This bill amends existing law (RCW 82.80.140) to change which vehicles may be subject to transportation benefit district (TBD) annual vehicle fees and to revise fee limits and procedures. It specifies that a TBD may impose an annual vehicle fee not to exceed $100 per vehicle registered in the district, expands the definition of subject vehicles to include the categories listed in RCW 46.17.350(1)(a),(c),(d),(e),(g),(h),(j),(n)-(q) and vehicles subject to gross weight license fees under RCW 46.17.355 with a scale weight of 9,000 pounds or less (changed from 6,000 pounds). For a district that includes all territory of the establishing jurisdiction(s), the governing board may, by majority vote, impose tiered fees of up to $20, $40 (after a $20 fee has been imposed for 24 months), or $50 (after a $40 fee has been imposed for 24 months and the district meets RCW 36.73.065(6)). The bill also bars a district from imposing a vehicle fee for a passenger-only ferry improvement unless the fee is first approved by a majority of voters in the district and requires that combined fees from multiple districts not exceed $50, with a required credit if combined fees would otherwise exceed that amount. The bill makes procedural and administrative changes: the Department of Licensing administers and collects the fee, may deduct up to 1% of collected fees for administration under contract, remits remaining proceeds to the state treasurer, and the treasurer distributes proceeds to the district monthly. Fees may only be collected beginning six months after approval under RCW 36.73.065, apply only when renewing a vehicle registration, and are effective on the registration renewal date. For countywide districts, fee revenues must be distributed to each city by interlocal agreement that becomes effective when approved by the district and by 60 percent of the cities representing 75 percent of the cities’ population in the area where the fee is collected. The bill lists exempt vehicle categories by reference to existing RCWs (campers, farm tractors/vehicles, mopeds, off-road and nonhighway vehicles, private single-axle trailers, snowmobiles, vehicles registered under chapter 46.87 RCW, and international registration plan vehicles) and identifies affected entities (TBDs, jurisdictions that establish TBDs, the Department of Licensing, the state treasurer, cities in countywide districts, voters, and owners/registrants of the specified vehicles). The act takes effect July 1, 2026. The provided facts reference provisions of RCW 36.73.065 and the specific textual descriptions in RCW 46.17.350 but do not include those provision texts, so the exact content of those referenced requirements and vehicle-category descriptions is not available here.

If enacted, more light‑and medium‑weight vehicles could become subject to transportation benefit district (TBD) registration fees because the weight cutoff for some classes of vehicles is raised from 6,000 to 9,000 pounds, and a TBD may impose an annual fee up to the statutory cap. In practice that means TBDs have a clearer path to generate steady local revenue through vehicle registration renewals, subject to several built‑in limits: staged local caps on how high a district that covers an entire jurisdiction can set fees (initially up to $20, then $40 after 24 months, then $50 after another 24 months if other conditions are met), a combined fee ceiling of $50 where districts overlap (credits must be given if combined fees would exceed that), a six‑month wait after approval before collections can start, and a requirement for voter approval if the fee would pay for passenger‑only ferry improvements. The Department of Licensing will collect the fees, keep up to 1% for administration, and the state treasurer will remit the rest to districts monthly; certain vehicle types (campers, farm vehicles, mopeds, off‑road vehicles, single‑axle private trailers, snowmobiles, IRP‑registered vehicles) are excluded. The people most directly affected are vehicle owners whose registrations fall into the referenced categories and local governments that create or participate in TBDs. Vehicle owners may see an extra annual charge on renewal and should check whether their vehicle class is included; cities and counties could gain a new revenue stream but must negotiate interlocal agreements for countywide distributions and follow the staged limits and voter rules, which can delay or restrict revenue increases. Important implementation details are missing from the provided text: the precise vehicle categories cited by letters in RCW 46.17.350 and the specific conditions in RCW 36.73.065 that affect higher fee tiers are not included here, so exact scope and the rules for reaching the $50 tier cannot be fully determined from these facts.