This bill reenacts and amends existing vehicle licensing statutes (including RCW 46.18.200, 46.17.220, and 46.68.420) and adds a new section to chapter 46.04 RCW to create and govern special license plates, including a new Mount St. Helens plate defined as a special plate that displays an image of Mount St. Helens. It establishes issuance rules (department approval required, not for vehicles under chapter 46.87 RCW, must display approved artwork), a fee schedule (example: Mount St. Helens initial $40 and renewal $30), and authorizes the department to deduct up to $12 from initial-issue special plate fees and $2 from renewal fees for administration. Holders pay these special plate fees in addition to regular registration fees. The act takes effect November 1, 2025. The bill directs how special plate net proceeds are collected, remitted to the state treasurer, credited first to the motor vehicle fund until implementation costs are repaid, and then allocated to specified accounts and organizations. It sets particular percentage or dollar allocations for many plates (examples: Seattle Mariners, NHL Seattle, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders FC, Seattle Storm) and other nonprofit causes, and requires that disbursements be made under contract between the (unnamed) department and qualified nonprofit organizations (federal 501(c)(3) entities meeting RCW 46.18.100(1)). Administrative rules include that only the director or designee may authorize expenditures, accounts are subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, and expenditures do not require a separate appropriation. The bill also creates or modifies eligibility and procedural requirements: professional firefighter and paramedic applicants must supply a current membership certificate from the Washington state council of firefighters; volunteer firefighter applicants must meet documented service requirements (either 10 years service or one or more years with documentation) and face surrender requirements if they leave service before 10 years or are convicted of a violation of RCW 46.61.502 or a felony; limits are set on the number of plate sets per vehicle and per applicant. The Seattle NHL hockey plate will not be issued until required signature sheets under RCW 46.18.110(2)(f) are received. The text does not specify which "department" is referenced, the full text of the new section added to chapter 46.04 RCW is not included here, and the complete list and full governing text of the accounts described in subsection (2) are missing from the provided facts.

If enacted, the bill adds a Mount St. Helens special license plate that vehicle owners can choose instead of standard plates by paying an extra initial $40 and $30 on renewal; the department may keep up to $12 of the initial fee and $2 of the renewal for administration and then sends the rest to the state treasurer to be credited first to the motor vehicle fund until implementation costs are repaid and thereafter to the Mount St. Helens Institute (the named beneficiary). Vehicle owners in eligible groups (for example volunteer and professional firefighters and paramedics) face new documentation and service-length requirements to get or keep certain plates, and owners convicted of specified driving offenses or felonies must surrender volunteer firefighter plates; the department must approve plate artwork and issue plates under its rules, and the plate program takes effect November 1, 2025. The broader practical effect is that many special plate fee revenues will be directed to named nonprofits and programs under set percentages and caps (examples include Mariners, NHL Seattle, Seahawks, Sounders FC, and the Seattle Storm allocations), with the department contracting with qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofits to disburse funds and the director (or designee) authorizing expenditures; funds are subject to allotment rules so they can be spent without a separate appropriation. Important details are missing from the extracted text — notably which specific state “department” is responsible, the complete list of accounts and distributions in subsection (2), and the full new section text added to chapter 46.04 RCW — so exact administrative duties and some distribution mechanics remain unclear.