AN ACT Relating to medical certificate requirements for applicants and holders of commercial drivers' licenses and commercial learners' permits; amending RCW 46.25.055, 46.25.057, and 46.25.075; reenacting and amending RCW 46.25.010; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

A person may not drive a commercial motor vehicle unless he or she is ((physically qualified to do so and, except as provided in 49 C.F.R. Sec. 391.67, has on his or her person the original, or a photographic copy, of a medical examiner's certificate that he or she is physically qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle)) medically examined and certified in accordance with 49 C.F.R. Sec. 391.43 as it existed on the effective date of this section, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section. A commercial motor vehicle driver needs to carry on his or her person the medical examiner certificate for fifteen days after the date of issuance as valid proof of medical certification as specified in 49 C.F.R. Sec. 391.41(a)(2) as it existed on the effective date of this section, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section.

(1) It is a traffic infraction for a licensee under this chapter to drive a commercial vehicle ((without having on his or her person the original, or a photographic copy, of a medical examiner's certificate that he or she is physically qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle)) while being downgraded for not maintaining a current medical certificate with the department.

(2) A person who violates this section is subject to a penalty of two hundred fifty dollars. If the person appears in person before the court or submits by mail written proof that he or she had, at the time the infraction took place, the medical examiner's certificate, the court shall reduce the penalty to fifty dollars.

(2) A CDL or CLP applicant or holder who certifies under subsection (1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section that he or she is or expects to be engaged in nonexcepted interstate, excepted interstate, or nonexcepted intrastate commerce must provide a copy of a medical examiner's certificate prepared by a medical examiner, as defined in 49 C.F.R. Sec. 390.5 as it existed on July 8, 2014, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section. ((Upon submission, a copy of the medical examiner's certificate must be date-stamped by the department.)) A CDL or CLP holder who certifies under subsection (1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section must ((submit)) provide a copy of each subsequently issued medical examiner's certificate.

(ii) The copy of a medical examiner's certificate, when ((submitted)) provided under subsection (2) of this section, must be retained for three years beyond the date the certificate was issued; and

(iii) When a medical examiner's certificate is ((submitted)) provided under subsection (2) of this section, the information required under 49 C.F.R. Sec. 383.73 as it existed on July 8, 2014, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section must be posted to the CDLIS driver record within ten calendar days from the date ((submitted)) provided. The indicator of medical certification status, such as "certified" or "not-certified," must be maintained on the driver's record.

(b) Within ten calendar days of the driver's medical certification status expiring or a medical variance expiring or being rescinded, the medical certification status of the driver must be updated to "not-certified."

(c) Within ten calendar days of receiving information from the federal motor carrier safety administration or the department regarding issuance or renewal of a medical variance for a driver, the department must update the CDLIS driver record to include the medical variance information.

(4) Upon receiving an electronic copy of the medical examiner's certificate from the federal motor carrier safety administration, the department must post a medical qualification status of "certified" on the CDLIS driver record for the driver.

(5)(a) If a driver's medical certification or medical variance expires, or the federal motor carrier safety administration or issuing medical examiner notifies the department that a medical variance was removed or rescinded, the department must:

(i) Notify the driver of his or her "not-certified" medical certification status and that the privilege of operating a commercial motor vehicle will be removed from the CDL or CLP unless the driver ((submits)) provides a current medical certificate or medical variance, or changes his or her self-certification to driving ((only)) in excepted ((or)) intrastate commerce; and

(ii) Initiate procedures for downgrading the CDL or CLP. The CDL or CLP downgrade must be completed and recorded within sixty days of the driver's medical certification status becoming "not-certified" to operate a commercial motor vehicle.

(b) If a driver fails to provide the department with the certification required in subsection (1) of this section, or a current medical examiner's certificate if the driver self-certifies under subsection (1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section that he or she is operating in nonexcepted interstate, excepted interstate, or nonexcepted intrastate commerce as required in subsection (2) of this section, the department must mark the CDLIS driver record as "not-certified" and initiate a CDL or CLP downgrade in accordance with (a)(ii) of this subsection.

(c) A driver whose CDL or CLP has been downgraded under this subsection may restore the CDL or CLP privilege by providing the necessary certifications or medical variance information to the department.

(3) "Commercial driver's license" (CDL) means a license issued to an individual under chapter 46.20 RCW that has been endorsed in accordance with the requirements of this chapter to authorize the individual to drive a class of commercial motor vehicle.

(4) The "commercial driver's license information system" (CDLIS) is the information system established pursuant to 49 U.S.C. Sec. 31309 to serve as a clearinghouse for locating information related to the licensing and identification of commercial motor vehicle drivers.

(a) Has a gross combination weight rating or gross combination weight of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or more), whichever is greater, inclusive of any towed unit or units with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of more than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds or more), whichever is greater; or

(7) "Conviction" means an unvacated adjudication of guilt, or a determination that a person has violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or by an authorized administrative tribunal, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court cost, entry into a deferred prosecution program under chapter 10.05 RCW, or violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of whether or not the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated.

(9) "Drive" means to drive, operate, or be in physical control of a motor vehicle in any place open to the general public for purposes of vehicular traffic. For purposes of RCW 46.25.100, 46.25.110, and 46.25.120, "drive" includes operation or physical control of a motor vehicle anywhere in the state.

(11) "Employer" means any person, including the United States, a state, or a political subdivision of a state, who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle, or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle.

(12) "Gross vehicle weight rating" (GVWR) means the value specified by the manufacturer as the maximum loaded weight of a single vehicle. The GVWR of a combination or articulated vehicle, commonly referred to as the "gross combined weight rating" or GCWR, is the GVWR of the power unit plus the GVWR of the towed unit or units. If the GVWR of any unit cannot be determined, the actual gross weight will be used. If a vehicle with a GVWR of less than 11,794 kilograms (26,001 pounds or less) has been structurally modified to carry a heavier load, then the actual gross weight capacity of the modified vehicle, as determined by RCW 46.44.041 and 46.44.042, will be used as the GVWR.

(13) "Hazardous materials" means any material that has been designated as hazardous under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 5103 and is required to be placarded under subpart F of 49 C.F.R. Part 172 or any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin in 42 C.F.R. Part 73.

(14) "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power used on highways, or any other vehicle required to be registered under the laws of this state, but does not include a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer operated exclusively on a rail.

(i) Is domiciled in a foreign country as provided in 49 C.F.R. Sec. 383.23(b)(1) as it existed on October 1, 2017, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section; or

(ii) Is domiciled in another state as provided in 49 C.F.R. Sec. 383.23(b)(2) as it existed on October 1, 2017, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section.

(16) "Out-of-service order" means a declaration by an authorized enforcement officer of a federal, state, Canadian, Mexican, or local jurisdiction that a driver, a commercial motor vehicle, or a motor carrier operation is out-of-service pursuant to 49 C.F.R. Secs. 386.72, 392.5, 395.13, 396.9, or compatible laws, or the North American uniform out-of-service criteria.

A report that a person has refused an alcohol test, under circumstances that constitute the refusal of an alcohol test under 49 C.F.R. Part 40, will be considered equivalent to a report of a positive alcohol confirmation test for the purposes of this chapter.

(18) "School bus" means a commercial motor vehicle used to transport preprimary, primary, or secondary school students from home to school, from school to home, or to and from school-sponsored events. School bus does not include a bus used as a common carrier.

(c) Driving while using a personal electronic device, defined as a violation of RCW 46.61.672, which includes in the activities it prohibits driving while holding a personal electronic device in either or both hands and using a hand or finger for texting, or an equivalent administrative rule or local law, ordinance, rule, or resolution;

(d) A violation of a state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control, other than a parking violation, arising in connection with an accident or collision resulting in death to any person;

(f) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver's license in the driver's possession; however, any individual who provides proof to the court by the date the individual must appear in court or pay any fine for such a violation, that the individual held a valid CDL on the date the citation was issued, is not guilty of a "serious traffic violation";

(g) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without the proper class of commercial driver's license endorsement or endorsements for the specific vehicle group being operated or for the passenger or type of cargo being transported; and

(22) "Tank vehicle" means any commercial motor vehicle that is designed to transport any liquid or gaseous materials within a tank or tanks having an individual rated capacity of more than one hundred nineteen gallons and an aggregate rated capacity of one thousand gallons or more that is either permanently or temporarily attached to the vehicle or the chassis. A commercial motor vehicle transporting an empty storage container tank, not designed for transportation, with a rated capacity of one thousand gallons or more that is temporarily attached to a flatbed trailer is not considered a tank vehicle.

(a) "Nonexcepted interstate," which means the CDL or CLP holder or applicant operates or expects to operate in interstate commerce, is both subject to and meets the qualification requirements under 49 C.F.R. Part 391 as it existed on July 8, 2014, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section, and is required to obtain a medical examiner's certificate under 49 C.F.R. Sec. 391.45 as it existed on July 8, 2014, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section;

(b) "Excepted interstate," which means the CDL or CLP holder or applicant operates or expects to operate in interstate commerce, but engages exclusively in transportation or operations excepted under 49 C.F.R. Secs. 390.3(f), 391.2, 391.68, or 398.3, as they existed on July 8, 2014, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section, from all or parts of the qualification requirements of 49 C.F.R. Part 391 as it existed on July 8, 2014, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section, and is ((therefore not)) required to obtain a medical examiner's certificate under 49 C.F.R. Sec. 391.45 as it existed on July 8, 2014, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section;

(c) "Nonexcepted intrastate," which means the CDL or CLP holder or applicant operates only in intrastate commerce and is ((therefore subject to state driver qualification requirements)) required to obtain a medical examiner's certificate under 49 C.F.R. Sec. 391.45 as it existed on July 8, 2014, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section; or

(d) "Excepted intrastate," which means the CDL or CLP holder ((or applicant operates in intrastate commerce, but engages exclusively in transportation or operations excepted from all or parts of the state driver qualification requirements)) wishes to maintain a CDL or CLP but not operate a commercial motor vehicle without changing his or her self-certification type.

(25) "Verified positive drug test" means a drug test result or validity testing result from a laboratory certified under the authority of the federal department of health and human services that:

A report that a person has refused a drug test, under circumstances that constitute the refusal of a federal department of transportation drug test under 49 C.F.R. Part 40, will be considered equivalent to a report of a verified positive drug test for the purposes of this chapter.


State of Washington	65th Legislature	2018 Regular Session