This bill amends and reenacts provisions of the motor vehicle statutes to add a new "firefighter memorial" special license plate series and to revise rules for special license plates generally. It adds a new definition for the firefighter memorial plate (a plate displaying a Maltese cross with the words "never forget") to chapter 46.04 RCW, reenacts and amends RCW 46.17.220, 46.18.200, and 46.68.420, and takes effect November 1, 2025. The full text of the new section to chapter 46.04 and some account descriptions are not included in the provided extracts. The bill creates a new special plate and changes fees and administrative procedures for special plates. For the firefighter memorial plate the initial fee is $40 and the renewal fee is $30; the department may deduct up to $12 from initial-issue fees and up to $2 from renewal fees for administration. The department must collect special plate fees, remit the proceeds to the state treasurer with a report, and the treasurer must credit proceeds first to the motor vehicle fund until implementation costs are reimbursed, then to designated accounts for each special plate. The director (or designee) is the only person authorized to approve expenditures from those accounts, expenditures may be made under contract with qualified nonprofit organizations (federal 501(c)(3) entities meeting RCW 46.18.100(1) requirements), and an appropriation is not required although allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW apply. The bill also sets or clarifies eligibility, issuance, retention, and surrender rules for several specialty plates. Professional firefighter and paramedic plates require a certificate of current membership from the Washington state council of firefighters. Volunteer firefighter plate eligibility requires at least ten years of service (or one or more years with documented certification by the fire service district); volunteers who leave before ten years must surrender plates at renewal while those who leave after ten years may retain the plate if they continue to pay renewal fees; applicants may have no more than one set of plates per vehicle and no more than two sets total for personal vehicles. The bill requires surrender of volunteer firefighter plates upon conviction of RCW 46.61.502 or a felony. Issuance of a Seattle NHL plate is conditioned on the department receiving signature sheets that satisfy RCW 46.18.110(2)(f). Several detailed account distribution rules and many recipient account descriptions are referenced, but portions of those account lists and subsection (2) conditions are missing or truncated in the provided extracts.

If enacted, the bill creates a new firefighter memorial special license plate and keeps many existing specialty plates, setting a $40 initial and $30 renewal fee for that plate and allowing the motor vehicle agency to deduct up to $12 from initial sales and $2 from renewals for its costs before sending the rest to the state treasurer. That change, plus the restated rules that specify which nonprofit programs and named organizations get net proceeds (with minimum percentages and dollar caps for certain teams and programs), will channel predictable new revenue to a long list of charities, youth programs, sports initiatives, hospitals, and firefighter benevolent funds while also giving the agency authority to contract with qualified nonprofits and spend from those accounts without a separate appropriation, starting November 1, 2025. The most affected parties are the state motor vehicle department (more issuing and collection work and a small per-plate administrative deduction), the state treasurer (managing credits until implementation costs are repaid), volunteer and professional firefighters (new eligibility proof, retention and surrender rules, and surrender on certain convictions), and the many named nonprofit beneficiaries who will likely see new, earmarked funding streams. Some important details are unclear from the provided text—several account descriptions and the full subsection that governs disbursements are truncated and the bill doesn’t explicitly name “the department” in the excerpts—so the exact list of recipients, conditions on how funds may be used, and any administrative steps remain partly unspecified.