This bill reenacts and amends portions of chapter 38.52 RCW (including RCW 38.52.010 and RCW 38.52.020) and adds a new section to that chapter to create a back country search and rescue grant program. It is therefore both an amendment to existing emergency management law and the establishment of a new grant program and account in statute. The bill also restates findings and purposes for state emergency management in RCW 38.52.020. The state military department (referred to in the bill as “the department,” with the adjutant general as “director”) is directed to administer the new back country search and rescue grant program and to create a back country search and rescue account in the state treasury to receive legislative appropriations, donations, gifts, grants, and directed funds. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation and the program is subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose. The department may adopt rules, in consultation with the emergency management council, to administer the program. The bill defines or clarifies a number of terms related to next generation 911 systems, public safety answering points, search and rescue, telecommunications providers, and related entities. It specifies eligible grant recipients and allowable uses: nonprofit search and rescue organizations and recognized emergency worker groups may receive grants for anticipated and incurred back country search and rescue costs of volunteers (including planning, equipment, training, exercises, and operations), and political subdivisions may receive grants for back country search and rescue costs not reimbursable through other mechanisms. The department must prioritize grants for frontier counties, rural counties, and distressed areas as defined by cited statutes. Some statutory language and definitions are incomplete in the provided material (for example, the definition of the next generation 911 demarcation point is cut off), and the extracted facts do not include appropriation amounts, application procedures, deadlines, the full text of the new section, or certain implementation details.

If enacted, the law would set up a state-run grant program and a dedicated state treasury account to pay for back country search and rescue needs—covering volunteer planning, equipment, training, exercises, and operations, and allowing counties or cities to get grants for SAR costs not covered elsewhere. Frontier, rural, and distressed counties would be prioritized, so those areas are most likely to see new financial support that could reduce out-of-pocket costs for volunteer teams and local governments and increase their rescue capacity. Search and rescue nonprofits and formally recognized volunteer groups would gain a new funding option, while political subdivisions could seek reimbursement for otherwise unreimbursable SAR expenses. The state military department (the administering agency) would take on rulemaking and program administration duties in consultation with the emergency management council, and the legislature would control whether money is available because funds may be spent only after appropriation. Important implementation details are not provided here—such as how much will be appropriated, who exactly qualifies in practice, application timelines, and how awards will be decided—so the timing and scale of benefits remain uncertain.