The bill reenacts and amends multiple sections of existing law (including RCW 43.330.530 and related sections), recodifies certain provisions into chapter 43.06D RCW, and reallocates duties between the governor’s statewide broadband office and the Washington state office of equity. It establishes or confirms the governor’s statewide broadband office as the state’s central broadband planning body, with a director appointed by the governor, authority to assist grant applicants, seek federal and other funds, accept donations, employ staff subject to appropriations, and deposit received funds into the statewide broadband account. The bill also restates a statutory minimum broadband service definition that may not be less than 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload for the state’s broadband definition, and defines related terms such as broadband adoption, digital equity, community anchor institutions, and underserved populations. The bill assigns primary responsibility for developing and implementing a state digital equity plan to the Washington state office of equity, working with the statewide broadband office and other state agencies and tribes. It requires coordination on outreach to unserved and underserved communities (including information about federal low-income broadband programs), annual review of outreach, data sharing to support monitoring, and specified reporting and planning deadlines: state broadband goals for 25/3 Mbps by 2024, 1 Gbps symmetrical service at anchor institutions by 2026, and 150/150 Mbps access by 2028; a required report and digital equity plan submission to the governor and legislature by December 1, 2027, revised digital equity plans every four years thereafter, and updated reports every two years after each revised plan; and transmission of Washington digital equity forum recommendations to the legislature by October 28, 2025, and every odd-numbered year thereafter. The bill creates the Washington digital equity forum, sets appointment and membership rules (including tribal and underserved community representation), allows limited compensation for persons with lived experience, and directs the office of equity to provide staff and to oversee public reporting of progress. The bill includes a conditional effective clause: it is null and void unless specific funding for its purposes is provided in the omnibus appropriations act and that appropriation references this act by bill or chapter number by June 30, 2025. Important details are missing from the extracted text, including the specific appropriation amount or funding recipients, the bill or chapter number to be referenced in the appropriation, some truncated subsections (e.g., part of RCW 43.330.534), and instances where the term “office” may ambiguously refer to different entities in the abbreviated extracts.

If funded, the bill makes the governor’s statewide broadband office the central planner for broadband and gives the Washington state office of equity the lead on a statewide digital equity plan, outreach, and coordination with tribes, utilities, schools, libraries, local governments and many state agencies. It also creates a Washington digital equity forum, sets performance goals (including statutory minimum broadband of 100/20 and targets such as 1 Gbps at anchor institutions by 2026 and 150/150 for homes and businesses by 2028), and requires the equity office to produce a digital equity plan and recurring reports on progress and coordination with other programs. In practice, those agencies and community anchor institutions will face more reporting, outreach, and coordination duties and will be expected to help implement grant-seeking and enrollment efforts for low-income and underserved populations. The offices may pursue federal grants and donations and can hire staff only if appropriations are provided, so carrying out the new duties will likely require new funding and staff time for the Office of Equity, the statewide broadband office, Department of Commerce, and partners. There is a significant implementation risk: if the omnibus appropriations act does not include specific funding and a reference to this bill by June 30, 2025, the act is void. The extracts do not show required funding amounts or some recodified text, so the exact scale of new costs and program details is unclear.