SB 5490 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Providing parameters for conducting searches of transgender and intersex individuals confined in a local jail in compliance with federal law.

Senate Bill 5490 establishes specific guidelines for local jails in Washington State regarding the search of transgender and intersex individuals. It requires jail administrators to develop policies and procedures that comply with federal law and prohibits searches conducted solely for determining an individual's genital status. The bill mandates training for security staff on conducting respectful and least intrusive searches of these individuals. For strip searches, it offers options such as searches by a medical professional, female staff, or staff chosen by the individual, or in accordance with their stated gender identity. It also ensures privacy during daily activities and limits cross-gender searches to only exigent circumstances.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Feb 26, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill Substitute Bill · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from S-0498.5 to S-1589.1 and updated to reflect its status as a substitute bill sponsored by the Senate Human Services committee. The most significant substantive change is the addition of the word 'strip' before 'searches' in the requirements for transgender and intersex individuals, clarifying that specific strip search protocols must be followed rather than all types of searches.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on local jails and transgender or intersex individuals, but the specific requirements for strip searches have been narrowed and clarified.
REQUIREMENT

The requirement for specific search protocols was modified by adding the word 'strip' to clarify that only strip searches of transgender or intersex individuals must follow the listed gender-specific rules.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was updated to reflect its new number (S-1589.1) and its status as a substitute bill read on a later date.

The sponsor attribution was updated to indicate the bill was referred to the Senate Human Services committee before being introduced by the committee.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 11, 2025

How they voted

3119
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 51
Mar 11, 2025
D Democratic31
30 Yea 1
96% Yea
R Republican20
1 Yea 19 Nay
95% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
23
Key actions
9
Committee
9
Jan 12, 2026
Introduced
By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.
upper
Apr 2, 2025
Committee
Referred to Rules 2 Review.
lower
Mar 31, 2025
Lower · Passed
Minority; do not pass.
lower
Mar 31, 2025
Lower · Passed
CS - Majority; do pass.
lower
Mar 31, 2025
Lower · Passed
Executive action taken in the House Committee on Community Safety at 1:30 PM.
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Public hearing in the House Committee on Community Safety at 4:00 PM.
lower
Mar 11, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (31-19-1)
senate
Feb 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Minority; do not pass.
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Human Services at 1:30 PM.
upper
Feb 12, 2025
Upper · Passed
Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the Senate Committee on Human Services at 8:00 AM.
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Human Services at 1:30 PM.
upper
1 primary · 10 co-sponsors

Sponsors