HB2470 – Regulations for automated vehicles.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Hudgins (D; 11th District; Renton, Tukwila, Kent, and South Seattle) (By request of the Uniform Law Commission)
Current status – Referred to the House Committee on Transportation. Scheduled for a hearing February 10th at 1:30.
Next step would be – Action by the committee.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Comments
I don’t know if a company like Google qualifies as a manufacturer of “motor vehicle equipment” and would be able to put AVs on the road under the bill, or not…

Summary –
The bill provides for the registration of automated vehicles. It requires that anyone putting them on the road must have participated in a substantial manner in developing the system that controls them, must have submitted a safety self-assessment or equivalent report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and must be registered as a manufacturer of vehicles or “motor vehicle equipment” under its rules.

Persons applying to register as an “automated driving provider” must swear they are capable of undertaking the associated responsibilities; swear that sufficient evidence demonstrates that the automated driving system of each of their vehicles is capable of complying with all the traffic laws; and irrevocably appoint the Department of Transportation as a lawful agent for service of process in a lawsuit arising from the automated operation of their vehicles.

Details –
The bill creates a number of exceptions in the traffic laws to do things like allowing automated vehicles to stand unattended when current cars aren’t allowed to, and allowing personal electronic devices to be used in operating them, even though using a smartphone while driving a regular car isn’t legal.