SUBSECTION 4.2.5.4
ACQUISITION, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR, AND DISPOSAL OF MOTOR VEHICLES

4.2.5.4.1

Acquisition

Effective Date:

Sept. 1, 1998

The following criteria is to be applied in the purchase, lease or rental of passenger motor vehicles:

4.2.5.4.1.a

Purchase of Passenger Motor Vehicles - Pursuant to RCW 43.19.1904, the director of the Department of General Administration in consultation with the State Supply Management Advisory Board will determine specifications for the most efficient and cost effective passenger vehicles available on the market. Standard passenger motor vehicles and alternate types of vehicles and accessory equipment that may be purchased by the state will be identified. Requests for the alternate types of vehicles or accessory equipment is to be justified to satisfy a special need and approved for special purchase by the requesting agency head or authorized designee. At the beginning of each new model year, the Department of General Administration, Office of State Procurement will obtain a contract from which new passenger motor vehicles may be purchased based on the above specifications.

4.2.5.4.1.b

Purchase Procedure of Passenger Motor Vehicles - Any state agency desiring to purchase a passenger motor vehicle is to submit a purchase requisition to the Office of State Procurement. The Department of General Administration will review vehicle availability from state resources and advise the requesting agency of vehicles that could meet its requirement. If a vehicle, satisfactory to the agency, is not available, a purchase requisition will be processed by the Office of State Procurement at the contract price. If the vehicle provided is not new, the vehicle purchase price will be established by the NADA value.

4.2.5.4.1.c

Request to Lease Passenger Motor Vehicles - Any state agency desiring to lease a passenger motor vehicle for 30 days or more is to submit a request with complete justification approved by the agency head or authorized designee to the Department of General Administration to determine if the requirement can be satisfied from state motor pool vehicles. If the Division of Transportation Services cannot provide the required vehicle, the request will be approved for processing by the Office of State Procurement. Requests for vehicles other than standard vehicles described in purchase specifications are to be justified in writing to the Department of General Administration.

4.2.5.4.1.d

Requests to Rent Passenger Motor Vehicles - The rental of a passenger motor vehicle for less than 30 days is to be negotiated between the requesting agency and one of the rental agencies with whom the state has an existing contract. The rental of a passenger motor vehicle is to be charged to the user agency on a credit basis and the use thereof is to be approved in advance by the agency head or authorized designee through the issuance of a Department of General Administration-authorized travel charge card system (referred to as the "state travel charge card system"). The term "state travel charge card system" encompasses the Department of General Administration-authorized travel charge program (American Express Program), the rate code issued for the state's contract with the authorized motor vehicle rental company, and motor vehicle rental cards issued by or through the Office of State Procurement.

Motor vehicle rental cards, if used, are to be issued by the agency head or authorized designee on a trip basis, rather than on permanent assignment.

The Department of General Administration will provide information relative to existing contracts to all state agencies. Rentals of vehicles other than standard vehicles described in the contracts are to be justified in writing. A commercial rental vehicle may be obtained for official state business provided:

• A state-owned or operated passenger motor vehicle is not available.

• The use of the rental passenger motor vehicle is advantageous to the state, more economical than other conveyance, or necessary state business cannot be accomplished by other means, such as by mail or telephone.

4.2.5.4.2

Maintenance and Repair

Effective Date:

Sept. 1, 1998

4.2.5.4.2.a

All state agencies having control of state-owned or operated passenger motor vehicles are to establish and maintain a preventive maintenance program.

4.2.5.4.2.b

The following information is to be available in every state-owned or operated passenger motor vehicle:

• List of state repair and servicing facilities where state-owned or operated passenger motor vehicles should be taken for service and replacement parts.

• Statement of operator's responsibilities.

• Accident and insurance report forms with instructions as to their preparation and disposition.

• Instructions for use of agency credit card.

• Emergency instructions.

4.2.5.4.1.c

All maintenance and repair of state-owned or operated passenger motor vehicles is to, whenever possible, be performed at a state facility. When the repairs to be done are beyond the capabilities of state facilities, the operator/agency is to receive authority from the vehicle-issuing agency to have the repairs accomplished at a local contract facility. Procedures for having contract or repair work performed may be obtained through the Department of General Administration.

4.2.5.4.1.d

When repair is to vehicle damage resulting from an accident, the owning agency should work with staff from the Department of Transportation Risk Management Office to determine whether any other party has liability for the agency’s damages before preceding with repairs. If recovery of some or all of the cost of repairs can be allocated to the liability of other parties, claims should be filed against those parties and authorization to proceed with repairs obtained before repairs are made.

4.2.5.4.3

Disposal

Effective Date:

Sept. 1, 1998

4.2.5.4.3.a

One or more of the following criteria is to be used in disposing of passenger motor vehicles:

• The state agency no longer has a need for the vehicle.

• The vehicle has been wrecked or damaged beyond the point of being economically repairable.

• The vehicle is at least five years old or has 75,000 miles or more. Vehicles exceeding the age or mileage criteria may be disposed of at the discretion of the agency head or authorized designee.

• The vehicle has been determined to be uneconomical to retain, regardless of age or mileage.

4.2.5.4.3.b

Any state agency desiring to dispose of a passenger motor vehicle that the agency owns is to submit a report, on a form designated by the Department of General Administration, to the Department of General Administration. All vehicles submitted to the Department of General Administration for surplus sale are to, as a first option, be available for transfer to any state agency at the NADA value for a period of not less than 30 days prior to selling to political subdivisions or other units or at a public sale.

4.2.5.4.3.c

Agencies disposing of passenger motor vehicles through the State Surplus Property Section of the Office of State Procurement will be reimbursed as follows:

4.2.5.4.3.c(1)

When the Division of Transportation Services can utilize a surplus passenger motor vehicle for assignment to another state agency or within a state motor pool, the passenger motor vehicle is to be transferred to the Division of Transportation Services.

• When the vehicle was previously purchased with dedicated, revolving or trust funds and if surplus funds are available, the relinquishing state agency may be paid in cash unless the agency elects to receive credit. When surplus funds are not available, the value at the time of transfer will be entered upon the accounts of the Division of Transportation Services as an amount due the agency and fund from which the vehicle was purchased and maintained. The value of the vehicle will be at the NADA value.

• When the vehicle was previously acquired without cost or from general fund appropriations, the value of the vehicle will be entered upon the accounts of the Division of Transportation Services as an amount due the relinquishing state agency. The value of the vehicle will be at the NADA value.

4.2.5.4.3.c(2)

When a state agency desires a state-owned vehicle processed through the State Surplus Property Section, the vehicle will be transferred at the NADA value. The relinquishing agency is to be paid in cash by the purchasing agency (other than the Division of Transportation Services) without service or handling charges by the State Surplus Property Section.

4.2.5.4.3.c(3)

For those vehicles disposed of at an auction sale, state agencies will be reimbursed for the vehicles, in cash, in the amount obtained for the vehicles, less service and handling charges.

4.2.5.4.3.d

The average trade-in value quoted in the most current issue of the NADA guide is to be the maximum allowable reimbursement for vehicles transferred between all state agencies.