The bill amends RCW 70.395.060 to impose specific operational, reporting, staffing, food service, visiting, telephone access, training, and infection control requirements on private detention facilities that operate under a contract or agreement with federal, state, or local government. It also adds a new, unspecified section to chapter 70.395 RCW creating an annual reporting duty for law enforcement agencies to the Department of Health beginning November 1, 2026. The Office of the Attorney General is authorized to enforce violations of the amended section on its own initiative or in response to complaints. Key requirements in the amendment include an exception for facilities operating under a valid contract in effect prior to January 1, 2023 (for the duration of that contract); notification by facilities to the Department of Health and the local law enforcement agency by the end of the next business day after certain serious incidents (including allegations of abuse or neglect, death, suicide, inpatient-hospitalizing injuries, and major disruptions); detailed food service standards and menu documentation; provision of confidential and nonpay emergency telephones and private visiting areas; written policies protecting detained persons’ rights and reporting suspected incidents; sufficient qualified staffing; required orientation and ongoing training on specified topics including infection control and emergency plans; and establishment of a written facility-wide infection control program with surveillance, review, environmental monitoring, cleaning/disinfection guidance, and staff education. The new law requires each law enforcement agency with one or more private detention facilities in its jurisdiction, starting November 1, 2026 and annually thereafter, to submit to the Department of Health for each facility the number of calls related to incidents and, for each call, whether the agency responded or investigated, whether law enforcement spoke with the victim, whether the victim was provided a copy of the police report, whether the agency received an internal report or other information from the facility, whether the case was referred for prosecution, and whether a prosecution resulted. The extracted text does not provide formal definitions of "private detention facility" or "detained person," does not specify the exact new section number added to chapter 70.395 RCW, and does not reproduce the referenced WAC chapters or detailed enforcement procedures or penalties beyond authorizing the Office of the Attorney General to enforce the amended section.

If enacted, private detention facilities that operate under government contracts will face concrete new operating expectations and reporting duties that are likely to raise their day-to-day costs and administrative work. Facilities will need to strengthen food services (dietitian oversight, 24-hour food manager, written menus and records), provide confidential and nonpay phones and private visiting areas, hire and train enough qualified staff, run documented infection control programs and monthly fire/disaster drills, and report serious incidents to the Department of Health and local law enforcement by the next business day. These steps will increase staffing, training, and recordkeeping expenses and create greater exposure to enforcement actions by the Attorney General; contracts in place before January 1, 2023 remain exempt for their current term. Local law enforcement agencies will also face new reporting burdens: beginning November 1, 2026 they must send the Department of Health an annual, facility-by-facility summary of calls about incidents and detailed outcomes for each call (response, victim contact and report sharing, referrals, and prosecutions). The Department of Health will receive more incident data and the Attorney General may pursue enforcement, but the bill text here does not define key terms like "private detention facility" or detained person, does not give the new section number, and does not spell out penalties or other enforcement procedures, leaving some practical details uncertain.