BILL REQ. #:  H-3900.2 

Read first time 01/17/08.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to motor carrier hours of service; adding a new section to chapter 46.32 RCW; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of the state of Washington to prevent the loss of human lives and the loss of property and vehicles, and to protect the traveling environment of the state of Washington through sound and consistent regulatory provisions for interstate and intrastate motor carriers.
     The legislature further finds and declares that it is a policy of
the state of Washington to require commercial motor vehicles operating on state roadways to comply with rigorous federal and state safety regulations. The legislature also finds that intrastate and interstate commercial motor vehicles should comply with consistent state and federal commercial vehicle rules and regulations. For interstate motor carriers, those carriers operating in multiple states, the rules and regulations are established through the federal code. However, for intrastate motor carriers operating only in Washington, the rules and regulations are established by the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 46.32 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The Washington state patrol must adopt rules that implement section 395 of the federal motor carrier safety administration regulations, relating to the hours of service for both intrastate and interstate motor carriers. For the purpose of ensuring uniformity between the applicable state and federal interstate and intrastate motor carrier regulations, the patrol must update quarterly the rules adopted under this section in order to incorporate any changes in the applicable federal regulations.
     (2) Motor carrier drivers or motor carriers, who violate the hour-of-service rules adopted by the patrol under this section, are subject to one or all of the following penalties and/or fines, which may be assessed by either state or local law enforcement officials, or both:
     (a) State and local law enforcement officials may impose civil penalties on the motor carrier driver or the motor carrier when performing terminal audits. A motor carrier driver or motor carrier that fails to prepare or maintain an hour of service record required by the Washington state patrol, or prepares or maintains a required record that is incomplete, inaccurate, or false, is subject to a maximum civil penalty of five hundred fifty dollars for each day the violation continues, up to five thousand five hundred fifty dollars;
     (b) State and local law enforcement officials may impose fines on the motor carrier driver or the motor carrier when performing roadside inspections of five hundred fifty dollars for hour-of-service rule violations which may not be reduced or eliminated. Each violation is a separate and distinct offense.
     (c) The motor carrier's safety rating may be lowered. The degree to which the rating is lowered is dependent on the severity of the rule violation; and/or
     (d) Federal criminal penalties may be brought against: (i) Motor carriers, who knowingly and willfully allow, or require, hours of service that are in violation of the patrol's adopted rules; or (ii) motor carrier drivers, who knowingly and willfully violate the hours of service rules adopted under this section.