This bill amends RCW 41.18.015 to create a firefighters' pension board in each fire protection district that qualifies under the referenced chapter. The board is a new local administrative body composed of five members: the chairperson of the district's fire commissioners (who serves as board chair), the county auditor or the auditor's designee, the county treasurer or the treasurer's designee, and two regularly employed or retired firefighters elected by secret ballot of employed and retired firefighters. Retired members subject to the board's jurisdiction may vote and be elected. The bill requires the first firefighter-elected members to be elected annually for a two-year term, allows the two elected firefighter members to select a third eligible member to serve during an absence of one of them, provides that vacancies among firefighter or retired members are filled by election to serve the unexpired term, permits the board to appoint a secretary, allows selection of a chairperson pro tempore in the chairperson’s absence, and sets a majority of board members as a quorum to transact business. The bill also provides fallback eligibility if no eligible regularly employed or retired firefighters are willing or able to be elected: eligible individuals may include active or retired firefighters who reside within the board’s jurisdiction (including those under RCW chapters 41.16, 41.26, and 52.26) and the widow or widower of a firefighter subject to the board’s jurisdiction. Affected parties include county auditors and treasurers (and their designees), qualifying fire protection districts, fire commissioners, employed and retired firefighters covered by the board, and widows/widowers of covered firefighters. The bill was read for the first time on 02/03/25 and referred to the Committee on Local Government. The text provided does not include an effective date or full applicability criteria for which districts “qualify under this chapter,” the detailed timing or method for the initial elections beyond the quoted phrase, the specific duties or limits of the temporary third member selected for absences, or how this change interacts with the remainder of existing RCW 41.18.015 and related provisions.

Qualitatively, this creates a new five-member firefighters’ pension board in each qualifying fire protection district made up of the fire commissioners’ chair (who leads the board), the county auditor and county treasurer or their designees, and two firefighters chosen by secret ballot (with retirees able to vote and run). Districts will need to hold periodic secret-ballot elections, fill vacancies by election, have the two elected firefighters choose a temporary third member for absences, and run meetings where a majority is a quorum; if no eligible firefighters are willing, resident active/retired firefighters under the cited RCWs or a firefighter’s widow/widower can be elected instead. Most directly affected are county auditors and treasurers (or their designees), fire commissioners, qualifying fire protection districts, and employed and retired firefighters (and in some cases widows/widowers). Districts and those officials will likely see new administrative tasks and modest costs for elections, meeting time, and staffing a board secretary, while firefighters gain formal representation and voting power over pension matters. Important details that would affect costs and authority—such as the board’s specific powers, effective date, which districts qualify, and precise election timing—are not provided in the extracted facts.