Senate Bill 6361 creates new law by adding sections to chapter 46.01 RCW and chapter 43.43 RCW to establish a “Washington federal firewall act.” The bill prohibits the department from disclosing or otherwise making accessible driver, license, vehicle, and personal records to a federal immigration authority except when necessary to meet federal requirements for issuing or renewing a driver’s license or learner’s permit under chapters 46.20 and 46.25 RCW, or when the department receives a valid court order. The bill requires the department to notify the affected individual within three days when a court order requires disclosure, to adopt rules and require certifications in data‑sharing agreements that recipients will not use the records for civil immigration enforcement, and to continually monitor, audit, and immediately terminate access and forward evidence of misuse to the attorney general’s office. The Washington State Patrol must adopt rules by October 1, 2026, restricting use of the ACCESS system and Nlets for civil immigration enforcement, and must also monitor and terminate misuse and forward it to the attorney general. The department and the Washington State Patrol must develop joint protocols to prevent federal immigration access to ACCESS, Nlets, DAPS, DIAS, and other systems unless compelled by a valid court order. Annual reports beginning October 1, 2026, to the governor and appropriate legislative policy and fiscal committees are required with specified query and access statistics, and the governor must hold at least two public meetings each year starting January 1, 2027 (one on the east side and one on the west side of the state). The act includes definitions for terms such as ACCESS, DAPS, DIAS, civil immigration enforcement purposes, civil immigration warrant, court order, federal immigration authority, and personal information, is declared to be liberally construed to protect privacy, and takes effect immediately as an emergency measure. The legal change is primarily procedural and privacy‑protective: it creates new obligations and restrictions on data sharing, implements certification and monitoring requirements, mandates reporting and public meetings, and limits disclosure to specific exceptions. The text supplied does not explicitly name which agency is meant by the repeated term “department,” does not provide the detailed format or recipients beyond “appropriate policy and fiscal committees” for the required reports, does not further define the practical mechanics of what constitutes a “valid court order” beyond the constitutional authority language, and does not specify enforcement remedies or penalties beyond terminating access and forwarding possible misuse to the attorney general’s office.

If enacted, the bill will sharply restrict when and how state law enforcement and licensing systems (ACCESS, DAPS, DIAS, Nlets and similar systems) can be shared with federal immigration authorities: disclosures would be allowed only for driver's license issuance/renewal to meet federal standards or when a valid court order requires it. The Washington State Patrol, the department that runs driver and plate systems (referred to in the bill as "department"), and the Department of Licensing would need to adopt new rules by October 1, 2026, add certification clauses to data‑sharing agreements, set up continuous monitoring and audits, immediately cut off any access that appears to be used for civil immigration enforcement, notify affected individuals within three days when a court order leads to disclosure, and produce annual compliance reports that trigger public meetings run by the governor. Practically, that means these agencies will face new administrative and legal work (rulemaking, monitoring, audits, reporting), likely increased compliance costs, and tighter control over outside users (including federal agencies), while entities that previously relied on routine access for immigration checks will have fewer options except where a court order applies. The bill leaves some important implementation details unclear: the text repeatedly uses the term "department" without naming which agency that is, the exact contents and recipients of the required reports are not fully specified, and the bill does not spell out enforcement penalties beyond terminating access and referring suspected misuse to the Attorney General. Because the act takes effect immediately, agencies would need to start moving quickly to meet the October 1, 2026 deadlines and the notification and reporting requirements.