SENATE BILL REPORT
SHB 1177
As of March 20, 2023
Title: An act relating to a missing and murdered indigenous women and people cold case investigations unit.
Brief Description: Creating a missing and murdered indigenous women and people cold case investigations unit.
Sponsors: House Committee on Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (originally sponsored by Representatives Lekanoff, Orwall, Reed, Berry, Ramel, Callan, Doglio, Timmons, Walsh, Reeves, Chopp, Duerr, Gregerson, Taylor, Wylie, Stonier, Pollet, Davis, Kloba and Ormsby; by request of Attorney General).
Brief History: Passed House: 2/28/23, 97-0.
Committee Activity: Law & Justice: 3/20/23.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Creates a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Cold Case Investigations Assistance Unit within the Office of the Attorney General.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON LAW & JUSTICE
Staff: Ryan Giannini (786-7285)
Background:

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force. In 2021, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) Task Force was convened by the Office of the Attorney General (AGO). The MMIWP Task Force was tasked to review the laws and policies pertaining to missing and murdered indigenous people and to develop related recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature.
 
In August 2022, the MMIWP Task Force released an interim report which contained findings, data, and recommendations.
Summary of Bill:

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Cold Case Investigations Assistance Unit is created within the AGO, subject to appropriation, to assist federal, municipal, county, and tribal law enforcement agencies with solving cold cases involving missing and murdered indigenous women and people. 
 
The unit may proactively offer assistance to a law enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction over a missing or murdered indigenous woman or person cold case, but it may not investigate or assist with a criminal investigation except at the request of the law enforcement agency, in which case, the assistance must be limited to the content of the request. 
 
The unit must prioritize assistance to jurisdictions that do not have sufficient resources to investigate cold cases. 
 
The unit must include an advocate or case navigator.
Appropriation: The bill contains a section or sections to limit implementation to the availability of amounts appropriated for that specific purpose.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

PRO: There are over a thousand cold cases within the Attorney General's Office. Over 400 of such cases are Native Americans, and over 114 such cases are Native American women. Yet, these cases are not a priority for the justice system. Indigenous communities continue to receive little to no attention for missing and murdered relatives. When families are not taken seriously by authorities, or when cases go cold, the families are left to find answers on their own and are left to cope with the loss of their loved ones every day. This bill will allow focus on some of these cold cases and further efforts to find victims. It will ensure that indigenous victims of crime receive robust, thorough investigations, no matter the circumstance. Every person is equally deserving of governmental protection from harm regardless of their sex and gender, and the discussion on this issue must also include missing and murdered indigenous men and boys.
Persons Testifying: PRO: Representative Debra Lekanoff, Prime Sponsor; Blair Daly; Councilwoman Charlene Tillequots, Yakama Nation Tribal Council; Annie Forsman-Adams, WA State Attorney General's Office; Andrew Guillen, Seattle Indian Health Board; Leydi Hernandez Quiros; Marissa Perez, The Yarrow Project.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: No one.