March 11, 20265441March 5, 20262919

I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 2156 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.

Chief Clerk

Secretary of State

State of Washington

EHB 2156.PLENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 2156SENATEPassed Legislature2026 Regular Session69th Legislature2026 Regular SessionRepresentatives Obras, Goodman, Leavitt, Reed, Zahn, Thomas, Gregerson, Ormsby, Reeves, Thai, Macri, Fosse, and Salahuddin; by request of Attorney GeneralPrefiled 12/16/25.Read first time 01/12/26.Referred to Committee on Community Safety.Concerning the authority of investigators of the attorney general's office. AN ACT Relating to the authority of investigators of the attorney general's office; and adding a new section to chapter 43.10 RCW. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 43.10 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The attorney general shall designate investigator positions that are limited authority Washington peace officers as defined in RCW 10.93.020.

(2) An investigator designated as a limited authority Washington peace officer under this section may investigate economic and financial crimes.

(3) The authority of an investigator in this section does not include the power to detain or arrest, and an investigator shall not be armed.

(4) The authority of an investigator in this section to serve search warrants is limited to electronic service on a business after the search warrant is approved by a judicial officer. An investigator shall not physically serve a search warrant for business records.

(5) An investigator who is a limited authority Washington peace officer under this section is subject to all applicable requirements in chapter 43.101 RCW, including but not limited to training and criminal background checks.

(6) The attorney general shall not employ any person as a limited authority Washington peace officer investigator if that person's history or conduct meets the standards requiring denial, suspension, or revocation of an officer's certification under RCW 43.101.105.

(7) The investigative authority or criminal jurisdiction of any other law enforcement agency is not modified by this section.

(8) For the purposes of this section, "investigator" means an employee of the office of the attorney general whose job responsibilities include investigation of a suspected economic or financial crime. "Investigator" does not include office of the attorney general personnel identified in RCW 74.67.010.