A new bill has been introduced to the Legislature that would allow the contents of a police oversight ombuds report to be used in the disciplinary process of police officers. The bill was heard last week and is scheduled for a committee vote just ahead of the policy committee cutoff deadline on Monday, February 15.

SB 5436, sponsored by Sen. Andy Billig (D–Spokane), would exclude matters and information raised in a local government’s police oversight ombuds report from mandatory collective bargaining in law enforcement contracts (CBAs) when bargaining over discipline procedure. It would also exclude the ombuds hiring process from mandatory collective bargaining. The use of the ombuds report itself in discipline processes could still be subject to bargaining in a CBA and thus excluded from the discipline process.

As you may know, mandatory subjects of bargaining are the subjects that police unions and local government employers must negotiate and agree upon. Permissive subjects are those the parties can negotiate but are not required to agree upon. Currently, reports from a local government’s independent police oversight ombuds and the content of those reports are treated as mandatory bargaining subjects since they deal with the discipline process; law enforcement CBAs can be negotiated to exclude them from any discipline decision making. Under the bill, only the ombuds report could be excluded from the discipline process outlined in a CBA, not the underlying information that an ombuds investigation found.

Currently the City of Spokane hires an ombuds to do police oversight investigations. Other cities may use similar forms of oversight for police misconduct.

SB 5436 was heard in the Senate Labor, Commerce, & Tribal Affairs Committee on February 11. The hearing is available to watch here. The bill is scheduled for a committee vote on Monday, February 15. February 15 is also the first policy committee cutoff, the last day for Senate policy committees to vote Senate bills out.

Dates to remember

SB 5436 is scheduled for a committee vote in the Senate Labor, Commerce, & Tribal Affairs Committee on Monday, February 15 at 8 am.