Boys and men commission

AN ACT Relating to establishing the boys and men commission; 1
reenacting and amending RCW 43.79A.040 and 43.79A.040; adding a new 2
chapter to Title 43 RCW; providing an effective date; providing an 3
expiration date; and providing contingent expiration dates.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that it is important 6
for all Washingtonians to thrive. The legislature finds that on many 7
fronts men and boys struggle at a higher rate. Boys are struggling in 8
school, with a lower average grade point average and a growing gap in 9
graduation rates. Additionally, boys make up 94 percent of the 10
population of juvenile rehabilitation. These issues are exacerbated 11
for boys of color. As boys transition into adulthood, these problems 12
continue to persist. Men make up 71 percent of the unsheltered 13
population and 63 percent of people experiencing homelessness. Men 14
also account for 79 percent of suicides. The legislature finds that 15
addressing men's issues and improving the emotional well-being of men 16
and increasing their sense of belonging will have a positive impact 17
on larger societal issues such as loneliness, isolation, and gender-18
based violence.19
The legislature further finds that the development of public 20
policy and the efficient delivery of governmental services to meet 21
H-2742.2
HOUSE BILL 2401
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Berg, Stearns, Valdez, Leavitt, Parshley, Zahn,
Richards, Scott, Paul, Ramel, Fey, Pollet, Macri, Nance, Reed,
Timmons, Reeves, Bernbaum, Walen, and Hall
Read first time 01/13/26. Referred to Committee on State Government
& Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HB 2401
the needs of boys and men can be improved by establishing a focal 1
point in state government focused on the well-being of men and boys. 2
This includes but is not limited to increasing pathways to work and 3
education, increasing mental health support, and addressing the 4
pervasive crisis of loneliness. 5
Therefore, the legislature deems it necessary to establish in 6
statute the boys and men commission to further these purposes. The 7
boys and men commission shall address issues relevant to the problems 8
and needs of boys and men including improving mental health outcomes, 9
reducing stigma around mental health treatment, and expanding access 10
to meaningful education, vocational, and mentorship opportunities. 11
The boys and men commission shall place an emphasis on addressing the 12
challenges faced by boys and men of color, those in rural locations, 13
those who identify as LGBTQ, and those who are socioeconomically 14
disadvantaged and often find themselves left out of important 15
conversations regarding their well-being and future.16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The Washington state boys and men 17
commission is established contingent upon the receipt of gifts, 18
grants, or other nonstate contributions in an amount sufficient to 19
fully fund the boys and men commission's operational costs through 20
December 31, 2029, including all associated administrative costs or 21
costs to contract for work to carry out the purposes and provisions 22
of this act.23
(2) By June 30, 2026, the office of financial management must:24
(a) Identify the amounts, by fiscal year, necessary to fully fund 25
the operating costs of the boys and men commission from July 1, 2026, 26
through December 31, 2029; and 27
(b) Notify the governor, the chief clerk of the house of 28
representatives, the secretary of the senate, the state treasurer, 29
the office of the code reviser, and other interested parties of these 30
amounts. 31
(3) Prior to the establishment of the boys and men commission, 32
the office of financial management or its designee must seek and 33
receive gifts, grants, and other contributions from nonstate sources 34
to carry out the provisions of subsection (1) of this section. Any 35
amounts received for this purpose must be individually tracked by the 36
office of financial management and deposited into the boys and men 37
commission account. 38
p. 2 HB 2401
(4) This section expires upon the office of financial management 1
receiving gifts, grants, or other nonstate contributions in an amount 2
sufficient to fully fund the boys and men commission's operational 3
costs through December 31, 2029, and providing notice in accordance 4
with section 10 of this act that such condition has been met, or on 5
January 1, 2030, whichever occurs later. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The Washington state boys and men 7
commission is established.8
(2)(a) The boys and men commission shall consist of nine members 9
appointed by the governor, with at least one member being a tribal 10
chair, board member, councilmember, or enrolled member from a 11
federally recognized Indian tribe. 12
(b) The governor shall consider nominations for membership based 13
upon maintaining a balanced and diverse distribution of ethnic, 14
geographic, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, and 15
occupational representation, where practicable. The majority of 16
members shall self-identify as male to maintain sufficient 17
representation of individuals with direct lived experience on the 18
boys and men commission. 19
(3) All boys and men commission members shall serve at the 20
pleasure of the governor, but in no case may any member serve more 21
than three years without formal reappointment by the governor. All 22
legislative advisory members shall serve for a two-year term and the 23
position of any legislative advisory member shall be deemed vacated 24
whenever such member ceases to be a member of the house from which 25
the member was appointed. Of the persons initially appointed by the 26
governor to the boys and men commission, three shall be appointed to 27
serve one year, three to serve two years, and three to serve three 28
years. Upon expiration of such terms, subsequent appointments shall 29
be for three years. Any vacancies occurring in the membership of the 30
boys and men commission shall be filled for the remainder of the 31
unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointments.32
(4) Two members of the senate, one from each of the two major 33
political parties, appointed by the president of the senate, and two 34
members of the house of representatives, one from each of the two 35
major political parties, appointed by the speaker of the house of 36
representatives, shall serve as advisory members. 37
p. 3 HB 2401
(5)(a) Nonlegislative members shall be reimbursed for expenses 1
incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with RCW 2
43.03.050 and 43.03.060. 3
(b) Legislative members shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred 4
in the performance of their duties in accordance with RCW 44.04.120.5
(6) A simple majority of the boys and men commission's membership 6
constitutes a quorum for the purpose of conducting business.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The boys and men commission shall be 8
administered by an executive director, who shall be appointed by, and 9
serve at the pleasure of, the governor. The governor shall set the 10
salary of the executive director.11
(2) The executive director shall: 12
(a) Employ the staff of the boys and men commission;13
(b) Monitor state legislation and advocate for legislation 14
affecting men and boys; 15
(c) Work with state agencies to assess programs and policies that 16
affect men and boys; 17
(d) Coordinate with the minority commissions, LGBTQ commission, 18
and women's commission to address issues of mutual concern; and19
(e) Work as a liaison between the public and private sector to 20
ensure vocational pathways for men and boys. 21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The boys and men commission shall have 22
the following duties:23
(a) Provide a clearinghouse for information regarding both state 24
and federal legislation as it relates to the purpose of this chapter;25
(b) Identify and define specific needs of men and boys of color, 26
those in rural locations, those who identify as LGBTQ, and those who 27
are socioeconomically disadvantaged, and provide recommendations for 28
addressing those needs in the biennial report to the legislature and 29
governor under (g) of this subsection; 30
(c) Consult with state agencies regarding the effect of agency 31
policies, procedures, practices, laws, and administrative rules on 32
the unique problems and needs of men and boys. The boys and men 33
commission shall also advise such state agencies on the development 34
and implementation of comprehensive and coordinated policies, plans, 35
and programs focusing on those problems and needs;36
(d) Provide resource and referral information to agencies and the 37
public. The boys and men commission may gather data and disseminate 38
p. 4 HB 2401
information to the public in order to implement the purposes of this 1
chapter; 2
(e) Hold public hearings to gather input on issues related to the 3
unique problems and needs of men and boys. The boys and men 4
commission must include in the biennial report submitted under (g) of 5
this subsection the input received and recommendations for addressing 6
the problems and needs discussed at the public hearings;7
(f) Advocate for policies that increase the sense of belonging 8
and decreases isolation and loneliness in boys and men; and9
(g) Submit a report to the appropriate committees of the 10
legislature and the governor by December 31, 2029, and every two 11
years thereafter detailing the boys and men commission's activities. 12
The report submitted must be in electronic format pursuant to RCW 13
43.01.036. 14
(2) State agencies must provide appropriate and reasonable 15
assistance to the boys and men commission as needed, including 16
gathering data and information, in order for the boys and men 17
commission to carry out the purposes of this chapter.18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The boys and men commission have the 19
following powers:20
(1) Solicit and receive gifts, grants, and endowments from public 21
or private sources that are made for the use or benefit of the boys 22
and men commission and to expend the same or any income therefrom 23
according to their terms and the purpose of this chapter. Amounts 24
received must be deposited into the boys and men commission account. 25
The boys and men commission's executive director shall make a report 26
of such funds received from private sources to the office of 27
financial management on a regular basis. Amounts received from 28
private sources must supplement and may not supplant amounts 29
appropriated by the legislature, but shall be used for projects and 30
functions authorized by this chapter but not funded by legislative 31
appropriation; and 32
(2) Adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter.33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The boys and men commission account is 34
created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from 35
gifts, grants, and endowments received by the boys and men commission 36
must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may 37
be used only for the purposes of sections 3 through 5 of this act. 38
p. 5 HB 2401
Only the executive director of the boys and men commission or the 1
director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The 2
account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, 3
but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.4
Sec. 8. RCW 43.79A.040 and 2025 c 399 s 13 and 2025 c 190 s 3 5
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 6
(1) Money in the treasurer's trust fund may be deposited, 7
invested, and reinvested by the state treasurer in accordance with 8
RCW 43.84.080 in the same manner and to the same extent as if the 9
money were in the state treasury, and may be commingled with moneys 10
in the state treasury for cash management and cash balance purposes.11
(2) All income received from investment of the treasurer's trust 12
fund must be set aside in an account in the treasury trust fund to be 13
known as the investment income account. 14
(3) The investment income account may be utilized for the payment 15
of purchased banking services on behalf of treasurer's trust funds 16
including, but not limited to, depository, safekeeping, and 17
disbursement functions for the state treasurer or affected state 18
agencies. The investment income account is subject in all respects to 19
chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for payments to 20
financial institutions. Payments must occur prior to distribution of 21
earnings set forth in subsection (4) of this section.22
(4)(a) Monthly, the state treasurer must distribute the earnings 23
credited to the investment income account to the state general fund 24
except under (b), (c), and (d) of this subsection.25
(b) The following accounts and funds must receive their 26
proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or fund's 27
average daily balance for the period: The 24/7 sobriety account, the 28
Washington promise scholarship account, the Gina Grant Bull memorial 29
legislative page scholarship account, the Rosa Franklin legislative 30
internship program scholarship account, the Washington advanced 31
college tuition payment program account, the Washington college 32
savings program account, the accessible communities account, the 33
Washington achieving a better life experience program account, the 34
Washington career and college pathways innovation challenge program 35
account, the community and technical college innovation account, the 36
agricultural local fund, the American Indian scholarship endowment 37
fund, the behavioral health loan repayment and scholarship program 38
account, the Billy Frank Jr. national statuary hall collection fund, 39
p. 6 HB 2401
the foster care scholarship endowment fund, the foster care endowed 1
scholarship trust fund, the contract harvesting revolving account, 2
the Washington state combined fund drive account, the county 911 3
excise tax account, the county road administration board emergency 4
loan account, the toll collection account, the developmental 5
disabilities endowment trust fund, the energy account, the energy 6
facility site evaluation council account, the fair fund, the family 7
and medical leave insurance account, the Fern Lodge maintenance 8
account, the fish and wildlife federal lands revolving account, the 9
natural resources federal lands revolving account, the food animal 10
veterinarian conditional scholarship account, the forest health 11
revolving account, the fruit and vegetable inspection account, the 12
educator conditional scholarship account, the game farm alternative 13
account, the GET ready for math and science scholarship account, the 14
Washington global health technologies and product development 15
account, the grain inspection revolving fund, the Washington history 16
day account, the industrial insurance rainy day fund, the law 17
enforcement officers' and firefighters' plan 2 expense fund, the 18
local tourism promotion account, the low-income home rehabilitation 19
account, the medication for people living with HIV rebate revenue 20
account, the homeowner recovery account, the multiagency permitting 21
team account, the northeast Washington wolf-livestock management 22
account, the pollution liability insurance program trust account, the 23
public use general aviation airport loan revolving account, the 24
regional transportation investment district account, the rural 25
rehabilitation account, the Washington sexual assault kit account, 26
the stadium and exhibition center account, the youth athletic 27
facility account, the self-insurance revolving fund, the children's 28
trust fund, the Washington horse racing commission Washington bred 29
owners' bonus fund and breeder awards account, the Washington horse 30
racing commission class C purse fund account, the individual 31
development account program account, the Washington horse racing 32
commission operating account, the life sciences discovery fund, the 33
Washington state library-archives building account, the reduced 34
cigarette ignition propensity account, the center for deaf and hard 35
of hearing youth account, the school for the blind account, the 36
public employees' and retirees' insurance reserve fund, the school 37
employees' benefits board insurance reserve fund, the public 38
employees' and retirees' insurance account, the school employees' 39
insurance account, the long-term services and supports trust account, 40
p. 7 HB 2401
the radiation perpetual maintenance fund, the Indian health 1
improvement reinvestment account, the department of licensing tuition 2
recovery trust fund, the student achievement council tuition recovery 3
trust fund, the tuition recovery trust fund, the industrial insurance 4
premium refund account, the mobile home park relocation fund, the 5
natural resources deposit fund, the Washington state health insurance 6
pool account, the federal forest revolving account, the Washington 7
saves administrative trust account, the boys and men commission 8
account, and the library operations account. 9
(c) The following accounts and funds must receive 80 percent of 10
their proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or 11
fund's average daily balance for the period: The advance right-of-way 12
revolving fund, the advanced environmental mitigation revolving 13
account, the federal narcotics asset forfeitures account, the high 14
occupancy vehicle account, the local rail service assistance account, 15
and the miscellaneous transportation programs account.16
(d) Any state agency that has independent authority over accounts 17
or funds not statutorily required to be held in the custody of the 18
state treasurer that deposits funds into a fund or account in the 19
custody of the state treasurer pursuant to an agreement with the 20
office of the state treasurer shall receive its proportionate share 21
of earnings based upon each account's or fund's average daily balance 22
for the period. 23
(5) In conformance with Article II, section 37 of the state 24
Constitution, no trust accounts or funds shall be allocated earnings 25
without the specific affirmative directive of this section.26
Sec. 9. RCW 43.79A.040 and 2025 c 399 s 14 and 2025 c 190 s 4 27
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:28
(1) Money in the treasurer's trust fund may be deposited, 29
invested, and reinvested by the state treasurer in accordance with 30
RCW 43.84.080 in the same manner and to the same extent as if the 31
money were in the state treasury, and may be commingled with moneys 32
in the state treasury for cash management and cash balance purposes.33
(2) All income received from investment of the treasurer's trust 34
fund must be set aside in an account in the treasury trust fund to be 35
known as the investment income account. 36
(3) The investment income account may be utilized for the payment 37
of purchased banking services on behalf of treasurer's trust funds 38
including, but not limited to, depository, safekeeping, and 39
p. 8 HB 2401
disbursement functions for the state treasurer or affected state 1
agencies. The investment income account is subject in all respects to 2
chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for payments to 3
financial institutions. Payments must occur prior to distribution of 4
earnings set forth in subsection (4) of this section.5
(4)(a) Monthly, the state treasurer must distribute the earnings 6
credited to the investment income account to the state general fund 7
except under (b), (c), and (d) of this subsection. 8
(b) The following accounts and funds must receive their 9
proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or fund's 10
average daily balance for the period: The 24/7 sobriety account, the 11
Washington promise scholarship account, the Gina Grant Bull memorial 12
legislative page scholarship account, the Rosa Franklin legislative 13
internship program scholarship account, the Washington advanced 14
college tuition payment program account, the Washington college 15
savings program account, the accessible communities account, the 16
Washington achieving a better life experience program account, the 17
Washington career and college pathways innovation challenge program 18
account, the community and technical college innovation account, the 19
agricultural local fund, the American Indian scholarship endowment 20
fund, the behavioral health loan repayment and scholarship program 21
account, the Billy Frank Jr. national statuary hall collection fund, 22
the foster care scholarship endowment fund, the foster care endowed 23
scholarship trust fund, the contract harvesting revolving account, 24
the Washington state combined fund drive account, the county 911 25
excise tax account, the county road administration board emergency 26
loan account, the toll collection account, the developmental 27
disabilities endowment trust fund, the energy account, the energy 28
facility site evaluation council account, the fair fund, the family 29
and medical leave insurance account, the Fern Lodge maintenance 30
account, the fish and wildlife federal lands revolving account, the 31
natural resources federal lands revolving account, the food animal 32
veterinarian conditional scholarship account, the forest health 33
revolving account, the fruit and vegetable inspection account, the 34
educator conditional scholarship account, the game farm alternative 35
account, the GET ready for math and science scholarship account, the 36
Washington global health technologies and product development 37
account, the grain inspection revolving fund, the Washington history 38
day account, the industrial insurance rainy day fund, the law 39
enforcement officers' and firefighters' plan 2 expense fund, the 40
p. 9 HB 2401
local tourism promotion account, the low-income home rehabilitation 1
account, the medication for people living with HIV rebate revenue 2
account, the homeowner recovery account, the multiagency permitting 3
team account, the northeast Washington wolf-livestock management 4
account, the public use general aviation airport loan revolving 5
account, the regional transportation investment district account, the 6
rural rehabilitation account, the Washington sexual assault kit 7
account, the stadium and exhibition center account, the youth 8
athletic facility account, the self-insurance revolving fund, the 9
children's trust fund, the Washington horse racing commission 10
Washington bred owners' bonus fund and breeder awards account, the 11
Washington horse racing commission class C purse fund account, the 12
individual development account program account, the Washington horse 13
racing commission operating account, the life sciences discovery 14
fund, the Washington state library-archives building account, the 15
reduced cigarette ignition propensity account, the center for deaf 16
and hard of hearing youth account, the school for the blind account, 17
the public employees' and retirees' insurance reserve fund, the 18
school employees' benefits board insurance reserve fund, the public 19
employees' and retirees' insurance account, the school employees' 20
insurance account, the long-term services and supports trust account, 21
the radiation perpetual maintenance fund, the Indian health 22
improvement reinvestment account, the department of licensing tuition 23
recovery trust fund, the student achievement council tuition recovery 24
trust fund, the tuition recovery trust fund, the industrial insurance 25
premium refund account, the mobile home park relocation fund, the 26
natural resources deposit fund, the Washington state health insurance 27
pool account, the federal forest revolving account, the Washington 28
saves administrative trust account, the boys and men commission 29
account, and the library operations account. 30
(c) The following accounts and funds must receive 80 percent of 31
their proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or 32
fund's average daily balance for the period: The advance right-of-way 33
revolving fund, the advanced environmental mitigation revolving 34
account, the federal narcotics asset forfeitures account, the high 35
occupancy vehicle account, the local rail service assistance account, 36
and the miscellaneous transportation programs account.37
(d) Any state agency that has independent authority over accounts 38
or funds not statutorily required to be held in the custody of the 39
state treasurer that deposits funds into a fund or account in the 40
p. 10 HB 2401
custody of the state treasurer pursuant to an agreement with the 1
office of the state treasurer shall receive its proportionate share 2
of earnings based upon each account's or fund's average daily balance 3
for the period. 4
(5) In conformance with Article II, section 37 of the state 5
Constitution, no trust accounts or funds shall be allocated earnings 6
without the specific affirmative directive of this section.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Sections 3 through 6 of this act take 8
effect upon the receipt of funds in the boys and men commission 9
account in an amount sufficient to fully fund the boys and men 10
commission's operational costs from that date until December 31, 11
2029, including all associated administrative costs or costs to 12
contract for work to carry out this chapter, pursuant to section 2 of 13
this act.14
(2) If the condition under subsection (1) of this section is met 15
on or before December 31, 2029, the office of financial management 16
shall notify affected parties, the governor, the chief clerk of the 17
house of representatives, the secretary of the senate, the office of 18
the code reviser, and others deemed appropriate of the date the 19
condition was met. 20
(3) If, by January 1, 2030, the condition under subsection (1) of 21
this section has not been met: 22
(a) The office of financial management shall notify affected 23
parties, the governor, the chief clerk of the house of 24
representatives, the secretary of the senate, the office of the code 25
reviser, and others deemed appropriate that the condition was not met 26
and shall return all nonpublic contributions received prior to that 27
date to the individual or entity making the original contribution; 28
and 29
(b) Sections 1 through 7 of this act expire. 30
(4) This section expires upon the conditions under subsections 31
(1) and (2) of this section being met, or on January 1, 2030, 32
whichever occurs later. 33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 1 through 7 and 10 of this act 34
constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Section 8 of this act expires July 1, 36
2030.37
p. 11 HB 2401
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Section 9 of this act takes effect July 1
1, 2030.2
--- END ---
p. 12 HB 2401