Concerning vehicle and operator requirements for autonomous vehicles.
SB 5042 requires that autonomous vehicles transporting passengers or goods in Washington must have a human safety operator physically present to monitor and intervene if needed, meeting all standard driving requirements. It mandates that companies testing autonomous vehicles must provide law enforcement with advance notice (14-60 days), report collisions and moving violations, and display vehicle details like make and license plate. The bill also sets federal compliance standards for autonomous vehicles and requires testers to submit annual safety reports to the state legislature. These rules directly affect autonomous vehicle testing companies, safety operators, and law enforcement agencies.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 12, 2026
Last action Jan 12, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
0
Jan 12, 2026
Introduced
By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.
upper
1 primary · 10 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
John Lovick
DDemocratic
Co
Annette Cleveland
DDemocratic
Co
Bob Hasegawa
DDemocratic
Co
Derek Stanford
DDemocratic
Co
Javier Valdez
DDemocratic
Co
Jeff Holy
RRepublican
Co
Jess Bateman
DDemocratic
Co
RS
Rebecca Saldaña
DDemocratic
Co
Steve Conway
DDemocratic
Co
T'wina Nobles
DDemocratic
Co
Yasmin Trudeau
DDemocratic
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