CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

SENATE BILL 5347

68TH LEGISLATURE

2023 REGULAR SESSION

SENATE BILL 5347

BySenators Wagoner, Pedersen, Dhingra, Kuderer, and C. Wilson

AN ACT Relating to access to abstract driving records; and amending RCW 46.52.130.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 46.52.130 and 2022 c 182 s 206 are each amended to read as follows:

Upon a proper request, the department may only furnish information contained in an abstract of a person's driving record as permitted under this section.

(1) Contents of abstract of driving record. An abstract of a person's driving record, whenever possible, must include:

(a) An enumeration of motor vehicle accidents in which the person was driving, including:

(i) The total number of vehicles involved;

(ii) Whether the vehicles were legally parked or moving;

(iii) Whether the vehicles were occupied at the time of the accident; and

(iv) Whether the accident resulted in a fatality;

(b) Any reported convictions, forfeitures of bail, or findings that an infraction was committed based upon a violation of any motor vehicle law;

(c) The status of the person's driving privilege in this state; and

(d) Any reports of failure to appear in response to a traffic citation or failure to respond to a notice of infraction served upon the named individual by an arresting officer.

(2) Release of abstract of driving record. Unless otherwise required in this section, the release of an abstract does not require a signed statement by the subject of the abstract. An abstract of a person's driving record may be furnished to the following persons or entities:

(a) Named individuals. (i) An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department may be furnished to the individual named in the abstract.

(ii) Nothing in this section prevents a court from providing a copy of the driver's abstract to the individual named in the abstract or that named individual's attorney, provided that the named individual has a pending or open infraction or criminal case in that court. A pending case includes criminal cases that have not reached a disposition by plea, stipulation, trial, or amended charge. An open infraction or criminal case includes cases on probation, payment agreement or subject to, or in collections. A probation clerk or probation officer employed by the court may also provide a copy of the driver's abstract to a treatment agency in accordance with (f) of this subsection. Courts may charge a reasonable fee for the production and copying of the abstract for the individual unless the person is indigent as defined in RCW 10.101.010.

(b) Employers or prospective employers. (i) An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department may be furnished to an employer or prospective employer or agents acting on behalf of an employer or prospective employer of the named individual for purposes related to driving by the individual as a condition of employment or otherwise at the direction of the employer.

(ii) The department may provide employers or their agents a three-year insurance carrier driving record of existing employees only for the purposes of sharing the driving record with its insurance carrier for underwriting. Employers may not provide the employees' full driving records to its insurance carrier.

(iii) An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department may be furnished to an employer or prospective employer or the agent(s) acting on behalf of an employer or prospective employer of the named individual for purposes unrelated to driving by the individual when a driving record is required by federal or state law, or the employee or prospective employee will be handling heavy equipment or machinery.

(iv) Release of an abstract of the driving record of an employee or prospective employee requires a statement signed by: (A) The employee or prospective employee that authorizes the release of the record; and (B) the employer attesting that the information is necessary for employment purposes related to driving by the individual as a condition of employment or otherwise at the direction of the employer. If the employer or prospective employer authorizes agents to obtain this information on their behalf, this must be noted in the statement. The statement must also note that any information contained in the abstract related to an adjudication that is subject to a court order sealing the juvenile record of an employee or prospective employee may not be used by the employer or prospective employer, or an agent authorized to obtain this information on their behalf, unless required by federal regulation or law. The employer or prospective employer must afford the employee or prospective employee an opportunity to demonstrate that an adjudication contained in the abstract is subject to a court order sealing the juvenile record.

(v) Upon request of the person named in the abstract provided under this subsection, and upon that same person furnishing copies of court records ruling that the person was not at fault in a motor vehicle accident, the department must indicate on any abstract provided under this subsection that the person was not at fault in the motor vehicle accident.

(vi) No employer or prospective employer, nor any agents of an employer or prospective employer, may use information contained in the abstract related to an adjudication that is subject to a court order sealing the juvenile record of an employee or prospective employee for any purpose unless required by federal regulation or law. The employee or prospective employee must furnish a copy of the court order sealing the juvenile record to the employer or prospective employer, or the agents of the employer or prospective employer, as may be required to ensure the application of this subsection.

(c) Volunteer organizations. (i) An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department may be furnished to a volunteer organization or an agent for a volunteer organization for which the named individual has submitted an application for a position that would require driving by the individual at the direction of the volunteer organization.

(ii) Release of an abstract of the driving record of a prospective volunteer requires a statement signed by: (A) The prospective volunteer that authorizes the release of the record; and (B) the volunteer organization attesting that the information is necessary for purposes related to driving by the individual at the direction of the volunteer organization. If the volunteer organization authorizes an agent to obtain this information on their behalf, this must be noted in the statement.

(d) Transit authorities. An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department may be furnished to an employee or agents of a transit authority checking prospective or existing volunteer vanpool drivers for insurance and risk management needs.

(e) Insurance carriers. (i) An abstract of the driving record maintained by the department covering the period of not more than the last three years may be furnished to an insurance company or its agents:

(A) That has motor vehicle or life insurance in effect covering the named individual;

(B) To which the named individual has applied; or

(C) That has insurance in effect covering the employer or a prospective employer of the named individual.

(ii) The abstract provided to the insurance company must:

(A) Not contain any information related to actions committed by law enforcement officers or firefighters, as both terms are defined in RCW 41.26.030, or by Washington state patrol officers, while driving official vehicles in the performance of their occupational duty, or by registered tow truck operators as defined in RCW 46.55.010 in the performance of their occupational duties while at the scene of a roadside impound or recovery so long as they are not issued a citation. This does not apply to any situation where the vehicle was used in the commission of a misdemeanor or felony;

(B) Include convictions under RCW 46.61.5249 and 46.61.525, except that the abstract must report the convictions only as negligent driving without reference to whether they are for first or second degree negligent driving; and

(C) Exclude any deferred prosecution under RCW 10.05.060, except that if a person is removed from a deferred prosecution under RCW 10.05.090, the abstract must show the deferred prosecution as well as the removal.

(iii) Any policy of insurance may not be canceled, nonrenewed, denied, or have the rate increased on the basis of information regarding an accident included in the abstract of a driving record, unless the policyholder was determined to be at fault.

(iv) Any insurance company or its agents, for underwriting purposes relating to the operation of commercial motor vehicles, may not use any information contained in the abstract relative to any person's operation of motor vehicles while not engaged in such employment. Any insurance company or its agents, for underwriting purposes relating to the operation of noncommercial motor vehicles, may not use any information contained in the abstract relative to any person's operation of commercial motor vehicles. For the purposes of this subsection, "commercial motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in RCW 46.25.010(6).

(f) Alcohol/drug assessment or treatment agencies. An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department ((covering the period of not more than the last five years)) may be furnished to an alcohol/drug assessment or treatment agency approved by the department of health to which the named individual has applied or been assigned for evaluation or treatment, for purposes of assisting employees in making a determination as to what level of treatment, if any, is appropriate, ((except that))and the abstract must:

(i) Also include records of alcohol-related offenses, as defined in RCW 46.01.260(2)((, covering a period of not more than the last ten years)); and

(ii) Indicate whether an alcohol-related offense was originally charged as a violation of either RCW 46.61.502 or 46.61.504.

(g) Attorneys—City attorneys, county prosecuting attorneys, and named individual's attorney of record. An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department, including whether a recorded violation is an alcohol-related offense, as defined in RCW 46.01.260(2), that was originally charged as a violation of either RCW 46.61.502 or 46.61.504, may be furnished to city attorneys, county prosecuting attorneys, or the named individual's attorney of record. City attorneys, county prosecuting attorneys, or the named individual's attorney of record may provide the driving record to alcohol/drug assessment or treatment agencies approved by the department of social and health services to which the named individual has applied or been assigned for evaluation or treatment.

(h) State colleges, universities, or agencies, or units of local government. An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department may be furnished to (i) state colleges, universities, or agencies for employment and risk management purposes or (ii) units of local government authorized to self-insure under RCW 48.62.031, or their agents, for employment and risk management purposes. "Unit of local government" includes an insurance pool established under RCW 48.62.031.

(i) Superintendent of public instruction. (i) An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department may be furnished to the superintendent of public instruction for review of public school bus driver records. The superintendent or superintendent's designee may discuss information on the driving record with an authorized representative of the employing school district for employment and risk management purposes.

(ii) The superintendent of public instruction is exempt from paying the fees related to the reviewing of records and the fee required in subsection (5) of this section.

(j) State and federal agencies. An abstract of the driving record maintained by the department may be furnished to state and federal agencies, or their agents, in carrying out its functions.

(k) Transportation network companies. An abstract of the full driving record maintained by the department may be furnished to a transportation network company or its agents acting on its behalf of the named individual for purposes related to driving by the individual as a condition of being a contracted driver.

(l) Research. (i) The department may furnish driving record data to state agencies and bona fide scientific research organizations. The department may require review and approval by an institutional review board. For the purposes of this subsection, "research" means a planned and systematic sociological, psychological, epidemiological, biomedical, or other scientific investigation carried out by a state agency, or by a scientific research professional associated with a bona fide scientific research organization with an objective to contribute to scientific knowledge, the solution of social and health problems, or the evaluation of public benefit and service programs. This definition excludes methods of record analysis and data collection that are subjective, do not permit replication, and are not designed to yield reliable and valid results.

(ii) The state agency, or a scientific research professional associated with a bona fide scientific research organization, are exempt from paying the fees related to the reviewing of records and the fee required in subsection (5) of this section. However, the department may charge a cost-recovery fee for the actual cost of providing the data.

(3) Reviewing of driving records. (a) In addition to the methods described herein, the director may enter into a contractual agreement for the purpose of reviewing the driving records of existing employees for changes to the record during specified periods of time. The department shall establish a fee for this service, which must be deposited in the highway safety fund. The fee for this service must be set at a level that does not result in a net revenue loss to the state. Any information provided under this subsection must be treated in the same manner and is subject to the same restrictions as driving record abstracts.

(b) The department may provide reviewing services to the following entities:

(i) Employers for existing employees, or their agents;

(ii) Transit authorities for current vanpool drivers, or their agents;

(iii) Insurance carriers for current policyholders, or their agents;

(iv) State colleges, universities, or agencies, or units of local government, or their agents;

(v) The office of the superintendent of public instruction for school bus drivers statewide; and

(vi) Transportation network companies, or their agents.

(4) Release to third parties prohibited. (a) Any person or entity receiving an abstract of a person's driving record under subsection (2)(b) through (l) of this section shall use the abstract exclusively for his, her, or its own purposes or as otherwise expressly permitted under this section, and shall not divulge any information contained in the abstract to a third party.

(b) The following release of records to third parties are hereby authorized:

(i) Employers may divulge driving records to regulatory bodies, as defined by the department by rule, such as the United States department of transportation and the federal motor carrier safety administration.

(ii) Employers may divulge a three-year driving record to their insurance carrier for underwriting purposes.

(iii) Employers may divulge driving records to contracted motor carrier consultants for the purposes of ensuring driver compliance and risk management.

(5) Fees. (a) The director shall collect a $15 fee for each abstract of a person's driving record furnished by the department. After depositing $2 of the driver's abstract fee in the move ahead WA flexible account created in RCW 46.68.520, the remainder shall be distributed as follows:

(i) Fifty percent must be deposited in the highway safety fund; and

(ii) Fifty percent must be deposited according to RCW 46.68.038.

(b) Beginning July 1, 2029, the director shall collect an additional $2 fee for each abstract of a person's driving record furnished by the department. The $2 additional driver's abstract fee must be deposited in the move ahead WA flexible account created in RCW 46.68.520.

(c) City attorneys and county prosecuting attorneys are exempt from paying the fees specified in (a) and (b) of this subsection for an abstract of a person's driving record furnished by the department for use in criminal proceedings.

(6) Violation. (a) Any negligent violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.

(b) Any intentional violation of this section is a class C felony.

(7) Effective July 1, 2019, the contents of a driving abstract pursuant to this section shall not include any information related to sealed juvenile records unless that information is required by federal law or regulation.

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