Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.
HB2351 • 2026
Protecting emergency responders and emergency response operations in Washington.
This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.
Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.
Emergency response
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
1726 • Keaton
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH KEAT WEHL 352 1 - Official Print By Representative Keaton EFFECT: Qualifies that a protected emergency responder is a person acting in an official capacity.
1727 • Keaton
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH KEAT WEHL 320 1 - Official Print By Representative Keaton EFFECT: Requires an emergency responder to provide identification or documentation that he or she is an emergency responder, rather than announce that he or she is an emergency responder, in order for a person to commit the violation of Obstructing an Emergency Responder.
1728 • Keaton
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH KEAT WEHL 321 1 - Official Print By Representative Keaton EFFECT: Requires a law enforcement officer taking an enforcement action against an emergency responder to weigh the public safety risk of the enforcement action against the underlying emergency.
1729 • Keaton
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH KEAT WEHL 322 1 - Official Print By Representative Keaton EFFECT: Distinguishes an emergency operation zone designated by the Governor or the executive authority of a county, city, or town from the area of operation used by an Incident Management Team.
1749 • Parshley
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PARS WEHL 359 1 - Official Print By Representative Parshley EFFECT: Allows counties, cities, towns, and incident command systems to collect and use information about an emergency responder that is not related to civil immigration enforcement.
2002 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 376 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires a county, city, town, or incident command system that is collecting, using, or disclosing information about an emergency responder to comply with local laws, in addition to state and federal laws.
2003 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 380 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires the Military Department and the Washington State Patrol to jointly develop and provide training on the designation, notification, and requirements for emergency operation zones.
2004 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 375 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 375 SHB 2351 - H AMD 2004 NOT CONSIDERED 03/12/2026 On page 3, after line 34, insert the following: "(5) Before any action can be brought to enforce the requirements of this section, the challenging party must prove by clear and convincing evidence that a technically feasible method of complying with the requirements of this section is available.
2005 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 377 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires the State Auditor to prepare a template fiscal impact statement for a county, city, or town to use to document on an annual basis the increase or decrease in revenues, costs, expenditures, or indebtedness experienced by the county, city, or town during implementation of the underlying bill.
2006 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 379 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires each county, city, and town to provide the Attorney General's Office with any proposed rule, ordinance, resolution, procedure, or policy developed to implement the underlying bill.
2007 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 374 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires the Department of Commerce to provide technical assistance to counties, cities, and towns, and within 18 months of the bill's effective date, publish a model ordinance to assist counties, cities, and towns with the requirements related to the prohibition on the use of resources, limits on information collection and disclosure, and the designation and operation of emergency operation zones.
2008 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 378 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 378 SHB 2351 - H AMD 2008 NOT CONSIDERED 03/12/2026 On page 7, after line 38, insert the following: "NEW SECTION.
2011 • Keaton
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH KEAT WEHL 373 1 - Official Print By Representative Keaton 2351-S AMH KEAT WEHL 373 SHB 2351 - H AMD 2011 NOT CONSIDERED 03/12/2026 Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following: "NEW SECTION.
2024 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN POOL 241 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Specifies that a designating authority may not deny entry unless it maintains a 24-hour legal review process capable of verifying warrants within 30 minutes.
2025 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN POOL 242 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Specifies that requirements regarding emergency operation zones do not prohibit law enforcement entry when in fresh pursuit of a suspect who is suspected of committing a felony offense.
2026 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN MORI 362 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Makes the entire act null and void if any part of it is found by the Department of Homeland Security or the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state or its political subdivisions.
2027 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN MORI 363 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires the state to indemnify and hold harmless a political subdivision of the state for legal costs incurred, or grant funds lost, resulting from good faith compliance with the provisions of the act.
2028 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 384 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires the Governor or the executive authority of a county, city, or town that designates an emergency operation zone to appoint a full-time federal liaison officer to coordinate with federal agencies for the duration of the emergency.
2029 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 383 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Excludes law enforcement officers who are investigating the cause, origin, or suspected arson from the requirements on law enforcement officers who enter or remain within an emergency operation zone in the underlying bill.
2030 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 382 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Limits the definition of an "emergency responder" in the underlying bill to an individual who holds a valid, state-recognized credential or is a sworn employee.
2034 • Waters
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH WATE WEHL 381 1 - Official Print By Representative Waters EFFECT: Allows a county, city, town, or incident command system to provide assistance to a federal peace officer conducting an investigation or enforcement action targeting an emergency responder when a situation involves a risk of imminent harm.
2041 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 385 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Excludes an investigation of domestic terrorism from the provisions of the underlying bill related to the designation of an emergency operation zone and limitations on law enforcement activity within that zone.
2042 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 386 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Excludes a law enforcement officer from the limitations on activity in an emergency operation zone when the officer has a reasonable belief that entry into the emergency operation zone is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.
2043 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 387 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires the entire act to be null and void if any provision of the act is held invalid by a court.
2044 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 388 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Prohibits the executive authority of a county, city, or town from designating an emergency operation zone until completing a 40-hour course on the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution offered by the Criminal Justice Training Commission.
2045 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 389 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires the county, city, or town council, if any, to renew a designation of an emergency operation zone within 24 hours to avoid expiration of the zone.
2046 • Penner
Plain English: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2351-S AMH PENN WEHL 390 1 - Official Print By Representative Penner EFFECT: Requires a designating entity denying entry to a law enforcement officer to issue the denial in writing, within 15 minutes.
House Rules "X" file.
Emergency response
AN ACT Relating to protecting emergency responders and emergency 1
response operations in Washington; amending RCW 9A.76.020; adding a 2
new section to chapter 35.21 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 3
36.01 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 38.52 RCW; creating new 4
sections; and prescribing penalties. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that undue 7
interference with emergency responders working to mitigate an ongoing 8
emergency or disaster can obstruct emergency response operations and 9
endanger the lives and property of the residents of Washington. It is 10
the intent of the legislature to preserve the integrity of emergency 11
response operations, protect the rights and safety of all emergency 12
responders, and to ensure due process of law throughout the state.13
Sec. 2. RCW 9A.76.020 and 2001 c 308 s 3 are each amended to 14
read as follows: 15
(1) A person is guilty of obstructing ((a law enforcement 16
officer)) an emergency responder if the person willfully hinders, 17
delays, or obstructs any ((law enforcement officer )) emergency 18
responder in the discharge of his or her official powers or duties if 19
the emergency responder is in uniform, announces he or she is an 20
H-2744.2
HOUSE BILL 2351
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Parshley, Ryu, Wylie, Lekanoff, Mena, Stearns,
Callan, Reed, Cortes, Nance, Zahn, Taylor, Doglio, Ormsby, Reeves,
Macri, Fosse, Salahuddin, Thai, Pollet, and Donaghy
Prefiled 01/09/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans.
p. 1 HB 2351
emergency responder, or a reasonable person would understand based on 1
the totality of the circumstances that he or she is an emergency 2
responder. 3
(2) (("Law enforcement officer" means any general authority, 4
limited authority, or specially commissioned Washington peace officer 5
or federal peace officer as those terms are defined in RCW 10.93.020, 6
and other public officers who are responsible for enforcement of 7
fire, building, zoning, and life and safety codes.8
(3))) Obstructing ((a law enforcement officer )) an emergency 9
responder is a gross misdemeanor. 10
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit:11
(a) Activity protected under the Constitution of the United 12
States or the Washington state Constitution; or13
(b) Activity undertaken by a law enforcement officer for an 14
authorized and lawful purpose.15
(4) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 16
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.17
(a) "Emergency responder" means:18
(i) Any general authority, limited authority, or specially 19
commissioned Washington peace officer or federal peace officer as 20
those terms are defined in RCW 10.93.020, and other public officers 21
who are responsible for enforcement of fire, building, zoning, and 22
life and safety codes;23
(ii) Any employee or agent of a government agency or private 24
corporation that provides firefighting, fire response, fire control, 25
or fire suppression services, who is responding to or engaged in an 26
active fire or rescue incident;27
(iii) Any employee or agent of a government agency or private 28
corporation that provides emergency medical transportation, care, or 29
services, who is responding to or engaged in an active medical 30
emergency incident;31
(iv) Any emergency worker as that term is defined in RCW 32
38.52.010; or33
(v) Any emergency responder as that term is defined in RCW 34
24.60.010.35
(b) "Law enforcement officer" means any general authority, 36
limited authority, or specially commissioned Washington peace officer 37
or federal peace officer as those terms are defined in RCW 10.93.020.38
p. 2 HB 2351
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 35.21 1
RCW to read as follows: 2
(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no 3
agency of any city or town, including unclassified cities or towns, 4
including law enforcement, may use agency funds, facilities, 5
property, equipment, or personnel to investigate, enforce, cooperate 6
with, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal 7
registration or surveillance programs or any other laws, rules, or 8
policies that target any emergency responder who resides or works in 9
Washington, solely on the basis of race, religion, immigration, or 10
citizenship status, or national or ethnic origin. This subsection 11
does not apply to any program with the primary purpose of providing 12
persons with services or benefits, or to RCW 9.94A.685.13
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, all 14
agencies of cities or towns including unclassified cities or towns 15
shall review their policies and identify and make any changes 16
necessary to ensure that: 17
(a) Information collected from emergency responders is limited to 18
the minimum necessary to comply with subsection (3) of this section;19
(b) Information collected from emergency responders is not 20
disclosed except as necessary to comply with subsection (3) of this 21
section or as permitted by state or federal law; 22
(c) Agency employees may not condition services or request 23
information or proof regarding an emergency responder's immigration 24
status, citizenship status, or place of birth; and25
(d) Public services are available to, and agency employees shall 26
serve, all emergency responders who reside or work in Washington 27
without regard to immigration or citizenship status.28
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) of this section prohibits 29
the collection, use, or disclosure of information that is:30
(a) Required to comply with state or federal law;31
(b) In response to a lawfully issued court order;32
(c) Necessary to perform agency duties, functions, or other 33
business, as permitted by statute or rule, conducted by the agency 34
that is not related to immigration enforcement; 35
(d) Required to comply with policies, grants, waivers, or other 36
requirements necessary to maintain funding; or 37
(e) In the form of deidentified or aggregated data, including 38
census data. 39
p. 3 HB 2351
(4) Any changes to agency policies required by this section must 1
be made as expeditiously as possible, consistent with agency 2
procedures. Final policies must be published. 3
(5) Agencies of cities or towns including unclassified cities or 4
towns shall begin implementation of this section no later than 5
January 1, 2027, and must demonstrate full compliance by January 1, 6
2028. 7
(6) For the purpose of this section, "emergency responder" has 8
the same meaning as in RCW 9A.76.020. 9
(7) This section applies to all agencies of cities or towns 10
including unclassified cities or towns operating or existing in 11
Washington on or after January 1, 2027. 12
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 36.01 13
RCW to read as follows: 14
(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no 15
agency of any county, including law enforcement, may use agency 16
funds, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to investigate, 17
enforce, cooperate with, or assist in the investigation or 18
enforcement of any federal registration or surveillance programs or 19
any other laws, rules, or policies that target any emergency 20
responder who resides or works in Washington, solely on the basis of 21
race, religion, immigration, or citizenship status, or national or 22
ethnic origin. This subsection does not apply to any program with the 23
primary purpose of providing persons with services or benefits, or to 24
RCW 9.94A.685. 25
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, all 26
agencies of counties shall review their policies and identify and 27
make any changes necessary to ensure that: 28
(a) Information collected from emergency responders is limited to 29
the minimum necessary to comply with subsection (3) of this section;30
(b) Information collected from emergency responders is not 31
disclosed except as necessary to comply with subsection (3) of this 32
section or as permitted by state or federal law; 33
(c) Agency employees may not condition services or request 34
information or proof regarding an emergency responder's immigration 35
status, citizenship status, or place of birth; and36
(d) Public services are available to, and agency employees shall 37
serve, all emergency responders who reside or work in Washington 38
without regard to immigration or citizenship status.39
p. 4 HB 2351
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) of this section prohibits 1
the collection, use, or disclosure of information that is:2
(a) Required to comply with state or federal law;3
(b) In response to a lawfully issued court order;4
(c) Necessary to perform agency duties, functions, or other 5
business, as permitted by statute or rule, conducted by the agency 6
that is not related to immigration enforcement; 7
(d) Required to comply with policies, grants, waivers, or other 8
requirements necessary to maintain funding; or 9
(e) In the form of deidentified or aggregated data, including 10
census data. 11
(4) Any changes to agency policies required by this section must 12
be made as expeditiously as possible, consistent with agency 13
procedures. Final policies must be published. 14
(5) Agencies of counties shall begin implementation of this 15
section no later than January 1, 2027, and must demonstrate full 16
compliance by January 1, 2028. 17
(6) For the purpose of this section, "emergency responder" has 18
the same meaning as in RCW 9A.76.020. 19
(7) This section applies to all agencies of counties operating or 20
existing in Washington on or after January 1, 2027.21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 38.52 22
RCW to read as follows: 23
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, no 24
incident command system, including law enforcement, may use any state 25
or local funds, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to 26
investigate, enforce, cooperate with, or assist in the investigation 27
or enforcement of any federal registration or surveillance programs 28
or any other laws, rules, or policies that target any emergency 29
responder who resides or works in Washington, solely on the basis of 30
race, religion, immigration, or citizenship status, or national or 31
ethnic origin. 32
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section prohibits the 33
collection, use, or disclosure of information that is:34
(a) Required to comply with state or federal law;35
(b) In response to a lawfully issued court order;36
(c) Necessary to perform incident command system duties, 37
functions, or other business, as permitted by statute or rule, 38
p. 5 HB 2351
conducted by the incident command system that is not related to 1
immigration enforcement; 2
(d) Required to comply with policies, grants, waivers, or other 3
requirements necessary to maintain funding; or 4
(e) In the form of deidentified or aggregated data, including 5
census data. 6
(3) For the purpose of this section, "emergency responder" has 7
the same meaning as in RCW 9A.76.020. 8
(4) This section applies to all incident command systems 9
directing or coordinating emergency response activities that take 10
place in Washington on or after January 1, 2027. 11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 38.52 12
RCW to read as follows: 13
(1)(a) The governor and the executive authority of each political 14
subdivision of the state are authorized to designate any geographic 15
area within their respective jurisdictions that contains an ongoing 16
emergency or disaster as an emergency operation zone. The emergency 17
operation zone may be drawn to include affected and at-risk areas, 18
areas where emergency responders are staging or working, and 19
reasonable buffer zones. The designating authority shall establish a 20
duration for the emergency operation zone's existence that may not 21
exceed 30 days, but the designating authority may modify or renew the 22
designation as needed for emergencies or disasters that spread beyond 23
the zone's established borders or persist beyond the zone's 24
established duration. 25
(b) Whenever a designating authority establishes or modifies an 26
emergency operation zone it shall, as soon as practicable, publish 27
notice of the zone's existence, borders, and duration on the 28
designating authority's publicly accessible website and transmit a 29
copy of the notice to all local, state, and federal law enforcement 30
agencies the designating authority knows or reasonably expects to 31
operate within the emergency operation zone. A notice prepared under 32
this subsection shall include a citation to this section and the 33
statement "INTERFERENCE WITH EMERGENCY RESPONDERS WITHIN AN EMERGENCY 34
OPERATION ZONE IS RESTRICTED BY STATE LAW." 35
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, any law 36
enforcement officer who enters or remains in an emergency operation 37
zone to target an emergency responder for the purpose of enforcing a 38
local, state, or federal law against the emergency responder, shall:39
p. 6 HB 2351
(a) Visibly display identification in all places and at all times 1
while present in the emergency operation zone. Identification must 2
include, at minimum, the officer's agency name and an individual 3
identification number the officer's employer can link to the 4
officer's legal name and identity; 5
(b) Disclose to the incident commander, emergency management 6
authority, or designated administrator exercising delegated authority 7
the nature and scope of the officer's intended activities within the 8
emergency operation zone. The officer or the officer's employer must 9
make this disclosure before the officer enters the emergency 10
operation zone or, if the incident command team has not been 11
established at the time of the officer's entry into the emergency 12
operation zone, this disclosure must be made as soon as practicable 13
after the incident command team is established; 14
(c) Obtain a valid judicial warrant before undertaking any 15
search, seizure, or arrest for which a warrant is required, and 16
provide a copy of such warrant upon request to the emergency 17
operation zone incident command team and the subject of the warrant; 18
and 19
(d) Refrain from disrupting emergency operations throughout the 20
emergency operation zone or interfering with any emergency responders 21
within the emergency operation zone, unless acting pursuant to a 22
judicial warrant authorizing a specified search or seizure.23
(3) The requirements of subsection (2) of this section do not 24
apply to: 25
(a) Any law enforcement officer outside an emergency operation 26
zone; 27
(b) Any law enforcement officer who enters or remains in an 28
emergency operation zone, if the officer does not intend to target an 29
emergency responder for the purpose of enforcing a local, state, or 30
federal law against the emergency responder; 31
(c) Any law enforcement officer who is lawfully operating under a 32
previously established assumed identity for the purpose of 33
investigating a suspected violent offense by an emergency responder 34
who lives, works, or is present in the emergency operation zone, if: 35
(i) The officer is operating under an assumed identity with the 36
knowledge and authorization of the officer's superiors, and (ii) 37
compliance with the requirements of this section would be likely to 38
compromise the ongoing criminal investigation of the emergency 39
responder or endanger the investigating officer; or40
p. 7 HB 2351
(d) Any law enforcement officer who cannot reasonably comply with 1
the requirements of this section as a result of an ongoing search for 2
or pursuit of an emergency responder who the officer has probable 3
cause to believe has committed a violent offense or is about to 4
commit a violent offense. 5
(4) A violation of this section is not a criminal or civil 6
offense and does not provide any basis for criminal or civil 7
liability, but such violation must be reported to the attorney 8
general. 9
(5) In response to any reported violation of this section, the 10
attorney general may: 11
(a) Provide notification of the violation to the governor and any 12
affected political subdivision of the state, the attorney general of 13
the United States, the United States department of justice office of 14
the inspector general, and any member or committee of the United 15
States congress or Washington legislature; 16
(b) Publish a public report on the attorney general's website 17
that details the violation; and 18
(c) Provide notification of the violation to any affected 19
individuals and organizations, including legal advocacy 20
organizations. 21
(6) In response to any reported violation of this section by a 22
federal officer or agent that disrupted or interfered with an 23
emergency response or resulted in the detention or arrest of an 24
emergency responder, the attorney general must provide notification 25
of the violation to the attorney general of the United States and the 26
United States department of justice office of the inspector general. 27
The attorney general may provide additional notifications and 28
reporting as provided in subsection (5) of this section.29
(7) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 30
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.31
(a) "Emergency operation zone" means any designated geographic 32
area as described in subsection (1) of this section that contains an 33
ongoing emergency or disaster. 34
(b) "Emergency responder" has the same meaning as in RCW 35
9A.76.020. 36
(c) "Incident command team" means the leadership of an incident 37
command system as that term is defined in RCW 38.52.010.38
(d) "Law enforcement officer" means any employee, agent, officer, 39
or contractor of any local or state government in the United States, 40
p. 8 HB 2351
or the federal government of the United States, who enforces local, 1
state, or federal law, and who is authorized to search, seize, 2
detain, or arrest any person. 3
(e) "Violent offense" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 4
9.94A.030. 5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. If any provision of this act or its 6
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 7
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 8
persons or circumstances is not affected.9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. If any part of this act is found to be in 10
conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to 11
the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of 12
this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with 13
respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not 14
affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application 15
to the agencies concerned. Rules adopted under this act must meet 16
federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of 17
federal funds by the state.18
--- END ---
p. 9 HB 2351