This bill amends RCW 43.79.567 and creates new statutory sections to establish a community reinvestment account in the state treasury and a community reinvestment program administered by the Department of Commerce in partnership with the Washington state office of equity. Revenues into the account are legislative appropriations, transfers, and other directed moneys and may be spent only after appropriation. The act authorizes the department to use account funds for five categories: economic development (including asset building and small business support), civil and criminal legal assistance (postconviction relief, expungement, vacation of convictions), community-based violence intervention and prevention, reentry services for people formerly incarcerated, and agricultural and economic support for historically marginalized communities. The bill creates procedural rules for grant eligibility, distribution, and oversight: organizations providing specialized services where fewer than five statewide providers exist may apply statewide; for specialized legal services with fewer than three statewide free providers, non-"by and for community organization" applicants may receive grants only if they obtain a letter of support from a "by and for" organization, allocate up to 15% of the grant to such organizations for outreach/referral/oversight, and submit annual community impact and client demographic reports. Funds must be allocated across the five funding strategies with each receiving at least 15% and no more than 60% of total distributions per fiscal biennium unless an alternative allocation is recommended to avoid unexpended funds. The bill prohibits grantees from distributing funds to an officer (as defined in RCW 23B.08.400), that officer’s family (as defined in RCW 42.52.010), or a business/nonprofit owned or managed by such an officer. Grant distribution must be done in collaboration with "by and for community organizations" and consistent with the governor’s tribal consultation executive order. The act also creates implementation and oversight procedures: the Washington state office of equity and the Department of Commerce must review and update a community reinvestment plan at least every five years (first update due in 2032) using a community-based participatory action research approach; the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) must study program distribution and impacts and report to the legislature by June 30, 2027, with the WSIPP-related section set to expire (the text references expiry dates of June 1, 2028 in one place and another section expires June 30, 2028 elsewhere); a work group must submit a transition plan and legislative recommendations by November 1, 2026 and recommend an administrative framework to take effect before July 1, 2027. Section 2 of the act takes effect July 1, 2027. The provided text is incomplete: the end of one provision in Sec. 4 is missing, the exact content of Section 2 is not included here, the formal statutory definition of "by and for community organizations" is not provided, and which specific section expires on June 30, 2028 is unclear.

If enacted, the law establishes a dedicated state account and directs the Department of Commerce to distribute legislative funding across five community-focused priorities (economic development, legal aid, reentry, violence prevention, and agricultural support for marginalized communities). That will likely expand grant opportunities for community organizations, especially smaller or scarce-service providers who can apply statewide, while requiring collaborative decision-making with organizations that are "by and for" impacted communities and limiting grants that would benefit organizational officers or their family businesses. The Department of Commerce and the Washington State Office of Equity will take on new administrative duties and must complete a transition plan and operational framework by mid-2027, while some program review work (a WSIPP study) is scheduled and time-limited. Funding use depends on future legislative appropriations, grant recipients will face new eligibility, partnership, and reporting requirements, and key details—such as the full text of some sections, precise effective dates for all provisions, and a formal statutory definition of "by and for community organizations"—are not available in the provided excerpts.