“Did Washington's House Bill 626 make aimless driving, or cruising around without a destination, illegal across the state?”
No. Washington never passed a House or Senate Bill 626, and no state law requires drivers to have a destination. The claim spread in May 2026 through AI-made fake notices bearing Gov. Bob Ferguson's name, and Washington numbers House bills from 1000, so a bill 626 cannot exist.
Fake notices from four governors
In mid-May 2026, images spread online claiming that governors in Ohio, Florida, Kentucky and Washington, and President Trump, had signed laws banning "aimless driving" from May 15, 2026. The Washington version claimed a Senate Bill 626 barred driving without a "clear and lawful destination", naming joyriding and cruising around, with fines of up to $1,000. Snopes rated the images Fake, noting incorrect state seals and the same quote attributed to every governor. On May 15, Gov. Bob Ferguson posted that "fake letters about a fake new law regarding 'aimless driving' are impersonating me and other governors."
Why bill 626 cannot exist here
Washington numbers its bills by chamber. The Legislature's guide says House bills are numbered starting with 1000 at the beginning of each biennium and Senate bills starting with 5000. Numbers below 1000 are used for initiatives and referenda. Searching the Legislature's bill register for bill 626 returns "The bill number is invalid." Ohio and Kentucky do have real House Bill 626s, but neither is about driving.
The real rule is local and narrow
No statewide law in Washington requires a driver to have a destination. The state's rules of the road sit in chapter 46.61 RCW, and the closest offenses on the books punish how someone drives, not why: reckless driving (RCW 46.61.500) bars driving "in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property," and negligent driving in the second degree (RCW 46.61.525) covers operating a vehicle "in a manner that is both negligent and endangers or is likely to endanger any person or property," a $250 infraction. Neither depends on purpose or destination. What does exist is local: Everett's ordinance bars driving past a police traffic-control point more than two times in the same direction within a two-hour period, and only inside a posted "no cruising" area the city council has designated by resolution. That restricts repeated passes of a monitored point inside a designated zone, not driving without a purpose.
Where the story gets it wrong
The hoax is usually repeated as Washington's House Bill 626. The fake Washington letter actually cited Senate Bill 626; the House Bill 626 wording came from the fake Ohio notice. Neither number can be a Washington bill, because Senate bills run from 5000 and House bills from 1000.
Some readers took the real Ohio and Kentucky House Bill 626 as proof the ban was genuine. Those bills exist, but Snopes found that neither has anything to do with aimless driving, and no state or federal Aimless Driving Prevention Act exists.
It does not follow that cruising is always legal in Washington. Cities such as Everett ban driving past a traffic-control point more than two times in the same direction within two hours, but only inside a posted no-cruising area.
- Current status
- Never Enforced
- Jurisdiction
- Claimed statewide law; no such bill exists in the Washington State Legislature.