BILL REQ. #:  S-4310.1 

Read first time 01/25/08.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to process servers; amending RCW 18.180.010 and 46.12.370; and reenacting and amending RCW 46.20.118.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 18.180.010 and 1992 c 125 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A person who serves legal process for a fee in the state of Washington shall be a resident of the state of Washington and shall register as a process server with the auditor of the county in which the process server resides or operates his or her principal place of business.
     (2) The requirement to register under subsection (1) of this section does not apply to any of the following persons:
     (a) A sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, constable, or government employee who is acting in the course of employment;
     (b) An attorney or the attorney's employees, who are not serving process on a fee basis;
     (c) A person who is court appointed to serve the court's process;
     (d) An employee of a person who is registered under this section;
     (e) A person who does not receive a fee or wage for serving process.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.12.370 and 2005 c 340 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     In addition to any other authority which it may have, the department of licensing may furnish lists of registered and legal owners of motor vehicles only for the purposes specified in this section to:
     (1) The manufacturers of motor vehicles, or their authorized agents, to be used to enable those manufacturers to carry out the provisions of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. sec. 1382-1418), including amendments or additions thereto, respecting safety-related defects in motor vehicles;
     (2) Any governmental agency of the United States or Canada, or political subdivisions thereof, to be used by it or by its authorized commercial agents or contractors only in connection with the enforcement of motor vehicle or traffic laws by, or programs related to traffic safety of, that government agency. Only such parts of the list as are required for completion of the work required of the agent or contractor shall be provided to such agent or contractor;
     (3) A commercial parking company requiring the names and addresses of registered owners to notify them of outstanding parking violations. Subject to the disclosure agreement provisions of RCW 46.12.380 and the requirements of Executive Order 97-01, the department may provide only the parts of the list that are required for completion of the work required of the company;
     (4) An authorized agent or contractor of the department, to be used only in connection with providing motor vehicle excise tax, licensing, title, and registration information to motor vehicle dealers;
     (5) Any business regularly making loans to other persons to finance the purchase of motor vehicles, to be used to assist the person requesting the list to determine ownership of specific vehicles for the purpose of determining whether or not to provide such financing; ((or))
     (6) A company or its agents operating a toll facility under chapter 47.46 RCW or other applicable authority requiring the names, addresses, and vehicle information of motor vehicle registered owners to identify toll violators; or
     (7) Process servers registered under RCW 18.180.010.
     Where both a mailing address and residence address are recorded on the vehicle record and are different, only the mailing address will be disclosed. Both addresses will be disclosed in response to requests for disclosure from courts, law enforcement agencies, or government entities with enforcement, investigative, or taxing authority, or process servers, and only for use in the normal course of conducting their business.
     If a list of registered and legal owners of motor vehicles is used for any purpose other than that authorized in this section, the manufacturer, governmental agency, commercial parking company, authorized agent, contractor, financial institution, toll facility operator, or process server, or their authorized agents or contractors responsible for the unauthorized disclosure or use will be denied further access to such information by the department of licensing.

Sec. 3   RCW 46.20.118 and 2005 c 274 s 307 and 2005 c 246 s 23 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     The department shall maintain a negative file. It shall contain negatives of all pictures taken by the department of licensing as authorized by RCW 46.20.070 through 46.20.119. Negatives in the file shall not be available for public inspection and copying under chapter 42.56 RCW. The department may make the file available to official governmental enforcement agencies to assist in the investigation by the agencies of suspected criminal activity. The department shall make the file available to the office of the secretary of state, at the expense of the secretary of state, to assist in maintenance of the statewide voter registration database. The department shall make the file available to process servers registered under RCW 18.180.010, only for use in the normal course of conducting their business. The department may also provide a print to the driver's next of kin in the event the driver is deceased.