excise tax prescribed in chapter 82.44 RCW for: (1) Each trailer and semitrailer ((not subject to the license fee under RCW 46.16.065 or the capacity fees under RCW 46.16.080)); (2) every pole trailer. The proceeds from this fee shall be distributed in accordance with RCW 46.68.035. This section does not pertain to travel trailers or personal use trailers that are not used for commercial purposes or owned by commercial enterprises.

Sec. 5   RCW 46.16.135 and 1986 c 18 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     The annual vehicle licensing fees as provided in RCW 46.16.070 for any motor vehicle or combination of vehicles, except motor homes, having a declared gross weight in excess of twelve thousand pounds may be paid for any full registration month or months at one-twelfth of the usual annual fee plus two dollars, this sum to be multiplied by the number of full months for which the fees are paid if for less than a full year. An additional fee of two dollars shall be collected each time a license fee is paid.
     Operation of a vehicle licensed under the provisions of this section by any person upon the public highways after the expiration of the monthly license is a traffic infraction, and in addition the person shall be required to pay a license fee for the vehicle involved covering an entire registration year's operation, less the fees for any registration month or months of the registration year already paid. If, within five days, no license fee for a full registration year has been paid as required aforesaid, the Washington state patrol, county sheriff, or city police shall impound such vehicle in such manner as may be directed for such cases by the chief of the Washington state patrol, until such requirement is met.

Sec. 6   RCW 46.68.030 and 2002 c 352 s 22 are each amended to read as follows:
     Except ((for proceeds from fees for vehicle licensing for vehicles paying such fees under RCW 46.16.070 and 46.16.085, and)) as otherwise provided for in chapter 46.16 RCW, all fees received by the director for vehicle licenses under the provisions of chapter 46.16 RCW shall be forwarded to the state treasurer, accompanied by a proper identifying detailed report, and be deposited to the credit of the motor vehicle ((fund, except that the proceeds from the vehicle license fee and renewal license fee shall be deposited by the state treasurer as hereinafter provided. After July 1, 2002, $20.35 of each original or renewal license fee must be deposited in the state patrol highway account in the motor vehicle fund, hereby created. Vehicle license fees, renewal license fees, and all other funds in the state patrol highway account shall be for the sole use of the Washington state patrol for highway activities of the Washington state patrol, subject to proper appropriations and reappropriations therefor. $2.02 of each original vehicle license fee and $0.93 of each renewal license fee shall be deposited each biennium in the Puget Sound ferry operations account. Any remaining amounts of vehicle license fees and renewal license fees that are not distributed otherwise under this section must be deposited in the motor vehicle fund)) account.

Sec. 7   RCW 46.68.035 and 2003 c 361 s 202 are each amended to read as follows:
     All proceeds from ((combined)) vehicle licensing fees received by the director for vehicles licensed under RCW 46.16.0621, 46.16.070, and 46.16.085 shall be forwarded to the state treasurer to be distributed into accounts according to the following method:
     (1) ((The sum of two dollars for each vehicle shall be deposited into the multimodal transportation account, except that for each vehicle registered by a county auditor or agent to a county auditor pursuant to RCW 46.01.140, the sum of two dollars shall be credited to the current county expense fund.
     (2) The remainder shall be distributed as follows:
     (a) 21.963 percent shall be deposited into the state patrol highway account of the motor vehicle fund;
     (b) 1.411)) 2.309 percent shall be deposited into the Puget Sound ferry operations account of the motor vehicle fund;
     (((c) 7.240)) (2) 3.269 percent shall be deposited into the transportation 2003 account (nickel account); and
     (((d))) (3) The remaining proceeds shall be deposited into the motor vehicle fund.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   RCW 46.16.071 (Additional fees) and 1996 c 315 s 4 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   This act applies to vehicle registrations that are due or become due on or after January 1, 2006.