AN ACT Relating to private moorage facilities; and adding a new chapter to Title 88 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. It is the intent of the legislature that the rights and remedies authorized to private moorage facilities be the same as those previously granted to port districts under chapter 53.08 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 2 and 3 of this act.

(1) "Port charges" mean charges of a private moorage facility operator for moorage and storage, and all other charges owing or to become owing under a contract between a vessel owner and the private moorage facility operator, including, but not limited to, costs of sale and related legal expenses.

(2) "Vessel" means every species of watercraft or other artificial contrivance capable of being used as a means of transportation on water and which does not exceed two hundred feet in length. "Vessel" includes any trailer used for the transportation of watercraft.

(3) "Private moorage facility" means any properties or facilities owned or operated by a private moorage facility operator which are capable of use for the moorage or storage of vessels.

(4) "Private moorage facility operator" means any private party who owns and/or operates a moorage facility.

(5) "Owner" means every natural person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or organization, or agent thereof, with actual or apparent authority, who expressly or impliedly contracts for use of a private moorage facility.

(6) "Transient vessel" means a vessel using a private moorage facility and which belongs to an owner who does not have a moorage agreement with the private moorage facility operator. Transient vessels include, but are not limited to: Vessels seeking a harbor of refuge, day use, or overnight use of a private moorage facility on a space-as-available basis.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A private moorage facility operator may make a contract for rental and use of private moorage facilities and for the expeditious collection of port charges. The contract may also include procedures for the enforcement of the contract. The contract may include the following:

(1) Procedures authorizing private moorage facility owners to take reasonable measures, including the use of chains, ropes, and locks, or removal from the water, to secure vessels within the private moorage facility so that the vessels are in the possession and control of the private moorage facility operator and cannot be removed from the private moorage facility. These procedures may be used if an owner mooring or storing a vessel at the private moorage facility fails, after being notified that charges are owing and of the owner's right to commence legal proceedings to contest that such charges are owing, to pay the port charges owed or to commence legal proceedings. Notification shall be by registered mail to the owner at his last known address. In the case of a transient vessel, or where no address was furnished by the owner, the private moorage facility operator need not give such notice prior to securing the vessel. At the time of securing the vessel, the private moorage facility owner shall attach to the vessel a readily visible notice. The notice shall be of a reasonable size and shall contain the following information:

(a) The date and time the notice was attached;

(b) A statement that if the account is not paid in full within ninety days from the time the notice is attached, the vessel may be sold at public auction to satisfy the port charges; and

After a vessel is secured, the operator shall make a reasonable effort to notify the owner by registered mail in order to give the owner the information contained in the notice.

(2) Procedures authorizing a private moorage facility owner at his or her discretion to move moored vessels ashore for storage within properties under the operator's control or for storage with private persons under their control as bailees of the private moorage facility, if the vessel is, in the opinion of the port owner a nuisance, if the vessel is in danger of sinking or creating other damage, or is owing port charges. Costs of any such procedure shall be paid by the vessel's owner.

(3) If a vessel is secured under subsection (1) of this section or moved ashore under subsection (2) of this section, the owner who is obligated to the private moorage facility operator for port charges may regain possession of the vessel by:

(a) Making arrangements satisfactory with the private moorage facility operator for the immediate removal of the vessel from the private moorage facility or for authorized moorage; and

(b) Making payment to the private moorage facility operator of all port charges, or by posting with the private moorage facility operator a sufficient cash bond or other acceptable security, to be held in trust by the private moorage facility operator pending written agreement of the parties with respect to payment by the vessel owner of the amount owing, or pending resolution of the matter of the charges in a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction. After entry of judgment, including any appeals, in a court of competent jurisdiction, or after the parties reach agreement with respect to payment, the trust shall terminate and the private moorage facility operator shall receive so much of the bond or other security as is agreed, or as is necessary to satisfy any judgment, costs, and interest as may be awarded to the private moorage facility operator. The balance shall be refunded immediately to the owner at his last known address.

(4) If a vessel has been secured by the private moorage facility operator under subsection (1) of this section and is not released to the owner under the bonding provisions of subsection (3) of this section within ninety days after notifying or attempting to notify the owner under subsection (1) of this section, the vessel shall be conclusively presumed to have been abandoned by the owner.

(5) If a vessel moored or stored at a private moorage facility is abandoned, the private moorage facility operator may, by public sale, sell the vessel to the highest and best bidder for cash as follows:

(a) Before the vessel is sold, the owner of the vessel shall be given at least twenty days' notice of the sale in the manner set forth in subsection (1) of this section if the name and address of the owner is known. The notice shall contain the time and place of the sale, a reasonable description of the vessel to be sold, and the amount of port charges owed with respect to the vessel. The notice of sale shall be published at least once, more than ten but not more than twenty days before the sale, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the private moorage facility is located. Such notice shall include the name of the vessel, if any, the last known owner and address, and a reasonable description of the vessel to be sold. The notice shall also include the fact that the vessel will be sold subject to all federal maritime liens, if any exist. Further, before the sale takes place, the private moorage facility operator shall provide notice in writing to all prospective purchasers present at the sale or otherwise bidding on the vessel that the vessel is being sold subject to all existing federal maritime liens. If the private moorage facility operator fails to so notify the purchaser, and the federal maritime lien is executed on to the detriment of the purchaser, the private moorage facility operator is liable to the purchaser for any losses reasonably incurred in purchasing the vessel and moving it from the private moorage facility. The private moorage facility operator may bid all or part of its port charges at the sale and may become a purchaser at the sale;

(b) Before the vessel is sold, any person seeking to redeem an impounded vessel under this section may commence a lawsuit in the superior court for the county in which the vessel was impounded to contest the validity of the impoundment or the amount of the port charges owing. Such lawsuit must be commenced within ten days of the date the notification was provided pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, or the right to a hearing shall be deemed waived and the owner shall be liable for any port charges owing the private moorage facility operator. In the event of litigation, the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

(c) The proceeds of a sale under this section shall first be applied to the payment of port charges. The balance, if any, shall be paid to the owner. If the owner cannot in the exercise of due diligence be located by the private moorage facility operator within one year of the date of the sale, the excess funds from the sale shall revert to the department of revenue pursuant to chapter 63.29 RCW. If the sale is for a sum less than the applicable port charges, the private moorage facility operator is entitled to assert a claim for a deficiency.

(d) In the event no one purchases the vessel at a sale, or a vessel is not removed from the premises or other arrangements are not made within ten days of sale, title to the vessel will revert to the private moorage facility operator.

(6) The remedies authorized under this section shall be enforceable only if the private moorage facility has conspicuously posted the terms at its moorage facility at all times or by including the same in any contract written to cover the moorage agreement between the parties.

(7) Nothing in this chapter shall affect the rights and remedies otherwise authorized to publicly held facilities, parks, or districts.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Sections 1 through 3 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 88 RCW.