HB 1592 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Concerning public defense services.

HB 1592 shifts public defense funding responsibility in Washington State starting in 2026. The state will cover 50% of public defense costs based on counties' and cities' average spending over the previous five years, with the state paying all costs exceeding that average. Counties and cities must report case data, attorney caseloads, and training requirements for public defense attorneys to qualify for state funds. This bill directly affects local governments managing public defense systems and aims to standardize funding while requiring transparency in service delivery.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Feb 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute Bill → Second Substitute Bill · 8 edits

MODERATE

This bill was renumbered and moved from the Civil Rights committee to Appropriations, with the session year updated to 2026. The core policy shifts from a complex funding formula based on five-year historical averages to a simpler system where the state covers all costs exceeding a baseline. It also reorganizes the distribution of funds, removing specific base allocations for counties and replacing the state bar association with the state supreme court as the standards-setting body.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new sections creating specific application procedures for counties and cities, and the effective date was pushed to January 1, 2027, with a sunset clause if funding is not secured by June 2026.

TIMELINE

The legislative session year was updated from 2025 to 2026, and the bill's effective date was moved to January 1, 2027.

ELIGIBILITY

Funding eligibility criteria were simplified by removing the requirement to calculate costs based on a five-year average of actual expenditures.

FISCAL

The state's financial responsibility was changed to cover all public defense costs that exceed the baseline average, rather than sharing a fixed 50/50 split.

The distribution formula for county funds was altered to remove a fixed base allocation, instead distributing 94% based solely on case volume.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for counties to use supplanted funds for specific activities like housing development and behavioral health was removed.

New detailed application procedures were added for both counties and cities to receive state funding distributions.

DEFINITION

The body responsible for setting public defense service standards was changed from the Washington State Bar Association to the Washington State Supreme Court.

ENFORCEMENT

A new provision was added stating that the act becomes null and void if specific funding is not provided by June 30, 2026.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 9, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 9:00 AM.

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

lower

Feb 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Feb 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Feb 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

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

lower

1 primary · 18 co-sponsors