Police Accountability Laws to See Quick Attention in Washington State Legislature

The state legislature is set to debate proposals by Democrats to clarify police accountability laws passed last year.

Republicans and many sheriff's have complained the laws hinder law enforcement's ability to do their job.

One new proposal lets police and sheriff's deputies use force when assisting with crisis and mental health calls, while another on clarifies they're allowed to use .50 caliber weapons in most cases.

The Republican minority called for a special session several times last year in an attempt to overturn some of the laws, but were not successful.

Debate on the new Democratic proposals will take place Tuesday in a House committee.

The bills are HB 1735, sponsored by Reps. Jesse Johnson (D-Federal Way) and Alicia Rule (D-Blaine), and HB 1719, sponsored by Rep. Dan Bronoske (D-Lakewood).

Both bills will be heard in the House Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, January 11 at 8 AM.

Johnson authored HB 1310 in last year's legislative session, which has received the most pushback from Republicans and some police agencies.

The 60-day session of the 2022 state legislature began Monday morning.

Separately, Washington state Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig apparently has COVID-19.

Billig is fully vaccinated and boosted against the illness. He says says he's not experiencing any symptoms, but did recently test positive.

The Democrat represents the 3rd Legislative District in Spokane, adding he doesn't expect the positive test to keep him from his legislative duties as session gets underway this week.

The session is beginning with the House and Senate doing work remotely after the surge in COVID cases due to the omicron variant.