Public counsel

AN ACT Relating to establishing a public counsel integrity act; 1
adding a new chapter to Title 42 RCW; and prescribing penalties.2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that:4
(a) Local governments across Washington employ hundreds of public 5
attorneys in-house yet continue to spend millions of taxpayer dollars 6
annually on private law firms and vendors. 7
(b) In King county alone, between 2000 and 2025, over $56,000,000 8
was paid to more than 600 private law firms, approximately 78 percent 9
of all outside counsel expenditures, creating structural conflicts 10
that prevent residents from obtaining conflict-free legal 11
representation against those same public entities.12
(c) This practice undermines public trust, limits access to 13
justice, and diverts funds from essential services.14
(2) The legislature, therefore, declares that legal services for 15
public agencies are a public function that must be performed by 16
public counsel, not private vendors. 17
(3) It is the intent of this act to restore transparency, protect 18
taxpayer funds, and ensure that the private legal marketplace remains 19
free to serve the public without government monopolization.20
H-2692.2
HOUSE BILL 2263
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Walsh and Graham
Prefiled 01/06/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Civil Rights & Judiciary.
p. 1 HB 2263
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 1
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 2
otherwise.3
(1) "Legal services" include representation, advice, 4
consultation, drafting, negotiation, litigation, discovery 5
management, or any service customarily performed by a licensed 6
attorney. 7
(2) "Local public entity" means any county, city, town, school 8
district, special purpose district, or any other municipal 9
corporation or political subdivision of the state.10
(3) "Outside counsel" means any private attorney, law firm, 11
partnership, corporation, or other business entity that provides 12
legal services for compensation and is not an employee of a local 13
public entity. 14
(4) "Public counsel" means attorneys employed by or under the 15
direct supervision of a local public entity, or attorneys employed 16
through an interlocal agreement between local public entities under 17
chapter 39.34 RCW. 18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) A local public entity may not enter 19
into any contract, agreement, or memorandum of understanding for the 20
procurement of legal services from outside counsel.21
(2) All legal representation, advice, and related services for a 22
local public entity must be provided exclusively by public counsel.23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) A local public entity requiring 24
additional or specialized legal services capacity may enter an 25
interlocal agreement under chapter 39.34 RCW with another local 26
public entity to obtain legal services from the entity's public 27
counsel.28
(2) No portion of any payment made under the interlocal agreement 29
may be used to compensate any private attorney or law firm.30
(3) The attorney general shall maintain a roster of public 31
counsel available for temporary interlocal assignment to assist local 32
public entities lacking internal capacity to address their legal 33
services needs. 34
(4) The attorney general shall facilitate coordination among 35
local public entities to ensure coverage of specialized practice 36
areas. 37
p. 2 HB 2263
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) Any payment of public funds by a local 1
public entity to outside counsel, directly or indirectly, is void and 2
constitutes an unauthorized expenditure under RCW 43.09.210.3
(2) An officer or employee of a local public entity who 4
authorizes or approves such payments is personally liable for 5
restitution of payment amounts to the public treasury.6
(3) A local public entity may not use grant funds, insurance 7
pools, or third-party reimbursements to circumvent the prohibition in 8
this section. 9
(4) All contracts between a local public entity and outside 10
counsel existing on the effective date of this section must terminate 11
within 90 days after the effective date of this section and may not 12
be renewed or extended. 13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) Each local public entity shall submit 14
to the state auditor a quarterly report of all legal expenditures, 15
including salaries, payments for legal services under an interlocal 16
agreement, and litigation costs.17
(2) The state auditor shall publish a searchable public database 18
of all local public entity legal expenditures by category and entity.19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) Any resident or taxpayer of the state 20
may bring an action in superior court against a local public entity 21
to enjoin violations of this act.22
(2) The court shall award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to 23
a prevailing plaintiff, payable from the responsible local public 24
entity's administrative budget and not from the local public entity's 25
general fund. 26
(3) The attorney general shall investigate violations of this act 27
and may impose civil penalties not exceeding three times the improper 28
payment amount against a local public entity found in violation of 29
this act. 30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) A local public entity may petition the 31
attorney general for temporary authorization to retain outside 32
counsel. The attorney general may grant a temporary authorization 33
only if the local public entity demonstrates that:34
(a) No public counsel is available; and 35
(b) Delay would cause substantial and immediate harm to public 36
health or safety. 37
p. 3 HB 2263
(2) If the attorney general grants the temporary authorization, 1
the attorney general must issue a written, time-limited certification 2
specifying the scope of authorized legal representation.3
(3) An authorization granted under this section expires 4
automatically 90 days after certification by the attorney general and 5
may not be renewed for the same legal matter. 6
(4) A private firm retained under a granted authorization may not 7
enter into another contract for legal services with the same local 8
public entity for five years following termination of the authorized 9
legal services. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed 11
to restrict:12
(1) The constitutional duties of the attorney general or 13
prosecuting attorneys; or 14
(2) The ability of an individual public officer or employee to 15
obtain private representation at personal expense.16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. This act may be known and cited as the 17
public counsel integrity act.18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 1 through 10 of this act 19
constitute a new chapter in Title 42 RCW.20
--- END ---
p. 4 HB 2263