Z-456                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 3124

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

By Senators Bender, Hansen, Granlund and Garrett; by Department of Transportation request

Read first time 1/17/85 and referred to Committee on Transportation.

AN ACT Relating to the commission on equipment; and amending  RCW 46.37.005.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 46.37.005, chapter 12, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 1, chapter 106, Laws of 1982 and RCW 46.37.005 are each amended to read as follows:

          There is constituted a state commission on equipment which shall consist of the director of the department of licensing, the chief of the Washington state patrol, and the secretary of transportation((, or, when duly designated, their respective deputy director, deputy chief, deputy or assistant secretary)).  Each official may designate an administrative staff person to serve as the official's designee on the commission.  For purposes of continuity this designee shall, where possible, be one individual.  The chief of the Washington state patrol or his designee shall act as the chairman of the state commission on equipment.  He shall appoint either the director of licensing or the secretary of transportation or their respective designees to serve as vice-chairman in his absence.  The chairman or the designated vice-chairman must be present at each meeting of the commission.  The chief shall appoint a person under his supervision to act as secretary of the state commission on equipment who shall be responsible for the issuance of rules and regulations adopted by the commission, for the issuance of certificates of approval for vehicle equipment requiring approval and letters of appointment to tow operators, and for the administration of such other business of the commission on equipment as the commission shall specify.

          In addition to those powers and duties elsewhere granted by the provisions of this title the state commission on equipment shall have the power and the duty to adopt, apply, and enforce such reasonable rules and regulations (1) relating to proper types of vehicles or combinations thereof for hauling passengers, commodities, freight, and supplies, (2) relating to vehicle equipment, and (3) relating to the enforcement of the provisions of this title with regard to vehicle equipment, as may be deemed necessary for the public welfare and safety in addition to but not inconsistent with the provisions of this title.

          The state commission on equipment is authorized to adopt by regulation, federal standards relating to motor vehicles and vehicle equipment, issued pursuant to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, or any amendment to said act, notwithstanding any provision in Title 46 RCW inconsistent with such standards.  Federal standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be applicable only to vehicles manufactured in a model year following the adoption of such standards.