State fines Spokane limo company for not having required permits

A Spokane-based limousine service was among three companies fined by the Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission for operating without proper permits.

An administrative law judge with the UTC ordered the companies to suspend service in March until they acquired the required permits, according to a news release.

A-Star Limousine LLC, owned by Michelle Palm, was fined $10,000 for operating as a charter and excursion carrier without proper permits. The commission suspended $9,000 of the penalty for two years on the condition that A-Star Limousine LLC refrains from operating as a charter and excursion carrier without obtaining proper permits.

Palm confirmed A-Star Limousine LLC was fined for “outsourcing work,” stating in the past she had placed reservations for affiliates with party buses in their fleet when the company was overbooked, but is no longer doing so.

She added there’s several companies in the state operating as charter and excursion carriers without proper permits that aren’t fined by the UTC.

“I think it’s erroneous and I don’t understand it,” Palm said, referencing the fine.

The UTC also fined Glacier-based Cascade Adventures Inc. and Cascade Adventures Baker Bus LLC as well as Kent-based Seattle Top Class Limo for operating as a charter and excursion carrier without permits.