This bill reenacts and amends RCW 46.16A.030 to clarify registration and display requirements and to change penalties and procedures for unregistered and expired vehicle registrations. It makes operating a vehicle on a public highway without current, proper registration and displayed plates unlawful and provides that plates or registration certificates will not be issued until the applicant applies for or shows evidence of a certificate of title. The bill establishes specific penalties and enforcement procedures. Failure to make initial registration before operating on public highways is a traffic infraction with a non‑suspendable, non‑reducible $529 fine, deposited into the vehicle licensing fraud account; failure to renew an expired registration is a traffic infraction. A vehicle parked, standing, and unoccupied on public right‑of‑way or publicly owned property with an expired registration is treated as a parking infraction against the registered owner, with a $150 penalty if expired two months or less and $242 if expired more than two months. Vehicles parked on a public street with registration expired more than 45 days may be impounded under RCW 46.55.113(2). The bill creates a gross misdemeanor offense when a resident (as defined in RCW 46.16A.140) registers a vehicle in another state to evade payment of any tax or vehicle license fee associated with registration. Penalties for that offense include up to 364 days in county jail and non‑suspendable fines: first offense includes a $529 fine plus assessments and an additional $1,000 fine to be deposited in the vehicle licensing fraud account; second or subsequent offense includes a $529 fine plus assessments and an additional $5,000 fine; delinquent taxes and fees are also required to be paid and distributed as if timely paid. The provided facts reference several other RCWs for processing and accounts but do not include the definitions in RCW 46.16A.140, details of the vehicle licensing fraud account (RCW 46.68.250), the full prior statute text, or any effective date for these amendments.

If enacted, the bill tightens enforcement of vehicle registration and raises the real costs and risks for people who drive or keep vehicles on public property without proper registration. Drivers caught operating without completing initial registration would face a fixed $529 traffic fine that cannot be suspended or reduced, and owners who let a vehicle sit on a public right‑of‑way with an expired registration would be ticketed like a parking offender ($150 if expired two months or less, $242 if more than two months). Police would be authorized to impound vehicles left on public streets with registrations expired more than 45 days, and registering a vehicle in another state to avoid Washington taxes or fees would be treated as a gross misdemeanor with possible county jail time and substantial additional non‑suspendable fines (including $1,000 for a first offense and $5,000 for later offenses) plus payment of delinquent taxes and fees. The fines are directed into the state’s vehicle licensing fraud account, and the department that issues plates, law enforcement, courts, and county jails would see increased enforcement and handling responsibilities and costs tied to these penalties. Important details are missing from the excerpt, so it’s uncertain exactly who counts as a “resident” for the out‑of‑state registration rule, when the changes would take effect, and how cited procedural rules will be applied in practice.