This bill amends RCW 43.388.010 to revise the Washington state leadership board’s legal status, purposes, governance, programs, and financial transparency requirements. It designates the board a trustee for the state and lists its purposes as extending formal recognition for outstanding service and expanding educational, sports, leadership, and employment opportunities for youth, veterans, and people with disabilities. The board is explicitly stated to administer the Washington world fellows (a college readiness and study abroad fellowship), a sports mentoring program (see RCW 43.388.040), Boundless Washington (an outdoor leadership program for young people with disabilities that, if approved by the board, may satisfy the sports mentoring program’s terms), and Compassion scholars. The amendment sets governance and administrative rules: the board of directors includes the governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state as ex officio, nonvoting members, plus other officers and members the board designates; four legislators may be appointed as ex officio members (one from each of the two largest caucuses in each chamber). The board must appoint an executive director with the lieutenant governor’s consent; the lieutenant governor may remove the executive director for cause if a majority of the board votes for removal. The board must adopt bylaws and governance and transparency policies, and the lieutenant governor’s office may provide facilities and administrative support and collaborate on specified programs. The amendment imposes financial reporting and use restrictions: the lieutenant governor’s office must compile an annual financial report of revenues and expenditures for the Washington world fellows and sports mentoring programs and provide it to appropriate legislative committees by January 15 each year; the board must post detailed information on all funds received and expenditures on its website. The board may solicit and receive gifts, grants, and endowments and expend them consistent with donors’ terms and the chapter’s purposes, but private funds must be reported by the executive director to the Office of Financial Management on a “regular basis,” may not replace legislatively appropriated budgets, and must be used only for chapter-authorized projects, programs, and functions not funded by the legislature. The Legislature may make appropriations in support of the board subject to available funds. The text provided omits descriptions of the Compassion scholars program, does not define the frequency of “regular basis” reporting to the Office of Financial Management, and does not specify numbers, qualifications, or appointment processes for board members beyond the ex officio positions. The bill was read for the first time on January 14, 2026.

If enacted, the state designates the Washington state leadership board as a trustee responsible for running or overseeing programs like Washington world fellows, sports mentoring, Boundless Washington, and Compassion scholars, and gives the lieutenant governor’s office a clear role in providing facilities, administrative help, and compiling an annual financial report on the world fellows and sports mentoring programs for the legislature by January 15. The board can raise and spend private gifts and grants for activities the legislature did not fund, but those private dollars cannot be used to reduce or replace legislative appropriations; the executive director must regularly report private funding to the Office of Financial Management and the board must post detailed receipts and expenditures on its website, which increases transparency and creates ongoing reporting and administrative work for the board, the lieutenant governor’s office, OFM, and legislative committees. The practical impacts fall mostly on the board (more oversight, reporting, and fundraising responsibilities), the lieutenant governor’s office (possible new support duties and responsibility for an annual financial report), OFM (receiving private-funds reports), and program operators and donors (restrictions on how private funds may be used and added disclosure). Important implementation details are unclear from the provided text, including how often “regular” reports to OFM must occur, what the Compassion scholars program will do, and the exact composition and selection process for other board members.