This bill amends existing law (RCW 9.91.025) to list specific acts that are unlawful when committed on or in a transit vehicle or in or at a transit station. It expands the definitions to explicitly include ferry boats as a “transit vehicle” and to include the Washington state ferries within the definition of “transit authority.” The amended section enumerates a range of prohibited behaviors (for example, smoking except in areas the transit authority authorizes, littering or dumping, carrying certain hazardous or flammable materials subject to stated exceptions, unauthorized alcohol possession or consumption, interfering with transit operations or passenger flow, damaging property, falsifying employee status, gambling, use of certain wheeled devices, possession of unissued fare media, failure to follow lawful commands, and other conduct inconsistent with the intended use of the facility). The legal change is a modification of existing law that creates an enumerated list of prohibited conduct applicable to transit facilities and vehicles and makes violation of the section a misdemeanor. The text includes specific requirements such as smoking only in authority-designated areas and that open alcoholic beverage possession or consumption is prohibited unless the transit authority authorizes it and required permits are obtained; it also notes exceptions for certain items (for example, lighters and firearms or ammunition carried in ways not otherwise prohibited by law). The amendment names the affected authorities and groups (the Washington state ferries; city, county, regional, and special purpose transit authorities as defined in the bill; transit agency employees, contractors, and public safety officers; and transit passengers and users). The provided material does not show the prior version of RCW 9.91.025, does not identify any effective date or implementation schedule, and does not provide any additional penalty structure beyond stating that a violation is a misdemeanor; it is therefore unclear from these extracts what specific language changed from current law or whether other sections of the bill exist.

If enacted, the bill makes a long list of behaviors on transit vehicles and at transit stations a misdemeanor, and it explicitly brings ferry boats and the Washington State Ferries under that rule. In practice this means riders can face criminal charges for actions like smoking outside authorized areas, littering, carrying hazardous materials, playing loud audio without earphones, vandalism, throwing objects, impersonating staff, gambling, skating in stations, and drinking from open containers unless the transit authority has specifically authorized it; transit authorities would need to set and communicate any designated smoking areas and any permits allowing alcohol to avoid blanket bans. The people most affected are transit riders, who face new or reaffirmed misdemeanor exposure for the listed behaviors, and transit agencies and their employees and public safety officers, who will likely have greater enforcement responsibilities, possible added training, and potential operational or enforcement costs. The bill text does not include an effective date, detailed penalty amounts or sentencing, or a clear comparison to current law, so the exact timing and scale of enforcement and fiscal impacts are uncertain.