H-0799.2
HOUSE BILL 1787
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Griffey, Couture, Jacobsen, Connors, Schmidt, Barnard, McClintock, Eslick, Ley, and Barkis
Read first time 02/03/25. Referred to Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary.
AN ACT Relating to updating the involuntary treatment commitment standards for individuals suffering from a substance use disorder to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities; reenacting and amending RCW 71.05.020 , 71.34.020 , and 71.34.020 ; adding a new section to chapter 71.05 RCW; creating a new section; providing an effective date; and providing contingent expiration dates.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes the immediate and present dangers of the substance use crisis in Washington state. Soaring substance use rates have served as a leading contributor to increases in crime and homelessness which is plaguing communities throughout our state. While the legislature has taken steps to address this crisis through the passage of Ricky's law and dedicating increased funding for building treatment capacity, the substance use problem only continues to grow. In recognition of this crisis, the legislature intends to fully implement new standards for involuntary treatment commitment for individuals suffering from substance use disorder who are an immediate danger to the community or themselves. The legislature and mental health professionals recognized the need for new involuntary treatment commitment standards upon passage of chapter 302, Laws of 2020, yet these commitment standards have yet to be implemented resulting in an inability for local governments to ensure that each and every individual suffering from a substance use disorder who are a severe threat to the community or themselves are able to receive necessary treatment.
The legislature also recognizes that the substance use crisis in Washington state is geographically widespread and not isolated to only urban communities, and continues to permeate throughout all Washington communities. Therefore, the legislature intends to appropriate additional funding for secure withdrawal management and stabilization facilities in order to build the capacity of treatment beds necessary to ensure each community throughout Washington state has the resources to address the substance use crisis. The legislature finds that communities who are geographically isolated from these facilities face challenges in their ability to refer those suffering from substance use disorder to existing facilities, leading to either limited ability to commit these individuals for treatment or placement in a facility not intended for proper substance use treatment. The perpetuation of this practice has wreaked havoc on communities throughout Washington state. Furthermore, the legislature intends to double the current secure withdrawal management and stabilization facility bed count through incentivizing the creation of these facilities in areas lacking capacity as identified by the health care authority single bed certification and unavailable detention facility reports. This increased treatment capacity is intended to ensure that the increased population of those detained under these new involuntary treatment commitment standards for substance use disorder have access to the proper treatment facilities, and ensures that all communities throughout Washington state have access to these facilities.