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2006
Legislative Session
WSIADA Legislative Report
Bills
that passed the Legislature:
SSB
6571 Refining the definition
of “Bushing”.
The
prohibition on bushing is changed
to clarify that it:
Applies
only to situations where
there is a contract signed
by the buyer or lessee;
Does
not affect the right of a dealer
to take legal action
against a buyer or lessee
who is not truthful abut
income,
employment, or debt in
applying for financing or a lease
(unless the dealer was
involved in
the deception); and
Applies
to situation where the dealer
is seeking financing from a bank
or other commercial lending institution,
as well as situations where
financing
is through the dealership.
The
dealer may inform the buyer or
lessee or whether
an offer
has been accepted or
rejected by e-mail,
if the dealer
also communicates this
information by any
additional means.
Sponsor: Senator Berkey.
Status: Chapter 289, 2006 Laws. Effective
6/7/2006.
SHB 1504 Abandoned vehicle auction
-Defines
the newspaper of general circulation
to be a commercial, widely circulated,
free, classified advertisement
circular not affiliated with the
registered tow truck operator.
-The viewing period prior to the
auction is changed from three hours
prior to one hour prior if 25 or
fewer vehicles are to be auctioned,
two hours if more than 25 and fewer
than 50 vehicles are to be auctioned,
and three hours if 50 or more vehicles
are to be auctioned.
-The public
notice will also contain the
length of the viewing period
prior to the auction.
Sponsor: By Representative Simpson.
Status: Chapter
28, 2006 Laws. Effective Date
6/7/2006.
ESHB 2056 Recreational vehicle shows
-Adds a definition of recreational
vehicle which does not include
vehicles that are used as primary
residences and are permanently
fixed or immobilized in a mobile
home lot.
-Reduces the number of
temporary subagency licenses that
can be
issued to recreational vehicle
dealers in a 12-month period for
events with a certain number of
dealer participants.
-Establishes
advertising requirements, and
geographical limitations on the
Department of Licensing's issuance of temporary subagency licenses
for the sales of new or used recreational
vehicles.
-Applies the Consumer
Protection
Act for violations of the requirements
for recreational vehicle sales..
Sponsor: Representative Conway.
Status: Chapter
364, 2006 Laws Effective Date:
6/7/2006.
HB 2465 Vehicle equipment standards
Brief Description: The
bill requires all passenger cars
manufactured after September 1,
1985, and all passenger trucks,
vans, and sports utility vehicles
manufactured after September 1,
1993, to have a third stop lamp
(brake light). The brake light
must be a rear, center, high-mounted
light that meets certain visibility
requirements, consistent with federal
regulation.
The bill clarifies that
all required lights and equipment
on a vehicle
must be in proper working condition.
Under
current law, every motor vehicle
must at all times be equipped
with a muffler in good working
order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual
noise. Motor vehicle exhaust systems
may not be modified in a manner
which will amplify or increase
the noise emitted by the engine
above that emitted by the muffler
originally installed on the vehicle.
Additionally, it is unlawful for
a person to operate a motor vehicle
which has been amplified so that
the vehicle's exhaust noise exceeds
ninety-five
decibels. However,
proper authorities must prove that
the exhaust system
modification results in noise amplification
in excess of ninety-five decibels.
The
language prohibiting noise amplification
for a motor vehicle
exhaust system in excess of ninety-five
decibels is removed. The requirement
that proper authorities must prove
the modification results in noise
amplification in excess of ninety-five
decibels is also removed..
Sponsor: Representative Lovick.
Status: Chapter
306, 2006 Laws. Effective date:
6/7/2006.
SSB 6247 Local motor vehicle tax
Brief Description: Creates
a standard administrative structure
for the calculation and administration
of any future, locally imposed
Motor Vehicle Excise Tax.
Base vehicle
valuation is defined at 85 percent
of Manufacturer's
Suggested Retail Prices
(MSRP) for all taxable vehicle
use classes other than heavy and
medium trucks. Discounting MSRP
by 15 percent generally equates
to the average differential between
MSRP and actual purchase price
paid on new vehicle sales. Base
value for heavy and medium trucks
is defined by latest purchase price.
Two
new market based, vehicle depreciation
schedules are created. One schedule
is for use in valuing heavy and
medium trucks and based on the
average, annual national market
depreciation for all vehicles in
the class. The other schedule is
to be used for all other vehicles
and represents average, annual
western-region market depreciation
for passenger vehicles and light
trucks.
Provisions governing the
administrative role of county
auditors and the department of
licensing (DOL) are also codified
including issuance of receipts,
refunds, and distribution of revenue
to the taxing authority. DOL charges
for administration of the tax are
capped at 1 percent of tax collections.
Lastly,
redundant provisions and provisions
rendered obsolete by
Initiatives 695 and/or 776 are
repealed..
Sponsor: Senator Haugen.
Status: Chapter
318, 2006 Laws. Effective date:
6/7/2006.
HB 2671 Monthly excise tax due date
moved back to 25th;
revision to 5 percent assessment penalty
(Chapter 256, Laws of 2006)
Brief Description: This bill makes a variety
of changes to the manner in which
state excise taxes are reported
to the Department. Most of these changes result from suggestions
made by businesses at focus groups
conducted by the agency during
2005.
- The due date for filing of the combined excise tax return,
and related returns for the oil
spill and fish taxes, with
the Department by monthly taxpayers is moved back five days
from the 20th of the month
following the month in which the tax activity occurred to the
25th of the following month.
This change is effective for returns due after July 2006.
Thus, for taxpayers who file
on a monthly basis, the initial impact will be for the July
2006 tax return, which will
now be due on August 25, 2006. Quarterly and annual filers
are not affected by this change.
This reverses a change in the excise tax due date that was
made in 2003.
- Sections 4 and 5 of the bill pertain to the date and time
in which electronic payments of
state excise taxes are considered
to be received. The change impacts excise taxpayers
who pay by electronic funds
transfer using the automated clearinghouse debit method;
it
does not apply to those using
the credit method. Basically, EFT receipts will be
considered as received at 11:59
p.m. on the date the payment was due if the transaction is
initiated on the same day,
as long as the funds are available to the state prior to
the next
banking day. This provision
applies to EFT payments due after July 31, 2006.
- The 5 percent assessment penalty which was adopted in 2003
is significantly revised by
Section 6 of the bill. For
tax billings issued on and after July 1, 2006, the penalty will
only be applied if the tax
that is found to be due was substantially underpaid. This is
defined to mean that the taxpayer
had paid less than 80 percent of the total amount that
the Department has determined
to be due for the period covered by the examination and
the amount of underpaid tax
is at least $1,000.
The impact on state general fund revenues is estimated as a reduction
of $11.1 million for the remainder of the current biennium. The
impact rises to $24.7 million for the 2007-09 Biennium.
Modification of the 5 percent
assessment penalty accounts for about $6.2 million annually, and
the remainder of the revenue impact is attributable to interest
lost by moving the tax return due date back by five days. The
supplemental operating budget (ESSB 6386) appropriated $193,000
to the Department for costs of implementing this bill. The changes
impacting tax return due dates are effective on August 1, 2006
and the modification of the assessment penalty is effective on
July 1, 2006. SB
6545 Vehicle license plates
Brief Description: Changes
are made to the attachment requirements
for vehicle license plates to
permit mounting license plates
closer to the ground than previously
allowed.
Vehicle license plates must be placed conspicuously on the vehicle
for which they are issued at a distance of not more than four
feet from the ground. Sponsor: Senator
Sheldon.
Status: Chapter
326, 2006 Laws. Effective date: 6/7/2006.
SSB 6570 Retail installment contracts
Brief Description: Currently,
lenders are not required to consider,
or review, generic forms of retail
sales
contracts. This legislation would
allow dealers, who are securing
financing for their
customers, to have the ability
to "shop" single, or
generic, contracts to multiple
lenders.
States that if a retail
installment contract for the
purchase of a
motor vehicle meets the requirements
of Chapter 63.14 and all applicable
federal laws, the retail installment
contract must be accepted for
consideration by a lender. The provisions of
this bill do not apply to lenders
licensed and regulated under
Chapter 31.04 RCW, retail installment contracts
from the Consumer Loan Companies.
Sponsor: Senator Fairley.
Status: Chapter
288, 2006 Laws. Effective date:
6/7/2006.
SSB 6676 Transfers of motor vehicles
Brief Description: This
legislation was introduce to deal
with an increasing number of people
who hope to rid themselves of their
vehicles by leaving them in front
of another person's house and filing
a vehicle report of sale with the
goal of transferring ownership
of the vehicles.
A person who files
a vehicle report of sale without
the knowledge of
the
transferee is guilty of fraudulent
filing of a vehicle report of sale.
If the unknowing
transferee, or victim, incurred
damages in an amount less than
$250, the transferor is guilty
of a gross misdemeanor. If the
monetary damage to the victim is
more than $250 but less than $1500,
the transferor is guilty of a class
C felony.
Fraudulent filing of
a vehicle report of sale is a class
B felony
if the victim incurred damages
in an amount great than $1500.
The penalty for delay of application
of transfer will be waived if the
transferee had no knowledge of
the filing of the vehicle report
of sale and signs an affidavit
to that fact. When a transferee
had no knowledge of the filing
of the vehicle report of sale,
he or she is relieved of civil
or criminal liability for the operation
of the vehicle and liability is
transferred to the seller shown
on the report of sale.. Sponsor: Roach.
Status: Chapter
291, 2006 Laws. Effective date:
6/7/2006.
Bills
that Died: 2SHB
1731 Mercury/motor vehicles
-Requires motor vehicle
manufacturers to submit, and have
approved by the state, a plan for
the recovery of mercury-added components
from motor vehicles.
-Makes unlawful
the shredding or crushing of
a vehicle that contains
mercury added components.
-Makes
unlawful the false representation
that the mercury-added components
have been removed from a motor.
-Defines the cost that
manufacturers will be
responsible for reimbursing
the Department and automobile
recyclers at $4 per mercury-added
component.
-References a memorandum
of understanding (MOU),
dated Jan 10, 2006, between
Department of Ecology (Department),
recyclers, and manufacturers.
-Requires manufacturers
to provide proof to the
Department
that
they are maintaining
a minimum of $24
million of pollution
liability insurance coverage
for
the collection, transportation,
recycling, or
disposal of the mercury
from
the mercury
switches.
Sponsor: Hunt.
Status: House
Rules Consideration - DEAD
ESHB 1765 Auctioning vessels
Brief Description: Allowing
auctioneers to auction vessels
without registering as a vessel
dealer.
Sponsor: Chase.
Status: Senate
Rules 2G - DEAD.
HB 2050 Prohibiting insurers from having
a financial interest in automotive
repair facilities
Brief Description:An
insuring entity may not have any
ownership interest in an automotive
repair facility. An insuring entity
that has an ownership interest
in an automotive repair facility
shall fully divest itself of ownership
interest by July 1, 2006.
"
Insuring entity" means an
insurer, including a fraternal
mutual insurer, that is licensed
to write casualty insurance. "Ownership
interest" means the right
to control the affairs of a business,
or the right to share in the profits
of a business, and includes a loan
to the business when the interest
on the loan is based upon the income
of the business or the loan carries
more than a commercially reasonable
rate of interest.
Sponsor: Representative Kirby.
Status: House
Financial Institutions & Insurance
- DEAD.
HB 2534 Requiring full disclosure of
vehicle taxes and licensing fees
DOL is required to list
the following on vehicle license
renewal notices for vehicle registration
due on or after August 1, 2006:
- the amount of each license fee and excise tax due;
- what jurisdiction imposed the tax or fee; and
- for voter approved taxes, include the term "voter approved."
Sponsors: Representative Nixon.
Status: Senate
Transportation - DEAD.
HB 2592 Impound sign information
Brief Description: Amends
RCW to read that impound signs
must include the vehicles that
are considered unauthorized to
park on nonresidential private
property or in a public parking
facility.
Sponsor: Serben.
Status: House
Transportation - DEAD.
HB 2638 Valuation of motor vehicles
Brief Description: Requires
that use tax on vehicle transactions
be based on the purchase price,
regardless of whether the purchase
price represents the fair market
value of the vehicle.
-Exempts
vehicles given as gifts from
the use tax.
Sponsor: Curtis.
Status: House
Finance - DEAD
SHB 2822 Motor vehicle theft
-Establishes
mandatory minimum penalties for
adult offenders convicted of taking
a motor vehicle without permission.
-Makes the possession of shaved
keys a gross misdemeanor offense.
-Appropriates $7 million to the Washington State Patrol (WSP)
for establishing and operating
three
regional auto theft task forces.
-Appropriates $3 million to the WSP for establishing and
operating
pro-action auto theft swat
units.
Sponsor: Priest.
Status: House
Appropriations - DEAD.
HB 2980 Vehicle certificate title
Brief Description: Eliminates
the requirement for a physical
inspection prior to title re-issuance
for a vehicle that has been declared
a total loss and has been retained
by the same owner.
Sponsor: Takko.
Status: House
Transportation - DEAD
HB 3009 Motor vehicle liability insurance
-Provides that, the second
and subsequent times a person fails
to provide proof of financial responsibility
or motor vehicle insurance when
requested by a law enforcement
officer, and any time a driver
involved in an accident fails to
provide proof of financial responsibility
or motor vehicle insurance when
requested by a law enforcement
officer, the law enforcement officer
may issue a notice of traffic infraction
and shall impound the vehicle if
the person cited is also a registered
owner of the vehicle.
-Provides
that, if the vehicle is impounded,
a registered owner
of the vehicle must pay any and
all costs associated with impoundment,
including costs for towing, removal,
and storage of the vehicle; any
other fees and fines incurred;
and provide proof of financial
responsibility or motor vehicle
insurance before the vehicle
can be redeemed. Sponsors: Newhouse.
Status: House
Transportation – DEAD.
HB 3189 Front license plate
-Provides that the operator
of a vehicle is exempt from ttaching
a vehicle license number plate at the
front of the vehicle if the operator
agrees to pay a fee of seventy-five
dollars to the department.
-Creates
the law enforcement vehicle theft
account in the state treasury.
All receipts from the front license
plate exemption fee under RCW 46.16.240,
minus reasonable administrative costs,
must be deposited into the account.
Moneys in the account may be spent
only after appropriation. Expenditures
from the account may be used only
for fighting vehicle theft.
Sponsor: Strow.
Status: House
Transportation - DEAD.
HB 3202 Vehicle valuation schedule
Brief Description: Establishes
a lower, more fair, and more accurate
vehicle
valuation
schedule for the purpose of calculating
motor vehicle excise taxes.
Sponsor: Nixon.
Status: House
Transportation - DEAD
HB 3247 Allowing consumers to place
a security freeze on a credit report
Brief Description: Current
law allows for victims of identity
theft to place a security freeze on
their credit report. This legislation
would allow all consumers to place
a security freeze on their credit report.
Sponsor: Representative Wallace.
Status: House
Financial Institutions & Insurance
- DEAD
SB 6016 Local Option Vehicle License
Fee & Local Transportation Funding Options
Brief Description: Allows
a county to impose by ordinance or
a majority vote, an annual vehicle
fee as follows:
- fee not to exceed $20 between January 1, 2006 and January
1, 2010;
- fee not to exceed $25 between January 1, 2010 and January
1, 2015; and
- fee not to exceed $30 after December 31, 2014.
Sponsor: Senator Jacobsen
Status: Senate
Rules (X Filed – DEAD)
SB 6143 Vehicle inspections
-Provides that the fees collected
under RCW 46.12.040(3) shall be credited
to the vehicle inspection account created
in this act.
-Provides that expenditures
from the account may be used only
for vehicle
inspections conducted by the Washington
state patrol. Only the chief of the
Washington state patrol or the chief's
designee may authorize expenditures
from the account. The account is
subject to allotment procedures under chapter
43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is
not required for expenditures.
Sponsor: Honeyford
Status: Senate
Transportation - DEAD
SSB 6726 $1 Insurance premium surcharge
towards enforcement fee
Brief Description: Requires
each insurer engaged in writing automobile
policies to, on or before April 15th
of each year, pay to the state treasurer
through the commissioner's office a
transportation enforcement fee. The
fee shall be one dollar per vehicle
and must be included in the premiums
for all motor vehicle insurance policies.
Two-thirds of the money shall be deposited
into the state patrol highway account
created in RCW 46.68.030 to
be used for additional emphasis patrols
in high accident-corridor locations
on state routes; and the remainder
shall be deposited into the highway
safety fund created in RCW 46.68.060
to be used to create a county road
high-accident corridor emphasis
patrol program.
Sponsor: Senator Haugen
Status: Senate
Transportation - Dead
SB 6848 Requiring disclosure of an
import vehicle for sale or trade
Brief Description: Defines
an "import vehicle" as any
vehicle originally manufactured for
use in countries other than the United
States.
The Department of Licensing
may deny, suspend or revoke the license
and or
assess monetary penalties not to
exceed $1,000 per violation, of any vehicle
dealer or vehicle manufacturer who
has or should have knowledge that
a vehicle for sale or trade is an
an import vehicle and fails to ensure
that the buyer initials the disclosure
prior to completing the sale.
Sponsor: Senator Kohl-Welles
Status: Senate
Labor, Commerce, Research & Development
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS JUST A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE 2006 LEGISLATIVE
SESSION AS IT IMPACTS AUTOMOBILE DEALERS. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS
OR NEED FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THERESA GAMBLE AT
THE ASSOCIATION OFFICE 206-431-8111. |
