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BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No. 13.C.
For Meeting of: July 7, 2026
ITEM TITLE: Autonomous Vehicle Regulations
SUBMITTED BY: Gary Bellew, Assistant City Manager
*Sara Watkins, City Attorney
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
Council made a motion to have staff research the ability of the City to regulate and allow robotaxis or
autonomous vehicles and present at a future meeting. The attached memo from Legal provides that
autonomous vehicles are regulated at the state level and provides information on state law.
ITEM BUDGETED: N/A
STRATEGIC PRIORITY 24-25:
RECOMMENDATION: None
ATTACHMENTS:
Memo re Autonomous Vehicles.pdf
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Office of the City Attorney
City of Yakima
MEMORANDUM
June 30, 2026
TO: Vicki Baker, City Manager, and Yakima City Council Members
CC: Sara Watkins, City Attorney
FROM: Ryan Bleek, Senior Assistant City Attorney
SUBJECT: Autonomous Vehicle Regulations
Washington regulates autonomous vehicles ("AVs") pursuant to RCW 46.92.010 and Executive
Order 17-021. For the purpose of state law, AVs are defined as those vehicles capable of handling
all driving tasks either within a defined operating area or without any operating area restrictions.
State law currently allows for testing of AVs under a pilot program, but it does not otherwise
authorize deployment of AVs. Currently, the only companies certified for participation in the
program are Waymo, Zoox, and NVIDIA.
The pilot program requires participating companies to report to the Department of Licensing:
1. The local jurisdictions where testing is planned (to both DOL and local law enforcement
agencies);
2. Vehicle identification numbers;
3. Any collisions or moving violations involving AVs.
Additionally, AVs are subject to several operational requirements:
1. Any entity testing AVs must carry an umbrella liability policy of at least $5 million per
occurrence;
1 Wash. Exec. Order No. 17-02 (June 7, 2017).
200 South Third Street,2nd Fl. I Yakima,WA 98901
P:509.575.6030 I F:509.575.6160
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Memo to City Manager and Yakima City Council
June 30, 2026
Page 2
2. If tested with a human operator present, the operator must be licensed and have the ability
to control the vehicle if assistance is required;
3. If tested without a human operator, the vehicle must be able to perform all driving tasks
and be able to make it to a safe position in event of system failure;
4. AVs are subject to all rules of the road to the same extent as any other vehicle.
In addition to the state pilot program regulations, cities can impose additional requirements to the
extent that they do not conflict with state regulations. For instance, the City of Seattle requires
participating companies to agree to indemnify and name the City of Seattle as an additional
insured on the companies' auto liability policies. Seattle also requires reimbursement for any costs
it incurs in addressing non-compliance with the pilot program.
Finally, the Washington State Senate considered legislation in its most recent legislative session
that would have authorized full operation of commercial AVs, but the legislation did not pass. The
bill would have pre-empted local regulations. The Association of Washington Cities expects
similar legislation will return for consideration in the future.
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