Senate Bill 5688 (S-1181.1), titled the "Washington sovereignty act" and sponsored by Senators Hasegawa, Frame, and Nobles, would add new sections to chapter 43.01 RCW. The bill declares legislative findings that the state must protect Washingtonians from unconstitutional federal and state actions and states that state and local officials, agents, employees of contractors providing services to the state, and members of the national guard or state defense forces acting in an official capacity are not required or authorized to act in an official capacity to follow any federal executive order that does not comply with the U.S. Constitution, the Washington Constitution, or relevant judicial precedents or standards. It also allows any state or local agency, including law enforcement and emergency services agencies, that incurs costs protecting citizens’ First Amendment rights to protest such a federal executive order to submit an invoice to the U.S. Department of the Treasury seeking reimbursement. The bill declares the act necessary for immediate preservation of public peace, health, safety, or support of state government and takes effect immediately. This is a declaratory and procedural change in state law implementing new duties and permissions rather than creating a new crime or changing criminal penalties. It permits agencies to seek reimbursement from the federal Treasury but does not create a statutory requirement that the federal government must pay. Important details are missing from the text provided: the bill does not include procedures or standards for how to determine whether a federal executive order “does not comply,” it provides no formal definitions for key terms, it does not specify how agencies must prepare or submit invoices, and it contains no enforcement, oversight, dispute-resolution, or appeal mechanisms in the excerpt supplied.

If enacted, the bill would give Washington state and local officials, agents, certain contracted employees, and members of the state National Guard on duty the option to refuse to act on federal executive orders they and their agencies consider inconsistent with the U.S. or Washington constitutions or existing court precedents. It would also let state and local agencies, including police and emergency services, submit invoices to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to seek reimbursement for costs they incur while protecting people who protest against such federal executive orders, and the law would take effect immediately. Most affected will be city and county governments, law enforcement and emergency services, and any state contractors whose duties intersect with federal orders; they may face immediate operational choices about whether to follow or resist certain federal directives and could incur extra costs for protest-related security with only an uncertain avenue for reimbursement. Key practical uncertainties remain: the bill does not say who decides if a federal order is noncompliant, it provides no instructions or timelines for submitting invoices, and it does not require the federal government to pay, so agencies could still carry financial and legal risk if the Treasury refuses reimbursement or if conflicts with federal authorities arise.