Expanding the locations where a person can be guilty of unlawful transit conduct to include the Washington state ferries.
HB 1616 expands the definition of "unlawful transit conduct" to explicitly include Washington State Ferries. This means that behaviors previously prohibited on other public transit, such as smoking, littering, playing loud music without headphones, or consuming open alcoholic beverages, will now also apply to state ferries. The bill amends existing law by adding "ferry boat" to the definition of a transit vehicle and "the Washington state ferries" to the definition of a transit authority. Individuals found in violation of these rules on state ferries could be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House Passage
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 12, 2026
Last action Jan 12, 2026
Floor votes · House Feb 20, 2025
How they voted
99–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 100
Feb 20, 2025
D
Democratic61
98% Yea
R
Republican39
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
13
Key actions
4
Committee
4
Jan 12, 2026
Introduced
By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.
lower
Feb 20, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (99-0-1)
house
Feb 11, 2025
Committee
Referred to Rules 2 Review.
lower
Feb 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
TR - Majority; do pass.
lower
Feb 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
Executive action taken in the House Committee on Transportation at 4:00 PM.
lower
Feb 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
Public hearing in the House Committee on Transportation at 4:00 PM.
lower
1 primary · 9 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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