A bill that would allow cities to institute a new sales tax to fund police hiring and criminal justice activities is scheduled for a hearing and a vote this week in the House.

HB 1446, sponsored by Rep. Drew Stokesbary (R–Auburn), permits cities and counties to institute an additional 0.1% sales and use tax to fund hiring additional law enforcement officers. If both a city and county have implemented this tax, then the city tax is a credit against the state sales tax which means it would not actually increase the effective rate of the tax.

Under the bill, if a city or county hires enough officers that they hit a rate of local officers per 1,000 residents that exceeds the national rate, proceeds from the tax can also be used for other criminal justice purposes. The bill also requires Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) to hold up to 25 basic law enforcement academy classes per year starting in 2024, prohibits CJTC from instituting a wait list for trainees until after at least 25 classes have been offered in a year, and removes requirements for local government cost sharing for CJTC training expenses.

There is also a Senate companion, SB 5361, that has already moved out of policy committee and is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Many cities are having a difficult time hiring new, qualified officers in the current job market. Having additional financial resources to put towards hiring new officers, as well as the capacity to train new-to-the-profession officers, could be a useful tool for staffing city police departments. In 2022, nearly a quarter of all local police officers were already eligible for retirement, and another 15% were near retirement eligibility, so resources to hire and capacity to train new officers is an important tool for local governments.

Dates to remember

HB 1446 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Local Government Committee on Wednesday, February 15 at 8 am. It is also scheduled for a committee vote on February 17 at 10:30 am.