This bill adds new procedural law to chapter 7.69 RCW and amends existing statutes in chapter 70.125 RCW and RCW 43.10.801. It authorizes, on motion of the prosecuting attorney in criminal proceedings involving sexual assault or domestic violence where a defendant is representing themselves, a court (after an out-of-jury hearing with particularized findings supported by substantial evidence) to conduct or to appoint standby counsel or an investigator to conduct all examination of the victim witness at trial or during preparation when specified conditions are met. The court must find the testimony will describe sexual contact/assault or domestic violence, that the victim would be traumatized by the defendant’s presence (with distress more than de minimis), that the prosecutor has made all reasonable efforts to prepare the witness, that no less restrictive means are adequate, and that the court balances the state’s need for the testimony against the defendant’s constitutional rights. The pro se defendant may submit written additional questions and be given reasonable recesses, but may not conduct face-to-face questioning at the pretrial hearing; the court must make particularized findings on the record and may observe or examine the victim at prosecutor request. The bill also creates new substantive procedural authority allowing minors age 13 or older to consent to a forensic examination for gathering evidence in prosecutions of domestic violence assault involving nonfatal strangulation, and it amends definitions in RCW 70.125.030 (including definitions for “sexual assault,” “community sexual assault program,” “victim,” and others). An amendment to RCW 70.125.110 is begun in the text to state that a sexual violence survivor has the right to receive a medical forensic examination at no cost and to written notice of that right, but that portion of the text is truncated in the provided material. Separately, the bill enumerates survivor rights when receiving medical treatment or reporting assault, establishes the SAFE advisory group within the office of the attorney general with specified membership, duties, meeting frequency (at least twice annually), reporting obligations (annual report to the legislature and governor by December 15), travel reimbursement rules, and an expiration date for the advisory-group section of July 1, 2028. It provides an expedited superior court petition remedy to enforce the enumerated survivor rights, while also limiting those rights so they do not create new causes of action against the state or civil liability except for compliance relief. Several related agency and program actors are affected as described, and the bill cites relevant statutory cross-references and case law. The provided text is incomplete: the amendment to RCW 70.125.110 is truncated, the text of the amendment to RCW 43.10.801 is not included, and any additional sections, operative dates, funding, or implementation details in other parts of the bill are not available in these extracts.

If enacted, prosecutors will be able to ask a judge to prevent a self‑represented defendant from directly questioning a sexual assault or domestic violence victim at trial and instead have the court, appointed standby counsel, or an investigator conduct the examination when a court finds the victim would be seriously traumatized and the prosecutor has reasonably prepared the witness. That will likely reduce victims’ face‑to‑face exposure to defendants and change courtroom procedures: judges must hold outside‑the‑jury hearings, make detailed findings, allow the pro se defendant to submit written questions and receive recesses, and may need to appoint counsel or investigators, creating added workload and potential local costs for courts and defense appointment systems; it also limits defendants’ direct confrontation but preserves some ability to question through written submissions. Medical providers, community sexual assault programs, law enforcement, and the Office of the Attorney General will face new duties to inform and assist survivors, provide advocates and interpreters, notify survivors at least 60 days before destroying sexual assault kits on request, and follow survivor‑centered procedures; minors age 13+ may consent on their own to forensic exams for nonfatal strangulation, shifting consent handling away from parents in those cases. The bill creates a SAFE advisory group with reporting and meeting obligations through July 1, 2028, which will require staffing and modest travel reimbursements. The text available omits some survivor rights language, funding or implementation details, and certain amended sections, so the scope of resource impacts and operational specifics is uncertain.