BILL REQ. #:  H-5591.1 

Read first time 02/15/08.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to exempting senior citizens from certain licensing fees for motor homes; amending RCW 46.01.140, 46.16.063, 46.16.237, 46.16.270, and 46.17.020; and providing an effective date.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.01.140 and 2005 c 343 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The county auditor, if appointed by the director of licensing shall carry out the provisions of this title relating to the licensing of vehicles and the issuance of vehicle license number plates under the direction and supervision of the director and may with the approval of the director appoint assistants as special deputies and recommend subagents to accept applications and collect fees for vehicle licenses and transfers and to deliver vehicle license number plates.
     (2) A county auditor appointed by the director may request that the director appoint subagencies within the county.
     (a) Upon authorization of the director, the auditor shall use an open competitive process including, but not limited to, a written business proposal and oral interview to determine the qualifications of all interested applicants.
     (b) A subagent may recommend a successor who is either the subagent's sibling, spouse, or child, or a subagency employee, as long as the recommended successor participates in the open, competitive process used to select an applicant. In making successor recommendation and appointment determinations, the following provisions apply:
     (i) If a subagency is held by a partnership or corporate entity, the nomination must be submitted on behalf of, and agreed to by, all partners or corporate officers.
     (ii) No subagent may receive any direct or indirect compensation or remuneration from any party or entity in recognition of a successor nomination. A subagent may not receive any financial benefit from the transfer or termination of an appointment.
     (iii) (a) and (b) of this subsection are intended to assist in the efficient transfer of appointments in order to minimize public inconvenience. They do not create a proprietary or property interest in the appointment.
     (c) The auditor shall submit all proposals to the director, and shall recommend the appointment of one or more subagents who have applied through the open competitive process. The auditor shall include in his or her recommendation to the director, not only the name of the successor who is a relative or employee, if applicable and if otherwise qualified, but also the name of one other applicant who is qualified and was chosen through the open competitive process. The director has final appointment authority.
     (3)(a) A county auditor who is appointed as an agent by the department shall enter into a standard contract provided by the director, developed with the advice of the title and registration advisory committee.
     (b) A subagent appointed under subsection (2) of this section shall enter into a standard contract with the county auditor, developed with the advice of the title and registration advisory committee. The director shall provide the standard contract to county auditors.
     (c) The contracts provided for in (a) and (b) of this subsection must contain at a minimum provisions that:
     (i) Describe the responsibilities, and where applicable, the liability, of each party relating to the service expectations and levels, equipment to be supplied by the department, and equipment maintenance;
     (ii) Require the specific type of insurance or bonds so that the state is protected against any loss of collected motor vehicle tax revenues or loss of equipment;
     (iii) Specify the amount of training that will be provided by the state, the county auditor, or subagents;
     (iv) Describe allowable costs that may be charged to vehicle licensing activities as provided for in (d) of this subsection;
     (v) Describe the causes and procedures for termination of the contract, which may include mediation and binding arbitration.
     (d) The department shall develop procedures that will standardize and prescribe allowable costs that may be assigned to vehicle licensing and vessel registration and title activities performed by county auditors.
     (e) The contracts may include any provision that the director deems necessary to ensure acceptable service and the full collection of vehicle and vessel tax revenues.
     (f) The director may waive any provisions of the contract deemed necessary in order to ensure that readily accessible service is provided to the citizens of the state.
     (4)(a) At any time any application is made to the director, the county auditor, or other agent pursuant to any law dealing with licenses, registration, or the right to operate any vehicle or vessel upon the public highways or waters of this state, excluding applicants already paying such fee under RCW 46.16.070 or 46.16.085, the applicant shall pay to the director, county auditor, or other agent a fee of three dollars for each application in addition to any other fees required by law. Any applicant who is sixty-five years of age or older is exempt from the fee imposed under this subsection on an application for any motor home for which the applicant is the registered owner.
     (b) Counties that do not cover the expenses of vehicle licensing and vessel registration and title activities may submit to the department a request for cost-coverage moneys. The request must be submitted on a form developed by the department. The department shall develop procedures to verify whether a request is reasonable. Payment shall be made on requests found to be allowable from the licensing services account.
     (c) Applicants for certificates of ownership, including applicants paying fees under RCW 46.16.070 or 46.16.085, shall pay to the director, county auditor, or other agent a fee of four dollars in addition to any other fees required by law.
     (d) The fees under (a) and (c) of this subsection, if paid to the county auditor as agent of the director, or if paid to a subagent of the county auditor, shall be paid to the county treasurer in the same manner as other fees collected by the county auditor and credited to the county current expense fund. If the fee is paid to another agent of the director, the fee shall be used by the agent to defray his or her expenses in handling the application.
     (e) Applicants required to pay the three-dollar fee established under (a) of this subsection, must pay an additional seventy-five cents, which must be collected and remitted to the state treasurer and distributed as follows:
     (i) Fifty cents must be deposited into the department of licensing services account of the motor vehicle fund and must be used for agent and subagent support, which is to include but not be limited to the replacement of department-owned equipment in the possession of agents and subagents.
     (ii) Twenty-five cents must be deposited into the license plate technology account created under RCW 46.16.685.
     (5) A subagent shall collect a service fee of (a) ten dollars for changes in a certificate of ownership, with or without registration renewal, or verification of record and preparation of an affidavit of lost title other than at the time of the title application or transfer and (b) four dollars for registration renewal only, issuing a transit permit, or any other service under this section.
     (6) If the fee is collected by the state patrol as agent for the director, the fee so collected shall be certified to the state treasurer and deposited to the credit of the state patrol highway account. If the fee is collected by the department of transportation as agent for the director, the fee shall be certified to the state treasurer and deposited to the credit of the motor vehicle fund. All such fees collected by the director or branches of his office shall be certified to the state treasurer and deposited to the credit of the highway safety fund.
     (7) Any county revenues that exceed the cost of providing vehicle licensing and vessel registration and title activities in a county, calculated in accordance with the procedures in subsection (3)(d) of this section, shall be expended as determined by the county legislative authority during the process established by law for adoption of county budgets.
     (8) The director may adopt rules to implement this section.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.16.063 and 1996 c 237 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In addition to other fees for the licensing of vehicles there shall be paid and collected annually for each camper, travel trailer, and motor home as the same are defined in RCW 82.50.010 a fee of three dollars to be deposited in the RV account of the motor vehicle fund. Under RCW 43.135.055, the department of transportation may increase RV account fees by a percentage that exceeds the fiscal growth factor. After consultation with citizen representatives of the recreational vehicle user community, the department of transportation may implement RV account fee adjustments no more than once every four years. RV account fee adjustments must be preceded by evaluation of the following factors: Maintenance of a self-supporting program, levels of service at existing RV sanitary disposal facilities, identified needs for improved RV service at safety rest areas statewide, sewage treatment costs, and inflation. If the department chooses to adjust the RV account fee, it shall notify the department of licensing six months before implementation of the fee increase. Adjustments in the RV account fee must be in increments of no more than fifty cents per biennium.
     (2) Any individual who is sixty-five years of age or older is exempt from the RV account fee imposed under this section on a motor home for which the individual is the registered owner.

Sec. 3   RCW 46.16.237 and 2005 c 314 s 301 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) All vehicle license number plates issued after January 1, 1968, or such earlier date as the director may prescribe with respect to plates issued in any county, shall be treated with fully reflectorized materials designed to increase the visibility and legibility of such plates at night. In addition to all other fees prescribed by law, there shall be paid and collected for each vehicle license number plate treated with such materials, the sum of two dollars and for each set of two plates, the sum of four dollars. However, one plate is available only to those vehicles that by law require only one plate. Such fees shall be deposited in the motor vehicle fund.
     (2) Any individual who is sixty-five years of age or older is exempt from the fee imposed under this section on a plate or plates for a motor home for which the individual is the registered owner.

Sec. 4   RCW 46.16.270 and 2005 c 314 s 302 are each amended to read as follows:
     The total replacement plate fee shall be deposited in the motor vehicle fund.
     Upon the loss, defacement, or destruction of one or both of the vehicle license number plates issued for any vehicle where more than one plate was originally issued or where one or both have become so illegible or in such a condition as to be difficult to distinguish, or upon the owner's option, the owner of the vehicle shall make application for new vehicle license number plates upon a form furnished by the director. The application shall be filed with the director or the director's authorized agent, accompanied by the certificate of license registration of the vehicle and a fee in the amount of ten dollars per plate, whereupon the director, or the director's authorized agent, shall issue new vehicle license number plates to the applicant. It shall be accompanied by a fee of two dollars for a new motorcycle license number plate. In the event the director has issued license period tabs or a windshield emblem instead of vehicle license number plates, and upon the loss, defacement, or destruction of the tabs or windshield emblem, application shall be made on a form provided by the director and in the same manner as above described, and shall be accompanied by a fee of one dollar for each pair of tabs or for each windshield emblem, whereupon the director shall issue to the applicant a duplicate pair of tabs, year tabs, and when necessary month tabs or a windshield emblem to replace those lost, defaced, or destroyed. For vehicles owned, rented, or leased by the state of Washington or by any county, city, town, school district, or other political subdivision of the state of Washington or United States government, or owned or leased by the governing body of an Indian tribe as defined in RCW 46.16.020, a fee shall be charged for replacement of a vehicle license number plate only to the extent required by the provisions of RCW 46.16.020, 46.16.237, and 46.01.140. For vehicles owned, rented, or leased by foreign countries or international bodies to which the United States government is a signatory by treaty, the payment of any fee for the replacement of a vehicle license number plate shall not be required. Any applicant who is sixty-five years of age or older is exempt from the fee imposed under this subsection on a plate or plates for any motor home for which the applicant is the registered owner.

Sec. 5   RCW 46.17.020 and 2005 c 314 s 202 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In addition to any other fees or charges, there shall be paid and collected annually for motor homes a vehicle weight fee of seventy-five dollars. This fee is due at the time of initial and renewal of vehicle registration. The fee collected under this section shall be deposited in the multimodal transportation account.
     (2) Any individual who is sixty-five years of age or older is exempt from the fee imposed by this section on a motor home for which the individual is the registered owner.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   This act takes effect July 1, 2008.