This bill would add a new section to chapter 71.24 RCW that authorizes the Washington State Department of Health to apply to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for approval to serve as an accrediting body for opioid treatment programs under the federal rules at 42 C.F.R. Part 8. This is a procedural statutory change creating authority for the Department to seek federal accreditation status; it does not itself set federal standards but makes state law permitting the Department to pursue HHS approval and to operate under HHS‑approved policies and procedures. If HHS approves the Department as an accrediting body, the Department must carry out accreditation responsibilities pursuant to the policies and procedures approved by HHS and must adopt rules establishing accreditation fees, including initial and renewal fees. Those fees must be set at levels sufficient to cover the costs of the accreditation services the Department provides. The bill also allows the Department to use appropriations from the opioid abatement settlement account to offset the Department’s costs of providing these accreditation services. Affected parties named in the text include the Washington State Department of Health, HHS as the approving authority, opioid treatment programs subject to accreditation, and the opioid abatement settlement account as a potential funding source. The bill was read for the first time on 01/13/26 and referred to the Committee on Health Care & Wellness. The text does not specify the exact placement or section number within chapter 71.24 RCW, any fee amounts or methodology, timelines or deadlines for rulemaking or HHS application, an effective date, details of the HHS application process, or whether additional legislative or budgetary approvals are required to use opioid abatement settlement account appropriations.

If enacted, the Washington State Department of Health could apply to HHS to become a federally recognized accreditor for opioid treatment programs and, if approved, would run accreditation under HHS‑approved policies and set initial and renewal fees to cover its costs. Practically, the department would take on a new regulatory role and likely new operating costs and staffing to perform accreditation, while opioid treatment programs would face a new formal accreditation process and associated fees; the department may use money from the opioid abatement settlement account to offset some of its costs. Key details remain unclear from the bill text provided: the law does not say how much the fees will be, when rules or accreditation would start, exactly where the new section sits in the code, what the HHS application will require, or whether any additional approvals are needed to draw on the abatement settlement funds.