A. Definitions: The definitions set forth in this section shall apply throughout this chapter:
CITY: City of Orting.
CIVIL INFRACTION: A violation of this code, permit or permit conditions, or hearing examiner decision for which a monetary penalty may be imposed under this chapter. Each day or portion thereof during which a violation occurs or exists shall be deemed a separate civil infraction.
CODE: Any provision of this code.
COURT: The Orting municipal court.
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Any person authorized by the city to enforce the provisions of this code, permit and permit conditions, hearing examiner decisions or ordinance in which the civil infraction is established, but shall not include private citizens. Enforcement officer shall include any person authorized by the city pursuant to an interlocal agreement or contract for the purposes of enforcing this code.
HEARING EXAMINER DECISION: Any report and decision, interim order or decision, or decision on reconsideration issued by the hearing examiner pursuant to this code.
MAY: Optional and permissive and does not impose a requirement.
PERMIT OR PERMIT CONDITIONS: An official authorization, license, document, certificate, or other written permission or conditions attached thereto given to a person by the city or by the hearing examiner authorizing any person to perform a specified activity.
PERSON: An individual, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: The Orting prosecuting attorney or deputy prosecuting attorney.
SHALL: Mandatory and imposes a requirement.
B. Authorization: This chapter is adopted pursuant to the provisions of chapter 7.80 Revised Code Of Washington as now enacted or hereafter amended. Nothing contained herein is in any way intended to diminish or limit the powers granted to city public officials through application of Revised Code Of Washington chapter 7.80 and the infraction rules for courts of limited jurisdiction.
C. Issuance: An enforcement officer, the prosecuting attorney, and the court shall have authority to issue a notice of infraction for each civil infraction committed in accordance with the provisions, and under authority of Revised Code Of Washington chapter 7.80 and pursuant to the infraction rules for courts of limited jurisdiction. Notwithstanding any other provision of law governing service of process in civil cases, a court of limited jurisdiction having jurisdiction over an alleged civil infraction may issue process anywhere within Washington state. (Ord. 2016-988, 8-17-2016, eff. 9-1-2016)
D. Procedures; Municipal Court; Exclusions: It is the intent of this chapter that civil infractions may be heard and determined by the Orting municipal court in accordance with the provisions, and under authority, of Revised Code Of Washington chapter 7.80 and pursuant to the infraction rules for courts of limited jurisdiction; provided that, traffic and vehicle infractions provided for pursuant to title 7 of this code are specifically excluded from this chapter. (Ord. 2017-1005, 2-8-2017)
1. Notice Of Infraction; Issuance, Service, Filing:
a. A civil infraction proceeding is initiated by the issuance, service, and filing of a notice of civil infraction.
b. A notice of civil infraction may be served and issued by an enforcement officer when the civil infraction occurs in the enforcement officer's presence.
c. A court may issue a notice of civil infraction if an enforcement officer files a notice of civil infraction with the court stating that the civil infraction was committed in the enforcement officer's presence or that the enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe that a civil infraction was committed.
d. Service of a notice of civil infraction issued under subsection D1b or D1c of this section shall be as provided by court rule. (Ord. 2016-988, 8-17-2016, eff. 9-1-2016)
e. A notice of civil infraction, if issued under subsection D1b of this section, shall be filed with the court within five (5) days of issuance of the notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. A notice of civil infraction not filed within the time limits prescribed in this section may be dismissed without prejudice. (Ord. 2017-1005, 2-8-2017)
E. Person Receiving Notice; Identification: A person who is issued a notice of civil infraction under this section is required to identify himself or herself to the enforcement officer by giving his or her name, address, and date of birth. Upon request of the enforcement officer, the person shall produce reasonable identification, such as a driver's license or identicard.
F. Notice; Determination Final Unless Contested; Form:
1. The filing of a notice of civil infraction with the court represents a determination that a civil infraction has been committed. The determination is final unless contested as provided for in this chapter.
2. The form for the notice of civil infraction may be as prescribed by rule of the Washington supreme court and, in addition, shall include the following:
a. A statement that the notice of civil infraction represents a determination that a civil infraction has been committed by the person named in the notice and that the determination is final unless contested as provided for in this chapter;
b. A statement that a civil infraction is a noncriminal offense for which imprisonment may not be imposed as a sanction;
c. A statement or description of the specific civil infraction for which the notice was issued and a reference to the code provision(s), permit or permit conditions, or hearing examiner decision that has been violated;
d. A statement of the monetary penalty established for the civil infraction committed;
e. A statement of the options provided for in this chapter for responding to the notice of civil infraction and the procedures necessary to exercise these options;
f. A statement that at any hearing to contest the determination of the city, the city has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the civil infraction was committed and that the person may subpoena witnesses including the enforcement officer who issued the notice of civil infraction;
g. A statement that at any hearing requested for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances surrounding the commission of the civil infraction, the person shall be deemed to have committed the civil infraction and may not subpoena witnesses;
h. A statement that the person must respond to the notice as provided for in this chapter within fifteen (15) days;
i. A statement that failure to respond to the notice of civil infraction or failure to appear at a hearing requested for the purpose of contesting the determination or for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances will result in a default judgment against the person in the amount of the penalty, with statutory assessment, and that this failure may be referred to the prosecuting attorney for criminal prosecution for failure to respond or appear;
j. A statement that failure to respond to the notice of civil infraction or failure to appear at a hearing requested for the purpose of contesting the determination or for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances will result in the imposition of a penalty in the amount of twenty five dollars ($25.00) plus statutory assessments;
k. A statement, which the person shall sign, that the person promises to respond to the notice of civil infraction in one of the ways provided for in this chapter;
l. A statement that failure to respond to a notice of civil infraction as promised or to appear at a requested hearing is a misdemeanor and may be punished by a fine or imprisonment in jail or both;
m. A statement that all information upon which the notice of civil infraction is based shall be provided upon written request to the enforcement officer who issued the notice of civil infraction.
G. Monetary Penalties; Restitution: All persons deemed or found to have committed a civil infraction shall be subject to assessment and payment of monetary penalties and restitution as follows, unless otherwise provided by law:
1. The maximum penalty and the default amount for a civil infraction designated as a class 1 civil infraction shall be six hundred dollars ($600.00), not including statutory assessments;
2. The maximum penalty and the default amount for a civil infraction designated as a class 2 civil infraction shall be three hundred dollars ($300.00), not including statutory assessments;
3. The maximum penalty and the default amount for a civil infraction designated as a class 3 civil infraction shall be one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00), not including statutory assessments; and
4. The maximum penalty and the default amount for a civil infraction designated as a class 4 civil infraction shall be sixty dollars ($60.00), not including statutory assessments.
5. All civil infractions which are not classified in this code as class 1, class 2, class 3 or class 4 civil infractions, are hereby designated as class 1 civil infractions.
H. Restitution: The court may also order a person found to have committed a civil infraction to make community restitution.
I. When Payment Due:
1. Whenever a monetary penalty is assessed by a court for a violation or violations constituting a civil infraction under this chapter it is immediately payable. If the person is unable to pay at that time the court may grant an extension of the period in which the penalty may be paid. If the penalty is not paid on or before the time established for payment, the court may proceed to collect the penalty in the same manner as other civil judgments and may notify the city attorney of the failure to pay.
2. The court may consider dismissing with costs only upon a showing that the violation was corrected within thirty (30) days.
3. Payment of a monetary penalty or performance of the required community service shall not relieve a person of the duty to correct the violation.
J. Failure To Respond; Misdemeanor:
1. Any person who receives a notice of civil infraction shall respond to such notice as provided for in this section within fifteen (15) days of the date of the notice.
2. If the person determined to have committed the civil infraction does not contest the determination, the person shall respond by completing the appropriate portion of the notice of civil infraction and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. A check or money order in the amount of the civil penalty prescribed for the civil infraction must be submitted with the response. The clerk of a court may accept cash as payment for a civil infraction. When a response which does not contest the determination is received, an appropriate order shall be entered in the court's records.
3. If the person determined to have committed the civil infraction does contest the determination, the person shall respond by completing that portion of the notice of civil infraction requesting a hearing and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. The court shall notify the person in writing of the time, place, and date of the hearing, and that date shall not be earlier than fourteen (14) days nor more than ninety (90) days from the date of the notice of hearing.
4. If the person determined to have committed the civil infraction does not contest the determination but wishes to explain mitigating circumstances surrounding the infraction, the person shall respond by completing that portion of the notice of civil infraction requesting a hearing for that purpose and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. The court shall notify the person in writing of the time, place, and date of the hearing, and that date shall not be earlier than fourteen (14) days nor more than ninety (90) days from the date of the notice of hearing.
5. The court may notify the prosecuting attorney of the failure to respond to the notice of civil infraction, or to appear at a requested hearing, or to comply with a court order and shall enter a default judgment as provided for in this section assessing the monetary penalty prescribed for the civil infraction, with statutory assessment, if any person issued a notice of civil infraction fails to:
a. Respond to the notice of civil infraction as provided in subsection J2 of this section; or
b. Appear at a hearing requested pursuant to subsection J3 or J4 of this section; or
c. Comply with a court order.
6. If any person issued a notice of civil infraction fails to respond to the notice of civil infraction as provided in subsection J2 of this section or fails to appear at a hearing requested under subsection J3 or J4 of this section, a monetary penalty in the amount of twenty five dollars ($25.00) plus statutory assessments shall be imposed.
K. Hearings; Rules Of Procedure; Counsel:
1. Procedures for the conduct of all hearings provided in this chapter may be as established by rule of the Washington supreme court.
2. Any person subject to proceedings under this chapter may be represented by legal counsel.
3. The attorney representing the city may appear in any proceedings under this chapter but need not appear, notwithstanding any statute or rule of court to the contrary.
L. Hearings; Contesting Determination That Infraction Committed; Appeal:
1. A hearing held for the purpose of contesting the determination that a civil infraction has been committed shall be without a jury and shall be recorded in the manner provided for in courts of limited jurisdiction.
2. In lieu of the enforcement officer's personal appearance at the hearing, the court may consider the notice of civil infraction and any other written report as long as the report is made under oath, submitted by the enforcement officer who issued the notice or who filed the notice of civil infraction was the basis for the issuance of the notice. The person named in the notice of civil infraction may request the court for issuance of subpoena of witnesses, including the enforcement officer who issued the notice, and has the right to present evidence and examine witnesses present in court.
3. The burden of proof is upon the city to establish the commission of the civil infraction by a preponderance of the evidence.
4. After consideration of the evidence and argument, the court shall determine whether the civil infraction was committed. Where it has not been established by a preponderance of the evidence that the civil infraction was committed, an order dismissing the notice of civil infraction shall be entered in the court's records. Where it has been established by a preponderance of the evidence that the civil infraction was committed, an appropriate order shall be entered in the court's records.
5. An appeal from the court's determination or order shall be to the superior court in the manner provided by the rules for appeal of decisions of courts of limited jurisdiction. The decision of the superior court is subject only to discretionary review pursuant to the rules of appellate procedure.
M. Hearings; Explanation Of Mitigating Circumstances:
1. A hearing held for the purpose of allowing a person to explain mitigating circumstances surrounding the commission of a civil infraction shall be an informal proceeding. The person shall not be allowed to subpoena witnesses. At a hearing held for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances, the court shall not allow the determination that a civil infraction has been committed to be contested.
2. After the court has heard the explanation of the circumstances surrounding the commission of the civil infraction, an appropriate order shall be entered in the court's records.
3. There is no appeal from the court's determination or order under this section.
N. Prohibited Acts Include Causing And Permitting: Whenever in this code or the noncodified ordinances of the city, any act or omission constitutes a civil infraction, it includes causing, allowing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering or concealing the fact of such act or omission.
O. Separate Offense: Every act or omission which constitutes a civil infraction under this code, shall constitute a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which the act or omission constituting the violation is committed, continued or permitted.
P. Order Of Court; Civil Nature; Modification Of Penalty; Community Service:
1. An order entered after the receipt of a response which does not contest the determination, or after it has been established at a hearing that the civil infraction was committed, or after a hearing for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances is civil in nature.
2. The court may waive, reduce, or suspend the monetary penalty prescribed for the civil infraction. If the court determines that a person has insufficient funds to pay the monetary penalty, the court may order performance of a number of hours of community service in lieu of a monetary penalty, at the rate of the current Washington state minimum wage per hour.
Q. Costs And Attorney Fees: Each party to a civil infraction case is responsible for costs incurred by that party, but the court may assess witness fees, including expert witness fees, against a nonprevailing respondent.
R. Notice, Failure To Sign, Nonappearance; Failure To Satisfy Penalty:
1. A person who fails to sign a notice of civil infraction is guilty of a misdemeanor.
2. Any person wilfully violating his or her written and signed promise to respond to a notice of civil infraction is guilty of a misdemeanor, regardless of the disposition of the notice of civil infraction; provided, that a written promise to appear in court or a written promise to respond to a notice of civil infraction may be complied with by an appearance by counsel.
3. A person who wilfully fails to pay a monetary penalty, restitution, or perform community service as required by a court under this chapter may be found in contempt of court as provided in chapter 7.21 Revised Code Of Washington. (Ord. 2016-988, 8-17-2016, eff. 9-1-2016)