SB 5005, proposing to create a new Jail Oversight Board has been voted out of committee with significant amendments.

The changes to the bill are as follows:

• Instead of the Jail Oversight Board, the amended bill creates the Washington Jail Council housed within the Governor's Office;
• Replaces the uniform jail reporting system with an annual jail survey;
• Clarifies that the council will monitor jails for compliance with the jail's own policies and standards and whether those policies comply with applicable federal, state, or local law;
• Removes advisory councils;
• Removes the requirement to monitor jails every three years;
• Removes the requirement to publish reports within two months of a visit;
• Adds a provision specifying that any jail council investigation should not interfere with or impede an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by a law enforcement agency;
• Modifies access provisions to require records from the jail within a certain timeframe (unless provided extension); and
• Requires a state or local government agency or entity with relevant information to provide the council with access to such records.

We believe this bill as amended is now headed in the right direction. Please let us know if you have feedback on the amendments to this bill and its impact on your jurisdiction.

Bill proposal creating a new statewide Jail Oversight Board receives public hearing

January 20, 2025

A proposal to create a new independent Jail Oversight Board has a hearing on January 21.

AWC has concerns with the bill as written. We will:

• Advocate the need for the state to more clearly identify and clarify a set of standards that can be trained to; and
• Identify costs associated with the bill and any provided funding for the new requirement for jails and/or local governments.

We encourage cities that operate jails to weigh in on this important policy conversation.

Dates to remember

SB 5005 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Human Services Committee on January 21 at 1:30 pm.

Legislature poised to take up proposals from Task Force on Jail Standards

December 6, 2024

Sen. Rebecca Saldaña (D–Seattle) pre-filed SB 5005 for this upcoming legislative session that addresses some recommendations recently proposed by a statewide legislative task force.

This bill proposes to establish an independent Jail Oversight Board to oversee city, county, and regional jails systems in Washington aimed at helping:

• Ensure transparency;
• Support safe and humane conditions for jail employees and incarcerated individuals;
• Promote reform towards a more rehabilitative and therapeutic jail system;
• Reduce jails' exposure to litigation; and
• Promote cost savings.

Among other things, the legislation directs the new oversight board to:

• Collect and report data on jail operations (such as population trends, health care, use of force, and deaths in custody);
• Monitor jails;
• Investigate systemic issues; and
• Provide recommendations to enhance safety, reduce litigation risks, and improve overall jail administration.

The bill also outlines the board's structure, duties, monitoring and reporting requirements, directs the board to establish a user-friendly public statewide jail reporting system, and mandates unexpected fatality reviews for all in-custody deaths.

Background information

The Legislature established the Washington state Joint Legislative Task Force on Jail Standards in 2021 to come up with a plan that would standardize rights and responsibilities of incarcerated individuals and increase oversight of jails around the state to promote safety and welfare of incarcerated persons and staff.

Last year, the task force voted to pass legislative recommendations and then finalized its work with a report in December 2023. The task force was made up of 18 multidisciplinary stakeholders and met over 13 meetings in 2022-23 to conduct this work.

For your convenience, we’ve boiled down the task force’s original recommendations to the bullets below. If you’d like to dive deeper into any of the recommendations, visit the end of the final report on pages 21-25 (and catch the corresponding pages in the numbered headlines below).

Task Force on Jail Standards: Seven recommendations at-a-glance

1. Create an independent oversight agency (page 21)
   • Agency creates mandatory standards and provides ongoing oversight of city, county, and regional jails
2. Give oversight agency authority to create & enforce standards (page 21)
   • Outline of agency authority, humane standards, & expert staff
   • Timeline for mandatory minimum jail standards
   • Agency enforcement & compliance powers with jails
   • Jail closure & corrective procedures
3. Establish oversight agency ongoing functions & features (page 22)
   • Agency has strong jail monitoring authority
   • Agency gets full access to jail facilities
   • Agency focuses on systemic issues
   • Agency gathers, updates, & analyzes good data
   • Agency surveys incarcerated individuals & staff
   • Agency outreaches with partners, stakeholders, & community
   • Agency produces annual report for Legislature
   • Agency provides technical assistance to jails
4. Provide the oversight agency adequate & sustainable funding (page 23)
   • Agency needs full & independent legislative funding to handle workload
5. Create a board/commission to supervise the oversight agency (page 23)
   • Establish a board to hire & supervise the agency director
   • Agency board appointment, makeup, & public meeting process
6. Coordinate statewide efforts on correctional conditions (page 24)
   • Include agency member to review unexpected fatalities
   • Establish statewide coordinating council on health services
   • Create leadership training for jail executives
   • Prevent in-custody deaths by reducing suicides
   • Reduce pretrial incarceration to promote safer facilities
7. Improve telecommunications & protect in-person visitation (page 25)
   • Promote connectivity & regulate rates in telecommunications
   • Expand ADA accessibility in jail telecommunications
   • Ensure in-person visitation

The legislative session begins January 13, where we will track the movement of this bill. If you have anything you’d like to add or weigh in on before then, please reach out to Emma Shepard.