Bill > HB1436

This bill aims to incentivize cities and counties in Washington to increase the number of commissioned law enforcement officers by creating a new sales and use tax mechanism. The bill begins by highlighting Washington's current public safety challenges, noting that violent crime has reached 25-year highs and the state ranks last in the nation for law enforcement officers per capita. To address this, the legislation allows counties and cities to impose a 0.10 percent sales and use tax specifically dedicated to hiring additional commissioned law enforcement officers. The tax is in addition to existing taxes and will be collected by the state Department of Revenue at no cost to local jurisdictions. Importantly, if a local jurisdiction already has more law enforcement officers per 1,000 residents than the national average, they can use the generated funds for broader criminal justice purposes, which can include activities like domestic violence services and programs aimed at reducing interactions with the criminal justice system. The bill also includes provisions to expand basic law enforcement training, requiring the commission to provide at least 27 training classes in fiscal year 2026 and 28 classes in fiscal year 2027, with the legislature expected to appropriate sufficient funding to support these efforts.

Budget and Finance

https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1436&Year=2025&Initiative=false