BILL REQ. #:  H-1039.2 

Read first time 01/27/11.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to reducing customer wait times at driver licensing offices; amending RCW 46.20.181; reenacting and amending RCW 46.20.120; adding a new section to chapter 46.82 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.20.120 and 2005 c 314 s 306 and 2005 c 61 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     An applicant for a new or renewed driver's license must successfully pass a driver licensing examination to qualify for a driver's license. The department shall give examinations at places and times reasonably available to the people of this state.
     (1) Waiver. The department may waive:
     (a) All or any part of the examination of any person applying for the renewal of a driver's license unless the department determines that the applicant is not qualified to hold a driver's license under this title; or
     (b) All or any part of the examination involving operating a motor vehicle if the applicant:
     (i) Surrenders a valid driver's license issued by the person's previous home state; or
     (ii) Provides for verification a valid driver's license issued by a foreign driver licensing jurisdiction with which the department has an informal agreement under RCW 46.20.125; and
     (iii) Is otherwise qualified to be licensed.
     (2) Fee. Each applicant for a new license must pay an examination fee of twenty dollars.
     (a) The examination fee is in addition to the fee charged for issuance of the license.
     (b) "New license" means a license issued to a driver:
     (i) Who has not been previously licensed in this state; or
     (ii) Whose last previous Washington license has been expired for more than five years.
     (3) An application for driver's license renewal may be submitted by means of:
     (a) Personal appearance before the department; or
     (b) Mail or electronic commerce, if permitted by rule of the department and if the applicant did not renew his or her license by mail or by electronic commerce when it last expired. However, the department may accept an application for renewal of a driver's license submitted by means of mail or electronic commerce only if specific authority and funding is provided for this purpose by June 30, 2004, in the omnibus transportation appropriations act.
     (4) A person whose license expired or will expire while he or she is living outside the state, may:
     (a) Apply to the department to extend the validity of his or her license for no more than twelve months. If the person establishes to the department's satisfaction that he or she is unable to return to Washington before the date his or her license expires, the department shall extend the person's license. The department may grant consecutive extensions, but in no event may the cumulative total of extensions exceed twelve months. An extension granted under this section does not change the expiration date of the license for purposes of RCW 46.20.181. The department shall charge a fee of five dollars for each license extension;
     (b) Apply to the department to renew his or her license by mail or, if permitted by rule of the department, by electronic commerce even if subsection (3)(b) of this section would not otherwise allow renewal by that means. If the person establishes to the department's satisfaction that he or she is unable to return to Washington within twelve months of the date that his or her license expires, the department shall renew the person's license by mail or, if permitted by rule of the department, by electronic commerce.
     (5) If a qualified person submits an application for renewal under subsection (3)(b) or (4)(b) of this section, he or she is not required to pass an examination nor provide an updated photograph. A license renewed by mail or by electronic commerce that does not include a photograph of the licensee must be labeled "not valid for identification purposes."
     (6) Driver training schools that comply with chapter 46.82 RCW may administer the portions of the driver licensing examination that test the applicant's knowledge of traffic laws and ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.20.181 and 1999 c 308 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, every driver's license expires on the ((fifth)) sixth anniversary of the licensee's birthdate following the issuance of the license.
     (2) A person may renew his or her license on or before the expiration date by submitting an application as prescribed by the department and paying a fee of ((twenty-five)) thirty dollars. This fee includes the fee for the required photograph. The department may waive five dollars of the renewal fee under this subsection if a person renews his or her driver's license through the mail or through online services.
     (3) A person renewing his or her driver's license more than sixty days after the license has expired shall pay a penalty fee of ten dollars in addition to the renewal fee, unless his or her license expired when:
     (a) The person was outside the state and he or she renews the license within sixty days after returning to this state; or
     (b) The person was incapacitated and he or she renews the license within sixty days after the termination of the incapacity.
     (4) During the period from July 1, 2000, to July 1, 2006, the department may issue or renew a driver's license for a period other than five years, or may extend by mail a license that has already been issued, in order to evenly distribute, as nearly as possible, the yearly renewal rate of licensed drivers. The fee for a driver's license issued or renewed for a period other than five years, or that has been extended by mail, is five dollars for each year that the license is issued, renewed, or extended. The department may adopt any rules as are necessary to carry out this subsection.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 46.82 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Driver training schools may administer the portions of the driver licensing examination that test the applicant's knowledge of traffic laws and ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.
     (2) Driver training schools may not charge an applicant more than twenty-five dollars to administer the driving portion of the examination and may not charge an applicant more than ten dollars to administer the knowledge portion of the examination.
     (3) The director shall adopt rules to regulate the administration of the knowledge and driving portions of the driver licensing examination. The rules must include, but are not limited to, the following provisions:
     (a) Limitations or requirements that determine which driver training schools may administer the knowledge portion of the examination;
     (b) Limitations or requirements that determine which driver training schools may administer the driving portion of the examination;
     (c) Requirements for recordkeeping, including requirements for records that must be transferred to the department;
     (d) Requirements for inspections and audits;
     (e) Standards for the content of the knowledge and driving portions of the examination;
     (f) Standards for how the knowledge and driving portions of the examination are administered, including standards that determine which staff may administer the examination;
     (g) Requirements for retesting and expiring examination results; and
     (h) Sanctions for violations of the rules adopted under this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The sum of two hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2013, from the highway safety fund to the department of licensing for the purposes of promoting the use of the department of licensing's online services and for developing additional online services.