SB 6074 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Reinstituting parole.

SB 6074 establishes a 9-member work group to develop recommendations for reinstating parole in Washington state. The group includes representatives from the parole board, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, victim advocates, and the state department, and must create parole eligibility criteria by October 2027. This bill does not restore parole immediately but sets up a process for studying and designing a new system. The work group expires December 31, 2027, and its final report will be submitted to legislative committees.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to significantly narrow its scope and reduce its long-term impact. Originally, the bill would have reinstituted parole for offenders convicted of crimes committed on or after July 1, 2027, with eligibility beginning in 2027 and the program expiring in 2029. The substitute version now establishes a temporary work group to study parole reinstitution and report findings by October 1, 2027, but removes the actual parole eligibility provisions and the expiration date for the parole program itself.

Scope change

The bill's scope was reduced from immediately reinstating parole eligibility for future offenders to creating a temporary study group to recommend whether parole should be reinstated.

TIMELINE

The expiration date for the parole program was removed entirely, whereas the original bill set an expiration date of December 1, 2029.

ELIGIBILITY

The specific eligibility criteria for parole (serving 60% of time, no prior juvenile crimes, etc.) were removed from the text.

REQUIREMENT

The work group's reporting deadline was shortened from November 30, 2029, to October 1, 2027, and its mandate was changed from implementing parole to making recommendations on it.

FISCAL

Staff support for the work group was changed from the Department of Corrections to the William D. Ruckelshaus Center.

SCOPE

The bill no longer adds a new section to chapter 9.94A RCW regarding parole eligibility; it now only adds a section to chapter 9.95 RCW regarding the work group.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'parole' in the original bill, which included a specific category for crimes committed on or after July 1, 2027, was removed.

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

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Key actions

Committee

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 8:30 AM.

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors