This act, titled the "law enforcement body worn camera act," creates a new statewide statutory chapter and amends RCW 10.109.010, 10.109.020, and 10.109.030 to require that general authority Washington peace officers be equipped with and activate body worn cameras for all law enforcement encounters and responses. It is a procedural statutory change establishing mandatory camera activation rules, limited authorized deactivation circumstances with required verbal justification before deactivation and immediate reactivation on reengagement, requirements that cameras remain on until an incident or interaction is fully concluded (including during transportation), and a prohibition on unauthorized access, alteration, or deletion of recordings that is subject to agency discipline and other unspecified state-law penalties. The bill requires agencies to store recordings in secure digital evidence systems that meet state data security standards, sets minimum retention periods (90 days generally; three years for recordings involving use of force, an arrest or detention, or a complaint/investigation), directs agencies to adopt or update detailed body worn camera policies by July 1, 2027, and gives the person recorded a right to request a copy at no cost except where state law (RCW 42.56.240 or other law) prohibits disclosure. It preempts local laws on requiring BWC use by general authority peace officers, directs "the commission" under chapter 43.101 RCW (identity not defined in the provided text) to distribute funding for equipment and storage subject to appropriation and to report annually, and instructs that the commission monitor compliance and report by December 1, 2027 (with that monitoring authority expiring July 1, 2028). Sections 4–6 and 8–11 take effect July 1, 2027. The provided text includes a severability clause and omits full text of Section 16, the formal identification of the commission, specific effective dates for some amended provisions, any detailed penalties beyond agency discipline, and funding amounts or distribution criteria.

If enacted, general authority Washington peace officers will be required to wear and turn on body cameras before arriving at or initiating any contact with the public and keep them running until the interaction and any transport are finished, with only narrow exceptions that must be verbally recorded. Law enforcement agencies will need to buy and maintain cameras, secure digital storage, and update policies and training by July 1, 2027; they will face new retention rules (generally 90 days, three years for incidents involving force, arrests/detentions, or investigations) and must provide copies of recordings to subjects at no cost except where state law blocks disclosure. Officers face greater routine responsibilities and exposure to disciplinary action for unauthorized handling of footage, while agencies will incur new equipment, storage, training, policy, and public-records handling costs and lose the ability to set different local rules because the state preempts the field. The bill assigns an unspecified "commission" to distribute state funding for cameras and storage and to monitor compliance, with an initial compliance report due December 1, 2027, but the commission’s identity, the amount and criteria for funding, specific effective dates for some amended sections, and details on penalties beyond agency discipline are not provided in the available text, leaving uncertainty about how much local budget relief and enforcement detail will actually be available.