This bill creates a new chapter in Title 43 RCW and establishes new procedural law governing "new statutory state spending programs" enacted after January 1, 2026. A covered program is one created or expanded by statute that is projected to increase state expenditures by more than $1,000,000 in state funds in its first full fiscal biennium and is not self‑supported by fees. The bill requires each such new program to include an expiration date no more than ten years from the program’s effective date (with limited exceptions described in the section) and to include a state spending performance statement that states the legislative purpose, gives additional detail about that purpose, and specifies clear, relevant, and ascertainable metrics and data requirements. The bill establishes a procedural review role for the joint legislative audit and review committee (JLARC). JLARC must review new programs according to a schedule it develops, consider specified factors (including whether the program meets the stated metrics), and recommend to the legislature’s fiscal committees whether to continue without modification, modify, schedule for future sunset review, or terminate immediately. If JLARC finds a program fails to achieve the ascertainable metrics in the performance statement, JLARC must recommend termination. A future amendment that modifies or expands a covered program does not extend the program’s original expiration unless the amendment expressly and unambiguously states an extension. If a required performance statement is missing, JLARC is not required to review the program and the program is legislatively presumed intended to expire as scheduled. This is a procedural and oversight law creating new statutory requirements and review processes; it does not create new crimes or change criminal penalties. The act contains a severability clause. Important details are not provided in the extracted text: the new chapter number within Title 43 RCW, precise definitions for "effective date of the spending program" and "first full fiscal biennium of implementation," the meaning of "self‑supported by fees," the specific JLARC review schedule or timelines, and the required form or procedural process for the state spending performance statement.

If enacted, any new state spending law passed after January 1, 2026 that will increase state spending more than $1,000,000 in its first full biennium must include a sunset no more than 10 years out and must carry a “state spending performance statement” explaining the purpose and giving clear, measurable metrics JLARC can use to judge success. The joint legislative audit and review committee will review those programs on a schedule it sets and must tell the legislature whether each program should continue, be changed, be set for a later sunset review, or be ended; JLARC must recommend termination when a program fails to meet the specified metrics, and future amendments do not extend a program past its original expiration unless they explicitly say so. The rules most directly affect state agencies that create or run new programs, the Legislature that must draft the required performance statements, JLARC which gains review responsibility, and counties, cities, or other entities that receive new or expanded state funds. Those groups will face more upfront work to define measurable goals and likely new reporting and review risk; recipients should expect time-limited funding and a real possibility of termination if metrics aren’t met. Important details are not specified here, including how to determine a program’s effective date or first full fiscal biennium, what counts as “self‑supported by fees,” and the timing and format of JLARC’s reviews.