Starting July 1, several new laws will go into effect for Washington state, including new gun restrictions, alerts for missing Indigenous people, increased toll rates, and increased license plate fees. 

Sale of high-capacity ammo magazines banned

Starting July 1, the sale of ammunition magazines with more than 10 rounds will be banned in Washington state. Importing, manufacturing and distributing them will be outlawed, too.

The only magazines allowed for sale and importing will be those with a maximum capacity of 10 cartridges under a measure pushed through by Democrats and signed by Gov. Jay Inslee earlier this year.

Any high-capacity magazines owned as of July 1 are unaffected by the law.

Several gun rights organizations have filed a federal lawsuit to block the ban.

Read more about the changes here. 

SR 99 tunnel toll rates increase

Beginning July 1, toll rates for the SR 99 tunnel in Seattle will increase by five to 10 cents, depending on the time of day. 

The increase is part of the scheduled toll rate plan adopted by the Washington State Transportation Commission (WTSC) when the initial rates were set in 2018. This plan will implement a 3% toll rate increase every three years. This is subject to change pending any WSTC rulings. 

See the increases below or click here. 

Missing Indigenous Persons alert

HB 1725 was created to establish a first-of-its-kind in the nation alert system for missing Indigenous peoples. 

The law creates a system similar to Amber Alerts and so-called silver alerts, which are used respectively for missing children and vulnerable adults in many states.

The system will notify law enforcement when there’s a report of a missing Indigenous person. It will also place messages on highway reader boards and on the radio and social media, and will provide information to the news media.

The law attempts to address a crisis of missing Indigenous people — particularly women — in Washington and across the United States.

While the bill went into effect on June 9, the alerts won’t actually start until July 1.

Washington state signs nation’s first alert system for missing Indigenous people

Washington has made history on Thursday– the state has become the first in the United States to create an alert system that will help find missing Indigenous women and people. Gov. Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1725 into law, which will launch the advisory.

Increase in WA license plate cost

Fees to get new Washington state license plates and to replace them will increase starting July 1. 

The following increases will take place on July 1, according to the Department of Licensing: 

License plate fees: 

• Original plate: Increases from $10 to $50
• Replacement plate: Increases from $10 to $30
• Original motorcycle plate: Increases from $4 to $20
• Replacement motorcycle plate: Increases from $4 to $12

Temporary permits: 

These are provided by auto dealers to buyers for use until permanent plates are received.

• Increases from $15 to $40

Stolen vehicle check:

Affects vehicles previously registered in another state and registering for the first time in Washington. The vehicle is checked against national and state databases for any titling or other issues.

• Increases from $15 to $50 (then to $75 starting July 1, 2026)

Free or discounted hospital care

Starting July 1, 4 million Washington residents will qualify for free or discounted care at hospitals across the state, giving Washington the strongest protections in the country for out-of-pocket hospital costs.

House Bill 1616 guarantees free hospital care to one million people who are currently eligible for discounted care, and expands discounted care to an additional one million. 

All Washingtonians within three times the federal poverty level are now eligible for financial support. The legislation establishes two tiers of assistance — one for large health care systems, which make up approximately 80% of hospital beds, and another for smaller independent hospitals, which are primarily in rural areas.

Affordable hospital care eligibility under HB 1616

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takeitback.org

Big Tech monopolies from Amazon to Facebook to Twitter have too much power over our economy and the fate of our democracy. Their contributions to a growing amount of right-wing conspiracies and work to undermine unionization efforts are just two examples of a growing problem.

In this critical moment where Big Tech giants are violating our rights and undermining our democracy, our elected officials have an obligation to protect our country’s core democratic principles.

So, with the Senate ready to vote on two antitrust bills S. 2992 and S. 2710 we need you to tell them why truly meaningful antitrust reform is needed to rein in Big Tech’s power!

Strong antitrust laws are crucial for us to protect ourselves from increasing concentrated corporate power.

The monopoly power that Big Tech has damages democracy, leads to lower wages for workers, and increases inequality. It’s clear we need to break the growing and dangerous power of Big Tech.

Together, these two sets of bills will prohibit large corporations from giving preference to their own products on their platform, stop them from unfairly limiting the availability of competing products from another business, and prohibit companies from requiring other developers to use their own in-app payment systems.

With momentum to take on Big Tech monopolies building, now is the time to write your elected officials and tell them to pass antitrust reform legislation to stop Big Tech from dominating our lives.

At a time when Big Tech giants are putting their interests before our rights and democracy, your action is critical. Thank you.

-Rick

Rick Weiland, Founder
TakeItBack.Org