Second Substitute House Bill 1399 (H-1749.1, 69th Legislature, 2025) amends multiple sections of state law, adds new sections to chapters 35.21 and 36.28 RCW, and repeals RCW 36.28.011. The bill’s stated purpose is to modernize and harmonize laws governing county sheriffs, city police chiefs and marshals, and to clarify agency and commission procedures related to peace officer certification, decertification, and background investigations. It also removes outdated references to "police matrons." The bill establishes or tightens eligibility and continuing-requirement rules for persons seeking appointment, election, or employment as sheriffs, chiefs of police, or marshals: minimum age 25, U.S. citizenship, high school diploma or equivalent, no felony or certain gross misdemeanor convictions, satisfactory military discharge if applicable, at least two years of full-time commissioned law enforcement experience with a government law enforcement agency, and obtaining and maintaining Criminal Justice Training Commission certification within 12 months of assuming office (subject to extension). It requires background investigations (no earlier than six months before appointment or within set timelines for candidates), public attestation by appointing authorities or the Washington State Patrol that requirements were met, and public posting of verification by the commission. The bill makes loss or revocation of certification a trigger for creating a vacancy and, for appointed positions, termination of appointment; replacement appointees must meet the statutory requirements. The act makes multiple procedural and administrative changes rather than creating new crimes or altering criminal penalties. It restricts the authority of volunteers and “specially commissioned officers” so they generally may not enforce criminal laws, detain or arrest, use force or deadly force, carry firearms or other weapons, or use dogs to track people except for search and rescue; agencies must adopt policies limiting volunteer roles, supervision, identification, and badge use, and may list permissible non‑enforcement duties. It requires comprehensive background‑investigation elements, confidentiality rules for investigation files with limited public disclosures, priority access to training so executives can meet certification timelines, commission hearings under the Administrative Procedure Act with specified panels and disclosure rules, maintenance of a public, searchable database of discipline and certification actions for at least 30 years, immunity for good‑faith information providers, a commission deadline to issue suitability guidelines by June 30, 2026, and a provision rendering the act null and void if funding is not provided in the omnibus appropriations act by June 30, 2025. Several specific amendment texts and the new section labeled Sec. 6, along with the full content of some listed RCW amendments and the effective date of the background‑investigation exception, are not included in the extracted facts.

If enacted, the bill tightens and standardizes who may serve as sheriffs, chiefs, and marshals and requires them to obtain and keep criminal justice certification within 12 months of taking office (with training access prioritized). Candidates and appointees must pass specified background investigations and attest to eligibility; appointing authorities must complete recent background checks for appointees and generally pay those fees, while the Washington State Patrol handles and pays candidate investigations. Local governments and sheriffs must limit volunteers and specially commissioned officers to non‑enforcement support roles, formally restrict badge/uniform use and supervision, and the commission must publicly verify completed investigations, publish annual summaries, and retain disciplinary and certification records for decades; failure to maintain required certification creates a vacancy and triggers replacement procedures. Those most affected are elected and appointed law enforcement executives, city and county appointing authorities, agencies that use volunteers, the Criminal Justice Training Commission, and the Washington State Patrol. Expect added administrative work, new or shifted costs (background-check fees for appointees, compliance and policy development, expanded recordkeeping and public reporting), and greater risk of leadership turnover if officials fail certification or are decertified. The bill’s operational reality depends on unspecified details in some sections not provided here and on funding being included in the omnibus appropriations act by June 30, 2025, or the act becomes null and void.