BILL REQ. #:  H-5094.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/12/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to special license plates for family members of United States armed forces members killed in combat; amending RCW 46.16.725; reenacting and amending RCW 46.16.305; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.16.305 and 1997 c 291 s 6 and 1997 c 241 s 10 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     The department shall continue to issue the categories of special plates issued by the department under the sections repealed under section 12 (1) through (7), chapter 250, Laws of 1990. Special license plates issued under those repealed sections before January 1, 1991, are valid to the extent and under the conditions provided in those repealed sections. The following conditions, limitations, or requirements apply to certain special license plates issued after January 1, 1991:
     (1) A horseless carriage plate and a plate or plates issued for collectors' vehicles more than thirty years old, upon payment of the initial fees required by law and the additional special license plate fee established by the department, are valid for the life of the vehicle for which application is approved by the department. When a single plate is issued, it shall be displayed on the rear of the vehicle.
     (2) The department may issue special license plates denoting amateur radio operator status only to persons having a valid official radio operator license issued by the federal communications commission.
     (3) The department shall issue one set of special license plates to each resident of this state who has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for use on a passenger vehicle registered to that person. The department shall issue the plate without the payment of licensing fees and motor vehicle excise tax.
     (4) The department may issue for use on only one motor vehicle owned by the qualified applicant special license plates denoting that the recipient of the plate is a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, to persons meeting all of the following criteria:
     (a) Is a resident of this state;
     (b) Was a member of the United States Armed Forces on December 7, 1941;
     (c) Was on station on December 7, 1941, during the hours of 7:55 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Hawaii time at Pearl Harbor, the island of Oahu, or offshore at a distance not to exceed three miles;
     (d) Received an honorable discharge from the United States Armed Forces; and
     (e) Is certified by a Washington state chapter of the Pearl Harbor survivors association as satisfying the qualifications in (c) of this subsection.
     The department may issue such plates to the surviving spouse of any deceased Pearl Harbor survivor who met the requirements of this subsection. If the surviving spouse remarries, he or she shall return the special plates to the department within fifteen days and apply for regular plates. The surviving spouse must be a resident of this state.
     The department shall issue these plates upon payment by the applicant of all other license fees, but the department may not set or charge an additional fee for these special license plates.
     (5)(a) Effective with registrations that are due or become due on or after January 1, 2009, the department may issue for use on motor vehicles owned by the qualified applicant special license plates denoting that the recipient is a parent of a member of the United States armed forces who died while in service to his or her country to persons meeting all of the following criteria:
     (i) Is a resident of this state; and
     (ii) Is a parent of a member of the United States armed forces who died while in service to his or her country, as certified by the Washington state department of veterans affairs.
     (b) The department shall issue these plates upon payment by the applicant of all other license fees, but the department may not set or charge an additional fee for these special plates.
     (c) The department and the department of veterans affairs may adopt reasonable rules in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW to establish and verify eligibility for the special license plate created under this subsection.
     (6) The department shall replace, free of charge, special license plates issued under subsections (3) ((and (4))) through (5) of this section if they are lost, stolen, damaged, defaced, or destroyed. Such plates shall remain with the persons upon transfer or other disposition of the vehicle for which they were initially issued, and may be used on another vehicle registered to the recipient in accordance with the provisions of RCW 46.16.316(1).

Sec. 2   RCW 46.16.725 and 2007 c 518 s 711 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The creation of the board does not in any way preclude the authority of the legislature to independently propose and enact special license plate legislation.
     (2) The board must review and either approve or reject special license plate applications submitted by sponsoring organizations.
     (3) Duties of the board include but are not limited to the following:
     (a) Review and approve the annual financial reports submitted by sponsoring organizations with active special license plate series and present those annual financial reports to the senate and house transportation committees;
     (b) Report annually to the senate and house transportation committees on the special license plate applications that were considered by the board;
     (c) Issue approval and rejection notification letters to sponsoring organizations, the department, the chairs of the senate and house of representatives transportation committees, and the legislative sponsors identified in each application. The letters must be issued within seven days of making a determination on the status of an application;
     (d) Review annually the number of plates sold for each special license plate series created after January 1, 2003. The board may submit a recommendation to discontinue a special plate series to the chairs of the senate and house of representatives transportation committees;
     (e) Provide policy guidance and directions to the department concerning the adoption of rules necessary to limit the number of special license plates that an organization or a governmental entity may apply for.
     (4) Except as provided in this act, in order to assess the effects and impact of the proliferation of special license plates, the legislature declares a temporary moratorium on the issuance of any additional plates until July 1, 2009. During this period of time, the special license plate review board created in RCW 46.16.705 and the department of licensing are prohibited from accepting, reviewing, processing, or approving any applications. Additionally, no special license plate may be enacted by the legislature during the moratorium, unless the proposed license plate has been approved by the board before February 15, 2005.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   Section 1 of this act is exempt from the requirements of RCW 46.16.775.