BILL REQ. #:  S-4114.1 

Read first time 02/01/12.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to vehicle dealers in counties with a population of ten thousand or less; amending RCW 46.70.021 and 46.70.115; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.70.021 and 2011 c 96 s 36 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) It is unlawful for any person, firm, or association to act as a vehicle dealer or vehicle manufacturer, to engage in business as such, serve in the capacity of such, advertise himself, herself, or themselves as such, solicit sales as such, or distribute or transfer vehicles for resale in this state, without first obtaining and holding a current license as provided in this chapter, unless the title of the vehicle is in the name of the seller.
     (2) It is unlawful for any person other than a licensed vehicle dealer to display a vehicle for sale unless the registered owner or legal owner is the displayer or holds a notarized power of attorney.
     (3)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a person or firm engaged in buying and offering for sale, or buying and selling five or more vehicles in a twelve-month period, or in any other way engaged in dealer activity without holding a vehicle dealer license, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor, and upon conviction subject to a fine of up to five thousand dollars for each violation and up to three hundred sixty-four days in jail.
     (b) A second offense is a class C felony punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.
     (c) Any resident of a county with a population of ten thousand or less as determined by the office of financial management is not subject to the penalties provided in (a) and (b) of this subsection unless the resident is engaged, in that county, in buying and offering for sale, or buying and selling, seven or more vehicles in a twelve-month period, or in any other way engaged in dealer activity without holding a vehicle dealer license. This subsection (3)(c) applies only (i) to residents and not firms and (ii) if all such transactions by that resident occur within the resident's county. The department shall adopt rules under this subsection (3)(c) regarding ethical practices consistent with the prohibitions under RCW 46.70.180 governing sales under this subsection (3)(c) and violations that are subject to penalty under RCW 46.70.170.
     (d) The department shall periodically review vehicle bill of sales and identify persons who have sold five or more vehicles within a twelve-month period and follow up to determine if curbstoning, as defined in RCW 46.70.115(3) (a) and (b), has taken place.
     (4) A violation of this section is also a per se violation of chapter 19.86 RCW and is considered a deceptive practice.
     (5) The department of licensing, the Washington state patrol, the attorney general's office, and the department of revenue shall cooperate in the enforcement of this section.
     (6) A distributor, factory branch, or factory representative shall not be required to have a vehicle manufacturer license so long as the vehicle manufacturer so represented is properly licensed pursuant to this chapter.
     (7) Nothing in this chapter prohibits financial institutions from cooperating with vehicle dealers licensed under this chapter in dealer sales or leases. However, financial institutions shall not broker vehicles and cooperation is limited to organizing, promoting, and financing of such dealer sales or leases.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.70.115 and 2000 c 131 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) If it appears to the director that a person has engaged or is about to engage in an act or practice constituting a violation of this chapter, or a rule adopted or an order issued under this chapter, the director may issue an order directing the person to cease and desist from continuing the act or practice. Reasonable notice of and opportunity for a hearing shall be given. The director may issue a temporary order pending a hearing. The temporary order shall remain in effect until ten days after the hearing is held and shall become final if the person to whom the notice is addressed does not request a hearing within fifteen days after receipt of the notice.
     (2) The director may levy and collect a civil penalty, in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars for each violation, against a person found by the director to be curbstoning, as that term is defined in subsection (3) of this section. A person against whom a civil penalty has been imposed must receive reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the issue. The civil penalty is due ten days after issuance of a final order.
     (3) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section, (a) "curbstoning" means a person or firm engaged in buying and offering for sale, or buying and selling, five or more vehicles that are each less than thirty years old in a twelve-month period without holding a vehicle dealer license, and (b) for residents of a county with a population of ten thousand or less as determined by the office of financial management, "curbstoning" means a person or firm engaged, in that county, in buying and offering for sale, or buying and selling, seven or more vehicles that are each less than thirty years old in a twelve-month period without holding a vehicle dealer license. For the purpose of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, "curbstoning" does not include the sale of equipment or vehicles used in farming as defined in RCW 46.04.183 and sold by a farmer as defined in RCW 46.04.182.