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ENGROSSED
HOUSE BILL 1254
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AS
AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed
Legislature - 1998 Regular Session
State of Washington 55th
Legislature 1997 Regular Session
By
Read first time 01/20/97.
Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.
Prohibiting
destruction of driving records for alcohol or drug-related offenses.
AN
ACT Relating to the destruction of driving records; and amending RCW 46.52.100.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
46.52.100 and 1995 c 219 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
Every
district court, municipal court, and clerk of superior court shall keep or
cause to be kept a record of every traffic complaint, traffic citation, notice
of infraction, or other legal form of traffic charge deposited with or
presented to the court or a traffic violations bureau, and shall keep a record
of every official action by the court or its traffic violations bureau in
reference thereto, including but not limited to a record of every conviction,
forfeiture of bail, judgment of acquittal, finding that a traffic infraction
has been committed, dismissal of a notice of infraction, and the amount of
fine, forfeiture, or penalty resulting from every traffic complaint, citation,
or notice of infraction deposited with or presented to the district court,
municipal court, superior court, or traffic violations bureau. In the case
of a record of a conviction for a violation of RCW 46.61.502 or 46.61.504, and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the record shall be maintained by
the court permanently.
The
Monday following the conviction, forfeiture of bail, or finding that a traffic
infraction was committed for violation of any provisions of this chapter or
other law regulating the operating of vehicles on highways, every magistrate of
the court or clerk of the court of record in which such conviction was had,
bail was forfeited, or the finding made shall prepare and immediately forward
to the director of licensing at Olympia an abstract of the record of the court
covering the case, which abstract must be certified by the person so required
to prepare the same to be true and correct. Report need not be made of any
finding involving the illegal parking or standing of a vehicle.
The
abstract must be made upon a form or forms furnished by the director and shall
include the name and address of the party charged, the number, if any, of the
party's driver's or chauffeur's license, the registration number of the vehicle
involved if required by the director, the nature of the offense, the date of
hearing, the plea, the judgment, whether the offense was an alcohol-related
offense as defined in RCW 46.01.260(2), whether bail forfeited, whether the
determination that a traffic infraction was committed was contested, and the
amount of the fine, forfeiture, or penalty as the case may be.
Every
court of record shall also forward a like report to the director upon the
conviction of any person of a felony in the commission of which a vehicle was
used.
The
failure of any such judicial officer to comply with any of the requirements of
this section shall constitute misconduct in office and shall be grounds for
removal therefrom.
The
director shall keep all abstracts received hereunder at the director's office
in Olympia and the same shall be open to public inspection during reasonable
business hours.
Venue
in all district courts shall be before one of the two nearest district judges
in incorporated cities and towns nearest to the point the violation allegedly
occurred: PROVIDED, That in counties with populations of one hundred
twenty-five thousand or more such cases may be tried in the county seat at the
request of the defendant.
It shall be the duty of the officer, prosecuting attorney, or city
attorney signing the charge or information in any case involving a charge of
driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug immediately to
make request to the director for an abstract of convictions and forfeitures
which the director shall furnish.
