The bill amends various sections of Washington state law to broaden employment eligibility for law enforcement and prosecutorial positions, allowing all U.S. citizens and individuals legally authorized to work in the U.S. to apply. It modifies RCW 10.93.165, 36.27.040, 43.101.095, and 43.101.105, and introduces new provisions that require employees responsible for the custody, safety, and security of adults in correctional facilities to be either U.S. citizens or legally authorized workers. The legislation removes the previous requirement for deputy prosecuting attorneys to be lawful permanent residents, aligning the criteria for corrections officers with the same citizenship or work authorization standards. Furthermore, it ensures that agencies are not liable for rejecting applications based on limited work authorization and mandates compliance with federal employment eligibility regulations.

In addition to expanding employment eligibility, the bill establishes grounds for the denial, suspension, or revocation of certification for peace officers and corrections officers, addressing issues such as failure to meet training requirements, falsification of information, and misconduct. It allows for mandatory retraining or probation as consequences for misconduct and clarifies that any disciplinary actions taken by the commission will run concurrently with those imposed by the employing agency. The bill also emphasizes the retroactive application of certain provisions to individuals employed after the effective date, reinforcing the necessity of the act to maintain public peace, health, or safety, while ensuring that law enforcement agencies cannot terminate officers solely based on commission actions but can do so for underlying misconduct.

Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 10.93.165, 10.93.200, 41.08.070, 41.12.070, 41.14.100, 36.27.040, 43.101.095, 77.15.075
Engrossed bill: 10.93.165, 10.93.200, 41.08.070, 41.12.070, 41.14.100, 36.27.040, 43.101.095, 77.15.075
Bill as passed Legislature: 10.93.165, 36.27.040, 43.101.095, 43.101.105
Session law: 10.93.165, 36.27.040, 43.101.095, 43.101.105