This bill adds a new statutory framework to chapter 46.92 RCW (new sections 1–12) establishing when and how autonomous motor vehicles and their automated driving systems (ADS) may operate on Washington public roadways. It creates an authorization process administered by “the department” (the specific department is not identified in the extracted material) that requires a completed application, vehicle registration and identification, a first responder action plan, proof of liability insurance, and reporting of collisions. The ADS, when engaged, is treated as the driver for compliance with traffic and motor vehicle laws and vehicles designed for ADS-only operation may be exempted from equipment rules that only apply to human-driven vehicles. The act also repeals RCW 46.92.010, amends RCW 46.30.050 to require at least $1,000,000 per-occurrence liability insurance for autonomous vehicles operated without a human driver, and takes effect October 1, 2026. The bill establishes operational, reporting, and consumer-disclosure rules: requirements to achieve a minimal risk condition on system failure, remaining on scene and reporting collisions consistent with RCW 46.52.020 and 46.52.030, providing copies of any NHTSA standing general order collision reports to the department within one day, and specific on-demand autonomous vehicle network rules requiring fare disclosure before a prearranged ride and an electronic receipt after a ride. It designates the department as the sole state agency to implement the chapter, preempts most new local regulatory, licensing, fee, tax, or performance requirements specific to autonomous vehicles while preserving local authority over nonautonomous for-hire services, and sets administrative enforcement procedures including notice, correction periods, and administrative hearings with specified timelines for suspension, revocation, cancellation, or restrictions of authorizations. Legally, the changes create a new regulatory scheme (new law) for autonomous vehicles, amend financial responsibility requirements (raising a specified insurance minimum), establish procedural enforcement and administrative hearing processes, and preempt much local regulation. Important contextual gaps remain in the extracted facts: the identity of “the department” is not specified here; section 2 and portions of section 6 are not included in the provided material; some definitions referenced later are absent from the second chunk; and the full text of the suspension/revocation authority and any related penalty provisions beyond insurance and administrative procedures may be incomplete in the extracts.

If enacted, this law creates a single statewide system that lets companies operate truly driverless cars and vehicle fleets on public roads after getting a state authorization, registering vehicles as autonomous, and keeping at least $1,000,000 per-incident liability insurance. Fleet operators will need to supply vehicle details, a first responder action plan, comply with collision-reporting rules and hand federal NHTSA collision reports to the state quickly, and provide fare disclosures and electronic receipts for on-demand services. Authorizations do not expire but can be suspended or revoked after a state review process with fixed timelines; the act takes effect October 1, 2026. The people and organizations most affected are autonomous-vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators (who will face new application, registration, insurance, reporting, and first-responder planning costs and the risk of operational restrictions if problems aren’t corrected), insurers (who must offer qualifying coverage), first responders (who will be engaged through required action plans), and local governments (which lose authority to impose new local operational rules though some tax parity is preserved). Important details are missing from the extracted text — notably which state agency is “the department,” full enforcement procedures in referenced sections, and incomplete airport/port provisions — so some operational responsibilities and timelines remain uncertain.