wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5237 > Original Bill
Every person having the care and custody, whether temporary or permanent, of minor children under the age of 12 years, who shall leave such children in a parked automobile unattended by an adult while such person enters a tavern or other premises where vinous, spirituous, or malt liquors are dispensed for consumption on the premises shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
A person who has the care and custody, whether temporary or permanent, of a minor child under the age of nine years, and knowingly leaves the child unattended by an adult in a parked automobile, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
The sum of $100,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, from the general fund to the department of health, for the purposes of promoting awareness of this act and the dangers inherent in leaving young children unattended in a vehicle.