This bill adds new sections to chapter 2.70 RCW creating a procedural, administrative program in the Office of Public Defense to run a training program for new public defense mitigation specialists and paralegals and to maintain a pool of public defense paralegals to support Office‑contracted counsel. The training must cover public defense standards, client communication, ethics, and networking, may be in-person or remote (with recorded resources), include recruitment outreach to justice‑impacted and formerly incarcerated persons, and—subject to available appropriations—be offered to at least one class of paralegals and one class of mitigation specialists by June 30, 2027. The Office must also, again subject to appropriation, create a paralegal pool prioritized for solo and very small private firms contracted with the Office and for practitioners providing postconviction representation, and the pool must include at least 10 full‑time paralegals by June 30, 2027. The act takes effect July 1, 2026. This is a new-law procedural change affecting public defense staffing and training; it does not create new criminal offenses or change penalties. Important details are not included in the extracted text: no appropriation amounts or funding sources, no formal definitions for key terms (for example, “justice‑impacted,” “formerly incarcerated,” “mitigation specialists,” or “paralegals”), and no information on hiring authority, employment status, compensation, or other administrative implementation beyond the June 30, 2027 milestones.

If funded, the Office of Public Defense will have to create and run a training program for new public defense mitigation specialists and paralegals and stand up a pool of at least 10 full-time paralegals by June 30, 2027 to provide as-needed support to Office-contracted lawyers, with priority help for solo practitioners, very small firms, and attorneys doing postconviction work. That means more staff and training capacity aimed at improving mitigation work and case support for contracted defenders, and active recruitment outreach to justice-impacted and formerly incarcerated people with relevant experience. These requirements take effect July 1, 2026 but only apply if money is appropriated, so the Office will need funding decisions to hire, pay, and run the program; the bill does not specify appropriation amounts, hiring rules, compensation, or formal definitions for key terms, leaving important implementation details and costs uncertain.