This bill amends existing law (RCW 46.12.600 and RCW 11.125.050) to add reporting, documentation, and processing requirements when a titled or registered vehicle is destroyed or a total loss. Registered or legal owners must notify "the department" within 15 days of the vehicle's destruction and submit the certificate of title or an affidavit in lieu of title marked "DESTROYED" that shows the owner's name, address, and date of destruction. It also requires insurers or self-insurers to report destruction or total loss of titled or registered vehicles to the department within 15 days after settlement of the claim and provides three reporting options for insurers: electronic submission via the department's online reporting system (with immediate destruction of ownership documents after filing), submitting the title or affidavit marked "DESTROYED" with insurer information and date of loss, or using a department-provided total loss claim settlement form. The bill creates or clarifies a criminal penalty: it is a gross misdemeanor, beginning on the 16th day after destruction, for an owner to both fail to notify the department and remain in possession of the title to a destroyed vehicle. It changes procedures for transfer-related documents by allowing supporting documents used to transfer ownership to an insurer after payment (including a limited power of attorney under RCW 11.125.050(4)) to be signed electronically, printed on hard copy, and accepted by the department without a notarized signature. The bill defines certain terms and establishes a market value threshold rule for older vehicles. For motor vehicles six years old or older (age defined as current calendar year minus model year), the reporter must state whether the fair market value immediately before destruction met or exceeded the market value threshold, which is set at $6,790 or a higher amount set by department rule. The department must increase the threshold when the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index for "used cars and trucks" (west region) shows an annual average increase; any stated increase is applied July 1 following the CPI increase, rounded to the nearest $10, increases under $50 are not applied but are carried forward until cumulative increases reach at least $50. The provided facts repeatedly refer to "the department" but do not identify which agency that is. Details about the department's online reporting system, the department-provided total loss claim settlement form, and procedures or authority for rulemaking to set a threshold greater than $6,790 are not included in these extracts. Other sections of the bill or related statutory context are not present in the provided facts.

If enacted, people who own titled or registered vehicles will have to tell the state within 15 days when a vehicle is destroyed and turn in the title or an affidavit stamped "DESTROYED," or they risk criminal penalties if they both fail to notify and keep the title after that period. Insurers will likewise need to report total-loss or destroyed vehicles within 15 days of settling a claim and may be required to immediately destroy ownership documents if they use the department’s electronic reporting option, so insurers will need procedures to file reports and dispose of documents quickly. The bill also makes it easier and cheaper to transfer ownership after a loss by allowing supporting documents, including a limited power of attorney, to be electronically signed and accepted without notarization, which should reduce notary costs and slow paper processing. Reporters must state for vehicles six years or older whether pre-destruction market value met a specified threshold ($6,790 or a higher amount the department sets), and that threshold will be adjusted using the used-cars-and-trucks CPI for the west region under specific rounding and minimum-change rules; however, which state department is responsible and the exact online form and rulemaking details are not specified here, so some implementation and cost impacts on the agency remain unclear.