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Public safety: The Republican Safe Washington Plan

In the 2021 legislative session, majority party Democrats passed several police reform bills. Unfortunately, some of these measures – including House Bill 1310 and House Bill 1054 – had disastrous consequences for public safety. You can learn more by visiting this web page: How Democrats’ police reform bills made communities less safe.

With an understanding that these problems needed to be addressed, with law enforcement, firefighters, local governments, and citizens feeling abandoned by Democrats on the issue of public safety, and with crime surging in many communities, Republicans introduced the Safe Washington Plan prior to the 2022 legislative session. This comprehensive plan included real solutions focused on prioritizing public safety, supporting law enforcement, preventing crime, and helping victims. You can find details of the Safe Washington Plan below.

House Republicans also introduced a 2022 supplemental operating budget framework focused on Safety, Affordability, Families, and the Economy (SAFE Washington Budget). The framework would have funded police officer signing and retention bonuses, body cameras, and additional basic law enforcement training classes. Public safety has been – and will continue to be – a legislative priority for House Republicans.

News & Media

Proposed Legislation

Prioritizing public safety, supporting law enforcement and preventing crime
Putting victims and public safety first
  • House Bill 1449: Creating the crime of coercive control
  • House Bill 1571: Concerning protections and services for indigenous persons who are missing, murdered, or survivors of human trafficking.
  • House Bill 1584: Establishing the crime victims and families scholarship.
  • House Bill 1678: Creating a domestic violence offender registry.
  • Senate Bill 5612: Ensuring domestic violence victims and survivors of victims have the opportunity to make a statement during sentencing for all domestic violence convictions.
  • Senate Joint Resolution 8209: Amending Article I, section 20 of the Washington state Constitution to allow courts to withhold bail in felony domestic violence cases.
Preventing property crimes
  • House Bill 1656: Changing the definition of theft.
  • Senate Bill 5495: Concerning catalytic converters.
Addressing State v. Blake
  • House Bill 1558: Promoting recovery and improving public safety by providing behavioral health system responses to individuals with substance use disorder and providing training to law enforcement personnel.
  • House Bill 1559: Providing a behavioral health response to juveniles consuming controlled substances.
  • House Bill 1560: Concerning the mens rea element of offenses related to possession of substances.
  • House Bill 1561: Expanding offenses and penalties for manufacture, sale, distribution, and other conduct involving controlled substances and counterfeit substances.
  • House Bill 1562: Allowing local governments to enact laws and ordinances relating to possession of controlled substances and counterfeit substances.
  • Senate Bill 5521: Concerning good faith exceptions to the exclusionary evidence rule.
  • Senate Bill 5523: Concerning possession of controlled substances.
Fixing the Department of Corrections
  • Senate Bill 5245: Concerning the safety of crime victims.
  • Senate Bill 5437: Concerning offender management network information and electronic health records systems at the department of corrections.
  • Senate Bill 5646: Requiring full body scanners at correctional facilities.