S-0318.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5055

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Senators Jacobsen and Kline

Read first time 01/11/1999.  Referred to Committee on Transportation.

Exempting electric and hybrid vehicles from the motor vehicle excise tax.

    AN ACT Relating to electric and hybrid vehicles; and amending RCW 82.44.010.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 82.44.010 and 1990 c 42 s 301 are each amended to read as follows:

    For the purposes of this chapter, unless (([the])) the context otherwise requires:

    (1) "Department" means the department of licensing.

    (2) "Motor vehicle" means all motor vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers used, or of the type designed primarily to be used, upon the public streets and highways, for the convenience or pleasure of the owner, or for the conveyance, for hire or otherwise, of persons or property, including fixed loads and facilities for human habitation; but shall not include (a) vehicles carrying exempt licenses, (b) dock and warehouse tractors and their cars or trailers, lumber carriers of the type known as spiders, and all other automotive equipment not designed primarily for use upon public streets((,)) or highways, (c) motor vehicles or their trailers used entirely upon private property, (d) mobile homes and travel trailers as defined in RCW 82.50.010, ((or)) (e) motor vehicles owned by nonresident military personnel of the armed forces of the United States stationed in the state of Washington provided personnel were also nonresident at the time of their entry into military service, or (f) electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles.

    (3) "Truck-type power or trailing unit" means any vehicle that is subject to the fees under RCW 46.16.070 except vehicles with an unladen weight of six thousand pounds or less, RCW 46.16.079, ((46.16.080,)) 46.16.085, or 46.16.090.

(4) "Electric vehicle" means a vehicle powered by an electric motor supplied by an on-board battery, flywheel storage unit, or super-capacitor electrical storage unit.

(5) "Hybrid vehicle" means a vehicle that can run as an electric vehicle or as a fuel-burning, engine-driven vehicle.  There are two subclasses:

(a) A series hybrid always runs as an electric vehicle.  Some or all of the electric power is supplied by an on-board generator using an engine-driven generator, a fuel cell generator, or a thermophotovoltaic generator.

(b) A parallel hybrid can run as a pure electric vehicle for distances up to twenty-five miles or as an engine-driven vehicle for distances over twenty-five miles.

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