HB 1396 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Increasing transparency and accountability of the office of corrections ombuds.

HB 1396 creates an advisory council to increase transparency and accountability for Washington State's Office of Corrections Ombuds. The council, composed of 11 members including currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, family members, and experts in diversity and disability, will advise the ombuds on priorities and provide feedback on reports. The bill requires the ombuds to consult the council, share deidentified data and trends, and submit annual reports detailing complaints, investigations, and stakeholder input. It also mandates the ombuds to actively solicit feedback from incarcerated people and implement anti-racist training for council members. This bill directly affects incarcerated individuals, their families, and the ombuds office by restructuring oversight processes to center lived experience.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Jan 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered and its title updated to reflect its status as a substitute bill. The core policy change involves shifting the ombuds advisory council's role from issuing its own public reports to communicating concerns to the governor and legislature, while adding a requirement for the ombuds to solicit feedback directly from incarcerated individuals and share aggregated results with the council. Additionally, the ombuds's duties were updated to explicitly include soliciting feedback and monitoring legislative developments, replacing previous language about providing comment opportunities and monitoring compliance.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a mandatory feedback loop where the ombuds must actively solicit input from incarcerated individuals and share aggregated data with the advisory council, rather than just providing an opportunity for comments.

REQUIREMENT

The advisory council's authority was changed from issuing its own annual public report to communicating concerns to the governor and legislature.

A new requirement was added for the ombuds to solicit feedback directly from incarcerated individuals and share aggregated feedback with the advisory council.

The ombuds's duties were updated to include soliciting feedback and monitoring legislative developments, replacing previous language regarding providing comment opportunities and monitoring compliance.

TECHNICAL

The bill number was changed from H-0483.1 to H-1341.1, and the title was updated to 'Substitute House Bill 1396'.

The bill's reading date was updated from January 20, 2025, to February 14, 2025, and the sponsor list was formatted to indicate the bill was originally sponsored by specific representatives.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

lower

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Community Safety at 8:00 AM.

lower

Feb 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Community Safety at 4:00 PM.

lower

1 primary · 8 co-sponsors