This bill amends RCW 43.43.580 to require the Washington State Patrol (WSP) to establish a centralized firearms background check program and an automated background check system for dealers conducting checks under chapter 9.41 RCW and the federal Brady Act. The system must provide dealer access by web portal/electronic means and telephone, assign a unique identifier to each inquiry, notify dealers when applications are received, return automated proceed/deny/indeterminate responses, investigate indeterminate results, and may allow WSP to hold delivery of a firearm under the cited RCW subsections. Dealers must begin using the system 30 days after WSP notification and must charge each purchaser/transferee a fee to reasonably cover WSP’s direct and indirect administration costs; the fee is transmitted to the state treasurer for deposit in the state firearms background check system account and does not apply to pawnbroker receipt or redemption of pawned firearms. WSP must establish an appeal process for denials. The WSP must check NICS and specified state and federal databases, perform equivalency analysis of foreign convictions using cited RCW definitions, work with the Administrative Office of the Courts to access court records for eligibility determinations, consult the Washington Background Check Advisory Board, may adopt rules to implement the program, and must report to the appropriate legislative committees no later than July 1, 2025 and annually thereafter on the average time from request to final decision. All records and information created or used by WSP in connection with a firearm background check are exempt from public inspection and copying under chapter 42.56 RCW. This is an amendment to existing law that creates a new administrative program and detailed procedural requirements for firearm background checks, establishes a mandatory fee to fund administration, sets confidentiality rules, and adds reporting and rulemaking duties. It does not create a new crime or change criminal penalties in the provided text; it is a procedural and administrative change. The provided extracts include two variant amended texts with slight differences (for example which RCW subsections are cited regarding holding delivery and one text includes an additional sentence about replacing a fee) and one extract ends mid-sentence. It is therefore unclear from these excerpts which version is final and some sections and timing details referenced in the bill are missing from the provided material.

If enacted, the Washington State Patrol will have to build, run, and staff a centralized, automated firearms background-check system that dealers must use shortly after WSP notifies them. Dealers will need to change their processes to submit checks electronically or by phone, collect a per-transfer fee from most buyers to cover WSP’s costs (the fee proceeds go to a state firearms background check account and pawnbroker pawn/redemption checks are exempt), and face possible delays when WSP places holds or investigates indeterminate results. WSP will also need to link to court records, set up an appeal process for denied transfers, track performance, and begin reporting average processing times by July 1, 2025 and annually thereafter. The practical winners and losers are clear: WSP takes on substantial new technical and staffing responsibilities and will rely on fees to cover costs; dealers must absorb administrative changes and pass fees to purchasers; buyers will likely pay more and may experience longer waits for transfers; public transparency is reduced because WSP’s background-check records are exempt from public disclosure. Important implementation details are unclear from the supplied text—two variant amendments appear, some language is incomplete, and Section 1 is set to expire May 1, 2027 (with Section 2 taking effect that same date)—so exact authorities, fee interactions with existing law, and final timelines may still change.