BILL REQ. #:  Z-0486.3 

Read first time 01/20/14.   Referred to Committee on Business & Financial Services.

     AN ACT Relating to fingerprint-based background checks for licensing of vehicle dealers and security guards; and amending RCW 18.170.130 and 46.70.041.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 18.170.130 and 1995 c 277 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Applications for licenses required under this chapter shall be filed with the director on a form provided by the director. The director may require any information and documentation that reasonably relates to the need to determine whether the applicant meets the criteria.
     (2) After receipt of an application for a license, the director shall conduct an investigation to determine whether the facts set forth in the application are true and shall request that the Washington state patrol compare the fingerprints submitted with the application to fingerprint records available to the Washington state patrol. The Washington state patrol shall forward the fingerprints of applicants for ((an armed)) any private security guard license to the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history records check. The director may require that fingerprint cards of licensees be periodically reprocessed to identify criminal convictions subsequent to registration.
     (3) The director shall solicit comments from the chief law enforcement officer of the county and city or town in which the applicant's employer is located on issuance of a permanent private security guard license.
     (4) A summary of the information acquired under this section, to the extent that it is public information, shall be forwarded by the department to the applicant's employer.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.70.041 and 2001 c 272 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Every application for a vehicle dealer license shall contain the following information to the extent it applies to the applicant:
     (a) Proof as the department may require concerning the applicant's identity, including but not limited to his or her fingerprints, the honesty, truthfulness, and good reputation of the applicant for the license, or of the officers of a corporation making the application;
     (b) The applicant's form and place of organization including if the applicant is a corporation, proof that the corporation is licensed to do business in this state;
     (c) The qualification and business history of the applicant and any partner, officer, or director;
     (d) The applicant's financial condition or history including a bank reference and whether the applicant or any partner, officer, or director has ever been adjudged bankrupt or has any unsatisfied judgment in any federal or state court;
     (e) Whether the applicant has been adjudged guilty of a crime which directly relates to the business for which the license is sought and the time elapsed since the conviction is less than ten years, or has suffered any judgment within the preceding five years in any civil action involving fraud, misrepresentation, or conversion and in the case of a corporation or partnership, all directors, officers, or partners;
     (f) A business telephone with a listing in the local directory;
     (g) The name or names of new vehicles the vehicle dealer wishes to sell;
     (h) The names and addresses of each manufacturer from whom the applicant has received a franchise;
     (i) A certificate by a representative of the department, that the applicant's principal place of business and each subagency business location in the state of Washington meets the location requirements as required by this chapter. The certificate shall include proof of the applicant's ownership or lease of the real property where the applicant's principal place of business is established;
     (j) A copy of a current service agreement with a manufacturer, or distributor for a foreign manufacturer, requiring the applicant, upon demand of any customer receiving a new vehicle warranty to perform or arrange for, within a reasonable distance of his or her established place of business, the service repair and replacement work required of the manufacturer or distributor by such vehicle warranty. This requirement applies only to applicants seeking to sell, to exchange, to offer, to auction, to solicit, to advertise, or to broker new or current-model vehicles with factory or distributor warranties;
     (k) The class of vehicles the vehicle dealer will be buying, selling, listing, exchanging, offering, brokering, leasing, auctioning, soliciting, or advertising, and which classification or classifications the dealer wishes to be designated as;
     (l) Effective July 1, 2002, a certificate from the provider of each education program or test showing that the applicant has completed the education programs and passed the test required under RCW 46.70.079 if the applicant is a dealer subject to the education and test requirements;
     (m) Any other information the department may reasonably require.
     (2) If the applicant is a manufacturer the application shall contain the following information to the extent it is applicable to the applicant:
     (a) The name and address of the principal place of business of the applicant and, if different, the name and address of the Washington state representative of the applicant;
     (b) The name or names under which the applicant will do business in the state of Washington;
     (c) Evidence that the applicant is authorized to do business in the state of Washington;
     (d) The name or names of the vehicles that the licensee manufactures;
     (e) The name or names and address or addresses of each and every distributor, factory branch, and factory representative;
     (f) The name or names and address or addresses of resident employees or agents to provide service or repairs to vehicles located in the state of Washington only under the terms of any warranty attached to new or unused vehicles manufactured, unless such manufacturer requires warranty service to be performed by all of its dealers pursuant to a current service agreement on file with the department;
     (g) Any other information the department may reasonably require.
     (3) Effective January 1, 2015, (a)(i) applicants for an original license under this chapter are required to have fingerprint-based background checks through the Washington state patrol criminal identification system and through the federal bureau of investigation; (ii) the director may require all current licensees under this chapter to have a fingerprint-based background check through the Washington state patrol criminal identification system and through the federal bureau of investigation at the time of the first application for a renewal license after that date. The director may require all current licensees to submit with their renewal application proof as the department may require concerning the applicant's identity, including, but not limited to, his or her fingerprints. The director may require that licensees have their background rechecked periodically under this subsection.
     (b) The applicant is required to pay the current federal and state fees for fingerprint-based criminal history background checks.