Clark Asks: How does Clark County determine fines for various offense? It's complicated

May 8-Ever wonder how the justice system determines fines for various offenses?

Peter Greene of Vancouver has. He recently emailed The Columbian asking about a recent story that referenced the $179 fine for feeding deer.

"Why not $180, or even $175? Or $50? I assume there is a system in place for determining fines," Greene wrote.

As of May 17, 2025, feeding deer, elk or moose in Washington state is illegal under Washington Administrative Code 220-440-260 after the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife implemented a statewide prohibition to prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease and other illnesses transmitted when animals congregate around artificial food sources. The agency did not respond to The Columbian's inquiries about how the $179 wildlife infraction amount is specifically calculated.

While the $179 deer-feeding fine falls under wildlife regulations, the broader mechanics of how the state calculates many infraction fines follow a similar pattern. In Washington, fines are rarely a single flat amount. Instead, they're often made up of a base penalty, inflation adjustments and mandatory state assessments.

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"The non-round numbers are the result of inflation adjustments over the years, combined with add-ons and assessment," said Patric Haerle, a communications officer for the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts.

Washington law states that no traffic penalty is allowed to exceed $250 in its base amount unless specifically outlined in the law, and that the state Supreme Court "prescribes by rule a schedule of monetary penalties for designated traffic infractions" and adjusts this schedule every two years for inflation.

Under state law, additional fees may be charged on top of the base, "leading to the less round number as well," Haerle said.

State law adds a public safety and education assessment equal to 70 percent of the original infraction amount, plus an additional surcharge equal to 50 percent of that assessment. For a $48 ticket, that would add $33.60, rounded up to $34, plus another $17.

"The Supreme Court sets the base infraction amount, while the Legislature is responsible for the additional statutory assessments introduced in RCWs," Haerle said.

Leo Othón, a senior policy adviser for the Washington House Transportation Committee, told The Columbian that some fines are set by agencies via general rulemaking authority granted by the Legislature, while others are set in statute, or at least constrained by statutory factors.

"I can't speak to how agencies arrive at specific numbers when they establish fines through rulemaking, but I can imagine that it might involve comparisons to other offenses of similar severity and the need to create a sufficiently strong deterrent," Othón said. "For fines prescribed by the Legislature, we usually or always start out with round numbers, but they sometimes include a growth/inflation factor that can result in non-round amounts later on."

Othón said that he's "not aware" of efforts to make fines more uniform across the state government.

At the local level, courts are responsible for applying those state-mandated fine structures. Whitney Littlefield, interim administrator for Clark County District Court, said the court follows RCW 46.63 regarding disposition of traffic fines, and RCW 46.63.110 for a breakdown of how fines are determined and assessed.

"Generally, infractions are filed electronically by the officer and the RCW lists the fine amount for that particular infraction," she said. "In conversing with our judges, this question about the fees has not come up, specifically why they are not round numbers."

So while a fine like $179 may look arbitrary, officials say it's usually the product of a base penalty set by rule or statute, inflation adjustments and mandatory assessments added by state law.

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