FINAL BILL REPORT

HB 1471

                                   C 55 L 88

BYRepresentatives Baugher, Schmidt and Walk; by request of Department of Transportation

Updating tonnage purchase laws.

House Committe on Transportation

Senate Committee on Transportation

SYNOPSIS AS ENACTED

BACKGROUND:

The Department of Transportation is authorized to issue permits for vehicles to carry weight greater than the amount for which they are licensed, i.e., 40,000 to 80,000.  This is called "additional tonnage" and is available to those trucks or combinations whose axles and spacings meet the requirements of the legal weight table.

Two problems have arisen in the administration of this program:  (1) An obsolete technical reference should be changed; and (2) the effective dates of these permits are inconsistent with state licensing practices.

The technical reference is to "proportional registration" which, until last year, was the chapter authorizing the Department of Licensing to maintain prorate information on trucking companies.  Most trucking companies operating in several states prorate their fees among the states based on the percentage of miles traveled in each state per year.  With enactment of the International Registration Plan (IRP) in 1987 the method by which the prorate system is administered was changed.  The reference in the additional tonnage statute needs to be tied to the IRP. Without the change fleets registered under the IRP are not technically eligible to have their fees for additional tonnage prorated.

The second problem is the period for which the annual additional tonnage permit is valid.  Under current law, the annual additional tonnage permit is valid for the calendar year.  By tying the issuance and renewal of these permits to base jurisdiction's vehicle registration date, and in the case of Washington-based vehicles, the staggered vehicle licensing system, motor vehicle registration, licensed tonnage and additional tonnage would all be effective for the same period of time and would therefore be more convenient for the licensee.

SUMMARY:

The additional tonnage statute is amended to allow proration of the fee under the International Registration Plan.

Annual additional tonnage permits for out-of-state vehicles may be issued to coincide with the base jurisdiction's registration year, and in the case of Washington-based vehicles, the staggered licensing system.

A person does not qualify for proration of the quarterly additional tonnage fee unless 60 percent of the vehicle's annual mileage is accrued within the state of Washington.  A person with less than 60 percent prorate miles may still purchase a quarterly permit, but the full permit fee is charged.

VOTES ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      House 97   0

      Senate    49     0

EFFECTIVE:June 9, 1988