Cheney issues refunds to cell phone/texting while driving violators; Airway Heights and Medical Lake counsels still reviewing issue
By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
A failure to update a statewide traffic rulebook has led to one West Plains city reimbursing cell phone law violators while two others are trying to figure out what to do.
The Department of Licensing began contacting local governments on July 23 to provide details on refunding drivers who paid fines for any of three infractions they may have incurred between 2007 and July 1, 2010: talking on a cell phone while driving, texting on a cell phone while driving and failing to yield to a stationary emergency vehicle. Out of three million tickets issued during this timeframe, the department estimates about 10,000 are eligible for a refund to a tune of approximately $1.2 million.
The issue is the department's failure to update the Model Traffic Ordinance, or MTO. According to a DOL press release, the MTO is a “traffic law rule book that cities and counties can adopt to easily be consistent with state traffic laws.”
Essentially it allows incorporation of new traffic laws into local codes without having to pass new laws or ordinances.
“Cheney passed the MTO in 1994, trusting that when there were changes in the law that we could enforce those laws,” Cheney Municipal Court administrator Terri Cooper said. “Well, the Department of Licensing failed to do that, starting July 1, 2007.”
Prior to July 1, 2010 talking or texting on a cell phone while driving was a secondary offense carrying an average $124 fine. The Legislature passed a law this spring upgrading this to a primary offense.
DOL spokesman Tony Sermonti said the fact that some municipal court judges were dismissing cell phone and texting tickets because the MTO had not been updated first came to the attention of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
“They let us know and we fixed it,” he said. “We did so within two days with an emergency rule on July 1.”
Cooper said a check of Cheney's records revealed 24 cases that were impacted. Half were either dismissed or in some other disposition but 12 qualified for refunds totaling $2,025.50 that the court awarded.
Other cities are still considering steps to take to deal with the issue. Airway Heights Municipal Court administrator Suzanne Wohl said they have 27 cases that could qualify. Some, like Cheney's are in various forms of disposition, including collections.
The city hasn't decided how to proceed, and Wohl's interpretation of DOL's instructions leads her to believe that people who have been ticketed during this timeframe should contact the city and be issued refunds, a belief backed up by the department's press release.
“It's just a confusing situation,” she said.
Wohl added that the city's legal counsel is studying the situation, as is Medical Lake's. City attorney Cindy McMullen said they had not yet received any claims or contacts regarding these infractions.
“It's just come to our attention so we're very early in the process,” she added.
The department has now installed an annual post-legislative session review process to guard against something like this in the future. Licensing director Liz Luce said in the press release they would be working with local courts, and would find savings internally to help reimburse courts that extend refunds.
“We're absolutely committed to finding further savings within the agency to pay for those reimbursements and are committed to not impacting services we provide to the public, but this will add even more financial pain to the agency during these tough budget times,” Luce said.
Cooper said only time would tell when Cheney receives its money from the state. In the interim, dealing with residents was more important.
“It doesn't affect the city of Cheney greatly,” she said. “We're just trying to do the right thing.”
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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