AN ACT Relating to insurance for tow truck operators; amending RCW 46.55.030 and 46.55.080; reenacting and amending RCW 46.55.010; recodifying RCW 46.61.567; and repealing RCW 46.61.563.

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

Sec. 1. Section 3, chapter 377, Laws of 1985 as amended by section 2, chapter 311, Laws of 1987 and RCW 46.55.030 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Application for licensing as a registered tow truck operator shall be made on forms furnished by the department, shall be accompanied by an inspection certification from the Washington state patrol, shall be signed by the applicant or his agent, and shall include the following information:

(a) The name and address of the person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation under whose name the business is to be conducted;

(b) The names and addresses of all persons having an interest in the business, or if the owner is a corporation, the names and addresses of the officers of the corporation;

(d) Proof of minimum insurance required by subsection (3) of this section;

(e) Any other information the department may require; and

(f) A certificate of approval from the chief of police if the applicant's principal place of business is located in a city or town having a population over five thousand persons or, in all other instances, from a member of the Washington state patrol, certifying that:

(i) The applicant has an established place of business at the address shown on the application;

(ii) The place of business has an office area that is accessible to the public without entering the storage area; and

(iii) The place of business has adequate and secure storage facilities, as defined in this chapter and the rules of the department, where vehicles and their contents can be properly stored and protected.

(2) Before issuing a registration certificate to an applicant the department shall require the applicant to file with the department a surety bond in the amount of five thousand dollars running to the state and executed by a surety company authorized to do business in this state. The bond shall be approved as to form by the attorney general and conditioned that the operator shall conduct his business in conformity with the provisions of this chapter pertaining to abandoned or unauthorized vehicles, and to compensate any person, company, or the state for failure to comply with this chapter or the rules adopted hereunder, or for fraud, negligence, or misrepresentation in the handling of these vehicles. Any person injured by the tow truck operator's failure to fully perform duties imposed by this chapter and the rules adopted hereunder, or an ordinance or resolution adopted by a city, town, or county is entitled to recover actual damages, including reasonable attorney's fees against the surety and the tow truck operator. Successive recoveries against the bond shall be permitted, but the aggregate liability of the surety to all persons shall not exceed the amount of the bond. As a condition of authority to do business, the operator shall keep the bond in full force and effect. Failure to maintain the penalty value of the bond or cancellation of the bond by the surety automatically cancels the operator's registration.

(3) Before the department may issue a registration certificate to an applicant, the applicant shall provide proof of minimum insurance requirements of:

(a) One hundred thousand dollars for liability for bodily injury or property damage per occurrence; and

(b) Fifty thousand dollars of legal liability per occurrence, to protect against vehicle damage, including but not limited to fire and theft, from the time a vehicle comes into the custody of an operator until it is redeemed or sold.

Cancellation of the insurance required by (a) and (b) of this subsection automatically cancels the operator's registration.

(4) The fee for each original registration and annual renewal is one hundred dollars per company, plus fifty dollars per truck. The department shall forward the registration fee to the state treasurer for deposit in the motor vehicle fund.

(5) Upon approval of the application, the department shall issue a registration certificate to the registered operator to be displayed prominently at the operator's place of business.

Sec. 2. Section 1, chapter 377, Laws of 1985 as amended by section 1, chapter 311, Laws of 1987 and by section 739, chapter 330, Laws of 1987 and RCW 46.55.010 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

The definitions set forth in this section apply throughout this chapter:

(1) "Abandoned vehicle" means a vehicle that a registered tow truck operator has impounded and held in his possession for ninety-six consecutive hours.

(2) "Abandoned vehicle report" means the document prescribed by the state that the towing operator forwards to the department after a vehicle has become abandoned.

(3) "Impound" means to take and hold a vehicle in legal custody. There are two types of impounds--public and private.

(a) "Public impound" means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by a public official having jurisdiction over the public property upon which the vehicle was located.

(b) "Private impound" means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a person having control or possession of the private property upon which the vehicle was located.

(4) "Junk vehicle" means a motor vehicle certified under RCW 46.55.230 as meeting all the following requirements:

(a) Is three years old or older;

(b) Is extensively damaged, such damage including but not limited to any of the following: A broken window or windshield or missing wheels, tires, motor, or transmission;

(d) Is without a valid, current registration plate;

(e) Has a fair market value equal only to the value of the scrap in it.

(5) "Registered tow truck operator" or "operator" means any person who engages in the impounding, transporting, or storage of unauthorized vehicles or the disposal of abandoned vehicles.

(6) "Residential property" means property that has no more than four living units located on it.

(7) "Tow truck" means a motor vehicle that is equipped for and used in the business of towing vehicles with equipment as approved by the state patrol.

(8) "Tow truck number" means the number issued by the department to tow trucks used by a registered tow truck operator in the state of Washington.

(9) "Tow truck permit" means the permit issued annually by the department that has the classification of service the tow truck may provide stamped upon it.

(10) "Tow truck service" means the transporting upon the public streets and highways of this state of vehicles, together with personal effects and cargo, by a tow truck of a registered operator.

(11) "Unauthorized vehicle" means a vehicle that is subject to impoundment after being left unattended in one of the following public or private locations for the indicated period of time:

!tp3,1 !tcSubject!sc ,1to!sc ,1removal!sc ,1after:

!ix(a) Public locations:

!ix(i) Constituting a traffic hazard as

!sc ,3defined in RCW ((~~46.61.565~~)) 46.55.113!w× !tlImmediately

!ix(ii) On a highway and tagged as

!sc ,3described in RCW ((~~46.52.170~~)) 46.55.085 !w× !tl24 hours

!ix(iii) In a publicly owned or controlled

!sc ,3parking facility, properly posted

!sc ,3under RCW 46.55.070!w× !tlImmediately

!ix(b) Private locations:

!ix(i) On residential property!w× !tlImmediately

!ix(ii) On private, nonresidential property,

!sc ,3properly posted under RCW 46.55.070!w× !tlImmediately

!ix(iii) On private, nonresidential property,

!sc ,3not posted!w× !tl24 hours!te

!ix

Sec. 3. Section 8, chapter 377, Laws of 1985 as amended by section 5, chapter 311, Laws of 1987 and RCW 46.55.080 are each amended to read as follows:

If a vehicle is in violation of the time restrictions of RCW ((~~46.55.010(12)~~)) 46.55.010(11), 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 his 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.

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 may not serve as an agent of a property owner for the purposes of signing an impound authorization.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Section 2, chapter 167, Laws of 1977 ex. sess., section 743, chapter 330, Laws of 1987 and RCW 46.61.563 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. RCW 46.61.567 is recodified as a section in chapter 46.55 RCW.