Back country search & rescue

AN ACT Relating to supporting back country search and rescue 1
organizations and volunteers through the creation of the back country 2
search and rescue grant program; amending RCW 38.52.020; reenacting 3
and amending RCW 38.52.010; and adding a new section to chapter 38.52 4
RCW. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
Sec. 1. RCW 38.52.010 and 2024 c 205 s 1 and 2024 c 60 s 2 are 7
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 8
As used in this chapter: 9
(1) "911 emergency communications system" means a public 911 10
communications system consisting of a network, database, and on-11
premises equipment that is accessed by dialing or accessing 911 and 12
that enables reporting police, fire, medical, or other emergency 13
situations to a public safety answering point. The system includes 14
the capability to selectively route incoming 911 voice and data to 15
the appropriate public safety answering point that operates in a 16
defined 911 service area and the capability to automatically display 17
the name, location, and telephone number of incoming 911 voice and 18
data at the appropriate public safety answering point.19
(2) "Automatic location identification" means information about a 20
caller's location that is part of or associated with an enhanced or 21
H-0757.1
HOUSE BILL 1625
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Stuebe, Nance, Chase, Bernbaum, Waters, Keaton,
Mendoza, Richards, Barkis, Ramel, Hunt, Parshley, Springer, Zahn,
Davis, and Timmons
Read first time 01/27/25. Referred to Committee on Technology,
Economic Development, & Veterans.
p. 1 HB 1625
next generation 911 emergency communications system as defined in 1
this section and RCW 82.14B.020 and intended for the purpose of 2
display at a public safety answering point with incoming 911 voice or 3
data, or both. 4
(3) "Automatic number identification" means a method for uniquely 5
associating a communication device that has accessed 911 with the 6
incoming 911 voice or data, or both, and intended for the purpose of 7
display at a public safety answering point. 8
(4) "Back country search and rescue" means a subset of search and 9
rescue that includes locating lost, injured, or deceased persons in 10
remote areas. Back country search and rescue requires specialized 11
training and equipment to assess and mitigate hazardous terrain or 12
conditions; access injured, stuck, stranded, entrapped, or deceased 13
persons; provide emergency medical and psychological care; and 14
evacuate or transport the rescued persons.15
(5) "Baseline level of 911 service" means access to 911 dialing 16
from all communication devices with service from a telecommunications 17
provider within a county's jurisdiction so that incoming 911 voice 18
and data communication is answered, received, and displayed on 911 19
equipment at a public safety answering point designated by the 20
county. 21
(((5))) (6) "Broadcaster" means a person or entity that holds a 22
license issued by the federal communications commission under 47 23
C.F.R. Part 73, 74, 76, or 78. 24
(((6))) (7)(a) "Catastrophic incident" means any natural or 25
human-caused incident, including terrorism and enemy attack, that 26
results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or 27
disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, 28
environment, economy, or government functions. 29
(b) "Catastrophic incident" does not include an event resulting 30
from individuals exercising their rights, under the first amendment, 31
of freedom of speech, and of the people to peaceably assemble.32
(((7))) (8) "Communication plan," as used in RCW 38.52.070, means 33
a section in a local comprehensive emergency management plan that 34
addresses emergency notification of life safety information.35
(((8))) (9) "Continuity of government planning" means the 36
internal effort of all levels and branches of government to provide 37
that the capability exists to continue essential functions and 38
services following a catastrophic incident. These efforts include, 39
but are not limited to, providing for: (a) Orderly succession and 40
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appropriate changes of leadership whether appointed or elected; (b) 1
filling vacancies; (c) interoperability communications; and (d) 2
processes and procedures to reconvene government following periods of 3
disruption that may be caused by a catastrophic incident. Continuity 4
of government planning is intended to preserve the constitutional and 5
statutory authority of elected officials at the state and local level 6
and provide for the continued performance of essential functions and 7
services by each level and branch of government. 8
(((9))) (10) "Continuity of operations planning" means the 9
internal effort of an organization to provide that the capability 10
exists to continue essential functions and services in response to a 11
comprehensive array of potential emergencies or disasters.12
(((10))) (11) "Department" means the state military department.13
(((11))) (12) "Director" means the adjutant general.14
(((12))) (13) "Emergency management" or "comprehensive emergency 15
management" means the preparation for and the carrying out of all 16
emergency functions, other than functions for which the military 17
forces are primarily responsible, to mitigate, prepare for, respond 18
to, and recover from emergencies and disasters, and to aid victims 19
suffering from injury or damage, resulting from disasters caused by 20
all hazards, whether natural, technological, or human caused, and to 21
provide support for search and rescue operations for persons and 22
property in distress. However, "emergency management" or 23
"comprehensive emergency management" does not mean preparation for 24
emergency evacuation or relocation of residents in anticipation of 25
nuclear attack. 26
(((13))) (14)(a) "Emergency or disaster" as used in all sections 27
of this chapter except RCW 38.52.430 means an event or set of 28
circumstances which: (i) Demands immediate action to preserve public 29
health, protect life, protect public property, or to provide relief 30
to any stricken community overtaken by such occurrences; or (ii) 31
reaches such a dimension or degree of destructiveness as to warrant 32
the governor proclaiming a state of emergency pursuant to RCW 33
43.06.010. 34
(b) "Emergency" as used in RCW 38.52.430 means an incident that 35
requires a normal police, coroner, fire, rescue, emergency medical 36
services, or utility response as a result of a violation of one of 37
the statutes enumerated in RCW 38.52.430. 38
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(((14))) (15) "Emergency response" as used in RCW 38.52.430 means 1
a public agency's use of emergency services during an emergency or 2
disaster as defined in subsection (((13))) (14)(b) of this section.3
(((15))) (16) "Emergency services communication system" means a 4
multicounty or countywide communications network, including an 5
enhanced or next generation 911 emergency communications system, 6
which provides rapid public access for coordinated dispatching of 7
services, personnel, equipment, and facilities for police, fire, 8
medical, or other emergency services. 9
(((16))) (17) "Emergency services communications system data" 10
includes voice or audio; multimedia, including pictures and video; 11
text messages; telematics or telemetrics; or other information that 12
is received or displayed, or both, at a public safety answering point 13
in association with a 911 access. 14
(((17))) (18) "Emergency worker" means any person who is 15
registered with a local emergency management organization, any 16
federally recognized Indian tribe as defined in RCW 43.376.010 17
provided the department is in receipt of a tribal government 18
resolution declaring its intention to be a participant in the 19
emergency worker program under this chapter, or the department and 20
holds an identification card issued by the local emergency management 21
director, tribal government, or the department for the purpose of 22
engaging in authorized emergency management activities or is an 23
employee of the state of Washington or any political subdivision 24
thereof who is called upon to perform emergency management 25
activities. 26
(((18))) (19) "Executive head" and "executive heads" means the 27
county executive in those charter counties with an elective office of 28
county executive, however designated, and, in the case of other 29
counties, the county legislative authority. In the case of cities and 30
towns, it means the mayor in those cities and towns with mayor-31
council or commission forms of government, where the mayor is 32
directly elected, and it means the city manager in those cities and 33
towns with council manager forms of government. Cities and towns may 34
also designate an executive head for the purposes of this chapter by 35
ordinance. 36
(((19))) (20) "Expense of an emergency response" as used in RCW 37
38.52.430 means reasonable costs incurred by a public agency in 38
reasonably making an appropriate emergency response to the incident, 39
but shall only include those costs directly arising from the response 40
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to the particular incident. Reasonable costs shall include the costs 1
of providing police, coroner, firefighting, rescue, emergency medical 2
services, or utility response at the scene of the incident, as well 3
as the salaries of the personnel responding to the incident.4
(((20))) (21) "First informer broadcaster" means an individual 5
who: 6
(a) Is employed by, or acting pursuant to a contract under the 7
direction of, a broadcaster; and 8
(b)(i) Maintains, including repairing or resupplying, 9
transmitters, generators, or other essential equipment at a broadcast 10
station or facility; or (ii) provides technical support services to 11
broadcasters needed during a period of proclaimed emergency.12
(((21))) (22) "Incident command system" means: (a) An all-13
hazards, on-scene functional management system that establishes 14
common standards in organization, terminology, and procedures; 15
provides a means (unified command) for the establishment of a common 16
set of incident objectives and strategies during multiagency/17
multijurisdiction operations while maintaining individual agency/18
jurisdiction authority, responsibility, and accountability; and is a 19
component of the national interagency incident management system; or 20
(b) an equivalent and compatible all-hazards, on-scene functional 21
management system. 22
(((22))) (23) "Injury" as used in this chapter shall mean and 23
include accidental injuries and/or occupational diseases arising out 24
of emergency management activities. 25
(((23))) (24) "Interconnected voice over internet protocol 26
service provider" means a provider of interconnected voice over 27
internet protocol service as defined by the federal communications 28
commission in 47 C.F.R. Sec. 9.3 on January 1, 2009, or a subsequent 29
date determined by the department. 30
(((24))) (25) "Life safety information" means information 31
provided to people during a response to a life-threatening emergency 32
or disaster informing them of actions they can take to preserve their 33
safety. Such information may include, but is not limited to, 34
information regarding evacuation, sheltering, sheltering-in-place, 35
facility lockdown, and where to obtain food and water.36
(((25))) (26) "Local director" means the director of a local 37
organization of emergency management or emergency services.38
(((26))) (27) "Local organization for emergency services or 39
management" means an organization created in accordance with the 40
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provisions of this chapter by state or local authority to perform 1
local emergency management functions. 2
(((27))) (28) "Next generation 911" means an internet protocol-3
based system comprised of managed emergency services internet 4
protocol networks, functional elements (applications), and databases 5
that replicate enhanced 911 features and functions as defined in RCW 6
82.14B.020(4) that provide additional capabilities designed to 7
provide access to emergency services from all connected 8
communications sources and provide multimedia data capabilities for 9
public safety answering points. 10
(((28))) (29) "Next generation 911 demarcation point" means the 11
location and equipment that separates the next generation 911 network 12
from: 13
(a) A telecommunications provider's network, known as the ingress 14
next generation 911 demarcation point; and 15
(b) A public safety answering point, known as the egress next 16
generation 911 demarcation point. 17
(((29))) (30) "Next generation 911 emergency communications 18
system" means a public communications system consisting of networks, 19
databases, and public safety answering point 911 hardware, software, 20
and technology that is accessed by the public in the state through 21
911. The system includes the capability to: Route incoming 911 voice 22
and data to the appropriate public safety answering point that 23
operates in a defined 911 service area; answer incoming 911 voice and 24
data; and receive and display incoming 911 voice and data, including 25
automatic location identification and automatic number 26
identification, at a public safety answering point. "Next generation 27
911 emergency communications system" includes future modernizations 28
to the 911 system. 29
(((30))) (31) "Next generation 911 emergency services internet 30
protocol network" means a managed internet protocol network used for 31
911 emergency services communications that is managed and maintained, 32
including security and credentialing functions, by the state 911 33
coordination office to provide next generation 911 emergency 34
communications from the ingress next generation 911 demarcation point 35
to the egress next generation 911 demarcation point. It provides the 36
internet protocol transport infrastructure upon which application 37
platforms and core services are necessary for providing next 38
generation 911 services. Next generation 911 emergency services 39
internet protocol networks may be constructed from a mix of dedicated 40
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and shared facilities and may be interconnected at local, regional, 1
state, federal, national, and international levels to form an 2
internet protocol-based inter-network (network of networks).3
(((31))) (32) "Next generation 911 service" means public access 4
to the next generation 911 emergency communications system and its 5
capabilities by accessing 911 from communication devices to report 6
police, fire, medical, or other emergency situations to a public 7
safety answering point. 8
(((32))) (33) "Political subdivision" means any county, city or 9
town. 10
(((33))) (34) "Public agency" means the state, and a city, 11
county, municipal corporation, district, town, or public authority 12
located, in whole or in part, within this state which provides or may 13
provide firefighting, police, ambulance, medical, or other emergency 14
services. 15
(((34))) (35) "Public infrastructure assistance" means 16
supplementary state assistance provided to county governments and 17
federally recognized tribal governments, when authorized under 18
governor emergency proclamation for the cost of disaster-related 19
public property debris removal, emergency protective measures to 20
protect life and property, and permanent repair work to damaged or 21
destroyed public infrastructure. 22
(((35))) (36) "Public safety answering point" means the public 23
safety location that receives and answers 911 voice and data 24
originating in a given area as designated by the county. Public 25
safety answering points must be equipped with 911 hardware, software, 26
and technology that is accessed through 911 and is capable of 27
answering incoming 911 calls and receiving and displaying incoming 28
911 data. 29
(a) "Primary public safety answering point" means a public safety 30
answering point, as designated by the county, to which 911 calls and 31
data originating in a given area and entering the next generation 911 32
network are initially routed for answering. 33
(b) "Secondary public safety answering point" means a public 34
safety answering point, as designated by the county, that only 35
receives 911 voice and data that has been transferred by other public 36
safety answering points. 37
(((36))) (37) "Radio communications service company" means every 38
corporation, company, association, joint stock, partnership, and 39
person, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court, 40
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and every city or town making available facilities to provide 1
commercial mobile radio services, as defined by 47 U.S.C. Sec. 2
332(d)(1), or cellular communications services for hire, sale, and 3
both facilities-based and nonfacilities-based resellers, and does not 4
include radio paging providers. 5
(((37))) (38) "Search and rescue" means the acts of searching 6
for, rescuing, or recovering by means of ground, marine, or air 7
activity any person who becomes lost, injured, or is killed while 8
outdoors or as a result of a natural, technological, or human-caused 9
disaster, including instances involving searches for downed aircraft 10
when ground personnel are used. Nothing in this section shall affect 11
appropriate activity by the department of transportation under 12
chapter 47.68 RCW. 13
(((38))) (39) "Search and rescue organization" means a Washington 14
domestic nonprofit corporation organized under chapter 24.03A RCW and 15
registered with the Washington secretary of state or a group of 16
emergency workers recognized by and working with the local director, 17
whose primary purpose is search and rescue, has its principal place 18
of business established in a political subdivision of the state of 19
Washington, and is formally recognized by the local emergency 20
management organization of that political subdivision as being 21
available for participation in search and rescue activities 22
consistent with RCW 38.52.400.23
(40) "Telecommunications provider" means a telecommunications 24
company as defined in RCW 80.04.010, a radio communications service 25
company as defined in this section, a commercial mobile radio service 26
provider as defined in 47 C.F.R. Sec. 20.3, providers of 27
interconnected voice over internet protocol service as defined in 28
this section, and providers of data services. 29
(((39))) (41) "Washington state patrol public safety answering 30
points" means those designated as primary or secondary public safety 31
answering points by the counties in which they provide service.32
Sec. 2. RCW 38.52.020 and 2015 c 61 s 2 are each amended to read 33
as follows: 34
(1) Because of the existing and increasing possibility of the 35
occurrence of disasters of unprecedented size and destructiveness as 36
defined in RCW 38.52.010(((5))) (14), and in order to insure that 37
preparations of this state will be adequate to deal with such 38
disasters, to insure the administration of state and federal programs 39
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providing disaster relief to individuals, and further to insure 1
adequate support for search and rescue operations, and generally to 2
protect the public peace, health, and safety, and to preserve the 3
lives and property of the people of the state, it is hereby found and 4
declared to be necessary: 5
(a) To provide for emergency management by the state, and to 6
authorize the creation of local organizations for emergency 7
management in the political subdivisions of the state;8
(b) To confer upon the governor and upon the executive heads of 9
the political subdivisions of the state the emergency powers provided 10
herein; 11
(c) To provide for the rendering of mutual aid among the 12
political subdivisions of the state and with other states and to 13
cooperate with the federal government with respect to the carrying 14
out of emergency management functions; 15
(d) To provide a means of compensating emergency ((management)) 16
workers who may suffer any injury, as herein defined, or death; who 17
suffer economic harm including personal property damage or loss; or 18
who incur expenses for transportation, telephone or other methods of 19
communication, and the use of personal supplies as a result of 20
participation in emergency management or back country search and 21
rescue activities; 22
(e) To provide programs, with intergovernmental cooperation, to 23
educate and train the public to be prepared for emergencies; and24
(f) To provide for the prioritization, development, and exercise 25
of continuity of operations plans by the state. 26
(2) It is further declared to be the purpose of this chapter and 27
the policy of the state that all emergency management functions of 28
this state and its political subdivisions be coordinated to the 29
maximum extent with the comparable functions of the federal 30
government including its various departments and agencies of other 31
states and localities, and of private agencies of every type, to the 32
end that the most effective preparation and use may be made of the 33
nation's manpower, resources, and facilities for dealing with any 34
disaster that may occur. 35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 38.52 36
RCW to read as follows: 37
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 38
specific purpose, the back country search and rescue grant program is 39
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established. The department shall administer the program. The 1
department may adopt rules, in consultation with the emergency 2
management council, to administer the program. 3
(2) The back country search and rescue account is created in the 4
state treasury. All receipts from legislative appropriations, 5
donations, gifts, grants, or funds directed to the account from other 6
public or private sources must be deposited into the account. Moneys 7
in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures 8
from the account may only be used by the department to provide grants 9
to: 10
(a) Search and rescue organizations for anticipated and incurred 11
back country search and rescue costs by search and rescue volunteers, 12
including planning, equipment, training, exercise, and operations; 13
and 14
(b) Political subdivisions which incur or budget for costs 15
related to back country search and rescue operations that are not 16
available for reimbursement through another mechanism.17
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