HB 2333 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Protecting elected officials and candidates, executive state officers, election officials, and criminal justice participants against threats and incidents of political violence.

HB 2333 protects elected officials, candidates, election officials, and criminal justice staff (like police, prosecutors, and court personnel) from threats by expanding access to address confidentiality and increasing penalties for harassment targeting them in their official roles. The bill amends Washington’s harassment law to make threats against these groups a class C felony if the threat relates to their duties, and updates the address confidentiality program to include them. This allows eligible individuals to keep their home addresses private (using a state-designated address for official mail) and qualifies them for enhanced security measures. The law directly affects public servants who face threats due to their work, not general public safety. It focuses on concrete policy changes: stronger legal penalties for threatening officials and simplified access to address protection.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 8, 2026 Last action Mar 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended to streamline its language, remove redundant security provisions for legislators, and update the list of amended statutes to reflect recent legislative changes. The core policy of protecting elected officials and public servants by redacting their residential addresses from public records remains intact, but the text was cleaned up to avoid repetition and ensure consistency across different sections.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains the same, covering elected officials, candidates, executive state officers, election officials, and criminal justice participants. However, the specific sections of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) listed as amended were updated to reflect the bill's progression through the legislative process.

TECHNICAL

The bill title and sponsor information were updated to reflect its status as a 'Substitute Bill' and added to the House State Government & Tribal Relations committee.

Section numbers were renumbered throughout the bill to align with the new structure after removing redundant content.

REQUIREMENT

Redundant security assessment and briefing requirements for legislators were removed to prevent duplication with other sections of the bill.

The list of RCW sections amended in the 'AN ACT' summary was updated to remove references to repealed or superseded statutes and add new relevant sections.

Redaction procedures for voter registration records and financial reports were clarified to ensure timely removal of addresses from online databases.

Substitute Bill → Second Substitute Bill · 12 edits

MAJOR

The bill was renumbered and its committee assignment changed from State Government & Tribal Relations to Appropriations, while the scope of amendments was significantly narrowed. The Second Substitute Bill removes most changes to harassment laws and voter registration statutes, focusing instead on specific financial reporting redactions and creating a new legislative security fund. This revision streamlines the bill to address only the most critical security measures for officials and candidates.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed from a broad amendment of over a dozen RCW sections to a focused set of changes regarding financial statement redactions and the creation of a dedicated security fund for legislators.

SCOPE

Removed the amendment to RCW 9A.46.020, which previously expanded the definition of harassment to include threats against elected officials and criminal justice participants.

Removed the amendment to RCW 40.24.030, which previously expanded eligibility for the address confidentiality program to include election officials and criminal justice participants.

Removed the amendment to RCW 29A.08.710, which previously allowed elected officials and criminal justice participants to redact their addresses from voter registration records.

Removed the amendment to RCW 29A.24.031, which previously allowed candidates to redact their addresses from declaration of candidacy forms.

Removed the amendment to RCW 29A.08.125, which previously allowed redaction of addresses from the statewide voter registration database.

Removed the amendment to RCW 4.24.680, which previously prohibited publishing personal information of peace officers and prosecutors online.

FISCAL

Changed the definition of 'personal security measures' in the bill text from referencing 'section 4 of this act' to referencing 'section 1 of this act' to align with the new structure.

Added a new section creating a 'legislative member security account' in the custody of the state treasurer to fund security measures for legislators.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the amendment to RCW 29B.40.090 to reference the new section 1 for the definition of personal security measures instead of the old section 4.

Modified the amendment to RCW 29B.40.130 to reference the new section 1 for the definition of personal security measures instead of the old section 4.

Added a new section to chapter 42.56 RCW that consolidates exemptions for residential addresses of officials, candidates, and criminal justice participants across various state records.

Added a new section to chapter 44 RCW to formally establish the new legislative security fund as a distinct chapter.

Floor votes · House Feb 16, 2026

How they voted

73–21

Passed · 6 other

Total votes 100

Feb 16, 2026

D Democratic61

57 Yea 1 Nay 3

93% Yea

R Republican39

16 Yea 20 Nay 3

51% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

WM - Majority; do pass with amendment(s).

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 10:30 AM.

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 2:30 PM.

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Referred to Ways & Means.

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

And refer to Ways & Means.

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

LAW - Majority; do pass with amendment(s).

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 8:00 AM.

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 2:00 PM.

upper

Feb 16, 2026

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (73-21-6)

house

Feb 9, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Jan 28, 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 · 15 co-sponsors