BILL REQ. #:  H-3708.1 

Read first time 01/19/12.   Referred to Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

     AN ACT Relating to establishing a task force to review and analyze the methodologies and data used by the United States department of justice in its investigation of the Seattle police department's use of force policies; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that use of force issues are criminal justice and law enforcement matters left to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and any use of force policies or practices recommended or imposed by the federal government, other than those clearly and expressly required or authorized by an act of congress, are not binding on state and local government agencies.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) A task force is hereby created to review and analyze the methodologies, statistics, and all other procedures and data used by the United States department of justice in its investigation of the Seattle police department's use of force policies to support its findings and conclusions and recommended remedial measures in its investigation report dated December 16, 2011, and issued by the United States attorney's office for the western district of Washington.
     (2) The task force includes representatives from the state legislature, state and local law enforcement, the Washington state criminal justice training commission, and the attorney general's office.
     (3) Staff support for the task force shall be provided by senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research.
     (4) Meetings shall take place in Olympia on the capitol campus.
     (5) Legislative members and nonlegislative members of the task force may not be reimbursed for expenses, but shall participate in a voluntary capacity.
     (6) The task force shall report its findings to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 17, 2012.