BILL REQ. #:  H-3480.1 

Read first time 01/12/12.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to tow trucks; amending RCW 46.55.010, 46.55.030, and 46.55.063; adding new sections to chapter 46.55 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 81.80 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.55.010 and 2005 c 88 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     The definitions set forth in this section apply throughout this chapter and section 6 of this act:
     (1) "Abandoned vehicle" means a vehicle that a registered tow truck operator has impounded and held in the operator's possession for one hundred twenty consecutive hours.
     (2) "Immobilize" means the use of a locking wheel boot that, when attached to the wheel of a vehicle, prevents the vehicle from moving without damage to the tire to which the locking wheel boot is attached.
     (3) "Abandoned vehicle report" means the document prescribed by the state that the towing operator forwards to the department after a vehicle has become abandoned.
     (4) "Impound" means to take and hold a vehicle in legal custody. There are two types of impounds -- public and private.
     (a) "Public impound" means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by a public official having jurisdiction over the public property upon which the vehicle was located.
     (b) "Private impound" means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a person having control or possession of the private property upon which the vehicle was located.
     (5) "Junk vehicle" means a vehicle certified under RCW 46.55.230 as meeting at least three of the following requirements:
     (a) Is three years old or older;
     (b) Is extensively damaged, such damage including but not limited to any of the following: A broken window or windshield, or missing wheels, tires, motor, or transmission;
     (c) Is apparently inoperable;
     (d) Has an approximate fair market value equal only to the approximate value of the scrap in it.
     (6) "Master log" means the document or an electronic facsimile prescribed by the department and the Washington state patrol in which an operator records transactions involving impounded vehicles.
     (7) "Registered tow truck operator" or "operator" means any person who engages in the impounding, transporting, or storage of unauthorized vehicles or the disposal of abandoned vehicles.
     (8) "Residential property" means property that has no more than four living units located on it.
     (9) "Suspended license impound" means an impound ordered under RCW 46.55.113 because the operator was arrested for a violation of RCW 46.20.342 or 46.20.345.
     (10) "Tow truck" means a motor vehicle that is equipped for and used in the business of towing vehicles with equipment as approved by the state patrol.
     (11) "Tow truck number" means the number issued by the department to tow trucks used by a registered tow truck operator in the state of Washington.
     (12) "Tow truck permit" means the permit issued annually by the department that has the classification of service the tow truck may provide stamped upon it.
     (13) "Tow truck service" means the transporting upon the public streets and highways of this state of vehicles, together with personal effects and cargo, by a tow truck of a registered operator.
     (14) "Unauthorized vehicle" means a vehicle that is subject to impoundment after being left unattended in one of the following public or private locations for the indicated period of time:

Sec. 2   RCW 46.55.030 and 2010 c 8 s 9061 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Application for licensing as a registered tow truck operator shall be made on forms furnished by the department, shall be accompanied by an inspection certification from the Washington state patrol, shall be signed by the applicant or an agent, and shall include the following information:
     (a) The name and address of the person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation under whose name the business is to be conducted;
     (b) The names and addresses of all persons having an interest in the business, or if the owner is a corporation, the names and addresses of the officers of the corporation;
     (c) The names and addresses of all employees who serve as tow truck drivers;
     (d) Proof of minimum insurance required by subsection (3) of this section;
     (e) The vehicle license and vehicle identification numbers of all tow trucks of which the applicant is the registered owner;
     (f) Any other information the department may require; and
     (g) A certificate of approval from the Washington state patrol certifying that:
     (i) The applicant has an established place of business and that mail is received at the address shown on the application;
     (ii) The address of any storage locations where vehicles may be stored is correctly stated on the application;
     (iii) The place of business has an office area that is accessible to the public without entering the storage area; and
     (iv) The place of business has adequate and secure storage facilities, as defined in this chapter and the rules of the department, where vehicles and their contents can be properly stored and protected.
     (2) Before issuing a registration certificate to an applicant the department shall require the applicant to file with the department a surety bond in the amount of five thousand dollars running to the state and executed by a surety company authorized to do business in this state. The bond shall be approved as to form by the attorney general and conditioned that the operator shall conduct his or her business in conformity with the provisions of this chapter pertaining to abandoned or unauthorized vehicles, and to compensate any person, company, or the state for failure to comply with this chapter or the rules adopted hereunder, or for fraud, negligence, or misrepresentation in the handling of these vehicles. Any person injured by the tow truck operator's failure to fully perform duties imposed by this chapter and the rules adopted hereunder, or an ordinance or resolution adopted by a city, town, or county is entitled to recover actual damages, including reasonable attorney's fees against the surety and the tow truck operator. Successive recoveries against the bond shall be permitted, but the aggregate liability of the surety to all persons shall not exceed the amount of the bond. As a condition of authority to do business, the operator shall keep the bond in full force and effect. Failure to maintain the penalty value of the bond or cancellation of the bond by the surety automatically cancels the operator's registration.
     (3) Before the department may issue a registration certificate to an applicant, the applicant shall provide proof of minimum insurance requirements of:
     (a) One hundred thousand dollars for liability for bodily injury or property damage per occurrence; and
     (b) Fifty thousand dollars of legal liability per occurrence, to protect against vehicle damage, including but not limited to fire and theft, from the time a vehicle comes into the custody of an operator until it is redeemed or sold.
     Cancellation of or failure to maintain the insurance required by (a) and (b) of this subsection automatically cancels the operator's registration.
     (4) The department, in consultation with the utilities and transportation commission, shall set the fee by rule for each original registration and annual renewal ((is one hundred dollars per company, plus fifty dollars per truck)) to cover the costs of administering this chapter and section 6 of this act. The department shall forward the registration fee to the state treasurer for deposit in the motor vehicle fund. All expenses and costs relating to the implementation or administration of this chapter or section 6 of this act by the utilities and transportation commission may be paid by the fees derived from this section.
     (5) The applicant must submit an inspection certificate from the state patrol before the department may issue or renew an operator's registration certificate or tow truck permits.
     (6) Upon approval of the application, the department shall issue a registration certificate to the registered operator to be displayed prominently at the operator's place of business.

Sec. 3   RCW 46.55.063 and 1995 c 360 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((An operator shall file a fee schedule with the department. All filed fees must be adequate to cover the costs of service provided. No fees may exceed those filed with the department. At least ten days before the effective date of any change in an operator's fee schedule, the registered tow truck operator shall file the revised fee schedule with the department.)) A registered tow truck operator may not charge a fee for tow truck services or for storage of a vehicle, which is not the result of a voluntary tow, that exceeds the maximum amounts allowable for such services or storage as set by the utilities and transportation commission under section 6 of this act.
     (2) Towing contracts with private property owners shall be in written form and state the hours of authorization to impound, the persons empowered to authorize the impounds, and the present charge of a private impound for the classes of tow trucks to be used in the impound, and must be retained in the files of the registered tow truck operator for three years.
     (3) A fee that is charged for tow truck service must be calculated on an hourly basis, and after the first hour must be charged to the nearest quarter hour.
     (4) Fees that are charged for the storage of a vehicle, or for other items of personal property registered or titled with the department, must be calculated on a twenty-four hour basis and must be charged to the nearest half day after the first four hours from the time the vehicle arrived at the secure storage area. During the first four hours of storage, rates must be calculated by the hour. However, items of personal property registered or titled with the department that are wholly contained within an impounded vehicle are not subject to additional storage fees; they are, however, subject to satisfying the underlying lien for towing and storage of the vehicle in which they are contained.
     (5) All billing invoices that are provided to the redeemer of the vehicle, or other items of personal property registered or titled with the department, must be itemized so that the individual fees are clearly discernable.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 46.55 RCW to read as follows:
     For each voluntary tow, the registered tow truck operator or person operating the tow truck must provide a written disclosure statement. The disclosure statement must contain all individual fees and rates and a space for the person who summoned the tow truck to sign or initial indicating that he or she understands the fees and rates. The signed or initialed disclosure statement must be maintained by the operator or tow truck business for three years and be made available to the department upon request. A copy of the signed or initialed disclosure statement must also be provided by the operator or person operating the tow truck to the person who summoned the tow truck.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 46.55 RCW to read as follows:
     The legislature finds that the practices covered in sections 3 and 4 of this act are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. A violation of section 3 or 4 of this act is not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of business and is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 81.80 RCW to read as follows:
     (1)(a) The commission shall make, fix, alter, and amend just, fair, and reasonable maximum rates for tow truck services, which are not for voluntary tows, and for the storage of a vehicle applicable to registered tow truck operators.
     (b) In setting maximum rates, the commission shall take into account varying costs associated with the towing and storage of a vehicle based on factors including, but not limited to, geographic area, type of vehicle, and costs of providing security for storage.
     (c) The commission shall provide an opportunity for public comment and take those comments into consideration when setting maximum rates.
     (d) The commission may by order approve rates filed by registered tow truck operators with respect to certain designated services when, in the opinion of the commission, it is impractical for the commission to make, fix, or prescribe rates covering the services.
     (e) The maximum total of charges for an involuntary tow and storage for the first twenty-four hours following the tow may not exceed two hundred fifty dollars.
     (2) The department of licensing maintains primary regulatory authority over registered tow truck operators under chapter 46.55 RCW, but must require that operators do not exceed the maximum rates set by the commission under subsection (1) of this section.