This bill adds a new section to chapter 43.10 RCW creating designated investigator positions in the Office of the Attorney General who are classified as limited authority Washington peace officers under RCW 10.93.020. Those designated investigators may investigate suspected economic and financial crimes but are expressly prohibited from detaining or arresting people and must not be armed. They may serve search warrants for business records only by electronic service after a judicial officer approves the warrant and may not physically serve such warrants. The statute makes these investigators subject to the requirements in chapter 43.101 RCW, including training and criminal background checks, and forbids the attorney general from hiring anyone whose history or conduct meets the standards for denial, suspension, or revocation of certification under RCW 43.101.105. It also states that the provision does not change the investigative authority or criminal jurisdiction of any other law enforcement agency. The text supplied does not include an effective date for the new section and omits the full definitions and requirements contained in the cited RCWs (RCW 10.93.020, chapter 43.101, RCW 43.101.105, and RCW 74.67.010), so the precise legal definitions and some operational details are not available here. The bill passed the Senate on March 5, 2026 and the House on March 11, 2026 (Senate yeas 29, nays 19; House yeas 54, nays 41).

If enacted, the attorney general will create a new set of investigator jobs focused on economic and financial crimes who are limited-authority peace officers: they must pass criminal background checks and required training, will be unarmed, cannot detain or arrest, and may only serve business-record search warrants electronically after a judge approves the warrant. That means the office will need to recruit and vet candidates to meet existing certification standards, set up procedures for electronically delivering court-approved warrants to businesses, and rely on other law enforcement to handle any arrests or physical collection of records. The main impacts are on the Office of the Attorney General (new hiring, training, and administrative costs and processes), on designated investigators (clear limits on use of force and arrest powers), on businesses (they will receive electronic service of business-record warrants), and on judges (added approvals for electronic service). Because the bill refers to other statutes for training, certification standards, and exclusions and does not state an effective date here, some implementation details and timing remain unclear.