Title: An act relating to renewal of driver's licenses and identicards by alternative means.

Sponsors: Representatives Simpson, Jarrett and Rockefeller; by request of Department of Licensing.

Brief Summary of Bill

• Allows individuals to renew their driver's license or identicard via mail, electronic commerce or other electronic means, under certain circumstances.

• Defines "Electronic commerce" to include transactions conducted over the Internet, by telephone or by other electronic means.

• Requires persons renewing their instruction permit, agricultural permits and commercial driver's licenses to do so in person.

Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 20 members: Representatives Murray, Chair; Rockefeller, Vice Chair; G. Simpson, Vice Chair; Jarrett, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Armstrong, Campbell, Clibborn, Cooper, Dickerson, Flannigan, Hankins, Hatfield, Hudgins, Lovick, Morris, Romero, Sullivan, Wallace, Wood and Woods.

Minority Report: Without recommendation. Signed by 7 members: Representatives Ericksen, Ranking Minority Member; Bailey, Kristiansen, Mielke, Nixon, Rodne and Shabro.

Currently, individuals renewing their driver's license or identicard must present their application to the Department of Licensing (DOL) in person. The exception to this requirement is that a driver's license may be extended or renewed by mail when the applicant is living out of the state at the time the license expires. A $5 fee is assessed on mail-in renewals.

"Electronic commerce" is defined as including transactions conducted over the Internet, by telephone or by other electronic means.

This bill would allow applicants to renew their driver's license or identicard by mail, electronic commerce or other electronic means, if the DOL establishes rules to allow these alternative renewal methods. A driver or identicard holder would be limited to one alternative renewal before having to renew in person and an identicard holder could only renew through an alternative method if his or her existing identicard includes a photograph.

A person whose license has expired, or will expire, while he or she is living outside the state may apply for renewal by electronic commerce, regardless of whether the applicant renewed his or her driver's license by mail or electronic commerce when it last expired, if the DOL establishes rules to permit such renewal by mail.

Persons applying to renew an instruction permit, an agricultural driving permit, or a commercial driver license must submit their applications to the DOL in person.

The DOL is required to establish procedures to ensure that individuals renewing by mail or electronic commerce would be given the opportunity to register to vote.

House Bill 1681 also eliminates the existing $5 mail-in renewal fee and an exam currently required of individuals returning to the state who have renewed by mail, and provides for other technical amendments.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: This bill helps the DOL to provide the citizens with a more efficient method of renewing their driver's license. The method will be just as safe and secure as the methods currently available to drivers.