Z-0606.1
HOUSE BILL 2368
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State of Washington | 65th Legislature | 2018 Regular Session |
By Representatives Goodman, Rodne, Sawyer, Haler, and Appleton; by request of Statute Law Committee
Prefiled 01/03/18. Read first time 01/08/18. Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
AN ACT Relating to making technical corrections and removing obsolete language from the Revised Code of Washington pursuant to RCW
1.08.025; amending RCW
1.20.051,
6.23.120,
6.27.060,
9A.56.130,
11.02.005,
13.40.193,
15.24.100,
26.50.070,
43.43.823,
46.55.080, and
90.56.335; reenacting RCW
43.21B.005 and
51.32.095; creating a new section; repealing RCW
82.04.4483; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. RCW 1.08.025 directs the code reviser, with the approval of the statute law committee, to prepare legislation for submission to the legislature "concerning deficiencies, conflicts, or obsolete provisions" in statutes. This act makes technical, nonsubstantive amendments as follows: (1) Section 2 of this act amends RCW
1.20.051 to conform the start and end dates of daylight saving time to the dates in federal law, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 260a.
(2) Section 3 of this act is intended to correct an apparent error in RCW
6.23.120. The legislature apparently intended to refer to one hundred twenty percent of the redemption amount, rather than one hundred twenty percent greater than the redemption amount.
P.H.T.S., LLC v. Vantage Capital, LLC, 186 Wn. App. 281, 289 n.8, 345 P.3d 20, 24 (2015).
(3) Section 4 of this act is intended to correct an apparent error in RCW
6.27.060. The section contains a cross-reference to the fee schedule in RCW
36.18.020, when the actual fee is found in RCW
36.18.016(6).
(4) Section 5 of this act amends RCW
9A.56.130 to reflect multiple changes in subsection numbering of a cross-referenced section.
(5) Section 6 of this act is intended to correct an apparent error in RCW
11.02.005(10). One sentence in the subsection is repeated in nearly identical form in the same subsection.
(6) Section 7 of this act amends RCW
13.40.193 to reflect a change in subsection numbering of a cross-referenced section.
(7) Section 8 of this act is intended to correct an apparent error in RCW
15.24.100. Section 8, chapter 15, Laws of 2016 sp. sess. removed the language authorizing an assessment in RCW
15.24.100. The assessment referred to appears to be the assessment authorized in RCW
15.24.090.
(8) Section 9 of this act clarifies language in RCW
26.50.070(4) by consistently using the term "ex parte temporary order" throughout the subsection.
(9) Section 10 of this act merges a double amendment created when section 39, chapter 7, Laws of 2010 1st sp. sess. amended RCW
43.21B.005 without reference to the amendments made by section 4, chapter 210, Laws of 2010.
(10) Section 11 of this act is intended to correct an apparent error in RCW
43.43.823(5). RCW
9.41.114 provides a five-day deadline for firearms dealers to report certain information, but the informational form in RCW
43.43.823(5) states that the deadline is two days.
(11) Section 12 of this act amends RCW
46.55.080 to reflect a change in subsection numbering of a cross-referenced section.
(12) Section 13 of this act is intended to remove doubt as to the validity of portions of RCW
51.32.095. Section 3, chapter 137, Laws of 2015 repealed the expiration date of 2013 and 2011 amendments to RCW
51.32.095, but allowed 2007 amendments to the section to expire on June 30, 2016.
(13) Section 14 of this act repeals RCW
82.04.4483, which was previously repealed by section 504, chapter 323, Laws of 2017 without cognizance of technical amendments made by section 19, chapter 135, Laws of 2017.
(14) Section 15 of this act is intended to clarify the expiration date of RCW
90.56.335. Section 950, chapter 36, Laws of 2016 sp. sess. (the supplemental omnibus appropriations act) amended RCW
90.56.335 without cognizance of the section's expiration date.
Sec. 2. RCW 1.20.051 and 1963 c 14 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
At two o'clock antemeridian Pacific Standard Time of the ((last)) second Sunday in ((April)) March each year the time of the state of Washington shall be advanced one hour, and at two o'clock antemeridian Pacific Standard Time of the ((last)) first Sunday in ((October)) November in each year the time of the state of Washington shall, by the retarding of one hour, be returned to Pacific Standard Time.
Sec. 3. RCW 6.23.120 and 1987 c 442 s 712 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, during the period of redemption for any property that a person would be entitled to claim as a homestead, any licensed real estate broker within the county in which the property is located may nonexclusively list the property for sale whether or not there is a listing contract. If the property is not redeemed by the judgment debtor and a sheriff's deed is issued under RCW
6.21.120, then the property owner shall accept the highest current qualifying offer upon tender of full cash payment within two banking days after notice of the pending acceptance is received by the offeror. If timely tender is not made, such offer shall no longer be deemed to be current and the opportunity shall pass to the next highest current qualifying offer, if any. Notice of pending acceptance shall be given for the first highest current qualifying offer within five days after delivery of the sheriff's deed under RCW
6.21.120 and for each subsequent highest current qualifying offer within five days after the offer becoming the highest current qualifying offer. An offer is qualifying if the offer is made during the redemption period through a licensed real estate broker listing the property and is at least equal to the sum of: (a) One hundred twenty percent
((greater than)) of the redemption amount determined under RCW
6.23.020 and (b) the normal commission of the real estate broker or agent handling the offer.
(2) The proceeds shall be divided at the time of closing with: (a) One hundred twenty percent of the redemption amount determined under RCW
6.23.020 paid to the property owner, (b) the real estate broker's or agent's normal commission paid, and (c) any excess paid to the judgment debtor.
(3) Notice, tender, payment, and closing shall be made through the real estate broker or agent handling the offer.
(4) This section shall not apply to mortgage or deed of trust foreclosures under chapter
61.12 or
61.24 RCW.
Sec. 4. RCW 6.27.060 and 2003 c 222 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:
The judgment creditor as the plaintiff or someone in the judgment creditor's behalf shall apply for a writ of garnishment by affidavit, stating the following facts: (1) The plaintiff has a judgment wholly or partially unsatisfied in the court from which the writ is sought; (2) the amount alleged to be due under that judgment; (3) the plaintiff has reason to believe, and does believe that the garnishee, stating the garnishee's name and residence or place of business, is indebted to the defendant in amounts exceeding those exempted from garnishment by any state or federal law, or that the garnishee has possession or control of personal property or effects belonging to the defendant which are not exempted from garnishment by any state or federal law; and (4) whether or not the garnishee is the employer of the judgment debtor.
The judgment creditor shall pay to the clerk of the superior court the fee provided by RCW
((36.18.020)) 36.18.016(6), or to the clerk of the district court the fee provided by RCW
3.62.060.
Sec. 5. RCW 9A.56.130 and 2002 c 47 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A person is guilty of extortion in the second degree if he or she commits extortion by means of a wrongful threat as defined in RCW
9A.04.110(((25)))(28) (d) through (j).
(2) In any prosecution under this section based on a threat to accuse any person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against any person, it is a defense that the actor reasonably believed the threatened criminal charge to be true and that his or her sole purpose was to compel or induce the person threatened to take reasonable action to make good the wrong which was the subject of such threatened criminal charge.
(3) Extortion in the second degree is a class C felony.
Sec. 6. RCW 11.02.005 and 2014 c 58 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:
When used in this title, unless otherwise required from the context:
(1) "Administrator" means a personal representative of the estate of a decedent and the term may be used in lieu of "personal representative" wherever required by context.
(2) "Codicil" means a will that modifies or partially revokes an existing earlier will. A codicil need not refer to or be attached to the earlier will.
(3) "Degree of kinship" means the degree of kinship as computed according to the rules of the civil law; that is, by counting upward from the intestate to the nearest common ancestor and then downward to the relative, the degree of kinship being the sum of these two counts.
(4) "Executor" means a personal representative of the estate of a decedent appointed by will and the term may be used in lieu of "personal representative" wherever required by context.
(5) "Guardian" or "limited guardian" means a personal representative of the person or estate of an incompetent or disabled person as defined in RCW
11.88.010 and the term may be used in lieu of "personal representative" wherever required by context.
(6) "Heirs" denotes those persons, including the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner, who are entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to the real and personal property of a decedent on the decedent's death intestate.
(7) "Internal revenue code" means the United States internal revenue code of 1986, as amended or renumbered as of January 1, 2001.
(8) "Issue" means all the lineal descendants of an individual. An adopted individual is a lineal descendant of each of his or her adoptive parents and of all individuals with regard to which each adoptive parent is a lineal descendant. A child conceived prior to the death of a parent but born after the death of the deceased parent is considered to be the surviving issue of the deceased parent for purposes of this title.
(9) "Net estate" refers to the real and personal property of a decedent exclusive of homestead rights, exempt property, the family allowance and enforceable claims against, and debts of, the deceased or the estate.
(10) "Nonprobate asset" means those rights and interests of a person having beneficial ownership of an asset that pass on the person's death under a written instrument or arrangement other than the person's will. "Nonprobate asset" includes, but is not limited to, a right or interest passing under a joint tenancy with right of survivorship, joint bank account with right of survivorship, transfer on death deed, payable on death or trust bank account, transfer on death security or security account, deed or conveyance if possession has been postponed until the death of the person, trust of which the person is grantor and that becomes effective or irrevocable only upon the person's death, community property agreement, individual retirement account or bond, or note or other contract the payment or performance of which is affected by the death of the person. "Nonprobate asset" does not include: A payable-on-death provision of a life insurance policy, annuity, or other similar contract, or of an employee benefit plan; a right or interest passing by descent and distribution under chapter
11.04 RCW; a right or interest if, before death, the person has irrevocably transferred the right or interest, the person has waived the power to transfer it or, in the case of contractual arrangement, the person has waived the unilateral right to rescind or modify the arrangement; or a right or interest held by the person solely in a fiduciary capacity. For the definition of "nonprobate asset" relating to revocation of a provision for a former spouse upon dissolution of marriage or declaration of invalidity of marriage, RCW
11.07.010(5) applies.
((For the definition of "nonprobate asset" relating to revocation of a provision for a former spouse upon dissolution of marriage or declaration of invalidity of marriage, see RCW 11.07.010(5).)) For the definition of "nonprobate asset" relating to testamentary disposition of nonprobate assets, see RCW
11.11.010(7).
(11) "Personal representative" includes executor, administrator, special administrator, and guardian or limited guardian and special representative.
(12) "Real estate" includes, except as otherwise specifically provided herein, all lands, tenements, and hereditaments, and all rights thereto, and all interest therein possessed and claimed in fee simple, or for the life of a third person.
(13) "Representation" refers to a method of determining distribution in which the takers are in unequal degrees of kinship with respect to a decedent, and is accomplished as follows: After first determining who, of those entitled to share in the estate, are in the nearest degree of kinship, the estate is divided into equal shares, the number of shares being the sum of the number of persons who survive the decedent who are in the nearest degree of kinship and the number of persons in the same degree of kinship who died before the decedent but who left issue surviving the decedent; each share of a deceased person in the nearest degree must be divided among those of the deceased person's issue who survive the decedent and have no ancestor then living who is in the line of relationship between them and the decedent, those more remote in degree taking together the share which their ancestor would have taken had he or she survived the decedent.
(14) References to "section 2033A" of the internal revenue code in wills, trust agreements, powers of appointment, beneficiary designations, and other instruments governed by or subject to this title are deemed to refer to the comparable or corresponding provisions of section 2057 of the internal revenue code, as added by section 6006(b) of the internal revenue service restructuring act of 1998 (H.R. 2676, P.L. 105-206); and references to the section 2033A "exclusion" are deemed to mean the section 2057 deduction.
(15) "Settlor" has the same meaning as provided for "trustor" in this section.
(16) "Special administrator" means a personal representative of the estate of a decedent appointed for limited purposes and the term may be used in lieu of "personal representative" wherever required by context.
(17) "Surviving spouse" or "surviving domestic partner" does not include an individual whose marriage to or state registered domestic partnership with the decedent has been terminated, dissolved, or invalidated unless, by virtue of a subsequent marriage or state registered domestic partnership, he or she is married to or in a domestic partnership with the decedent at the time of death. A decree of separation that does not terminate the status of spouses or domestic partners is not a dissolution or invalidation for purposes of this subsection.
(18) "Trustee" means an original, added, or successor trustee and includes the state, or any agency thereof, when it is acting as the trustee of a trust to which chapter
11.98 RCW applies.
(19) "Trustor" means a person, including a testator, who creates, or contributes property to, a trust.
(20) "Will" means an instrument validly executed as required by RCW
11.12.020.
Words that import the singular number may also be applied to the plural of persons and things.
Words importing the masculine gender only may be extended to females also.
Sec. 7. RCW 13.40.193 and 2014 c 117 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) If a respondent is found to have been in possession of a firearm in violation of RCW
9.41.040(2)(a)
(((iii)))(iv), the court shall impose a minimum disposition of ten days of confinement. If the offender's standard range of disposition for the offense as indicated in RCW
13.40.0357 is more than thirty days of confinement, the court shall commit the offender to the department for the standard range disposition. The offender shall not be released until the offender has served a minimum of ten days in confinement.
(2)(a) If a respondent is found to have been in possession of a firearm in violation of RCW
9.41.040, the disposition must include a requirement that the respondent participate in a qualifying program as described in (b) of this subsection, when available, unless the court makes a written finding based on the outcome of the juvenile court risk assessment that participation in a qualifying program would not be appropriate.
(b) For purposes of this section, "qualifying program" means an aggression replacement training program, a functional family therapy program, or another program applicable to the juvenile firearm offender population that has been identified as evidence-based or research-based and cost-beneficial in the current list prepared at the direction of the legislature by the Washington state institute for public policy.
(3) If the court finds that the respondent or an accomplice was armed with a firearm, the court shall determine the standard range disposition for the offense pursuant to RCW
13.40.160. If the offender or an accomplice was armed with a firearm when the offender committed any felony other than possession of a machine gun, possession of a stolen firearm, drive-by shooting, theft of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm in the first and second degree, or use of a machine gun in a felony, the following periods of total confinement must be added to the sentence: For a class A felony, six months; for a class B felony, four months; and for a class C felony, two months. The additional time shall be imposed regardless of the offense's juvenile disposition offense category as designated in RCW
13.40.0357.
(4) When a disposition under this section would effectuate a manifest injustice, the court may impose another disposition. When a judge finds a manifest injustice and imposes a disposition of confinement exceeding thirty days, the court shall commit the juvenile to a maximum term, and the provisions of RCW
13.40.030(2) shall be used to determine the range. When a judge finds a manifest injustice and imposes a disposition of confinement less than thirty days, the disposition shall be comprised of confinement or community supervision or both.
(5) Any term of confinement ordered pursuant to this section shall run consecutively to any term of confinement imposed in the same disposition for other offenses.
Sec. 8. RCW 15.24.100 and 2016 sp.s. c 15 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A petition may be filed with the commission to reduce the assessment authorized in
((this section)) RCW 15.24.090 to zero. To be valid, the petition must be signed by at least eight percent of all apple growers eligible to vote in commission referendum elections. The petition shall contain the name of a person designated to represent the petitioners.
(2) Upon receipt of a valid petition, the commission shall prepare a document discussing the substance of the petition. A statement in favor of the petition shall be written by the proponents of the petition. A statement opposing the petition may be written by the commission or an opponent. The document and a notice of public hearing shall be sent to apple growers eligible to vote in commission referendum elections at least twenty days prior to the scheduled public hearings. The commission shall hold public hearings in Yakima and Wenatchee on the petition.
(3) Following the public hearings, the question of whether to reduce the assessment authorized in
((this section)) RCW 15.24.090 to zero shall be referred to a referendum mail ballot. The commission shall certify to the director a list of apple growers eligible to vote in commission referendum elections. The referendum shall be conducted and supervised by the director using the certified list. Inadvertent failure to notify a grower does not invalidate a referendum.
(4) The referendum will be approved if a simple majority of apple growers voting in the referendum election vote in favor of the elimination of the assessment. The director will certify the results of the vote.
(5) The referendum vote shall be binding and may not be overturned by action of the commission or director. If the referendum is approved, the commission shall immediately commence activities to wind down its operations. However, the elimination of the assessment shall not be effective until six months from the date the referendum result is certified by the director. If the referendum fails, neither the commission nor the director will take further action on the petition.
(6) The commission is responsible for all its own costs and all the director's costs associated with the hearing, notice, and referendum process. A subsequent petition may not be filed any sooner than five years following the certification of the results of any previously held referendum conducted under this section.
Sec. 9. RCW 26.50.070 and 2010 c 274 s 305 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Where an application under this section alleges that irreparable injury could result from domestic violence if an order is not issued immediately without prior notice to the respondent, the court may grant an ex parte temporary order for protection, pending a full hearing, and grant relief as the court deems proper, including an order:
(a) Restraining any party from committing acts of domestic violence;
(b) Restraining any party from going onto the grounds of or entering the dwelling that the parties share, from the residence, workplace, or school of the other, or from the day care or school of a child until further order of the court;
(c) Prohibiting any party from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance from a specified location;
(d) Restraining any party from interfering with the other's custody of the minor children or from removing the children from the jurisdiction of the court;
(e) Restraining any party from having any contact with the victim of domestic violence or the victim's children or members of the victim's household;
(f) Considering the provisions of RCW
9.41.800; and
(g) Restraining the respondent from harassing, following, keeping under physical or electronic surveillance, cyberstalking as defined in RCW
9.61.260, and using telephonic, audiovisual, or other electronic means to monitor the actions, location, or communication of a victim of domestic violence, the victim's children, or members of the victim's household. For the purposes of this subsection, "communication" includes both "wire communication" and "electronic communication" as defined in RCW
9.73.260.
(2) Irreparable injury under this section includes but is not limited to situations in which the respondent has recently threatened petitioner with bodily injury or has engaged in acts of domestic violence against the petitioner.
(3) The court shall hold an ex parte hearing in person or by telephone on the day the petition is filed or on the following judicial day.
(4) An ex parte temporary order for protection shall be effective for a fixed period not to exceed fourteen days or twenty-four days if the court has permitted service by publication under RCW
26.50.085 or by mail under RCW
26.50.123. The ex parte
temporary order may be reissued. A full hearing, as provided in this chapter, shall be set for not later than fourteen days from the issuance of the
ex parte temporary order or not later than twenty-four days if service by publication or by mail is permitted. Except as provided in RCW
26.50.050,
26.50.085, and
26.50.123, the respondent shall be personally served with a copy of the ex parte
temporary order along with a copy of the petition and notice of the date set for the hearing.
(5) Any order issued under this section shall contain the date and time of issuance and the expiration date and shall be entered into a statewide judicial information system by the clerk of the court within one judicial day after issuance.
(6) If the court declines to issue an ex parte temporary order for protection the court shall state the particular reasons for the court's denial. The court's denial of a motion for an ex parte order of protection shall be filed with the court.
Sec. 10. RCW 43.21B.005 and 2010 1st sp.s. c 7 s 39 and 2010 c 210 s 4 are each reenacted to read as follows:
(1) There is created an environmental and land use hearings office of the state of Washington. The environmental and land use hearings office consists of the pollution control hearings board created in RCW
43.21B.010, the shorelines hearings board created in RCW
90.58.170, and the growth management hearings board created in RCW
36.70A.250. The governor shall designate one of the members of the pollution control hearings board or growth management hearings board to be the director of the environmental and land use hearings office during the term of the governor. Membership, powers, functions, and duties of the pollution control hearings board, the shorelines hearings board, and the growth management hearings board shall be as provided by law.
(2) The director of the environmental and land use hearings office may appoint one or more administrative appeals judges in cases before the environmental boards and, with the consent of the chair of the growth management hearings board, one or more hearing examiners in cases before the land use board comprising the office. The administrative appeals judges shall possess the powers and duties conferred by the administrative procedure act, chapter
34.05 RCW, have a demonstrated knowledge of environmental law, and shall be admitted to the practice of law in the state of Washington. The hearing examiners possess the powers and duties provided for in RCW
36.70A.270.
(3) Administrative appeals judges are not subject to chapter
41.06 RCW. The administrative appeals judges appointed under subsection (2) of this section are subject to discipline and termination, for cause, by the director of the environmental and land use hearings office. Upon written request by the person so disciplined or terminated, the director of the environmental and land use hearings office shall state the reasons for such action in writing. The person affected has a right of review by the superior court of Thurston county on petition for reinstatement or other remedy filed within thirty days of receipt of such written reasons.
(4) The director of the environmental and land use hearings office may appoint, discharge, and fix the compensation of such administrative or clerical staff as may be necessary.
(5) The director of the environmental and land use hearings office may also contract for required services.
Sec. 11. RCW 43.43.823 and 2017 c 261 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Upon receipt of the information from the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs pursuant to RCW
36.28A.400, the Washington state patrol must incorporate the information into its electronic database accessible to law enforcement agencies and officers, including federally recognized Indian tribes, that have a connection to the Washington state patrol electronic database.
(2) Upon receipt of documentation that a person has appealed a background check denial, the Washington state patrol shall immediately remove the record of the person initially reported pursuant to RCW
36.28A.400 from its electronic database accessible to law enforcement agencies and officers. The Washington state patrol must keep a separate record of the person's information for a period of one year or until such time as the appeal has been resolved. Every twelve months, the Washington state patrol shall notify the person that the person must provide documentation that his or her appeal is still pending or the record of the person's background check denial will be put back in its electronic database accessible to law enforcement agencies and officers. At any time, upon receipt of documentation that a person's appeal has been granted, the Washington state patrol shall remove any record of the person's denied firearms purchase or transfer application from its electronic database accessible to law enforcement agencies and officers.
(3) Upon receipt of satisfactory proof that a person who was reported to the Washington state patrol pursuant to RCW
36.28A.400 is no longer ineligible to possess a firearm under state or federal law, the Washington state patrol must remove any record of the person's denied firearms purchase or transfer application from its electronic database accessible to law enforcement agencies and officers.
(4) Upon receipt of notification from the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs that a person originally denied the purchase or transfer of a firearm as the result of a background check or completed and submitted firearm purchase or transfer application that indicates the applicant is ineligible to possess a firearm under state or federal law has subsequently been approved for the purchase or transfer, the Washington state patrol must remove any record of the person's denied firearms purchase or transfer application from its electronic database accessible to law enforcement agencies and officers within five business days.
(5) The Washington state patrol shall generate and distribute a notice form to all firearm dealers, to be provided by the dealers to applicants denied the purchase or transfer of a firearm as a result of a background check that indicates the applicant is ineligible to possess a firearm. The notice form must contain the following statements:
State law requires that I transmit the following information to the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs as a result of your firearm purchase or transfer denial within ((two)) five days of the denial:
(a) Identifying information of the applicant;
(b) The date of the application and denial of the
application;
(c) Other information as prescribed by the Washington
association of sheriffs and police chiefs.
If you believe this denial is in error, and you do not exercise your right to appeal, you may be subject to criminal investigation by the Washington state patrol and/or a local law enforcement agency.
The notice form shall also contain information directing the applicant to a web site describing the process of appealing a national instant criminal background check system denial through the federal bureau of investigation and refer the applicant to local law enforcement for information on a denial based on a state background check. The notice form shall also contain a phone number for a contact at the Washington state patrol to direct the person to resources regarding an individual's right to appeal a background check denial.
(6) The Washington state patrol may adopt rules as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
Sec. 12. RCW 46.55.080 and 1999 c 398 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) If a vehicle is in violation of the time restrictions of RCW
46.55.010(((13)))(14), it may be impounded by a registered tow truck operator at the direction of a law enforcement officer or other public official with jurisdiction if the vehicle is on public property, or at the direction of the property owner or an agent if it is on private property. A law enforcement officer may also direct the impoundment of a vehicle pursuant to a writ or court order.
(2) The person requesting a private impound or a law enforcement officer or public official requesting a public impound shall provide a signed authorization for the impound at the time and place of the impound to the registered tow truck operator before the operator may proceed with the impound. A registered tow truck operator, employee, or his or her agent may not serve as an agent of a property owner for the purposes of signing an impound authorization or, independent of the property owner, identify a vehicle for impound.
(3) In the case of a private impound, the impound authorization shall include the following statement: "A person authorizing this impound, if the impound is found in violation of chapter
46.55 RCW, may be held liable for the costs incurred by the vehicle owner."
(4) A registered tow truck operator shall record and keep in the operator's files the date and time that a vehicle is put in the operator's custody and released. The operator shall make an entry into a master log regarding transactions relating to impounded vehicles. The operator shall make this master log available, upon request, to representatives of the department or the state patrol.
(5) A person who engages in or offers to engage in the activities of a registered tow truck operator may not be associated in any way with a person or business whose main activity is authorizing the impounding of vehicles.
Sec. 13. RCW 51.32.095 and 2015 c 137 s 2 are each reenacted to read as follows:
(1) One of the primary purposes of this title is to enable the injured worker to become employable at gainful employment. To this end, the department or self-insurers must utilize the services of individuals and organizations, public or private, whose experience, training, and interests in vocational rehabilitation and retraining qualify them to lend expert assistance to the supervisor of industrial insurance in such programs of vocational rehabilitation as may be reasonable to make the worker employable consistent with his or her physical and mental status. Where, after evaluation and recommendation by such individuals or organizations and prior to final evaluation of the worker's permanent disability and in the sole opinion of the supervisor or supervisor's designee, whether or not medical treatment has been concluded, vocational rehabilitation is both necessary and likely to enable the injured worker to become employable at gainful employment, the supervisor or supervisor's designee may, in his or her sole discretion, pay or, if the employer is a self-insurer, direct the self-insurer to pay the cost as provided in subsection (5) of this section or RCW
51.32.099, as appropriate. An injured worker may not participate in vocational rehabilitation under this section or RCW
51.32.099 if such participation would result in a payment of benefits as described in RCW
51.32.240(5), and any benefits so paid must be recovered according to the terms of that section.
(2) Vocational rehabilitation services may be provided to an injured worker when in the sole discretion of the supervisor or the supervisor's designee vocational rehabilitation is both necessary and likely to make the worker employable at gainful employment. In determining whether to provide vocational services and at what level, the following list must be used, in order of priority with the highest priority given to returning a worker to employment:
(a) Return to the previous job with the same employer;
(b) Modification of the previous job with the same employer including transitional return to work;
(c) A new job with the same employer in keeping with any limitations or restrictions;
(d) Modification of a new job with the same employer including transitional return to work;
(e) Modification of the previous job with a new employer;
(f) A new job with a new employer or self-employment based upon transferable skills;
(g) Modification of a new job with a new employer;
(h) A new job with a new employer or self-employment involving on-the-job training;
(i) Short-term retraining.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, vocational services may be provided to an injured worker who has suffered the loss or complete use of both legs, or arms, or one leg and one arm, or total eyesight when, in the sole discretion of the supervisor or the supervisor's designee, these services will either substantially improve the worker's quality of life or substantially improve the worker's ability to function in an employment setting, regardless of whether or not these services are either necessary or reasonably likely to make the worker employable at any gainful employment. Vocational services must be completed prior to the commencement of the worker's entitlement to benefits under RCW
51.32.060. However, workers who are eligible for vocational services under this subsection are not eligible for option 2 benefits, as provided in RCW
51.32.099(4) and
51.32.096.
(4) To encourage the employment of individuals who have suffered an injury or occupational disease resulting in permanent disability which may be a substantial obstacle to employment, the supervisor or supervisor's designee, in his or her sole discretion, may provide assistance including job placement services for eligible injured workers who are receiving vocational services under the return-to-work priorities listed in subsection (2)(b) through (i) of this section, except for self-employment, and to employers that employ them. The assistance listed in (a) through (f) of this subsection is only available in cases where the worker is employed:
(a) Reduction or elimination of premiums or assessments owed by employers for such workers;
(b) Reduction or elimination of charges against the employers in the event of further injury to such workers in their employ;
(c) Reimbursement of the injured worker's wages for light duty or transitional work consistent with the limitations in RCW
51.32.090(4)(c);
(d) Reimbursement for the costs of clothing that is necessary to allow the worker to perform the offered work consistent with the limitations in RCW
51.32.090(4)(e);
(e) Reimbursement for the costs of tools or equipment to allow the worker to perform the work consistent with the limitations in RCW
51.32.090(4)(f);
(f) A one-time payment equal to the lesser of ten percent of the worker's wages including commissions and bonuses paid or ten thousand dollars for continuous employment without reduction in base wages for at least twelve months. The twelve months begin the first date of employment and the one-time payment is available at the sole discretion of the supervisor of industrial insurance;
(g) The benefits described in this section are available to a state fund employer without regard to whether the worker was employed by the state fund employer at the time of injury. The benefits are available to a self-insured employer only in cases where the worker was employed by a state fund employer at the time of injury or occupational disease manifestation;
(h) The benefits described in (a) through (f) of this subsection (4) are only available in instances where a vocational rehabilitation professional and the injured worker's health care provider have confirmed that the worker has returned to work that is consistent with the worker's limitations and physical restrictions.
(5)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, costs for vocational rehabilitation benefits allowed by the supervisor or supervisor's designee under subsection (1) of this section may include the cost of books, tuition, fees, supplies, equipment, transportation, child or dependent care, and other necessary expenses for any such worker in an amount not to exceed three thousand dollars in any fifty-two week period, and the cost of continuing the temporary total disability compensation under RCW
51.32.090 while the worker is actively and successfully undergoing a formal program of vocational rehabilitation.
(b) Beginning with vocational rehabilitation plans approved on or after July 1, 1999, through December 31, 2007, costs for vocational rehabilitation benefits allowed by the supervisor or supervisor's designee under subsection (1) of this section may include the cost of books, tuition, fees, supplies, equipment, child or dependent care, and other necessary expenses for any such worker in an amount not to exceed four thousand dollars in any fifty-two week period, and the cost of transportation and continuing the temporary total disability compensation under RCW
51.32.090 while the worker is actively and successfully undergoing a formal program of vocational rehabilitation.
(c) The expenses allowed under (a) or (b) of this subsection may include training fees for on-the-job training and the cost of furnishing tools and other equipment necessary for self-employment or reemployment. However, compensation or payment of retraining with job placement expenses under (a) or (b) of this subsection may not be authorized for a period of more than fifty-two weeks, except that such period may, in the sole discretion of the supervisor after his or her review, be extended for an additional fifty-two weeks or portion thereof by written order of the supervisor.
(d) In cases where the worker is required to reside away from his or her customary residence, the reasonable cost of board and lodging must also be paid.
(e) Costs paid under this subsection must be chargeable to the employer's cost experience or must be paid by the self-insurer as the case may be.
(6) In addition to the vocational rehabilitation expenditures provided for under subsection (5) of this section and RCW
51.32.099, an additional five thousand dollars may, upon authorization of the supervisor or the supervisor's designee, be expended for: (a) Accommodations for an injured worker that are medically necessary for the worker to participate in an approved retraining plan; and (b) accommodations necessary to perform the essential functions of an occupation in which an injured worker is seeking employment, consistent with the retraining plan or the recommendations of a vocational evaluation. The injured worker's attending physician or licensed advanced registered nurse practitioner must verify the necessity of the modifications or accommodations. The total expenditures authorized in this subsection and the expenditures authorized under RCW
51.32.250 may not exceed five thousand dollars.
(7)(a) When the department has approved a vocational plan for a worker prior to January 1, 2008, regardless of whether the worker has begun participating in the approved plan, costs for vocational rehabilitation benefits allowed by the supervisor or supervisor's designee under subsection (1) of this section are limited to those provided under subsections (5) and (6) of this section.
(b) For vocational plans approved for a worker between January 1, 2008, through July 31, 2015, total vocational costs allowed by the supervisor or supervisor's designee under subsection (1) of this section is limited to those provided under the pilot program established in RCW
51.32.099, and vocational rehabilitation services must conform to the requirements in RCW
51.32.099.
(8) The department must establish criteria to monitor the quality and effectiveness of rehabilitation services provided by the individuals and organizations. The state fund must make referrals for vocational rehabilitation services based on these performance criteria.
(9) The department must engage in, where feasible and cost-effective, a cooperative program with the state employment security department to provide job placement services under this section including participation by the department as a partner with WorkSource and with the private vocational rehabilitation community to refer workers to these vocational professionals for job search and job placement assistance. As a partner, the department must place vocational professional full-time employees at selected WorkSource locations who will work with employers to market the benefits of on-the-job training programs and preferred worker financial incentives as described in RCW
51.32.095(4). For the purposes of this subsection, "WorkSource" means the established state system that administers the federal workforce investment act of 1998.
(10) The benefits in this section, RCW
51.32.099, and
51.32.096 must be provided for the injured workers of self-insured employers. Self-insurers must report both benefits provided and benefits denied in the manner prescribed by the department by rule adopted under chapter
34.05 RCW. The director may, in his or her sole discretion and upon his or her own initiative or at any time that a dispute arises under this section, RCW
51.32.099, or
51.32.096, promptly make such inquiries as circumstances require and take such other action as he or she considers will properly determine the matter and protect the rights of the parties.
(11) Except as otherwise provided, the benefits provided for in this section, RCW
51.32.099, and
51.32.096 are available to any otherwise eligible worker regardless of the date of industrial injury. However, claims may not be reopened solely for vocational rehabilitation purposes.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. RCW 82.04.4483 (Credit—Programming or manufacturing software in rural counties) and 2017 c 135 s 19, 2010 c 114 s 119, & 2004 c 25 s 1 are each repealed. Sec. 15. RCW 90.56.335 and 2016 sp.s. c 36 s 950 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The vessel response account is created in the state treasury. Grants, gifts, and federal funds may be deposited into the account. Oil spill penalties assessed against ships under RCW
90.56.330 and
90.48.144 shall also be deposited into the account as well as the money distributed under RCW
46.68.020(2). Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. The department of ecology is authorized to utilize the vessel response account to preposition a dedicated rescue tug at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca to reduce the risk of major maritime accidents and oil spills on the outer coast and western strait. Prior to authorizing the rescue tug to respond to a distressed vessel, the department shall work with the United States coast guard and industry to determine if another capable, unencumbered commercial tug is available in the area that can respond. If such a tug can respond without increasing the risk of a casualty, it should be deployed as the tug of choice and the state-contracted rescue tug should not be taken off standby duty. The department is also authorized to spot charter tugs as needed during major storms and other high risk periods to protect maritime commerce and the environment anywhere in state waters.
(2) The department shall not proceed with rule making related to emergency towing pursuant to chapter
88.46 RCW, so long as the deposit of the fee into the vessel response account under RCW
46.68.020(2) is continued and is appropriated for the purpose of the dedicated rescue tug.
(3) During the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium, the legislature may transfer from the vessel response account to the environmental legacy stewardship account such amounts as reflect the excess fund balance of the account.
(4) This section expires July 1, 2020.
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