BILL REQ. #:  S-3824.1 

Read first time 01/11/2006.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to a windshield tint exemption for law enforcement vehicles; and amending RCW 46.37.430.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.37.430 and 1993 c 384 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) No person may sell any new motor vehicle as specified in this title, nor may any new motor vehicle as specified in this title be registered unless such vehicle is equipped with safety glazing material of a type that meets or exceeds federal standards, or if there are none, standards approved by the Washington state patrol. The foregoing provisions apply to all passenger-type motor vehicles, including passenger buses and school buses, but in respect to trucks, including truck tractors, the requirements as to safety glazing material apply to all glazing material used in doors, windows, and windshields in the drivers' compartments of such vehicles except as provided by subsection (4) of this section.
     (2) The term "safety glazing materials" means glazing materials so constructed, treated, or combined with other materials as to reduce substantially, in comparison with ordinary sheet glass or plate glass, the likelihood of injury to persons by objects from exterior sources or by these safety glazing materials when they may be cracked or broken.
     (3) The director of licensing shall not register any motor vehicle which is subject to the provisions of this section unless it is equipped with an approved type of safety glazing material, and he or she shall suspend the registration of any motor vehicle so subject to this section which the director finds is not so equipped until it is made to conform to the requirements of this section.
     (4) No person may sell or offer for sale, nor may any person operate a motor vehicle registered in this state which is equipped with, any camper manufactured after May 23, 1969, unless such camper is equipped with safety glazing material of a type conforming to rules adopted by the state patrol wherever glazing materials are used in outside windows and doors.
     (5) No film sunscreening or coloring material that reduces light transmittance to any degree may be applied to the surface of the safety glazing material in a motor vehicle unless it meets the following standards for such material:
     (a) The maximum level of film sunscreening material to be applied to any window, except the windshield, shall have a total reflectance of thirty-five percent or less, plus or minus three percent, and a light transmission of thirty-five percent or more, plus or minus three percent, when measured against clear glass resulting in a minimum of twenty-four percent light transmission on AS-2 glazing where the vehicle is equipped with outside rearview mirrors on both the right and left. Installation of more than a single sheet of film sunscreening material to any window is prohibited. The same maximum levels of film sunscreen material may be applied to windows to the immediate right and left of the driver on limousines and passenger buses used to transport persons for compensation and vehicles identified by the manufacturer as multi-use, multipurpose, or other similar designation. All windows to the rear of the driver on such vehicles may have film sunscreening material applied that has less than thirty-five percent light transmittance, if the light reflectance is thirty-five percent or less and the vehicle is equipped with outside rearview mirrors on both the right and left. A person or business tinting windows for profit who tints windows within restricted areas of the glazing system shall supply a sticker to be affixed to the driver's door post, in the area adjacent to the manufacturer's identification tag. Installation of this sticker certifies that the glazing application meets this chapter's standards for light transmission, reflectance, and placement requirements. Stickers must be no smaller than three-quarters of an inch by one and one-half inches, and no larger than two inches by two and one-half inches. The stickers must be of sufficient quality to endure exposure to harsh climate conditions. The business name and state tax identification number of the installer must be clearly visible on the sticker.
     (b) A greater degree of light reduction is permitted on all windows and the top six inches of windshields of a vehicle operated by or carrying as a passenger a person who possesses a written verification from a licensed physician that the operator or passenger must be protected from exposure to sunlight for physical or medical reasons.
     (c) Windshield application. A greater degree of light reduction is permitted on the top six-inch area of a vehicle's windshield. Clear film sunscreening material that reduces or eliminates ultraviolet light may be applied to windshields.
     (d) When film sunscreening material is applied to any window except the windshield, outside mirrors on both the left and right sides shall be located so as to reflect to the driver a view of the roadway, through each mirror, a distance of at least two hundred feet to the rear of the vehicle.
     (e) The following types of film sunscreening material are not permitted:
     (i) Mirror finish products;
     (ii) Red, gold, yellow, or black material; or
     (iii) Film sunscreening material that is in liquid preapplication form and brushed or sprayed on.
     Nothing in this section prohibits the use of shaded or heat-absorbing safety glazing material in which the shading or heat-absorbing characteristics have been applied at the time of manufacture of the safety glazing material and which meet federal standards and the standards of the state patrol for such safety glazing materials.
     (6) It is a traffic infraction for any person to operate a vehicle for use on the public highways of this state, if the vehicle is equipped with film sunscreening or coloring material in violation of this section.
     (7) Owners of vehicles with film sunscreening material applied to windows to the rear of the driver, prior to June 7, 1990, must comply with the requirements of this section and RCW 46.37.435 by July 1, 1993.
     (8) Law enforcement vehicles are exempt from the requirements of subsection (5) of this section. However, when vehicles are sold to private individuals the film sunscreening or coloring material must comply with the requirements of subsection (5) of this section or documentation must be provided to the buyer stating the vehicle windows must comply with the requirements of subsection (5) of this section before operation of the vehicle.