The bill creates a new, temporary section added to chapter 43.330 RCW called the "spark act" that directs a specified state department, subject to appropriations, to promote economic development of innovative uses of artificial intelligence (AI). The department must solicit input from the state's artificial intelligence task force at least quarterly through June 30, 2027, pursue federal funding and private donations for small businesses, include relevant federal AI grants in the state grant inventory, and begin reporting on AI economic development on October 31, 2026 with updates every two years. The new section defines "artificial intelligence" for its purposes and expires June 30, 2035. This is a new statutory program and reporting procedure rather than a criminal or penalty change. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP), also subject to appropriations, must study opportunities to promote AI economic development and submit a report to the legislature by June 30, 2027; that study provision expires December 31, 2027. The act requires the artificial intelligence task force and Washington technology solutions to provide resources and data to support WSIPP’s work. The bill also amends the uncodified 2024 law creating the artificial intelligence task force by specifying an executive committee, appointment authorities, meeting frequency and methods, subcommittee scopes, and duties to provide quarterly input to assist the department and support WSIPP’s study. The office of the attorney general must administer and staff the task force and post meeting summaries within 30 days. The executive committee must meet within 45 days of final appointments and at least twice yearly; the task force must produce reports to the governor and legislative committees and follow specified reimbursement rules. The measure includes definitions for terms such as artificial intelligence, generative artificial intelligence, machine learning, and training data and sets report deadlines (preliminary, interim, and final) for the task force. Some important details are not included in the extracted text: the new section repeatedly refers to "the department" without naming which state department is intended, there are no appropriation amounts or identified funding sources in the excerpts, and portions of the task force provisions are incomplete in the provided facts.

If enacted, the state will set up a time-limited effort (the "spark act") to actively promote commercial uses of AI by having a state department—whose identity and budget are not specified in the extracted text—work with the established AI task force to identify priorities (for example wildfire tracking, cybersecurity, health care), seek federal grants and private donations to support small businesses, and publish regular public reports starting October 31, 2026. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy will do a funded study due June 30, 2027 to pinpoint promising AI technologies for state benefit, while the attorney general’s office will run the task force, post meeting summaries publicly, and can hire consultants to support the work. Practical effects fall mainly on small businesses (who may gain new grant and donation opportunities and state-supported visibility), the unnamed state department and the attorney general’s office (which will need staff time, travel reimbursements for legislators, possible consultant and administrative costs, and to manage reporting), and WSIPP (which must complete the study). Many duties are explicitly conditioned on appropriations and key details—such as which department will lead, specific funding amounts, and full task force membership—are not provided in the extracted facts, so the actual scale, timing, and cost of these activities remain uncertain.