This bill adds a new section to chapter 46.61 RCW creating a criminal offense for, with criminal intent, interrupting or impairing the service of an electric vehicle (EV) charging station by cutting wires, damaging or tampering with its operation, or stealing the station or related infrastructure. It defines "electric vehicle charging station" to include a station that delivers electricity from a source outside an electric vehicle, charge points, and related equipment needed to facilitate charging, including equipment capable of sending commands, payments, or messages remotely as part of the charging process. The bill establishes penalties based on the value of the charging station and attached infrastructure: damage under $1,000 is a gross misdemeanor; $1,000 to $5,000 is a class C felony; and over $5,000 is a class B felony. Convicted persons must be ordered to make restitution as authorized by RCW 9.94A.750 and an additional $100 fine must be assessed; that $100 is to be deposited into the multimodal transportation account (RCW 47.66.070) if the violation occurred on state property or into the county road fund (RCW 36.82.020) of the county where the violation occurred. The bill exempts persons working for an electricity service provider who inadvertently cause interruption, impairment, or physical harm to a charging station. The bill also creates a civil remedy: a person deprived of an operational charging station may sue in superior court to recover actual damages limited to the value of the damage to the charging station and attached infrastructure, civil damages up to $5,000, and costs of the suit including reasonable attorneys' fees. The bill was read for the first time on 02/20/25 and referred to the Committee on Community Safety. The text provided does not include an effective date, does not define how "criminal intent" is to be established, and leaves some ambiguity about the precise allocation rule for the $100 fine.

If passed, the law would make deliberate cutting, tampering with, stealing, or otherwise impairing electric vehicle charging stations a criminal offense with penalties that rise by the value of the station and related equipment (a gross misdemeanor for under $1,000, a class C felony for $1,000–$5,000, and a class B felony over $5,000). People convicted would likely have to pay restitution for the owner’s losses, face an extra $100 fine that flows to the state multimodal transportation account when the offense is on state property or to the county road fund otherwise, and owners/operators would have a clearer civil path to recover repair costs (limited to the value of damage), up to $5,000 in civil damages, and legal costs including attorneys’ fees; employees of electricity service providers who cause accidental damage are excluded from criminal liability. The groups most affected are charging-station owners and operators (who gain stronger legal remedies and potential revenue from fines being directed to local/state transportation funds), people who vandalize or steal stations (who face higher criminal risk, restitution, and fines), and county or state transportation funds (which could see modest new deposits from the $100 assessments). Key uncertainties remain about the law’s effective date, how courts will determine “criminal intent,” and the precise conditions that control which account receives the $100 fine when location is unclear.