Legislators will take public comment this week on several bills that impact law enforcement.
HB 2499, sponsored by Rep. Sherry Appleton (D–Poulsbo), establishes new requirements for the hiring, certification, and firing of Washington correctional officers. The sweeping changes align requirements for correctional officers with requirements for peace officers.
HB 2560, sponsored by Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber (R–Republic), increases the mandatory number of Basic Law Enforcement Academy Classes to 15 classes per year starting July 1, 2021, and 19 classes per year starting July 1, 2024. Even with these new minimums in place, the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) is allowed to request additional trainings as needed.
HB 2566, sponsored by Rep. Javier Valdez (D–Seattle), allows law enforcement agencies to use an automated license plate recognition system for matters of public safety. If an agency chooses to use such a system, the agency must post annual reports to its web site.
HB 2632, sponsored by Rep. Javier Valdez (D–Seattle), and companion SB 6295, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D–Shoreline), set new standards and criminal penalties for falsely reporting an emergency. Criminal charges could range from a gross misdemeanor to a class B felony. In certain cases, injured parties are allowed to file a civil suit against the guilty party.
HB 2735, sponsored by Rep. Larry Springer (D–Kirkland), allows limited authority officers, authorized by a local law enforcement agency, to issue traffic infractions when the infraction is detected using an automated traffic safety camera or automated school bus safety camera.
HB 2785, sponsored by Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D–La Conner), and companion SB 6537, sponsored by Sen. John McCoy (D-Tulalip), increase the membership of the CJTC to 15 members from 14 members. The additional member is required to be a private citizen—this raises the total number of private citizens on the CJTC to two. One private citizen must be from western Washington and the other from eastern Washington. One of the private citizens must be from a historically underrepresented community.
HB 2789, sponsored by Rep. John Lovick (D–Mill Creek), and companion SB 6527, sponsored by Sen. David Frockt (D–Seattle), establish a “use of deadly force” database managed by WASPC. All local law enforcement agencies will report all use of deadly force incidences to WASPC following guidelines established by the association. WASPC will publish the reported findings on an annual basis.
Dates to remember
HB 2499 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Public Safety Committee at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, January 28.
HB 2560 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Public Safety Committee at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, January 28. The bill is then scheduled for executive session in the same committee at 8 am on Thursday, January 30.
HB 2566 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Transportation Committee at 3:30 pm on Thursday, January 30.
HB 2632 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Public Safety Committee at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, January 28.
HB 2735 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Public Safety Committee at 1:30 pm on Monday, January 27. The bill is then scheduled for executive session in the same committee at 8 am on Thursday, January 30.
HB 2785 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Public Safety Committee at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, January 28.
HB 2789 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Public Safety Committee at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, January 28.