The bill amends RCW 72.09.015 and adds a new section to chapter 72.09 RCW. It raises the statutory indigency threshold for an "indigent inmate" from the prior amount to $100, defining an indigent inmate as someone with less than $100 in disposable institutional account balance on the day a request is made and during the 30 days before the request. The act also updates and lists many chapter-wide definitions (for example, community custody, correctional facility, privilege, and restraints) and clarifies terms used across the chapter. The new section requires the Department of Corrections to publish the indigent rate beginning July 1, 2027 on its public website and at each correctional facility in an area accessible to inmates, within five business days of July 1 each year. Beginning July 1, 2029 and every four years thereafter, the department must adjust the $100 dollar amount using the most current seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI‑U) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; any adjustment that would reduce the amount is prohibited. The changes are procedural and definitional in nature; the bill does not state any changes to criminal penalties. The text provided does not show an overall effective date for the act or the final certification dates.

Raising the indigency cutoff from $25 to $100 means a larger share of people in DOC custody will qualify as "indigent" under chapter 72.09, which changes how the department treats their access to goods, services, privileges, and any fee-related provisions tied to indigency in that chapter. Practically, this will increase the number of incarcerated people who are eligible for whatever waivers or low‑cost access the department provides to those deemed indigent, and correctional facilities must post and make that rate known to inmates. The Department of Corrections must publish the indigency rate on its website and at each facility every July 1 starting in 2027 and, beginning July 1, 2029, adjust the dollar amount every four years using CPI‑U (never lowering it). That creates recurring administrative duties for DOC and likely raises ongoing costs and the number of people qualifying as indigent over time as the amount is indexed upward; correctional staff and facility operations will need to implement and inform inmates of the change. The act’s overall effective date beyond the specified July 1 obligations is not shown in the provided text.