FINAL BILL REPORT

HB 2459

C 70 L 12

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Authorizing the Washington state patrol to confiscate license plates from a motor carrier who operates a commercial motor vehicle with a revoked registration.

Sponsors: Representatives Kagi, Armstrong and Johnson.

House Committee on Transportation

Senate Committee on Transportation

Background:

Motor carriers may operate commercial vehicles solely within the State of Washington (intrastate), while other motor carriers may operate in multiple states (interstate). The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates interstate motor carriers and requires interstate motor carriers to have United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) numbers that enable FMCSA and the Washington State Patrol (WSP) to maintain safety records for those carriers.

Certain intrastate motor carriers that are operating a commercial vehicle that has a gross vehicle weight rating of 16,001 or more are required by state law to obtain USDOT numbers. The USDOT number enables the WSP to maintain safety records for intrastate carriers as the agency does for interstate carriers.

A motor carrier that violates any federal or state vehicle safety requirement or any WSP rule is subject to various penalties. Each violation is a separate and distinct offense and, in the case of a continuing violation, every day's continuance is a separate and distinct violation. If a carrier is determined by the WSP to be a high-risk carrier, the carrier is liable for double the amount of the penalty of a prior violation if the high-risk carrier repeats the same violation during a follow-up compliance review. A motor carrier's USDOT number and vehicle registration may be revoked for certain violations or for nonpayment of penalties.

Any motor carrier who incurs a penalty has a right to an administrative hearing to contest the violation or/and the penalty imposed. Any request for an administrative hearing must be made in writing and must be received by the WSP within 20 days of the receipt of the notice proposing the penalty, or disposition of a request for mitigation, whichever is later, or the right to a hearing is waived.

Summary:

The WSP or other law enforcement agency must confiscate and may recycle or destroy the license plates from a motor carrier who operates a commercial motor vehicle while the vehicle's registration is revoked, suspended, or cancelled. The confiscation of the license plates only applies to trucks, truck tractors, and tractors.

Votes on Final Passage: