AN
ACT Relating to licensing; amending RCW 46.70.023, 46.70.051, 46.12.170,
46.12.370, and 82.44.060; adding a new section to chapter 46.70 RCW; adding a
new section to chapter 88.02 RCW; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
46.70.023 and 1996 c 282 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
An "established place of business" requires a permanent, enclosed
commercial building located within the state of Washington easily accessible at
all reasonable times. The business of a vehicle dealer must be lawfully
carried on at an established place of business in accordance with the terms of
all applicable building code, zoning, and other land-use regulatory
ordinances. A vehicle dealer may display a vehicle for sale only at its
established place of business, licensed subagency, or temporary subagency site,
except at auction. The dealer shall keep the building open to the public so
that the public may contact the vehicle dealer or the dealer's salespersons at
all reasonable times. The books, records, and files necessary to conduct the
business shall be kept and maintained at that place. The established place of
business shall display an exterior sign with the business name and nature of
the business, such as auto sales, permanently affixed to the land or building,
with letters clearly visible to the major avenue of traffic. A room or rooms
in a hotel, rooming house, or apartment house building or part of a single or
multiple-unit dwelling house may not be considered an "established place
of business" unless the ground floor of such a dwelling is devoted
principally to and occupied for commercial purposes and the dealer offices are
located on the ground floor. A mobile office or mobile home may be used as an
office if it is connected to utilities and is set up in accordance with state
law. A state-wide trade association representing manufactured housing dealers
shall be permitted to use a manufactured home as an office if the office
complies with all other applicable building code, zoning, and other land-use
regulatory ordinances. This subsection does not apply to auction companies
that do not own vehicle inventory or sell vehicles from an auction yard.
(2)
An auction company shall have office facilities within the state. The books,
records, and files necessary to conduct the business shall be maintained at the
office facilities. All storage facilities for inventory shall be listed with
the department, and shall meet local zoning and land use ordinances. An
auction company shall maintain a telecommunications system.
(3)
Auction companies shall post their vehicle dealer license at each auction where
vehicles are offered, and shall provide the department with the address of the
auction at least three days before the auction.
(4)
If a dealer maintains a place of business at more than one location or under
more than one name in this state, he or she shall designate one location as the
principal place of business of the firm, one name as the principal name of the
firm, and all other locations or names as subagencies. A subagency license is
required for each and every subagency: PROVIDED, That the department may grant
an exception to the subagency requirement in the specific instance where a
licensed dealer is unable to locate their used vehicle sales facilities
adjacent to or at the established place of business. This exception shall be
granted and defined under the promulgation of rules consistent with the
Administrative Procedure Act.
(5)
All vehicle dealers shall maintain ownership or leasehold throughout the
license year of the real property from which they do business. The dealer
shall provide the department with evidence of ownership or leasehold whenever
the ownership changes or the lease is terminated.
(6)
A subagency shall comply with all requirements of an established place of
business, except that subagency records may be kept at the principal place of
business designated by the dealer. Auction companies shall comply with the
requirements in subsection (2) of this section.
(7)
A temporary subagency shall meet all local zoning and building codes for the
type of merchandising being conducted. The dealer license certificate shall be
posted at the location. No other requirements of an established place of
business apply to a temporary subagency. Auction companies are not required to
obtain a temporary subagency license.
(8)
A wholesale vehicle dealer shall have office facilities in a commercial
building within this state, and all storage facilities for inventory shall be
listed with the department, and shall meet local zoning and land use
ordinances. A wholesale vehicle dealer shall maintain a telecommunications
system. An exterior sign visible from the nearest street shall identify the
business name and the nature of business. ((A wholesale dealer need not
maintain a display area as required in this section.)) When two or more
vehicle dealer businesses share a location, all records, office facilities, and
inventory, if any, must be physically segregated and clearly identified.
(9)
A retail vehicle dealer shall be open during normal business hours, maintain
office and display facilities in a commercially zoned location or in a location
complying with all applicable building and land use ordinances, and maintain a
business telephone listing in the local directory. When two or more vehicle
dealer businesses share a location, all records, office facilities, and
inventory shall be physically segregated and clearly identified.
(10)
((A listing dealer need not have a display area if the dealer does not
physically maintain any vehicles for display.
(11))) A
subagency license is not required for a mobile home dealer to display an
on-site display model, a consigned mobile home not relocated from its site, or
a repossessed mobile home if sales are handled from a principal place of
business or subagency. A mobile home dealer shall identify on-site display
models, repossessed mobile homes, and those consigned at their sites with a
sign that includes the dealer's name and telephone number.
(((12)))
(11) Every vehicle dealer shall advise the department of the location of
each and every place of business of the firm and the name or names under which
the firm is doing business at such location or locations. If any name or
location is changed, the dealer shall notify the department of such change
within ten days. The license issued by the department shall reflect the name
and location of the firm and shall be posted in a conspicuous place at that
location by the dealer.
(((13)))
(12) A vehicle dealer's license shall upon the death or incapacity of an
individual vehicle dealer authorize the personal representative of such dealer,
subject to payment of license fees, to continue the business for a period of
six months from the date of the death or incapacity.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2. A
new section is added to chapter 46.70 RCW to read as follows:
The
director may deny a license under this chapter when the application is a
subterfuge that conceals the real person in interest whose license has been
denied, suspended, or revoked for cause under this chapter and the terms have
not been fulfilled or a civil penalty has not been paid, or the director finds
that the application was not filed in good faith. This section does not
preclude the department from taking an action against a current licensee.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3. A new
section is added to chapter 88.02 RCW to read as follows:
The
director may deny a license under this chapter when the application is a
subterfuge that conceals the real person in interest whose license has been
denied, suspended, or revoked for cause under this chapter and the terms have
not been fulfilled or a civil penalty has not been paid, or the director finds
that the application was not filed in good faith. This section does not
preclude the department from taking an action against a current licensee.
Sec.
4. RCW
46.70.051 and 1996 c 282 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
After the application has been filed, the fee paid, and bond posted, if
required, the department shall, if no denial order is in effect and no
proceeding is pending under RCW 46.70.101, issue the appropriate license, which
license, in the case of a vehicle dealer, shall designate the classification of
the dealer. Nothing prohibits a vehicle dealer from obtaining licenses for
more than one classification, and nothing prevents any vehicle dealer from
dealing in other classes of vehicles on an isolated basis.
(2)
An auction company licensed under chapter 18.11 RCW may sell at auction all
classifications of vehicles under a motor vehicle dealer's license issued under
this chapter including motor vehicles, miscellaneous type vehicles, and mobile
homes and travel trailers.
(3)
At the time the department issues a vehicle dealer license, the department
shall provide to the dealer a current, up-to-date vehicle dealer manual setting
forth the various statutes and rules applicable to vehicle dealers. In
addition, at the time any such license is renewed under RCW 46.70.083, the
department shall provide the dealer with any updates or current revisions to
the vehicle dealer manual.
(4)
The department may contract with responsible private parties to provide them
elements of the vehicle data base on a regular basis. The private parties may
only disseminate this information to licensed vehicle dealers.
(a)
Subject to the disclosure agreement provisions of RCW 46.12.380 and the
requirements of Executive Order 97-01, the department may provide to the
contracted private parties the following information:
(i)
All vehicle and title data necessary to accurately disclose known title
defects, brands, or flags and odometer discrepancies;
(ii)
All registered and legal owner information necessary to determine true
ownership of the vehicle and the existence of any recorded liens, including but
not limited to liens of the department of social and health services or its
successor; and
(iii)
Any data in the department's possession necessary to calculate the motor
vehicle excise tax, license, and registration fees including information
necessary to determine the applicability of regional transit authority excise
and use tax surcharges.
(b)
The department may provide this information in any form the contracted private
party and the department agree upon, but if the data is to be transmitted over
the Internet or similar public network from the department to the contracted
private party, it must be encrypted.
(c)
The department shall give these contracted private parties advance written
notice of any change in the information referred to in (a)(i), (ii), or (iii)
of this subsection, including information pertaining to the calculation of
motor vehicle excise taxes.
(d)
The department shall revoke a contract made under this subsection (4) with a
private party who disseminates information from the vehicle data base to anyone
other than a licensed vehicle dealer. A private party who obtains information
from the vehicle data base under a contract with the department and
disseminates any of that information to anyone other than a licensed vehicle
dealer is guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.
(e)
Nothing in this subsection (4) authorizes a vehicle dealer or any other
organization or entity not otherwise appointed as a vehicle licensing subagent
under RCW 46.01.140 to perform any of the functions of a vehicle licensing
subagent so appointed.
Sec.
5. RCW
46.12.170 and 1994 c 262 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
If,
after a certificate of ownership is issued, a security interest is granted on
the vehicle described therein, the registered owner or secured party shall,
within ten days thereafter, present an application to the department, to which
shall be attached the certificate of ownership last issued covering the
vehicle, or such other documentation as may be required by the department,
which application shall be upon a form provided by the department and shall be
accompanied by a fee of one dollar and twenty-five cents in addition to all
other fees. The department, if satisfied that there should be a reissue of the
certificate, shall note such change upon the vehicle records and issue to the
secured party a new certificate of ownership.
Whenever
there is no outstanding secured obligation and no commitment to make advances
and incur obligations or otherwise give value, the secured party must assign
the certificate of ownership to the debtor or the debtor's assignee or
transferee, and transmit the certificate to the department with an
accompanying fee of one dollar and twenty-five cents in addition to all other
fees. The department shall then issue a new certificate of ownership and
transmit it to the owner. If the affected secured party fails to either assign
the certificate of ownership to the debtor or the debtor's assignee or
transferee or transmit the certificate of ownership to the department
within ten days after proper demand, that secured party shall be liable to the
debtor or the debtor's assignee or transferee for one hundred dollars,
and in addition for any loss caused to the debtor or the debtor's assignee
or transferee by such failure.
Sec.
6. RCW
46.12.370 and 1982 c 215 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
In
addition to any other authority which it may have, the department of licensing
may furnish lists of registered and legal owners of motor vehicles only for the
purposes specified in this section to:
(1)
The manufacturers of motor vehicles, or their authorized agents, to be used to
enable those manufacturers to carry out the provisions of the National Traffic
and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. sec. 1382-1418), including
amendments or additions thereto, respecting safety-related defects in motor
vehicles;
(2)
Any governmental agency of the United States or Canada, or political
subdivisions thereof, to be used by it or by its authorized commercial agents
or contractors only in connection with the enforcement of motor vehicle or
traffic laws by, or programs related to traffic safety of, that government
agency. Only such parts of the list as are required for completion of the work
required of the agent or contractor shall be provided to such agent or
contractor; ((or))
(3)
An authorized agent or contractor of the department, to be used only in
connection with providing motor vehicle excise tax, licensing, title, and
registration information to motor vehicle dealers; or
(4) Any business regularly making loans to other persons to
finance the purchase of motor vehicles, to be used to assist the person
requesting the list to determine ownership of specific vehicles for the purpose
of determining whether or not to provide such financing. In the event a list
of registered and legal owners of motor vehicles is used for any purpose other
than that authorized in ((subsections (1), (2) and (3) of)) this
section, the manufacturer, governmental agency, authorized agent,
contractor, financial institution, or their authorized agents or
contractors responsible for the unauthorized disclosure or use will be denied
further access to such information by the department of licensing.
Sec.
7. RCW
82.44.060 and 1990 c 42 s 304 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The excise tax hereby imposed shall be due and payable to the department or its
agents at the time of registration of a motor vehicle. Whenever an application
is made to the department or its agents for a license for a motor vehicle there
shall be collected, in addition to the amount of the license fee or renewal
license fee, the amount of the excise tax imposed by this chapter, and no
dealer's license or license plates, and no license or license plates for a
motor vehicle shall be issued unless such tax is paid in full. The excise tax
hereby imposed shall be collected for each registration year. The excise tax
upon a motor vehicle licensed for the first time in this state shall be levied
for one full registration year commencing on the date of the calendar year
designated by the department and ending on the same date of the next succeeding
calendar year. For vehicles registered under chapter 46.87 RCW, proportional
registration, and for vehicle dealer plates issued under chapter 46.70 RCW, the
registration year is the period provided in those chapters: PROVIDED, That the
tax shall in no case be less than two dollars except for proportionally
registered vehicles.
(2)
A motor vehicle shall be deemed licensed for the first time in this state when
such vehicle was not previously licensed by this state for the registration
year immediately preceding the registration year in which the application for
license is made or when the vehicle has been registered in another jurisdiction
subsequent to any prior registration in this state.
(3)
No additional tax shall be imposed under this chapter upon any vehicle upon the
transfer of ownership thereof if the tax imposed with respect to such vehicle
has already been paid for the registration year or fraction of a registration
year in which transfer of ownership occurs.
(4)
The regional transit authority (RTA) must provide at no cost to the private
parties referred to in RCW 46.70.051(4) accurate, up-to-date, and easily
decipherable excise tax information in a machine readable ASCII text file.
This file will allow the contracted private parties to accurately determine
which individuals are subject to any such special excise or use taxes and the
amount of any such special excise or use taxes. The file must contain the
following items: (a) A list of five digit zip codes completely contained
within the RTA taxation area; (b) a list of five digit zip codes for those
areas on the border of the RTA taxation, with the border area defined as those
zip codes where some residences may be subject to the RTA use or motor vehicle
excise tax surcharge and some residences are not; and (c) for those residences
described in (b) of this subsection, a complete list of only those street
addresses subject to RTA taxation.
(5)
No person may be denied issuance of a registration or license plates due to the
nonpayment of any such special excise tax if the information referred to in
subsection (4) of this section is not provided by the RTA to the contracted
private parties.
(6) No motor vehicle dealer may be held liable for the
remittance of any such special excise tax if the information referred to in
subsection (4) of this section is not provided by the RTA to the contracted
private parties.
