Adopting the recommendations of the public records exemptions accountability committee in its 2025 annual report.
HB 2244 adopts specific recommendations from Washington's Public Records Exemptions Accountability Committee regarding confidentiality of certain sensitive records. The bill amends multiple statutes to keep details confidential in long-term care complaints, archaeological site locations, grand jury reports, traffic accident reports, and behavioral health statistics - requiring redaction of personal identifiers before public release. It directly affects state agencies (like the long-term care ombuds, coroners, and police departments) and limits public access to these records while maintaining some disclosure for law enforcement or legal purposes. The changes implement the committee's 2025 report findings to prevent misuse of sensitive information, such as avoiding site depredation or protecting individuals in investigations. This bill does not create new policies but formalizes existing exemption practices through statutory updates.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Jan 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 5, 2026
Last action Mar 12, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Bill
→
Substitute Bill
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to remove a specific section regarding grand jury reports and to renumber the remaining sections. The substantive policy content regarding public records exemptions, traffic safety reporting, and social services remains unchanged.
Scope change
The bill's scope is effectively unchanged, though the text was streamlined by removing a provision about grand jury report releases and renumbering the sections accordingly.
REQUIREMENT
A requirement for grand jury reports to be released only if they address broad public policy without criticizing individuals was removed.
TECHNICAL
Section numbers were renumbered sequentially to reflect the removal of the grand jury provision.
Floor votes · House Feb 16, 2026
How they voted
71–27
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 100
Feb 16, 2026
D
Democratic61
95% Yea
R
Republican39
64% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
13
Key actions
3
Committee
3
Feb 16, 2026
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (71-27-2)
house
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
Referred to Rules 2 Review.
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Public hearing in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.
lower
1 primary · 7 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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