This bill amends existing law (RCW 46.17.365) to change motor vehicle weight fees. It establishes two weight-fee schedules: one described as applying to registrations due or becoming due on or after January 1, 2026, with fees of $15 for motorcycles, $35 for 4,000 lb vehicles, $65 for 6,000 lb, $82.50 for 8,000 lb, and $96 for 16,000 lb and over; and a second schedule described as applying to registrations due or becoming due on or after January 1, 2029, with fees of $15 for motorcycles, $35 for 4,000 lb, $75 for 6,000 lb, $90 for 8,000 lb, and $110 for 16,000 lb and over. If a vehicle's scale weight is not listed, the fee is increased to the next highest listed weight. The bill requires payment of the motor vehicle weight fee in addition to all other fees and taxes. The bill creates a separate provision for motor homes: applicants for motor home registration pay a flat motor home vehicle weight fee of $75 in lieu of the motor vehicle weight fee. Both the motor vehicle and motor home weight fees are to be distributed under RCW 46.68.415. The bill directs the unspecified “department” to rely on motor vehicle empty scale weights supplied by vehicle manufacturers or other sources the department defines, and to adopt rules for determining weight for vehicles without manufacturer empty scale weights. Administrative timing and drafting details are included in the act: Section 1 is stated to take effect July 1, 2027, and to expire January 1, 2029; Section 2 is stated to take effect January 1, 2029. The extracted text repeats amendments to RCW 46.17.365 and contains a potential timing discrepancy between the schedules’ stated applicability beginning January 1, 2026 and the Section 1 effective date of July 1, 2027; the extract does not resolve this discrepancy. The extract also does not identify which state department is meant by “the department” and does not provide definitions for terms such as “motor vehicle scale weight” or “motor home vehicle.”

If enacted, most vehicle owners who register on or after the dates in the bill will pay set flat weight fees by vehicle scale weight that change twice: one fee table is tied to registrations "due or becoming due" on or after January 1, 2026, and a higher fee table takes effect for registrations on or after January 1, 2029. Owners of heavier vehicles (6,000, 8,000, and 16,000+ pounds) are likely to pay noticeably more in 2029 than under the earlier table, motorcycles and the 4,000‑pound category are unchanged, and people registering a motor home will pay a flat $75 instead of the scale‑based fee. The bill text creates uncertainty about exact timing because it says the first fee table applies to registrations from January 1, 2026 but also states that section takes effect July 1, 2027 and expires January 1, 2029. The state agency in charge of vehicle weights will have to use manufacturer empty scale weights or other sources the agency defines and must write rules for vehicles without manufacturer weights, increasing its rulemaking and record‑keeping work. The new fees will be passed through under RCW 46.68.415, so whoever receives those distributions will see changes in the amounts collected, but the extracted text does not say which programs or accounts will gain or lose money, so the ultimate budgetary impact on specific funds or services is unclear.