wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1201 > Substitute Bill
The legislature finds that natural disasters and extreme weather events, including wildfire, flooding, earthquakes, extreme heat, and extreme cold present severe risks to public health and safety in Washington.
The legislature further finds that pets that are companion animals are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, including risk of heatstroke-related illness and death.
The legislature further finds that many families consider their companion animals to be family members. One of the most significant factors affecting evacuation decisions is companion animal ownership. Companion animal owners may refuse evacuation, attempt to reenter evacuated sites to rescue their companion animals, and experience grief, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder due to separation from their companion animal during an emergency. In addition, zoonotic disease risks increase when companion animals are abandoned or left to roam during an evacuation.
The legislature further finds that gaps in public preparedness and cosheltering opportunities during a disaster or extreme weather event increase the risk to public health and safety.
The legislature further finds that partnerships with nongovernmental organizations support emergency planning and preparedness and may be used to support identification and operation of coshelters.
Therefore, the legislature intends to provide guidance in increasing public preparedness and identifying shelters that can accommodate companion animals so that in the event of a disaster or extreme weather event, Washington residents will not have to choose between seeking safety and staying with their companion animals.
A political subdivision, under existing plan structures, shall, to the extent practicable based on available resources and site-specific circumstances, identify coshelters, emergency shelters, cooling centers, and warming centers able to accommodate persons with companion animals in each update of its local comprehensive emergency management plan required by RCW 38.52.070.
A local comprehensive emergency management plan must:
Identify at least one emergency shelter within a political subdivision's jurisdiction, to the extent practicable, that can accommodate persons with companion animals;
Identify at least one cooling center within a political subdivision's jurisdiction, to the extent practicable, that can accommodate persons with companion animals;
Identify at least one heating center within a political subdivision's jurisdiction, to the extent practicable, that can accommodate persons with companion animals; and
Identify a coshelter within a political subdivision's jurisdiction, to the extent practicable, available for persons with companion animals during an emergency or extreme weather condition.
An emergency shelter that is identified to accommodate persons with companion animals must have safety procedures regarding the sheltering of companion animals and comply with disaster assistance policies and procedures published by the federal emergency management agency.
A political subdivision shall provide companion animal emergency preparedness information on its website, including:
To the extent practicable, whether each designated emergency shelter, cooling center, or heating center can accommodate companion animals;
Information for creating a companion animal evacuation plan and emergency checklist, consistent with the federal emergency management agency recommendations; and
Identification of local organizations that provide emergency companion animal assistance.
The following definitions apply to this section:
"Companion animal" means a domesticated animal, such as a dog or cat, that is commonly kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes;
"Cooling center" means a facility that mitigates the public health impacts of extreme heat;
"Coshelter" means a temporary public shelter that allows an individual to bring a companion animal to the shelter;
"Emergency shelter" means a temporary location that provides basic shelter for individuals affected by an emergency or disaster; and
"Warming center" means a facility that mitigates the public health impacts of extreme cold.
Each political subdivision of this state is hereby authorized and directed to establish a local organization or to be a member of a joint local organization for emergency management in accordance with the state comprehensive emergency management plan and program: PROVIDED, That a political subdivision proposing such establishment shall submit its plan and program for emergency management to the state director and secure his or her recommendations thereon, and verification of consistency with the state comprehensive emergency management plan, in order that the plan of the local organization for emergency management may be coordinated with the plan and program of the state. Local comprehensive emergency management plans must specify the use of the incident command system for multiagency/multijurisdiction operations. No political subdivision may be required to include in its plan provisions for the emergency evacuation or relocation of residents in anticipation of nuclear attack. If the director's recommendations are adverse to the plan as submitted, and, if the local organization does not agree to the director's recommendations for modification to the proposal, the matter shall be referred to the council for final action. The director may authorize two or more political subdivisions to join in the establishment and operation of a joint local organization for emergency management as circumstances may warrant, in which case each political subdivision shall contribute to the cost of emergency management upon such fair and equitable basis as may be determined upon by the executive heads of the constituent subdivisions. If in any case the executive heads cannot agree upon the proper division of cost the matter shall be referred to the council for arbitration and its decision shall be final. When two or more political subdivisions join in the establishment and operation of a joint local organization for emergency management each shall pay its share of the cost into a special pooled fund to be administered by the treasurer of the most populous subdivision, which fund shall be known as the . . . . . . emergency management fund. Each local organization or joint local organization for emergency management shall have a director who shall be appointed by the executive head of the political subdivision, and who shall have direct responsibility for the organization, administration, and operation of such local organization for emergency management, subject to the direction and control of such executive officer or officers. In the case of a joint local organization for emergency management, the director shall be appointed by the joint action of the executive heads of the constituent political subdivisions. Each local organization or joint local organization for emergency management shall perform emergency management functions within the territorial limits of the political subdivision within which it is organized, and, in addition, shall conduct such functions outside of such territorial limits as may be required pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
In carrying out the provisions of this chapter each political subdivision, in which any disaster as described in RCW 38.52.020 occurs, shall have the power to enter into contracts and incur obligations necessary to combat such disaster, protecting the health and safety of persons and property, and providing emergency assistance to the victims of such disaster. Each political subdivision is authorized to exercise the powers vested under this section in the light of the exigencies of an extreme emergency situation without regard to time-consuming procedures and formalities prescribed by law (excepting mandatory constitutional requirements), including, but not limited to, budget law limitations, requirements of competitive bidding and publication of notices, provisions pertaining to the performance of public work, entering into contracts, the incurring of obligations, the employment of temporary workers, the rental of equipment, the purchase of supplies and materials, the levying of taxes, and the appropriation and expenditures of public funds.
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Each local organization or joint local organization for emergency management that produces a local comprehensive emergency management plan must include a communication plan for notifying significant population segments of life safety information during an emergency. Local organizations and joint local organizations are encouraged to consult with affected community organizations in the development of the communication plans. Communication plans must include an expeditious notification of citizens who can reasonably be determined to be at risk during a hazardous material spill or release pursuant to RCW 70.136.080.
In developing communication plans, local organizations and joint organizations should consider, as part of their determination of the extent of the obligation to provide emergency notification to significant population segments, the following factors: The number or proportion of the limited English proficiency persons eligible to be served or likely to be encountered; the frequency with which limited English proficiency individuals come in contact with the emergency notification; the nature and importance of the emergency notification, service, or program to people's lives; and the resources available to the political subdivision to provide emergency notifications.
"Significant population segment" means, for the purposes of this subsection (3), each limited English proficiency language group that constitutes five percent or one thousand residents, whichever is less, of the population of persons eligible to be served or likely to be affected within a city, town, or county. The office of financial management forecasting division's limited English proficiency population estimates are the demographic data set for determining eligible limited English proficiency language groups.
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Local organizations and joint local organizations must submit the plans produced under (a) of this subsection to the Washington military department emergency management division, and must implement those plans. An initial communication plan must be submitted with the local organization or joint local organization's next local emergency management plan update following July 23, 2017, and subsequent plans must be reviewed in accordance with the director's schedule.
To the extent practicable based on available resources, a political subdivision must identify the location of a coshelter during an emergency in each update of its local emergency management plan.
For the purpose of this subsection, "coshelter" has the same meaning as in section 2 of this act.
When conducting emergency or disaster after-action reviews, local organizations and joint local organizations must evaluate the effectiveness of communication of life safety information and must inform the emergency management division of the Washington military department of technological challenges which limited communications efforts, along with identifying recommendations and resources needed to address those challenges.