This bill creates new state policy and programs for quantum technology by adding new sections to chapter 43.330 RCW and by amending the public records statute, RCW 42.56.270. It establishes an advisory committee to advance economic development of quantum technologies, specifying membership categories (including the lieutenant governor or designee, the director or designee, representatives from higher education, technology and aerospace companies, a quantum computer company with a factory in state, and the Pacific Northwest national laboratory), requires the director to appoint members, directs the department’s office of economic development and competitiveness to staff and oversee the committee, and sets duties and deadlines: select a chair, meet at least quarterly with an initial meeting by August 1, 2025, deliver legislative reports by November 1, 2025 and November 1, 2026, deliver a workforce development plan by June 30, 2026, and expire the advisory committee section on June 30, 2027. The bill creates a state grant program (administered by the department’s office of economic development and competitiveness, subject to available appropriations) to help applicants compete for federal quantum technology grants. The program must partner with an institution of higher education that has a quantum research program, may consult with private and federal partners, must award grants at least annually, and requires recipients to raise matching funds equal to at least five times the state grant from nonlegislative sources. The department is authorized to adopt rules to implement the grant program. The bill also amends RCW 42.56.270 to expand categories of financial, commercial, and proprietary information exempt from public disclosure. Included examples in the bill text are building security plan information and cannabis transport information submitted to the Liquor and Cannabis Board, proprietary and financial information submitted to or obtained by the Andy Hill cancer research program, city retirement board information related to private fund investments (with limited disclosure exceptions), Department of Health proprietary filings, certain Department of Ecology records, and unaggregated liquor-related financial information. The text explicitly states that disclosure of cannabis transport information to local, state, and federal officials is not treated as public disclosure under the section. The list of exemptions in the provided facts is incomplete and the amendment text as supplied is cut off mid-list, so the full set of exemptions and their precise statutory placements cannot be confirmed from these extracts. The act contains a conditional funding clause: if specific funding for the act is not provided in the omnibus appropriations act by June 30, 2025, the act is null and void. The extracts repeatedly refer to “the director” and “the department” without naming the specific office or agency in those references, and additional context or provisions may be in parts of the bill not included here.

If enacted, the state would stand up a time-limited advisory committee to push economic development in quantum technologies and create a state grant program to help applicants pursue federal quantum-related grants. That will give universities with quantum research, Washington-based tech and aerospace firms, companies that build or sell quantum computers, and the Pacific Northwest national laboratory new opportunities to shape strategy and compete for funding, but anyone seeking state grant dollars would likely face a steep requirement to raise private or federal matching funds equal to at least five times the state award (legislative appropriations cannot be used as the match). The committee must meet specific deadlines for meetings, reports, and a workforce plan and expires June 30, 2027, and the whole effort only moves forward if specific funding is provided in the omnibus appropriations act by June 30, 2025, so implementation and continued support are uncertain until that appropriation occurs; the text does not name the specific director or department head responsible beyond referring to “the director” and “the department.” The bill also widens categories of information that state agencies can keep confidential, which will directly affect the Liquor and Cannabis Board and licensed cannabis businesses (shielding building security plans, transport identifiers, proprietary research and contract terms), city retirement boards and private fund providers (certain investment details), the Andy Hill cancer research program, and portions of Department of Health and Department of Ecology records, among others. Practically, that means less public disclosure of specified commercial, technical, and financial information—reducing the risk to businesses and investors of sensitive data becoming public, but also narrowing public access to those records; the extracted text omits some earlier exemptions and the overall placement of these changes in the statute, so the full scope and interaction with other public-records rules is not entirely clear from the provided excerpts.