This bill adds a new section to chapter 4.92 RCW that limits state and local government liability for injuries to an inmate that result from the inmate's voluntary use of a controlled substance. The limitation applies when three conditions are met: the injury was caused by the inmate’s voluntary use of a controlled substance, the use occurred while the person was held in a correctional facility, and the inmate was lawfully searched on admission and any discovered controlled substances were seized and removed. For voluntary use that occurred before admission, the government is also generally not liable, except where an agent of the facility or of the owning/operating/controlling government knew or should have known the person required medical care and failed to make a reasonable effort to provide it. The limitation does not apply if the controlled substance that caused the injury was provided to the inmate by an agent of the correctional facility or by an agent of the state or local government that owns, operates, or controls the facility. The bill defines key terms by reference or directly: “controlled substance” as in RCW 69.50.101; “correctional facility” as a jail, prison, or similar facility owned, operated, or controlled by state or local government; “inmate” as a person processed and admitted to such a facility; and “local government” to include cities, counties, subdivisions, municipal and quasi-municipal corporations, and special districts. It applies to causes of action accruing on or after the effective date of the new section. Affected entities identified include state and local governments that own, operate, or control correctional facilities, the correctional facilities themselves, and inmates held in those facilities. The text provided does not state the specific effective date of the new section, does not give the exact RCW citation number assigned within chapter 4.92, and includes no other implementation or enforcement details beyond the admission-search and medical-care exceptions.

If enacted, the law will make it harder for people held in jails or prisons to win damages from the state or local government for injuries that result from their own voluntary use of illegal drugs while in custody or from use just before admission. That means counties, cities, and the state that run correctional facilities will likely face fewer successful claims and lower financial risk for those specific situations, so they may see reduced legal payouts or insurance costs in those cases. However, the government remains exposed to liability if facility staff or other government agents provided the drugs, or if staff knew or reasonably should have known an incoming person needed medical care and did not make a reasonable effort to provide it. The change most directly affects correctional facilities, the local and state governments that operate them, and inmates. Facilities will need to ensure they meet the admission search and seizure condition to qualify for the liability limit, because failure to meet that condition or the exceptions described leaves the government open to claims. The bill’s effective date and some implementation details are not included in the provided facts, so timing and how disputes over searches or medical-need knowledge are resolved remain unclear.