Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Transportation Committee

HB 1993

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Description: Updating and clarifying statutory provisions within the commercial vehicle registration and fuel tax administrative systems.

Sponsors: Representatives Moscoso and Clibborn; by request of Department of Licensing.

Brief Summary of Bill

  • Makes changes to update terms and definitions and remove obsolete or outdated language to conform to the current International Registration Plan (IRP).

  • Changes the record retention for an IRP from four years to three years and specifies assessments to be charged by the Department of Licensing (DOL) if the owner fails to comply or produce documents that are requested by the DOL.

  • Reinstates the Aeronautics Account.

  • Changes the effective date from July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2016, of some sections in Substitute House Bill 1883, enacted in 2013, which consolidated fuel tax statutes.

Hearing Date: 2/18/15

Staff: Jerry Long (786-7306).

Background:

International Registration Plan.

An International Registration Plan (IRP) is a cooperative agreement between the United States and Canadian provinces for registering commercial vehicles that travel into two or more jurisdictions. Through an IRP, one registration fee is paid to a "home" or base jurisdiction and is distributed proportionally to the other jurisdictions in which fleet vehicles are operated, based on the percentage of miles traveled. Vehicles registered under an IRP agreement are referred to as "Apportioned Vehicles," and are issued one set of license plates and one cab card from the base jurisdiction that lists the jurisdictions the vehicle is registered to operate in. Effective January 1, 2015, changes were made to the IRP. The change is called the Full Reciprocity Plan.

The Department of Licensing (DOL) administers the IRP. Apportioned vehicles must be registered under the IRP. An apportioned vehicle is any vehicle that is used or intended for use in two or more member jurisdictions and that is used for the transportation of persons for hire or used primarily for the transportation of property. The vehicle must have two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight in excess of 26,000 pounds, or have three or more axles, regardless of weight or is used in combination, when the gross vehicle weight of the combination exceeds 26,000 pounds.

Trucks or truck tractors, or combinations of a vehicle having a gross weight of 26,000 pounds or less, and charter buses used in the transportation of chartered parties may be registered under the IRP at the option of the registrant.

Motor carriers applying for an IRP must register their vehicles in their home or "base" jurisdiction as part of a fleet. A fleet, for the IRP purposes, is comprised of one or more vehicles that pay registration fees in multiple states. The base jurisdiction collects the appropriate registration fees and distributes them to the other jurisdictions in which the carrier has requested an IRP registration. The IRP registration fees are determined by the type of operation requested (private, for-hire, or rental) and by the:

Other exempt vehicles are government-owned vehicles, buses used in transportation of chartered parties, vehicles displaying restricted plates or using trip permits, and recreational vehicles. Trailers under an IRP registered in any jurisdiction will be granted full reciprocity.

The IRP does not require any vehicle to be proportionally registered if it is otherwise properly registered for operation within Washington.

An owner, under current state statute, must retain records for apportioned registration for a period of four years.

Aeronautics Account.

The primary source of funds deposited into the Aeronautics Account is aircraft fuel tax, 10 percent of the aircraft excise tax, aircraft registration fees, federal aviation funding, and aircraft dealer license fees. The funds are used for planning and technical assistance to local airports, grants to local airports, and maintenance of state-owned airports. In 2013 Substitute House Bill 1883 was enacted, which was requested by the DOL to consolidate and streamline the statutes related to fuel tax administration and collection with an effective date of July 1, 2015. Among the various changes made, the Aeronautics Account within the Multimodal Fund was inadvertently repealed.

Substitute House Bill 1883–Consolidating of Fuel Tax Statutes.

Substitute House Bill 1883 (SHB 1883) was passed during the 2013 legislative session to consolidate the motor vehicle and special fuel tax statutes. The effective date of SHB 1883 is July 1, 2015.

Summary of Bill:

The bill updates terms and definitions and removes obsolete or outdated language to conform to the current IRP.

Record retention for the IRP is changed from four years to three years. The failure to comply or produce documents that are requested by the DOL will result in an assessment in the following amounts: for a first offense–20 percent of the total apportionable fees paid or found due; for the second offense–50 percent; and for a third and any subsequent offense–100 percent. The DOL must distribute the amount of assessments it collects on a pro rata basis to the other jurisdictions in which the fleet was registered or required to be registered.

The Aeronautics Account is reinstated.

Some sections of SHB 1883, that were passed in the 2013 legislative session, have an effective date change from July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2016, due to the implementation of a new fuel tax system at the Department of Licensing.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect on July 1, 2016, except for sections 28, 39, and 40 which contain an emergency clause and take effect on July 1, 2015.