House Bill 1951 amends existing law (RCW 46.72B.050 and RCW 46.72B.190). It requires transportation network companies to provide, on behalf of a driver, either the fare for a prearranged ride or the option to receive an estimated fare before a passenger enters the vehicle. It caps fares during emergency and large-event conditions: during the first seven days of a governoror presidential-declared state of emergency a TNC may not charge more than 2.5 times the otherwise applicable fare, and during a defined "large-scale event" a TNC may not charge a fare for a prearranged ride that exceeds 120% of the driver's pay for that ride. Violations are treated as unlawful and unfair practices under chapter 19.86 RCW. The bill also revises and restates state preemption of local regulation of TNCs effective June 9, 2022, while enumerating exceptions for certain large cities and counties with ordinances or taxes in place on or before January 1, 2022. Those exceptions include allowing existing local taxes and fees to remain at their Jan 1, 2022 rates, retroactive preemption of increases between Jan 2 and June 9, 2022, a required $0.15 reduction beginning Jan 1, 2023 for certain per-trip taxes whose proceeds fund a driver conflict resolution center, preservation (but not post–Jan 1, 2022 alteration) of local licensing/permit requirements in those large jurisdictions, limited transitional enforcement windows for some local rules, and a rule allowing jurisdictions hosting DHS-rated "large special events" to use geofencing for drop-off and pick-up zones. Airport operators may require TNCs to enter contracts for airport operations but may not include contract requirements that relate to specified labor and safety statutes. General taxes (business, sales and use, excise, property) are not preempted. Legally, the bill modifies existing statutes to impose procedural requirements (fare disclosure/estimate), set fare caps in certain circumstances (a pricing/penalty-type limit enforced as an unfair practice), and change the scope of state preemption over local regulation and taxation of TNCs, with specific retroactivity and effective-date provisions. The extracted text does not define key terms used elsewhere (for example, "transportation network company," "prearranged ride," or the specific "department" referenced for fee adjustments), and it cites other statutes and sections of chapter 281, Laws of 2022, whose contents and interaction with these amendments are not provided here.

If enacted, TNC companies would have to show a fare or estimated fare to riders before a rider gets into a vehicle, and during the first seven days of a declared state of emergency fares would be capped at 2.5 times the normal amount. For big events that meet the bill’s "large-scale event" definition, companies could not charge more than 120% of what they pay the driver for that trip (and that driver pay explicitly excludes tolls and tips). Treating violations as unlawful and unfair practices increases the risk of enforcement action and potential penalties for companies that fail to comply. The bill preserves statewide preemption of most local regulation of TNCs but lets very large cities and counties keep local rules and certain taxes or fees that existed by January 1, 2022, while also requiring specified retroactive adjustments and a $0.15 per-trip reduction starting January 1, 2023 for some per-trip levies that fund driver conflict resolution centers, which will lower that local revenue stream. Local jurisdictions hosting DHS-rated "large special events" can still use geofencing to set pickup and drop-off zones, and airport operators can require TNCs to contract for airport access but cannot impose certain labor and safety-related contract terms. Key implementation details are unclear in the provided text—most importantly the bill’s definitions of "transportation network company" and "prearranged ride" and which agency reviews fee insufficiency requests—so how some limits, calculations, and enforcement will work in practice is not fully specified here.