wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5005 > Substitute Bill
Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this specific purpose, there is hereby created the Washington jail council within the office of the governor. The purpose of the council is to promote jail transparency, support safe and humane conditions for jail employees and incarcerated individuals, encourage reform towards a more rehabilitative and therapeutic jail system, and reduce the exposure of jails to litigation.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Council" means the Washington jail council.
"Director" means the director of the Washington jail council.
"Health care information" has the same meaning as in RCW 70.02.010.
"Health care provider" has the same meaning as in RCW 70.02.010.
"Incarcerated individual" means a person committed to the custody of a jail, including but not limited to persons residing in a jail and persons released from such facility on furlough, work release, or community custody, and persons received from another state, state agency, county, federally recognized tribe, federal jurisdiction, or other entity or jurisdiction.
"Jail" means any holding, detention, special detention, or correctional facility as defined in RCW 70.48.020.
"Jail administrator" means a city or county department of corrections or chief law enforcement officer responsible for the operation of a jail pursuant to RCW 70.48.090.
The council shall be composed of seven members as follows:
One person who is a current or former jail administrator;
One person who is a current or former medical provider familiar with the needs of patients who have experienced incarceration and has not been employed by a state or county correctional or law enforcement agency in the last 10 years;
One person who is a current or former behavioral health service provider familiar with the needs of patients who have experienced incarceration and has not been employed by a state or county correctional or law enforcement agency in the last 10 years;
Two persons with lived experience being incarcerated in a Washington jail;
One person who is a licensed attorney with a background in investigating or advocating matters related to enhancing Washington jail practices or conditions and has not been employed by a state or county correctional or law enforcement agency in the last 10 years; and
One person who is a current or former jail employee.
Members shall be appointed by the governor. Two of the initial members of the council shall be appointed for a term of one year, two for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, one for a term of four years, and one for a term of five years. Successors to the initial members shall be appointed for terms of five years each, except that any individual chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member whom the individual succeeds.
Members shall be eligible for reappointment.
The council shall elect a chair and vice chair from among its members.
A vacancy on the council shall be filled by similar appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term, with the remaining members exercising all powers of the council during the period of vacancy.
Any member of the council may only be removed by the governor for neglect of duty, misconduct, or the inability to perform duties, after being given a written statement of the charges and an opportunity to be heard at a public hearing thereon.
Members of the council shall be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.240 and shall be reimbursed for their travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this specific purpose, the governor shall appoint a full-time director from a list of no fewer than three nominees submitted by the council unless the governor declines to select any of the candidates provided, in which case the governor may request additional candidates from the council or suggest candidates to the council for consideration.
The director shall be a person of recognized judgment, integrity, and independence.
The director shall hold office for a term of five years and shall continue to hold office until reappointed or until the appointment of their successor. The director may only be removed by the governor for neglect of duty, misconduct, or the inability to perform duties. Any vacancy must be filled by similar appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term.
The director reports directly to the council.
Subject to the appropriation of funds by the legislature, the director shall employ staff and make other expenditures necessary to complete the purposes of this chapter.
The council shall meet not less than once each quarter to make recommendations, receive reports from the director, and transact business properly brought before the council.
The council or its staff shall:
Establish priorities for use of the limited resources available to the council;
Maintain a website, mailing address, toll-free telephone number, and a collect telephone number for the receipt of complaints and inquiries and the sharing of information;
Collect, analyze, and report information relating to the operation and conditions of Washington jails;
Develop and administer a survey of jails at least annually;
Monitor jails in Washington state for compliance with their own jail policies, standards, rules, or procedures, and whether those policies comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, regulations, and policies as related to the health, safety, and welfare of incarcerated individuals and staff;
Write and publish reports that shall include nonidentifiable case studies or other information necessary to support any findings and any written response from a jail administrator or their designee to such reports;
Serve as a member of all unexpected fatality review teams convened under RCW 70.48.510;
Investigate and report on specific and systemic issues relating to jails including issues and trends identified through monitoring, complaints, fatality reviews, and the jail survey;
Share information with jail administrators or their designees regarding individual complaints or concerns within the discretion of the director or their designee and with the consent of the complainant;
Provide public comment and testimony, write and issue reports and recommendations, share information, and make recommendations for statutory changes as appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this chapter;
Adopt rules, policies, and procedures necessary to implement this chapter; and
Submit an annual report to the governor and the legislature, in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, that includes a statement of actions taken by the council for the preceding year, and recommendations for any statutory changes that the council deems necessary or desirable to accomplish the purposes of this chapter.
The council is not required to investigate complaints or notify complainants of decisions or actions taken in response to a complaint. This chapter does not require incarcerated individuals to file a complaint with the council in order to exhaust available remedies for the purpose of the prison litigation reform act of 1995, P.L. 104-134.
Any investigations conducted by the council should not interfere with or impede an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by a law enforcement agency.
The director and the director's designees shall have:
Reasonable access to all areas of jails accessible to or used by incarcerated individuals. Access by such individuals may be subject to reasonable security and background investigation requirements of the jail, provided that such access shall not be unreasonably withheld. Denial of access to such individuals with lived experience, including conviction or incarceration histories, who do not present active security concerns, shall be deemed unreasonable. Further, any initial background investigation of an individual under this section must be completed within 48 hours, and any subsequent investigation of the same individual must be performed promptly and shall not result in a delay of more than two hours;
Reasonable opportunity to survey or interview privately and confidentially any incarcerated individual, jail employee, or other persons by mail, telephone, and in person;
The ability to make audio and visual recordings of areas of jails accessible to or used by incarcerated individuals, provided that such visual recordings shall not depict the location or angles of security cameras; and
The right to access, inspect, and copy any information, records, or documents in the possession or control of jail administrators or their agents that the council considers necessary to carry out its purpose or to support its recommendations.
Following a written demand from the director or the director's designees for access to information, records, or documents, the jail must provide the information not later than 20 business days after the written demand. Where information pertains to a death, threats of bodily harm including, but not limited to, sexual or physical assaults, or the denial of necessary medical treatment, the information shall be provided within five days, unless the council consents to an extension of time.
Upon notice and a request by the council, a state or local government agency or entity that has records that are relevant to a complaint or an investigation conducted by the council must provide the council with access to such records.
A jail administrator or their designee shall provide a written response to a monitoring report issued by the council within one month of receiving the report.
A jail administrator or their designee shall provide accurate, complete, and timely information and data for the jail survey in section 5 of this act.
The council is a "health oversight agency" so that the federal health insurance portability and accountability act and chapter 70.02 RCW do not preclude jails, health care providers, or others from providing the information required by this section when requested by the council and, pursuant to these laws, jails, health care providers, and others are not required to seek or obtain consent from incarcerated individuals prior to providing the information required by this section in accordance with the requirements of this section.
The information required by this section, when provided by a jail, health care provider, or other entity, becomes property of the council and is subject to all state and federal laws governing the confidentiality and disclosure of the files, records, and information maintained by the council. Information in the possession of the council shall be protected or disclosed according to state and federal law to the same extent as is required of the entity from whom the files, records, or information was received, including jails and providers of medical, mental health, and behavioral health services except as provided in this section.
The council shall maintain the confidentiality of all matters under investigation, complaints, and the identities of complainants, informants, or witnesses except so far as disclosures may be determined necessary by the director or their designees to enable the council to carry out its duties or to support its recommendations. Such information shall be exempt from public disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW.
Neither the council or an employee of the council may be compelled, in any judicial or administrative proceeding, to testify or to produce evidence regarding the exercise of the official duties of the council or its employees. All related memoranda, work product, notes, and case files of the council are confidential, are not subject to discovery, judicial or administrative subpoena, or other method of legal compulsion, and are not admissible in evidence in a judicial or administrative proceeding.
Nothing in this section shall prevent the council from publishing a report or database which maintains the confidentiality of the identities of incarcerated individuals.
Nothing in this section shall prevent the council from reporting the results of an investigation which maintains the confidentiality of the identities of incarcerated individuals to responsible investigative or enforcement agencies should an investigation reveal information concerning a jail, its staff, or agents warranting possible sanctions or corrective action. Such information may be reported to agencies responsible for facility licensing or accreditation, employee discipline, employee licensing or certification, law enforcement, or criminal prosecution, provided that nothing in this act shall be deemed to reduce or modify the contractual, statutory, or due process rights of any jail employee with respect to any proceeding related to employee discipline, employee licensing or certification, or criminal prosecution.
The director or their designee must contact the jail employee and the bargaining unit representative before reporting the results of an investigation that reveals information warranting possible sanctions or corrective action about a jail employee.
A civil action may not be brought against any employee of the council for good faith performance of responsibilities under this chapter.
No discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action may be taken against a jail employee, subcontractor, volunteer, incarcerated individual, or family member or representative of an incarcerated individual for any communication made, or information given or disclosed, to aid the office in carrying out its responsibilities.
Every individual, legal entity, and agency of federal, state, or local government is immune from civil liability, whether direct or derivative, for providing information to the council in good faith.
This section is not intended to infringe on the rights of an employer to supervise, discipline, or terminate an employee for other reasons.
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A city or county department of corrections or chief law enforcement officer responsible for the operation of a jail shall conduct an unexpected fatality review in any case in which the death of an individual confined in the jail is unexpected.
The city or county department of corrections or chief law enforcement officer shall convene an unexpected fatality review team and determine the membership of the review team. The team shall comprise of the director of the Washington jail council or their designee in accordance with section 5 of this act and individuals with appropriate expertise including, but not limited to, individuals whose professional expertise is pertinent to the dynamics of the case. The city or county department of corrections or chief law enforcement officer shall ensure that the unexpected fatality review team is made up of individuals who had no previous involvement in the case.
The primary purpose of the unexpected fatality review shall be the development of recommendations to the governing unit with primary responsibility for the operation of the jail and legislature regarding changes in practices or policies to prevent fatalities and strengthen safety and health protections for individuals in custody.
Upon conclusion of an unexpected fatality review required pursuant to this section, the city or county department of corrections or chief law enforcement officer shall, within 120 days following the fatality, issue a report on the results of the review, unless an extension has been granted by the chief executive or, if appropriate, the county legislative authority of the governing unit with primary responsibility for the operation of the jail. Reports must be distributed to the governing unit with primary responsibility for the operation of the jail and appropriate committees of the legislature, and the shall create a public website where all unexpected fatality review reports required under this section must be posted and maintained. An unexpected fatality review report completed pursuant to this section is subject to public disclosure and must be posted on the public website, except that confidential information may be redacted by the city or county department of corrections or chief law enforcement officer consistent with the requirements of applicable state and federal laws.
The city or county department of corrections or chief law enforcement officer shall develop and implement procedures to carry out the requirements of this section.
In any review of an unexpected fatality, the city or county department of corrections or chief law enforcement officer and the unexpected fatality review team shall have access to all records and files regarding the person or otherwise relevant to the review that have been produced or retained by the agency.
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An unexpected fatality review completed pursuant to this section is subject to discovery in a civil or administrative proceeding, but may not be admitted into evidence or otherwise used in a civil or administrative proceeding except pursuant to this section.
An employee of a city or county department of corrections or law enforcement employee responsible for conducting an unexpected fatality review, or member of an unexpected fatality review team, may not be examined in a civil or administrative proceeding regarding: (i) The work of the unexpected fatality review team; (ii) the incident under review; (iii) his or her statements, deliberations, thoughts, analyses, or impressions relating to the work of the unexpected fatality review team or the incident under review; or (iv) the statements, deliberations, thoughts, analyses, or impressions of any other member of the unexpected fatality review team, or any person who provided information to the unexpected fatality review team relating to the work of the unexpected fatality review team or the incident under review.
Documents prepared by or for an unexpected fatality review team are inadmissible and may not be used in a civil or administrative proceeding, except that any document that exists before its use or consideration in an unexpected fatality review, or that is created independently of such review, does not become inadmissible merely because it is reviewed or used by an unexpected fatality review team. A person is not unavailable as a witness merely because the person has been interviewed by, or has provided a statement for, an unexpected fatality review, but if the person is called as a witness, the person may not be examined regarding the person's interactions with the unexpected fatality review including, without limitation, whether the person was interviewed during such review, the questions that were asked during such review, and the answers that the person provided during such review. This section may not be construed as restricting the person from testifying fully in any proceeding regarding his or her knowledge of the incident under review.
The restrictions set forth in this section do not apply in a licensing or disciplinary proceeding arising from an agency's effort to revoke or suspend the license of any licensed professional based in whole or in part upon allegations of wrongdoing in connection with an unexpected fatality reviewed by an unexpected fatality review team.
No provision of this section may be interpreted to require a jail to disclose any information in a report that would, as determined by the jail, reveal security information about the jail.
For the purposes of this section:
"City or county department of corrections" means a department of corrections created by a city or county to be in charge of the jail and all persons confined in the jail pursuant to RCW 70.48.090.
"Chief law enforcement officer" means the chief law enforcement officer who is in charge of the jail and all persons confined in the jail if no department of corrections was created by a city or county pursuant to RCW 70.48.090.
"Unexpected fatality review" means a review of any death that was not the result of a diagnosed or documented terminal illness or other debilitating or deteriorating illness or condition where the death was anticipated, and includes the death of any person under the care and custody of the city or county department of corrections or chief local enforcement officer, regardless of where the death actually occurred. A review must include an analysis of the root cause or causes of the unexpected fatality, and an associated corrective action plan for the jail to address identified root causes and recommendations made by the unexpected fatality review team under this section.