HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1471

BYRepresentatives Baugher, Schmidt and Walk; by request of Department of Transportation

Updating tonnage purchase laws.

House Committe on Transportation

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (24)

      Signed by Representatives Walk, Chair; Baugher, Vice Chair; Betrozoff, Cantwell, Cooper, Day, Doty, Fisher, Fox, Gallagher, Hankins, Haugen, Heavey, Jacobsen, Jones, Kremen, Meyers, Prince, Schmidt, Sutherland, Vekich, K. Wilson, S. Wilson and Zellinsky.

House Staff:Mary McLaughlin (786-7309)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 3, 1988

BACKGROUND:

State law authorizes the Department of Transportation to issue permits for vehicles to carry weight greater than the amount for which they are licensed, i.e., 40,000 to 80,000.  This is called "additional tonnage" and is available to those trucks or combinations whose axles and spacings meet the requirements of the legal weight table.

Two problems have arisen in the administration of this program:  (1) A technical reference is obsolete and should be changed; and (2) the effective dates of these permits is inconsistent with state licensing practices.

The technical reference is to proportional registration which, until last year, was the chapter authorizing the Department of Licensing (DOL) to maintain prorate information on trucking companies.  Most trucking companies operating in several states prorate their fees among the states on the basis of the percentage of miles travelled in each state per year.  With enactment of the International Registration Plan (IRP) last session, the method by which the prorate system is administered was changed.  The reference in the additional tonnage statute needs to be tied to the IRP. Without the change, fleets registered under the IRP are not technically eligible to have their fees for additional tonnage prorated.

The second problem is the period for which the annual additional tonnage permit is valid.  Under current law, the annual additional tonnage permit is valid for the calendar year.  By tying the issuance and renewal of these permits to base jurisdiction's vehicle registration date, and in the case of Washington-based vehicles, the staggered vehicle licensing system, motor vehicle registration, regular tonnage and additional tonnage would all be effective for the same period of time, and would therefore be more convenient for the licensee.

SUMMARY:

The additional tonnage statute is amended to allow proration of the fee under the International Registration Plan.

Annual additional tonnage permits for out-of-state vehicles may be issued to coincide with the base jurisdiction's registration year, and in the case of Washington-based vehicles, the staggered licensing renewal date.

A person does not qualify for proration of the quarterly additional tonnage fee unless 60% of the vehicle's annual mileage is accrued within the state of Washington.  A person with less than 60% prorate miles may still purchase a quarterly permit, but the full permit fee is charged.

Fiscal Note:      Requested January 15, 1988.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Dennis Ingham, Department of Transportation.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The proration of additional tonnage fees is brought into compliance with the International Registration Plan.  The "one-stop shopping" concept is enhanced by allowing annual additional tonnage to be purchased when the vehicle license is renewed.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.