The bill (Senate Bill 5384, S-0552.1) creates a new section requiring the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to review Washington’s riparian programs and report to the Legislature. JLARC must deliver a preliminary report by December 1, 2025, and a final report by June 1, 2027, and the new section expires July 1, 2028. The required report must list funded riparian programs and the entities eligible under each, state local match amounts and maximum grant amounts, provide current and recent past funding amounts, review each program’s effectiveness, and include recommendations about continuing, enhancing, consolidating, or eliminating programs and about changes to increase access to funding, remove administrative burdens, or increase program usefulness. Legally, this is a new procedural requirement placed on JLARC (a new law section); it does not, in the provided text, amend existing statutes or impose criminal penalties. The extracted text does not identify which specific riparian programs are covered, does not define “riparian programs,” and does not specify whether or how other agencies must cooperate or what resources JLARC will have to perform the review. The bill was read for the first time January 21, 2025, referred to the Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources, and lists Senators Dozier, Schoesler, and J. Wilson as sponsors.

If enacted, the bill forces the state audit committee (JLARC) to spend time and staff to inventory and evaluate Washington’s funded riparian programs and to deliver a preliminary report by December 1, 2025 and a final report by June 1, 2027. The reports must list programs, who is eligible, local match and grant limits, recent funding levels, evaluate program effectiveness, and recommend whether programs should continue, be changed, consolidated, or ended and how to improve access or reduce administrative burdens. That information will give lawmakers a basis to change funding, eligibility rules, or consolidate services, so organizations that run or receive riparian program grants should expect possible shifts in funding levels, grant rules, or administrative requirements depending on legislative action. The most immediately affected party is JLARC, which will have new work and likely increased costs or staffing needs to complete the review; the bill does not specify resources or require agencies to cooperate, so how JLARC accomplishes the work is unclear. Funded riparian programs and eligible local entities are also affected because the review’s recommendations could lead to expanded, reduced, or reorganized funding and new reporting or match requirements. The directive is temporary and expires July 1, 2028.