WA Legislators Approve $100M Plan to Hire More Cops

The Quad City Herald reports that House Democrats have approved a plan to allocate $100M for the recruitment and retention of local law enforcement.

Gov. Ferguson has threatened to veto any budget lacking these funds, which he says are crucial in a state where many police departments are ailed by skeletal staffing.

This is a familiar - and bipartisan - gripe.

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As KPQ lamented in January, Washington is perennially under-policed. In fact, for 14 consecutive years, we had the lowest cop-to-citizen ratio in the nation, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

H.B. 2015 allows municipal governments to impose a sales tax without voter approval for criminal justice expenses, but the bill also permits spending on crisis intervention training, emergency management and community programs.

Here's the catch: in order to qualify for these fervidly coveted grant dollars, Washington police departments have to show and prove, as Rakim would say. From the Herald:

25% of officers would have to complete a 40-hour crisis intervention training. The bill originally set this benchmark at 80%.

 

Other hurdles departments must clear to access the money include implementing model policies on use-of-force and other issues, completing trauma-informed training for all officers and complying with a law that restricts police from helping with federal immigration enforcement.

Dems rejected GOP amendments demanding voter-approved taxes and a stricter focus on police hiring. Kalama Republican Ed Orcutt spoke for many in his caucus when he said,

I don’t doubt that we have other aspects of the criminal justice system that could benefit from some additional funding, but to do that is to not put new officers on the street.

The bill passed 54-42 with five Dems voting with Republicans against it. Republicans are concerned, they say, about the impact a regressive sales tax would have on low- and middle-income constituents.

Meanwhile the Washington Senate is deliberating on a similar proposal without the sales tax provisions.

If the $100M isn't included in the next budget, the bill becomes void. Another Senate measure allows broader use of existing public safety tax dollars, including for diversion and mental health services.