This bill creates two new statutory sections directing the Washington State Department of Commerce to develop a state quantum technology strategy and to deliver that strategy to the Legislature by June 30, 2027. The directive is a new procedural requirement (a planning and strategy mandate), not a criminal or penalty change, and the strategy requirement in Section 2 expires on August 1, 2027. The required strategy must address eight specified areas including an industry overview; identification of projects and programs; types of public-private partnerships; state policy analysis; exploration of application research in specified industry areas; research and development opportunities with Washington-based research institutions and the Pacific Northwest national laboratory; plans to attract federal investment through partnerships; and anticipated economic and workforce impacts. The Department may contract with a Washington-based quantum technology business or a regional organization of companies, universities, national labs, and business organizations to assist, and it is directed to seek gifts, grants, and other nonstate contributions consistent with RCW 43.330.040. Submission must comply with RCW 43.01.036. The bill text includes legislative findings referring to out-of-state investments and a finding that private donations should be used to obtain additional grants and develop partnerships, but the extracted material does not specify how or where that requirement is implemented. No formal definitions are provided for recurring terms (for example, “regional organization...” or “state quantum technology strategy”), and no appropriation or funding source for developing the strategy is specified in the available text. The bill was read for the first time in the House on January 30, 2026 and is identified as H-3237.1 Substitute House Bill 2446.

If enacted, the Department of Commerce will be tasked with producing a short-term state quantum technology strategy by June 30, 2027 that maps the local industry, identifies projects and R&D opportunities with Washington universities and the Pacific Northwest national laboratory, lays out partnership types and plans to attract federal investment, and estimates economic and workforce impacts. That work will likely concentrate coordination among state-based quantum firms, public research institutions, national labs, and private investors, and could make it easier for those groups to pursue federal funding and joint projects because they will have a statewide plan and recommended partnership approaches. The department can hire Washington-based quantum businesses or regional consortia to help and may seek nonstate gifts and grants, but the bill contains no appropriation and key terms and implementation details are undefined, so it’s unclear how much of the work will be paid for from Commerce’s existing budget versus private contributions. The requirement and its effects are temporary—the strategy mandate expires August 1, 2027—so the bill is primarily a time-limited planning effort rather than a long-term funded program.