Washington State Patrol outlines out‑of‑state plate enforcement, King County expansion for license investigations

Captain Jason Lien and Trooper Joran Bearclaw briefed the Senate Transportation Committee on Feb. 3 about the Washington State Patrol’s Licensed Investigation Unit (LIU), which investigates out‑of‑state vehicle registrations by Washington residents and related license fraud.

Trooper Bearclaw described LIU’s operational approach: LIU officers conduct neighborhood and apartment‑complex patrols, leave a warning postcard that explains Washington residency and registration requirements when they observe potential noncompliance, and coordinate with the Department of Revenue to collect use tax where appropriate. Bearclaw said the unit follows up 60 days after initial contact to determine whether owners registered in Washington and tallies recoveries for quarterly reports to the Office of Financial Management.

Captain Lien said the LIU’s biennial budget is about $580,000 and supports a partial FTE supervisor, one full‑time trooper, and an administrative assistant; the unit also uses overtime for emphasis patrols. Bearclaw reported that, so far this biennium, LIU recoveries total $682,545; staff have sent 5,235 postcards and tagged over 4,258 vehicles in public spaces. He also described a pending fraud assessment of about $900,000 arising from one long‑running case involving multiple vehicles and luxury assets.

The troopers discussed a recent effort to expand LIU emphasis patrols in King County, including three multi‑day emphasis operations that produced early recoveries (a combined $16,390 reported so far from King County emphasis operations). They described operational challenges: the statutory definition of a resident can be ambiguous, exemptions exist for temporary residents, and RCW language does not explicitly identify county residence for purposes of identifying attempts to avoid county‑level taxes such as the Sound Transit (RTA) tax. The troopers recommended potential fixes that would give enforcement or the Department of Licensing clearer tools to determine the county of residence at the time of registration.

Committee members asked about data sharing with other states and the Department of Revenue; Bearclaw said LIU has automated database access to registration information from all 50 states and works with DOR on larger fraud cases. Members also discussed whether automation, license‑plate‑reader technology, or privatization could supplement LIU work; troopers said such technologies may help but stressed the need for investigative follow up.

The committee did not take action on legislation during the briefing; the LIU presentation prompted a series of technical questions from senators.