Original Notice.

     Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 02-09-004.

     Title of Rule: Chapter 308-96A WAC, Vehicle licenses.

     Purpose: 1. To meet the criteria set forth in Governor Locke's Executive Order 97-02.

     2. To clarify rules and help make them more comprehensible.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 46.01.110, 46.16.335, 46.12.070, 46.16.276.

     Summary: Amending WAC 308-96A-005 Terminology -- Definitions, 308-96A-062 Transfer or destruction of honorary consul special license plates, and 308-96A-064 Transfer or loss/destruction of foreign organization special license plates.

     Reasons Supporting Proposal: Meet criteria supporting Governor Locke's Executive Order 97-02.

     Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Katherine Iyall Vasquez, 1125 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, (360) 902-3718; Implementation and Enforcement: Lynda Henriksen, 1125 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, (360) 902-3811.

     Name of Proponent:

     Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

     Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: The anticipated effects will be a clarification of the above mentioned requirements.

     Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: Clarify sections needed and repeal those no longer required.

     No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. A small business economic impact statement is not required pursuant to RCW 19.85.030 (1)(a). The proposed rule making does not impose more than a minor cost on business in an industry.

     RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption. The contents of the proposed rules are explicitly and specifically dictated by statute.

     Hearing Location: Highways-Licenses Building, Conference Room 107, 1125 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98507, on July 15, 2002, at 10:00 a.m.

     Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Katherine Iyall Vasquez by July 12, 2002, TTY (360) 664-8885, or (360) 902-3718.

     Submit Written Comments to: Katherine Iyall Vasquez, Rules Manager, Title and Registration Services, P.O. Box 2957, Olympia, WA 98507-2957, fax (360) 664-0831, by July 12, 2002.

     Date of Intended Adoption: August 9, 2002.

May 31, 2002

D. McCurley, Administrator

Title and Registration Services

OTS-5723.1

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 01-17-017, filed 8/3/01, effective 9/3/01)

WAC 308-96A-005   Terminology -- Definitions.   Terms used in chapter 46.16 RCW and this chapter will have the following meanings except where otherwise defined, and where the context clearly indicates the contrary:

     (1) "Affidavit of loss" means a department form used by an applicant, to indicate that a title, registration, license tab, or decal has been lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed. The form is completed and signed under oath in the presence of an official, such as a notary public, or certified by a license clerk or the authorized agent for a dealership, when a vehicle is in their inventory for resale.

     (2) "Agent" means any county auditor, or other individual or business entity other than a subagent appointed to carry out vehicle licensing and titling functions for the department. (RCW 46.01.140.)

     (3) "Application" means a form provided or approved by the department to apply for different types of services and documents.

     (4) "Cab and chassis" is a truck manufactured and sold with only a cab and the frame and running gear. (WAC 308-96A-145.)

     (5) "Certificate of license registration" means a document issued by the department and required by RCW 46.16.260 to be carried in the vehicle to operate legally on the roadways of Washington and described in RCW 46.12.050. The certificate of license registration is renewed annually.

     (6) "Collector vehicle license plate" is a special license plate that may be assigned to a vehicle that is ((at least)) more than thirty years old as authorized by RCW 46.16.305(1).

     (7) "Confidential" and "undercover" license plates are standard issue license plates assigned to vehicles owned or operated by public agencies. These license plates are used as specifically authorized by RCW 46.08.066.

     (8) "Current year" means the current registration year unless otherwise stated. (WAC 308-96A-260.)

     (9) "Department" means the department of licensing. (RCW 46.04.162.)

     (10) "Disabled persons parking placard expiration date" means:

     (a) The last day of the month specified on a temporary placard; or

     (b) Not less than five years from the end of the month and year of issuance of a permanent placard, as specified by the department on the placard. (RCW 46.16.381.)

     (11) "Expiration day and month."

     (a) "Date of expiration" or "expiration date" means the day of the month on which the vehicle registration, gross weight license, decal or tabs expire.

     (b) "Month of expiration" or "expiration month" means the calendar month during which a registration period ends. (WAC 308-96A-260.)

     (12) "Fleet" means a group of vehicles registered in the same owner name and which have been assigned the same fleet identifier code by the department.

     (13) "Fixed load vehicle" is specified in RCW ((46.16.070)) 46.16.079 and described in WAC 308-96A-099.

     (14) "Gross weight" means gross weight defined in RCW 46.16.070, 46.16.090, 46.16.111 and chapter 46.44 RCW.

     (15) "Hybrid motor vehicle" means a vehicle that uses multiple power sources or fuel types for propulsion and meets the federal definition of a hybrid motor vehicle.

     (16) "Identification card" means the identification card referred to in RCW 46.16.381(3) for disabled parking privileges and is used for identification of persons with disabilities.

     (((16))) (17) "Indian country" means all lands, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, within the exterior boundaries set aside by the United States for the use and occupancy of Indian tribes by treaty, law or executive order and which are areas currently recognized as "Indian country" by the United States Department of the Interior as referenced in 18 U.S.C. 1151 and CFR 25.

     (((17))) (18) "Indian tribe" means an Indian nation, tribe, band, or community recognized as an "Indian tribe" by the United States Department of the Interior.

     (((18))) (19) "Indian" means a person on the tribal rolls of the Indian tribe occupying Indian country.

     (((19))) (20) "Jurisdiction" as used in the parking ticket system means any district, municipal, justice, superior court, or authorized representative.

     (((20))) (21) "Jurisdiction seal" means a method of verifying authenticity of court documents, which is provided by the jurisdiction that issued the citation. A jurisdiction seal is an embossed seal or stamp provided by the jurisdiction.

     (((21))) (22) "License or licensing" and "register or registering" are synonymous and mean the act of registering a vehicle under chapter 46.16 RCW.

     (((22))) (23) "License fee" means the fees required for the act of licensing a vehicle under chapter 46.16 RCW. License fee does not include license plate fees identified as taxes, and fees collected by the department for other jurisdictions.

     (((23))) (24) "License tab fees" means the ((fees required for the act of licensing a vehicle under chapter 46.16 RCW)) same as described in RCW 46.16.0621.

     (((24))) (25) "Licensed physician" for the purpose of disabled person parking privileges, means: Chiropractic physicians, naturopaths, medical doctors, advanced registered nurse practitioners, osteopathic physicians and podiatric physicians. Licensed physician does not include persons licensed in the professions of dentistry and optometry. (RCW 46.16.381(1).)

     (((25))) (26) "Motorhome" means a vehicle designed or altered for human habitation as described in RCW 46.04.305.

     (((26))) (27) "Municipality" in reference to parking tickets, means every court having jurisdiction over offenses committed under RCW 46.20.270.

     (((27))) (28) "NCIC number" means the numeric code assigned by the National Crime Information Center to identify a jurisdiction.

     (((28))) (29) "One hundred twenty-day notice" in reference to parking violations means a notice of parking violations that must be satisfied prior to the registration renewal date. (RCW 46.16.216.)

     (((29))) (30) "Parking ticket disposition" means the requested action as determined by the jurisdiction to add failure-to-pay parking violations, or to remove paid parking violations from a vehicle record. (RCW 46.16.216.)

     (((30))) (31) "Parking violation" means any standing, stopping or parking violation per RCW 46.20.270(3).

     (((31))) (32) "Parking violation list" means a computerized list containing all outstanding parking violations, which have been processed by the department((.)) (RCW 46.16.216(1).)

     (((32))) (33) "Permanent" in reference to disabled person parking privileges, means a licensed physician has certified that a qualifying condition is expected to last at least five years. (RCW 46.16.381. WAC 308-96A-306.) Disabled persons parking privileges must be renewed every five years.

     (((33))) (34) "Permit" in reference to disabled person parking privileges means the proof provided by the department in the form of placard(s), special license plate(s) and an identification card indicating eligibility for disabled person parking privileges. (RCW 46.16.381.)

     (((34))) (35) "Personalized license plates" are plates denoting the registered owner's chosen format or designation and are limited to those described in RCW 46.16.560, 46.16.570, and 46.16.580. (WAC 308-96A-065.)

     (((35))) (36) "Personal use vehicle" in reference to disabled veteran's, prisoners of war and congressional medal of honor plates, means passenger vehicles, motorhomes, motorcycles, and trucks with designated gross vehicle weight at no more than twelve thousand pounds not used for commercial purpose. Registration ownership must be in the name of the individual and not in the business name. (WAC 308-96A-046.)

     (((36))) (37) "Placard" means a document issued to persons who qualify for special disabled person parking privileges under RCW 46.16.381 and are entitled to receive from the department of licensing a removable windshield placard bearing the international symbol of access and individual serial number.

     (((37) "Prebill" or "renewal notice" means the notice to renew a vehicle license provided by the department approximately sixty days prior to the current expiration year.))

     (38) "Private carriers" means those entities contracting with public transportation authorities to transport persons with disabilities described in RCW 46.16.381. (WAC 308-96A-316.)

     (39) "Privilege" in reference to disabled person's parking privileges means permission to utilize the benefits associated with the permit. (RCW 46.16.381, 46.61.582 and 70.84.090. WAC 308-96A-306.)

     (40) "Public transportation authorities" means those entities operating motor vehicles owned or leased by Washington state, or a town, city, county, municipality, or metropolitan or municipal corporation within the state, or United States government agencies or Indian nations used for the primary purpose of transporting persons with disabilities described in RCW 46.16.381.

     (41) "Regular fleet" means a group of five or more vehicles registered in the same owner(s) name and which have been assigned the same fleet identifier code by the department and has an expiration date of December 31st of each year. (WAC ((308-56A-161)) 308-96A-161.)

     (42) "Rental car" means a car that is rented as defined in RCW 46.04.465.

     (43) "Renewal notice" means the notice to renew a vehicle license provided by the department approximately sixty days prior to the current expiration year.

     (44) "Salvage title" means a certificate of title issued by another jurisdiction designating a motor vehicle as a "salvage vehicle."

     (45) "Scale weight" means the weight of a vehicle as it stands without a load. (RCW 46.16.070 and 46.16.111.)

     (((44))) (46) "Signature" means any memorandum, mark, sign or subscriptions made with intent to authenticate an application. (RCW 9A.04.110(23).)

     (((45))) (47) "Special mailer" means the notice sent by the department in lieu of a renewal notice. The special mailer indicates additional or corrective information that must be provided at the time of registration renewal.

     (((46))) (48) "Subagent" means individual(s), business, organization, or political entity appointed by the director to provide vehicle and vessel licensing and titling services under contract with the agent as described in RCW 46.01.140.

     (((47))) (49) "Tab(s)" means decals, issued by the department, affixed to the rear license plate to identify the registration expiration month or year for a specific vehicle.

     (((48))) (50) "Tonnage," "declared gross weight" and "declared combined gross weight" are used interchangeably when referring to the amount of weight declared by an owner when licensing a vehicle as described in RCW 46.16.070 and 46.16.111.

     (((49))) (51) "Transit permit" means a document that authorizes an individual to operate a vehicle on a public highway of this state solely for the purpose of obtaining necessary documentation to complete and apply for a Washington certificate of ownership or registration, and does not allow unrestricted use of the vehicle. (WAC 308-96A-026.)

     (((50))) (52) "Unprocessed" as used in parking ticket system means no update of the computer record has occurred.

     (((51))) (53) "Use classes" means those vehicles described in WAC 308-96A-099.

     (((52))) (54) "Vehicle data base record" means the electronic record stored on the department's motor vehicle data base reflecting vehicle and ownership information.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110, 46.16.135, 46.46.16.225 [46.16.225], 46.16.490, and 46.16.276. 01-17-017, § 308-96A-005, filed 8/3/01, effective 9/3/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110, 46.16.135, 46.16.225, 46.16.490, 46.17.276. 00-09-008, § 308-96A-005, filed 4/6/00, effective 5/7/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110. 97-10-003, § 308-96A-005, filed 4/24/97, effective 5/25/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110, 1993 c 488 and chapter 46.12 RCW. 94-17-044, § 308-96A-005, filed 8/10/94, effective 9/10/94. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110. 93-14-083, § 308-96A-005, filed 6/30/93, effective 7/31/93; 92-15-025, § 308-96A-005, filed 7/6/92, effective 8/6/92. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.17.060, 46.01.060, 46.16.070 and 46.16.135. 92-02-100, § 308-96A-005, filed 1/2/92, effective 2/2/92. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110 and 46.16.335. 91-15-006, § 308-96A-005, filed 7/8/91, effective 8/8/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.16.600, 46.16.276 and 46.01.110. 87-12-023 (Order TL/RG-34), § 308-96A-005, filed 5/28/87. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.16.135, 46.16.225, 46.16.490 and 46.01.110. 86-10-040 (Order TL/RG 24), § 308-96A-005, filed 5/5/86; Order MV-355, § 308-96A-005, filed 5/10/76; Order MV-328, § 308-96A-005, filed 7/24/75.]

OTS-5722.1

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 99-22-058, filed 11/1/99, effective 12/2/99)

WAC 308-96A-062   Transfer or destruction of honorary consul special license plates.   (1) ((May I transfer)) Are honorary consul special license plates ((to another qualifying person)) transferable? ((No, the honorary consul special license plates are assigned to a person for use on their vehicle.)) Yes, they are transferable to another motor vehicle owned or leased by the honorary consular, however, the special license plates may not be transferred to anyone else.

     (2) ((What do I do with the honorary consul special license plates if I dispose of the vehicle? Whenever the owner or lessee transfers his/her interest in the motor vehicle to which the honorary consul special license plates are issued, the plates shall be removed. The removed plates shall be either transferred to another vehicle owned or leased by the plate holder or immediately forwarded to the department to be destroyed.)) How are honorary consul special license plates transferred to another vehicle? The honorary consul must submit a request to the department to transfer the plates to another vehicle and pay a transfer fee as provided in RCW 46.16.316 in addition to all other applicable fees and taxes.

     (3) ((How do I transfer my honorary consul special license plates to another vehicle that I own? You may transfer the special plates to another motor vehicle owned or leased by you by:

     (a) Submitting an application to the department to transfer the plates to another vehicle; and

     (b) Paying a transfer fee as provided in RCW 46.16.316 in addition to all other applicable fees and taxes.)) How are honorary consul special license plates replaced if they become lost, destroyed, mutilated or stolen? The honorary consular must submit a request to the department for replacement license plates and pay a replacement plate fee as provided in chapter 46.16 RCW in addition to all other applicable fees and taxes.

     (4) What do I do ((if)) with the honorary consul special license plates ((are lost, destroyed, mutilated or stolen)) if I sell or otherwise dispose of the vehicle? ((If your honorary consul special license plates are lost, destroyed, mutilated or stolen, you must apply to the department for replacement license plates. The replacement plate number will be the next available sequential number.)) The plates must be either:

     (a) Removed from the vehicle and immediately forwarded to the department; or

     (b) Transferred to another vehicle as provided in subsection (1) of this section.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110 and 46.16.276. 99-22-058, § 308-96A-062, filed 11/1/99, effective 12/2/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.16.301 and [46.16].371. 95-17-127, § 308-96A-062, filed 8/23/95, effective 9/23/95. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110, 46.16.276 and 1987 c 237. 88-01-010 (Order TL/RG 39), § 308-96A-062, filed 12/7/87.]

OTS-5724.1

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 99-22-058, filed 11/1/99, effective 12/2/99)

WAC 308-96A-064   Transfer or loss/destruction of foreign organization special license plates.   (((1) May I transfer foreign organization special license plates to another qualifying person? No, the foreign organization special license plates are permanently assigned to a person and cannot be reassigned to another person.

     (2) What do I do with the foreign organization special license plates if I dispose of the vehicle? Whenever the owner or lessee transfers his/her interest in the passenger vehicle to which the foreign organization special license plates are issued, the plates shall be removed. The removed plates shall be either transferred to another qualifying passenger vehicle or immediately forwarded to the department to be destroyed.

     (3) How do I transfer foreign organization special license plates to another vehicle? You may transfer the special plates to another qualifying passenger vehicle owned or leased by an officer of a foreign organization by:

     (a) Submitting an application to the department to transfer the plates to another qualifying passenger vehicle; and

     (b) Paying a transfer fee as provided in RCW 46.16.316 in addition to all other applicable fees and taxes.

     (4) What do I do if the foreign organization special license plates are lost, destroyed, mutilated or stolen? If your foreign organization special license plates are lost, destroyed, mutilated or stolen, you must apply to the department for replacement license plate. The replacement plate number will be the next available sequential number.)) (1) Are foreign organization special license plates transferable? Yes, they are transferable to another motor vehicle owned or leased by the representative of the foreign organization; however, the special license plates may not be transferred to anyone else.

     (2) How are foreign organization special license plates transferred to another vehicle? Submit a request to the department to transfer the plates to another vehicle and pay a transfer fee as provided in RCW 46.16.316 in addition to all other applicable fees and taxes.

     (3) How are foreign organization special license plates replaced if they become lost, destroyed, mutilated, or stolen? The representative of the foreign organization must submit a request to the department for replacement license plates and pay a replacement plate fee as provided in chapter 46.16 RCW in addition to all other applicable fees and taxes.

     (4) What do I do with the foreign organization special license plates if I sell or otherwise dispose of the vehicle? The removed plates must be either:

     (a) Transferred to another vehicle owned or leased by the plate holder of the foreign organization and/or immediately forwarded to the department; or

     (b) Transferred to another vehicle as provided in subsection (1) of this section.

     (5) How are foreign organization special license plates disposed of? The plates must be removed by the representative of the foreign organization and immediately forwarded to the department.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110 and 46.16.276. 99-22-058, § 308-96A-064, filed 11/1/99, effective 12/2/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 46.01.110 and 1996 c 139. 96-21-044, § 308-96A-064, filed 10/11/96, effective 11/11/96.]

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