SB 5912 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Reinstating the indigent defense task force.

This bill reinstates a task force to study Washington's system for providing legal representation to people who cannot afford a lawyer. The task force, composed of judges, defense attorneys, county officials, and community members with lived experience, must review regional delivery models, staffing levels, funding, and data collection by January 2028. It will evaluate barriers to meeting legal representation standards and recommend improvements to ensure effective, timely, and sustainable services statewide. The task force expires June 30, 2029.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Dec 17, 2025 Last action Mar 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute Bill → Engrossed Substitute Bill · 3 edits · Feb 5, 2026

MINOR

The bill title was updated to reflect its final version, and the task force's operational rules were reorganized. The most significant change is the addition of a new requirement for the Office of Public Defense to provide staff support, replacing a previous clause about travel expense reimbursement limits. The expiration date for the task force was also moved to a new subsection to align with the restructured list of rules.

Scope change

The scope of the task force's administrative support has expanded to explicitly include staff provided by the Office of Public Defense.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandate requiring the Office of Public Defense to provide staff support for the task force.

Removed the specific clause stating that elected officials or representatives are not entitled to travel expense reimbursement.

Restructured the task force rules by moving the expiration date to a new subsection and reordering the remaining operational clauses.

Bill → Substitute Bill · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to significantly expand the composition of the Indigent Defense Task Force and deepen its investigative mandate. The changes add specific requirements for members with lived experience in the system, representatives from county clerks, and experts in court administration, while removing the requirement for legislative members to serve as co-chairs. Additionally, the task force's duties were broadened to include analyzing funding sustainability, reducing unnecessary case filings, and improving data transparency.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a general review of the current system to a comprehensive analysis of funding, data, and delivery models, with a stronger emphasis on including voices from underrepresented populations and county clerks.

ELIGIBILITY

The requirement for legislative members to serve as co-chairs was removed, and a new requirement was added that at least one co-chair must be an active attorney or court-authorized person.

Three new member categories were added: three members from underrepresented populations with direct lived experience, one member from the office of public defense representing contract-based services, and one member from the Washington Association of County Clerks.

The appointment process for the superior court judges' association was changed from one member to three members, including specific representatives from the superior and district/municipal court judges' associations.

REQUIREMENT

The task force's duties were expanded to include evaluating progress on caseload standards, identifying barriers to compliance, analyzing funding sustainability, and reviewing data sets to improve transparency.

New requirements were added to assess practices that could reduce unnecessary case filings while maintaining public safety and due process.

The specific provision stating that legislative members are reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120 was removed.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 5, 2026

How they voted

50–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 51

Feb 5, 2026

D Democratic31

30 Yea 1

96% Yea

R Republican20

20 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

CRJ - Majority; do pass.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 8:00 AM.

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Floor amendment(s) adopted.

upper

Jan 15, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM.

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 8:00 AM.

upper

1 primary · 10 co-sponsors