H-2511.1

HOUSE BILL 2231

ByRepresentatives Walen, Chapman, Hackney, Springer, and Goodman

AN ACT Relating to incentivizing cities and counties to attract and retain commissioned law enforcement officers; reenacting and amending RCW 43.101.200; adding new sections to chapter 82.14 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

(2) The legislature recognizes the need for attracting and retaining additional law enforcement officers in Washington. To address this need, the legislature intends to authorize counties and cities to impose a sales and use tax as a credit against the state sales and use tax to provide funding for attracting and retaining law enforcement officers throughout the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 82.14 RCW to read as follows:

(1)(a) In accordance with the timeline established in section 3 of this act, a county or city legislative authority may impose a sales and use tax in accordance with the terms of this chapter. The rate of tax under this section is 0.10 percent of the selling price, in the case of a sales tax, or value of the article used, in the case of a use tax.

(b) For a city imposing the sales and use tax under this section, if the county in which the city is located also imposes the tax, the city sales and use tax must be credited against the county tax.

(2) The tax authorized in this section is in addition to any other taxes authorized by law and must be collected from those persons who are taxable by the state under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW upon the occurrence of any taxable event within the county. The tax authorized under this section is a credit against the state tax under chapter 82.08 or 82.12 RCW. The department must perform the collection of such taxes on behalf of the county or city at no cost to the county or city and the state treasurer must remit the tax to the jurisdiction as provided in RCW 82.14.060.

(3)(a) Subject to (b) of this subsection, at least 50 percent of the money received under this section must be used solely for attracting and retaining additional commissioned law enforcement officers.

(b) The remaining percentage of the money received under this section in the current calendar year may be used for criminal justice purposes.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "criminal justice purposes" means activities that substantially assist the criminal justice system, which may include circumstances where ancillary benefit to the civil justice system occurs, and which includes domestic violence services such as those provided by domestic violence programs, community advocates, and legal advocates, as defined in RCW 70.123.020. After May 13, 2021, through December 31, 2024, criminal justice purposes includes local government programs that have a reasonable relationship to reducing the number of people interacting with the criminal justice system including, but not limited to, reducing homelessness and improving behavioral health.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 82.14 RCW to read as follows:

Counties and cities may impose the sales and use tax authorized in section 2 of this act as follows:

(1) By January 1, 2025, all counties and cities with a population of 50,000 or less may impose the sales and use tax.

(2) By January 1, 2027, all counties and cities with a population between 50,000 and 175,000 may impose the sales and use tax.

(3) By January 1, 2029, all counties and cities may impose the sales and use tax.

Sec. 4. RCW 43.101.200 and 2023 c 475 s 931 and 2023 c 168 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, all law enforcement personnel, except volunteers, and reserve officers whether paid or unpaid, initially employed on or after January 1, 1978, shall engage in basic law enforcement training which complies with standards adopted by the commission pursuant to RCW 43.101.080. For personnel initially employed before January 1, 1990, such training shall be successfully completed during the first fifteen months of employment of such personnel unless otherwise extended or waived by the commission and shall be requisite to the continuation of such employment. Personnel initially employed on or after January 1, 1990, shall commence basic training during the first six months of employment unless the basic training requirement is otherwise waived or extended by the commission. Successful completion of basic training is requisite to the continuation of employment of such personnel initially employed on or after January 1, 1990.

(2)(a) All law enforcement personnel who are limited authority Washington peace officers and whose employment commences on or after July 1, 2023, shall commence basic training during the first 12 months of employment unless the basic training requirement is otherwise waived or extended by the commission. Successful completion of basic training is requisite to the continuation of employment of such personnel initially employed on or after July 1, 2023.

(b)(i) The commission shall review the training files of all law enforcement personnel who are limited authority Washington peace officers, whose employment commenced prior to July 1, 2023, and who have not successfully completed training that complies with standards adopted by the commission, to determine what, if any, supplemental training is required to appropriately carry out the officers' duties and responsibilities.

(ii) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to require law enforcement personnel who are limited authority Washington peace officers, whose employment commenced prior to July 1, 2023, to complete the basic law enforcement training academy as a condition of continuing employment as a limited authority Washington peace officer.

(iii) Law enforcement personnel who are limited authority Washington peace officers are not required to complete the basic law enforcement academy or an equivalent basic academy upon transferring to a general authority Washington law enforcement agency or limited authority Washington law enforcement agency, as defined in RCW 10.93.020, if they have:

(A) Been employed as a special agent with the Washington state gambling commission, been a natural resource investigator with the department of natural resources, been a liquor enforcement officer with the liquor and cannabis board, been an investigator with the office of the insurance commissioner, or been a park ranger with the Washington state parks and recreation commission, before or after July 1, 2023; and

(B) Received a certificate of successful completion from the basic law enforcement academy or the basic law enforcement equivalency academy and thereafter engaged in regular and commissioned law enforcement employment with an agency listed in (b)(iii)(A) of this subsection without a break or interruption in excess of 24 months; and

(C) Remained current with the in-service training requirements as adopted by the commission by rule.

(3) Except as provided in RCW 43.101.170, the commission shall provide the aforementioned training and shall have the sole authority to do so. The commission shall provide necessary facilities, supplies, materials, and the board and room of noncommuting attendees for seven days per week((, except during the 2017-2019, 2019-2021, 2021-2023, and 2023-2025 fiscal biennia when the employing, county, city, or state law enforcement agency shall reimburse the commission for twenty-five percent of the cost of training its personnel)). Additionally, to the extent funds are provided for this purpose, the commission shall reimburse to participating law enforcement agencies with ten or less full-time commissioned patrol officers the cost of temporary replacement of each officer who is enrolled in basic law enforcement training: PROVIDED, That such reimbursement shall include only the actual cost of temporary replacement not to exceed the total amount of salary and benefits received by the replaced officer during his or her training period:

PROVIDED FURTHER, That limited authority Washington law enforcement agencies as defined in RCW 10.93.020 shall reimburse the commission for the full cost of training their personnel.

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