BILL REQ. #:  H-1881.1 

Read first time 02/14/2007.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to the replacement of motor vehicle keys; and adding a new section to chapter 46.70 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 46.70 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "Information" includes, but is not limited to, the motor vehicle's key code and, if applicable, immobilizer or access code, and its successor technology and terminology;
     (b) "Motor vehicle" means every motor vehicle, except motorcycles and motor-driven cycles, designed for carrying ten passengers or less and used for the transportation of persons;
     (c) "Registered locksmith" means a locksmith licensed and bonded in Washington state that has registered with a motor vehicle manufacturer, and has been issued a registry number and security password by the manufacturer;
     (d) "Registered owner" means the person whose lawful right of possession of a motor vehicle has most recently been recorded with the department of licensing. "Registered owner" includes a lessee of the motor vehicle when the lessee's name appears on the motor vehicle registration.
     (2)(a) A motor vehicle manufacturer of a new motor vehicle sold or leased in this state after December 31, 2008, shall provide the registered owner of the motor vehicle, through a registered locksmith, information necessary to permit the production of a replacement key or other functionally similar device by the registered locksmith that allows the registered owner of the motor vehicle to enter, start, and operate the motor vehicle. This information must be made available at all times to registered owners of motor vehicles by telephone or electronically.
     (b) When the registered owner of the motor vehicle or the registered owner's family member requests a registered locksmith to produce a replacement key or other functionally similar device that allows the motor vehicle to be entered, started, and operated, and information is needed from the motor vehicle manufacturer to produce the requested key or other functionally similar device, the registered locksmith shall visually verify:
     (i) The identity of the requesting party through that party's driver's license;
     (ii) That the registration of the motor vehicle matches the requesting party's identity and address, or the last name and address if the requesting party is a family member of the registered owner; and
     (iii) That the vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle matches the vehicle identification number on the registration.
     If the registered locksmith verifies these requirements, the registered locksmith shall sign and file an affidavit that he or she has visually verified the information and proceed to access the needed information from the motor vehicle manufacturer.
     (c) After completing the requested service, the registered locksmith shall give any key code information obtained from the motor vehicle manufacturer to the registered owner, or if applicable, the registered owner's family member, and shall destroy all information accessed from the motor vehicle manufacturer in the registered locksmith's possession. Except in cases of fraud or misappropriation, a registered locksmith who follows the requirements of this section does not incur liability for theft of the motor vehicle related to the locksmith's production of a replacement key or functionally similar device that allows the motor vehicle to be entered, started, and operated.
     (d) When a motor vehicle manufacturer receives a request from a registered locksmith for information to enable the locksmith to produce a replacement key or other functionally similar device that allows the motor vehicle to be entered, started, and operated, and the request was originally made by the motor vehicle's registered owner or the registered owner's family member, the manufacturer shall: Require the registered locksmith to confirm the locksmith's registration with the manufacturer's registry; provide the security password issued by the manufacturer; and comply with any other reasonable authentication procedure. The motor vehicle manufacturer shall also require the registered locksmith to confirm the visual identity of the registered owner or registered owner's family member and the motor vehicle verifications as described under (b) of this subsection. If the registered locksmith verifies these requirements along with the vehicle identification number and model number, the motor vehicle manufacturer shall provide the registered locksmith, for the motor vehicle identified by the vehicle identification number and model number, the information necessary to enable the production of a replacement key or other functionally similar device that allows the motor vehicle to be entered, started, and operated.
     (e) A motor vehicle manufacturer subject to this section shall retain and make the information described in (b) of this subsection available for at least twenty-five years from the date of manufacture of the motor vehicle.
     (f) A motor vehicle manufacturer that follows the requirements of this section does not incur liability for theft of the vehicle related to furnishing the information to a registered locksmith for the production of a replacement key or functionally similar device that allows the motor vehicle to be entered, started, and operated.
     (3) Until January 1, 2013:
     (a) This section applies to a motor vehicle line of a motor vehicle manufacturer that is exempt under (b) of this subsection, if after January 1, 2009, the motor vehicle line provides for the production of, by any person other than the motor vehicle manufacturer, a replacement key or other functionally similar device that allows the motor vehicle to be entered, started, and operated.
     (b) This section does not apply to a motor vehicle line of a motor vehicle manufacturer that on January 1, 2007, did not provide for the production of a replacement key or other functionally similar device that allows the motor vehicle to be entered, started, and operated, only by the motor vehicle manufacturer, provided that the vehicle manufacturer operates a telephone or electronic request line at all times, and upon a request of the registered owner or family member of the registered owner of the motor vehicle, a replacement key or other functionally similar device that allows the motor vehicle to be entered, started, and operated, is furnished to the registered owner at a reasonable cost within one day of the request or via the next overnight delivery.
     (c) This section does not apply to a motor vehicle line of a motor vehicle manufacturer that sold between two thousand five hundred and five thousand motor vehicles of that line in the prior calendar year in the state.
     (4) This section does not apply to a motor vehicle manufacturer that sold fewer than two thousand five hundred motor vehicles in the prior calendar year in the state.
     (5) The duties imposed on a motor vehicle manufacturer under this section may be performed either by the manufacturer or the manufacturer's agent through a contract.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.