This bill adds new sections to RCW chapters 43.08, 82.01, and 43.79, creating a new law titled the "reciprocal enforcement of claims on unpaid or reduced state entitlements act" or "RECOURSE act." It requires the state treasurer to produce an initial report within 60 days of the section’s effective date and monthly updates thereafter, published on the treasurer’s website, showing federal funds owed to the state and projected federal payments the state will owe. The bill authorizes the director of the Office of Financial Management (in consultation with the state treasurer) to direct state agencies to withhold payments to the federal government in amounts equal to federal funds withheld from the state, prioritizing agencies directly affected by the federal withholding and allowing directives to other agencies if needed. OFM may require affected agencies to first withhold payments attributable to senior leadership or management staff where applicable. It creates the "RECOURSE act escrow account" to hold funds withheld when the constitutionality of a state law is being adjudicated, sets conditions for releasing escrowed funds depending on final court rulings or lapse of appeal deadlines, and states the account is not subject to allotment procedures and requires no appropriation for expenditures. The act takes effect immediately. Legally, this is a procedural and financial-authority change that creates new statutory authority and an escrow mechanism; it does not, in the extracted text, create new crimes or change criminal penalties. The text provided does not identify which specific state agencies are considered "affected agencies," does not define terms such as "valid Washington state law" or "senior leadership or management staff," and does not provide the precise methodology, timing, or other procedural details for calculating or implementing withholding directives.

If enacted, state officials would start publishing monthly reports showing federal money the state is owed and projected federal payments the state would owe, and the governor’s budget office would be able to order state agencies to hold back payments to the federal government equal to amounts the federal government withholds from Washington. Those withheld dollars would be held in a new escrow account until courts finally resolve whether the state’s underlying laws are valid; depending on the court outcome, the funds would then be sent to the federal government or released as directed. The people and offices most affected are the state treasurer (more reporting work), the Office of Financial Management director (new authority to direct withholdings), and the unnamed “affected” state agencies and some senior managers or leaders (they could see payments diverted or withheld, changing cash flow and payroll exposure). Agencies will face new operational and administrative costs and timing uncertainty when implementing withholdings, and the federal government may receive payments later than now. Important details are missing from the text provided — for example which agencies count as “affected,” how withholding amounts are calculated, and exact procedures and timing for OFM directives — so administrative and legal uncertainty is likely as agencies adapt.