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WSIADA
Legislative Summary
2009
Session
By TK Bentler, WSIADA Lobbyist
With about two weeks into the legislative
session WSIADA had a horrendous
bill to contend with. SB 5675 and HB 1772 were introduced. The
legislation was worse then the
Used Car Buyer Bill of rights that
was introduced last year. Ironically, after a meeting with Columbia
Legal Services to discuss
their concerns with Vehicle Dealers
practices they were going to get back to WSIADA with suggested
language that we were willing
to address. However, that never
happened. Instead, they had legislators introduce companion bills
that dramatically impacted vehicle
dealers. The good news is that
neither bill had public hearing or acted upon. The bad news both
will be carryover bills for
next session. If you have an opportunity,
make sure you contact your legislator this interim and let them
know that you want
them to oppose SB 5675 and HB 1772.
Please review the “Call
To Action” Theresa Gamble sent on January 29, 2009 for
talking points. If you don’t still have it, contact the
association office.
The following
bills made it through the legislative
process after being followed throughout
the session for WSIADA.
ESHB 1215 Modifying the
Lemon Law Act. Effective 7/26/09.
Basis for Claims.
In addition to the three existing
bases for claims under the Lemon Law Act, a basis is added for
two or more serious safety defects that occur within a 12-month
period. A serious safety defect is a life threatening malfunction
or nonconformity. Each of the defects must have been subject to
diagnosis or repair one or more times. In the case of motor homes,
a consumer must
provide notice of the defects to
the manufacturers. The manufacturers
may perform a safety evaluation of the motor home and provide a
written report to the consumer.
Warranties.
The term "warranty period" is replaced with the term "eligibility
period."
Warranties include modifications
by new motor vehicle dealers if
the dealer is installing the manufacturer's authorized parts according
to the manufacturer's specifications.
The definition of manufacturer
is extended to include a post-manufacturing modifier of a motor
prior to the initial retail sale or lease. If
a customer requests a modification
that would partially or completely void the manufacturer's warranty,
a dealer is required to provide
a disclosure, signed and dated
by the customer, that says: "Your
requested modification may
void all or part of a manufacturer
warranty and a resulting defect
or condition may not be subject
to remedies afforded by the Motor Vehicle Warranties Act, chapter
19.118 RCW." The warranty provisions are extended to motor
vehicles purchased or leased by
members of the armed forces regardless of whether the vehicle was
purchased or leased in Washington.
Arbitration Process.
Changes are also made to the arbitration
process. The Attorney General may
manage certain aspects of the process
rather than contracting out to an arbitration board for
the entire process. Title for Reacquired
Vehicles. Within 60 days of receiving
a reacquired vehicle, the manufacturer must apply for
a new title with the Department
of Licensing. The Department of
Licensing must issue a new title with a title brand indicating
that
the vehicle was returned to the
manufacturer under the Act and
provide information that the nonconformity has been corrected.
House.
ESHB 1362 Concerning vehicles
used in prostitution-related offenses. Effective on 7/26/09
Prior to redeeming an impounded
vehicle, the owner must pay all
applicable impoundment, towing and storage fees, and a fine of
$500. The general towing and
impoundment chapter is amended
to require an impounding agency to authorize the release of an
impounded vehicle pursuant to
an applicable state agency rule
or local ordinance on the basis of the following: (1) economic
or personal hardship to the spouse
of the operator, taking into consideration
public safety factors, including the operator's criminal history
and driving record;
or (2) if the owner was not the
driver, the owner did not know that the driver's license was
suspended or revoked, and the owner
has not received a prior release.
The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment. WSIADA Monitored
EHB 1530 An act relating
to creating the guaranteed asset protection
waiver model act. Effective 7/26/09
A number of definitions are created. "Administrator" is
defined as a person, other than an insurer or creditor, that performs
administrative or operational functions under a guaranteed asset
protection waiver program. "Guaranteed asset protection waiver" (waiver)
is defined as a contractual agreement where a creditor agrees for
a separate charge to cancel or waive all or part of amounts due
on a borrower's finance agreement in the event of a total physical
damage loss or unrecovered theft of the motor vehicle. An administrator,
an insurer, or a lender who does not use an administrator, may not
offer or sell, or hold itself out as being able to offer or sell
a waiver in this state unless it is registered by the Commissioner.
Retail sellers of motor vehicles and insurers or lenders that are
already licensed or authorized to transact business in this state
are exempt from registration. A federal- or state-chartered bank
is exempt from the provisions of this act but may choose to participate
under the act. Retail sellers of motor vehicles are not required
to be registered under the act if they transfer 85 percent of their
waiver agreements within 30 days and transfer all waiver agreements
within 45 days. The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment.
WSIADA Supported.
ESHB 1939 Concerning vehicle dealer
documentary service fees. Effective
7/26/09
The documentary service fee that
a vehicle dealer may charge on
a vehicle sale or lease is increased
from a maximum of $50 to a maximum of $150 until July 1, 2014. On
July 1, 2014, the fee is returned
to a maximum of $50. The dealer
must disclose to the purchaser or
lessee in writing that the documentary
service fee is a negotiable fee.
The disclosure must be written
in a typeface that is at least as large as the typeface used in
the standard text of the document
that contains the disclosure, and
that is bold faced, capitalized, underlined, or otherwise set
out from the surrounding material
so as to be conspicuous. The dealer
must not represent to the purchaser or lessee that the fee or charge
is required by the state to be
paid by either the dealer or prospective
purchaser or lessee. The
effective date will be 7/26/2009.
WSIADA Supported.
ESHB 2075 Concerning the excise
taxation of certain products and
services provided or furnished electronically. Effective 7/26/09
The bill conforms the sales and
use taxation of downloaded digital
goods to the streamlined sales
and use tax agreement; imposes sales and use taxes on certain streamed
or remotely accessed digital services,
goods, and prewritten computer
software; provides certain exemptions
for electronically transferred
digital goods and digital services;
applies the traditional retailing
and wholesaling business and occupation tax rates to electronically
transferred digital goods and digital
services; and prohibits the state
from extending its taxing authority
to a business by considering
a business's use of Washington
based servers to store digital
goods. WSIADA Monitored.
SSB 5388 Concerning the disclosure
of any known damage and repair to a new motor vehicle by motor vehicle
dealers. Effective 7/26/09
Any known damage and repair to
a new motor vehicle must be disclosed
in writing by the manufacturer
to the dealer, dealer-to-dealer,
and dealer to buyer. This only
applies to damage that exceeds
$1,000 or 5 percent of the Manufacturer's
Suggested Retail Price (MSRP),
whichever is greater. However,
a manufacturer or new motor vehicle
dealer is not required to disclose
to the dealer or buyer that glass,
tires, bumpers, or cosmetic parts
of a new motor vehicle were damaged
if the damaged item has been replaced
with original or comparable
equipment. "
Cosmetic parts" means parts that are attached by and can be
replaced in total through the use
of screws, bolts, or other fasteners
without the use of welding or
thermal cutting, and includes windshields,
bumpers, hoods, or trim panels.
If a disclosure is not required,
a buyer may not revoke or rescind
a sales contract due to the fact
that the new motor vehicle was
damaged and repaired before completion of the sale.
The effective date will be 7/26/2009.
WSIADA Monitored.
2SSB 5433 Modifying local option
taxes. Governor Vetoed Section 8
Various local transit agencies
are authorized to seek voter approval
for a congestion reduction tax.
The rate at $20 per vehicle is caped.
SHB 5531 Modifying provisions
relating to consumer protection act violations
In a lawsuit for a CPA violation,
the district and superior courts
have the discretion to award up
to $25,000 in damages, which may
be awarded to private parties and
to the counties, municipalities,
and political subdivisions of the
state.In a private action claiming
a CPA violation, a claimant may establish
that the act or practice is injurious
to the public because it: violates
a statute which incorporates
the CPA; violates a statute which
contains a specific legislative
declaration of public interest impact; or injured
other persons, had the capacity
to injure, or has the capacity
to injure other
persons.
The following bills were High Priorities for WSIADA and
failed to pass:
SHB 1069 Addresses the increased
use of ineffective and inefficient exterior lighting in Washington
that has generated unnecessary light pollution and wasteful energy
consumption. WSIADA Opposedd
SHB 1528 Prohibiting certain employer
communications about political or religious matters. WSIADA Opposed
HB 1947 Concerning
the regulation and preservation
of urban streets through a local option street utility. WSIADA Monitored
SHB 2249 Modifying local government
revenue options in counties with
a population of one million five hundred thousand or more. WSIADA
Opposed
HB 2265 Removing the requirement
that a violation of the prohibition
on a person operating a motor vehicle while holding a wireless communications
device to his or
her ear be enforced only as a secondary
action. WSIADA Monitored
SB 5524 This legislation would
have required tow truck operators
to do additional notices to registered and legal owners. One provision
would have required an operator
to call three times in a 48 hour
period to registered and legal owners if the notice of impoundment
was returned as undeliverable.
WSIADA Supported
SB 5780 Modifying Impoundments
by law enforcement agencies. WSIADA Concerns.
This legislation tried to resolve
an issue when a person challenges
an impound by law enforcement officers.
It prescribed remedies included in the vehicle impound
statute are the exclusive remedy
for any claim that is based on
whether an impoundment by a law enforcement officer or governmental
agency violates the vehicle impound
statute. Any civil cause of action
based on whether an impoundment
by a
law enforcement officer orgovernmental
agency violates the vehicle impound
statute is abolished
SSB 5899 Providing
a business and occupation tax credit for qualified employment positions.
WSIADA Monitored.
SB 5911 Adopting the recommendations
of the citizen commission for performance measurement of tax preferences.
WSIADA Opposed.
SB 5960 Authorizing cities and
counties to levy and collect certain additional taxes. WSIADA Opposed
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