New taxes, higher tolls, and more: These new laws take effect in Washington on July 1

KIRO 7 News Staff
·4 min read

While the start of the year is typically when most new laws go into effect, there a still a handful of others that won’t kick in until July 1.

That list covers a variety of territory, from toll roads to taxes, including:

More expensive tolls on SR 520

Tolls on the SR 520 bridge will go up by between 20 cents and $1.10 for drivers depending on the time of day. For prime commuting hours the increases are:

  • 7-8 a.m. - $1.40 to $1.60

  • 8-9 a.m. - $2.05 to $2.35

  • 9-10 a.m. - $2.05 - $2.35

  • 4-5 p.m. - $2.65 to $3.05

  • 5-6 p.m. - $2.65 - $3.05

  • 6-7 p.m. - $2.05 - $2.35

You can see the full breakdown of new toll rates at this link.

WA Cares tax

On July 1, workers begin contributing to the WA Cares Fund, the state’s new long-term care insurance program.

For those who are eligible, it provides a lifetime benefit of $36,500 to offset the costs of long-term care. It will pay for such things as meals, transportation, and wheelchairs and scooters. It can also be used to pay a family member to provide care. The program will start paying benefits on July 1, 2026.

To fund the program, a 0.58% payroll tax will be imposed on Washington workers — or 58 cents per $100. For someone who makes $50,000 annually, that’s about $290 a year. For someone who makes $150,000, it will cost about $870 a year.

You can read more about the tax here.

Washington drug possession law

When a temporary two-year-old law that criminalizes simple drug possession expires on July 1, a newly-approved more permanent version will take its place.

The new law was passed during a special session of the legislature in May, after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a deal during the normal session earlier in the year.

This will operate as a fix for the 2021 Washington Supreme Court decision which struck down the state’s existing laws surrounding simple possession. That led to lawmakers passing the two-year temporary fix which expires in July.

Under the new permanent law, simple possession of illegal drugs is a gross misdemeanor.

Tukwila minimum wage

An initiative approved by Tukwila voters in 2022 to raise the city’s minimum wage by roughly $3.

For mid-size employers with between 15 and 500 workers worldwide (or who bring in $2 million in annual gross revenue), minimum wage will tick up to $16.99 an hour. Large employers with over 500 workers worldwide will be subject to an $18.99 hourly rate.

Prior to July 1, minimum wage in Tukwila was $14.49 an hour.

Phased increases will continue to roll out in the coming years to adjust for inflation, with increases on the docket for January 1 and July 1 in each of 2024 and 2025. The exact number on those increases will be posted in October the year prior.

5G rollout at airports

5G wireless signals are set to roll out at airports across the country on July 1. That’s had U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warning travelers that it could cause cancellations and delays due to potential interference with some planes.

In a statement to KIRO 7, Alaska Airlines said that it has “completed the modifications to upgrade radio altimeters on all active Alaska and Horizon aircraft in June.”

Delta Airlines, though, warned that some of their aircraft “will have more restrictions for operations in inclement weather.”

By Saturday, Delta says that although all of their widebody planes have been updated, 190 planes in his narrowbody fleet will not be equipped with updated radio altimeters. That said, they do “expect progress to continue through the summer.”

Manufacturing of ghost guns in Washington

A portion of Washington’s new restrictions surrounding so-called “ghost guns” kicked in on March 10, making it illegal to knowingly possess, transport, or take in untraceable firearms. The second half of those restrictions involves the manufacturing and creation of ghost guns, which will be prohibited starting July 1.

The guns are assembled from plastic parts created by a 3D printer. The 3D printer follows instructions from computer software that is in effect a recipe for constructing a gun. The plastic guns can be just as deadly as guns made from other materials, and don’t show up in metal detectors.