SB 6361

S-6046.1
  SENATE BILL 6361
State of Washington  69th Legislature      2026 Regular Session
By Senators Hasegawa and Chapman
Read first time 03/11/26.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.
1      AN ACT Relating to creating a firewall against federal
2  authorities misusing driver, vehicle, and other personal information
3  for civil immigration enforcement purposes; adding new sections to
4  chapter 46.01 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.43 RCW;
5  creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.
6  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
7     NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that Washington
8 state has a thriving workforce, economy, and quality of life, in
9 part, because of the strong and diverse immigrant communities
10 throughout the state.
11     (2) The legislature also finds that federal immigration agencies
12 have been inappropriately targeting individuals solely for civil
13 immigration purposes by accessing information contained in state
14 databases and law enforcement systems.
15     (3) The legislature finds that this runs contrary to the values
16 of our state that places high importance on the rights and dignity of
17 all of its residents.
18     (4) The legislature, therefore, intends to create a firewall
19 against this information being used by federal agencies for this
20 illegal purpose and require the relevant state agencies to redouble
21 their efforts by putting additional safeguards in place.
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1     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 2.   A new section is added to chapter 46.01
2 RCW to read as follows:
3     The definitions in this section apply to sections 3 through 6 of
4 this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
5     (1) "ACCESS data system" means the Washington state patrol owned
6 and operated data system by which criminal investigation information,
7 vehicle license information, and other law enforcement information is
8 exchanged.
9     (2) "Civil immigration enforcement purposes" includes, but is not
10 limited to, enforcement activities related to a civil immigration
11 warrant for a violation of federal civil immigration law issued by a
12 federal   immigration   authority.  A   "civil  immigration   warrant"
13 includes, but is not limited to, administrative warrants issued on
14 forms I-200 or I-203, or their successor forms, and civil immigration
15 warrants entered in the national crime information center database.
16     (3) "Court order" means a directive issued by a judge or
17 magistrate under the authority of Article III of the United States
18 Constitution or Article IV of the Washington state Constitution. A
19 "court order" includes, but is not limited to, warrants and
20 subpoenas.
21     (4) "DAPS" means the driver and plate search system maintained by
22 the department.
23     (5) "DIAS" means the system operated by the department that
24 allows courts to electronically access and update state driver
25 records.
26     (6) "Federal immigration authority" means any officer, employee,
27 or person otherwise paid by or acting as an agent of the United
28 States department of homeland security including, but not limited to,
29 its subagencies, immigration and customs enforcement, and customs and
30 border protection, and any present or future divisions thereof,
31 charged with immigration enforcement.
32     (7) "Immigration or citizenship status" means the status
33 established relative to an individual under the immigration and
34 nationality act.
35     (8) "Nlets" means a not-for-profit computer-based message
36 switching system that links together state, local, and federal law
37 enforcement, justice, and public safety agencies for the purposes of
38 sharing and exchanging information.
39     (9) "Personal information" includes, but is not limited to, name,
40 age, residential address, social security number, immigration or
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1 citizenship status, employer, employer address, or        any    other
2 information used to prove identity or lawful presence.
3     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 3.   A new section is added to chapter 46.01
4 RCW to read as follows:
5     (1) Except as required for the department to issue or renew a
6 driver's license or learner's permit, under chapters 46.20 and 46.25
7 RCW to meet federal standards, the department shall not disclose or
8 make accessible in any manner records or information to a federal
9 immigration authority, unless the department receives a valid court
10 order.
11     (2) Upon receiving a court order that requires providing records
12 or information to a federal immigration authority, the department
13 must notify the individual about whom such information was requested
14 informing the individual of the request and the identity of agency
15 making the request within three days from when the request was made.
16     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 4.   A new section is added to chapter 46.01
17 RCW to read as follows:
18     (1) By October 1, 2026, the department must adopt rules requiring
19 all data-sharing agreements, providing access to DAPS, DIAS, or any
20 other system containing s driver's license, vehicle registration, or
21 other personal information that the federal, state, or local
22 governmental agency, or nongovernmental entity or person, contain a
23 certification that the agency, entity, or person will not use such
24 records or information for civil immigration enforcement purposes.
25     (2) The department must continually monitor, audit, and review
26 compliance with the adopted rules and associated data sharing for
27 misuse. If the department has any indication that the information
28 being accessed is being used for civil immigration enforcement
29 purposes, either directly or indirectly, without a valid court order,
30 the department must immediately terminate access to the federal,
31 state, or local governmental agency, or nongovernmental entity or
32 person. The department must forward information on the misuse to the
33 attorney general's office for appropriate action.
34     (3) The department, jointly with the Washington state patrol,
35 must develop protocols to ensure that the ACCESS data system,
36 Washington state information provided through Nlets, DAPS, DIAS, and
37 other systems are not accessible to a federal immigration authority,
38 unless required by a valid court order.
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1     (4)(a) Beginning October 1, 2026, and each year thereafter, the
2 department, jointly with the Washington state patrol, must submit a
3 report to the governor's office and the appropriate policy and fiscal
4 committees of the legislature detailing actions the department has
5 taken in the prior 12 months to ensure compliance with this act,
6 chapter 440, Laws of 2019, and the Governor's executive order 25-09.
7 The report must also contain information by federal, state, and local
8 agencies, on:
9     (i) The number of queries on Washington driver's license or
10 identicard and vehicle registrations information in DAPS and DIAS;
11     (ii) The number of queries received from the Nlets system and
12 ACCESS data system terminals, of Washington driver's license,
13 identicard, and vehicle records, including data identifying the
14 number of incoming queries. The number of queries from state and
15 local agencies outside of Washington may be grouped by state;
16     (iii) Those that were approved, provided, utilized, and denied
17 access to the ACCESS data system, Nlets, DAPS, and DIAS.
18     (b) By January 1, 2027, and each year thereafter, the governor's
19 office must hold at least two public meetings on the statistics and
20 information submitted in the reports. At least one of these public
21 meetings must be held on the east side of the state and at least one
22 of these meetings must be held on the west side of the state.
23     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 5.   A new section is added to chapter 43.43
24 RCW to read as follows:
25     (1) By October 1, 2026, the Washington state patrol must adopt
26 rules and policies that restrict any federal, state, or local
27 governmental agency or nongovernmental entity from using the ACCESS
28 data system and Nlets for civil immigration enforcement purposes.
29     (2) The Washington state patrol must continually monitor, audit,
30 and review compliance with the adopted rules and policies for misuse.
31 If the Washington state patrol has any indication that the
32 information being accessed is being used for civil immigration
33 enforcement purposes, either directly or indirectly, without a valid
34 court order, the Washington state patrol must immediately terminate
35 access to the federal, state, or local governmental agency or
36 nongovernmental entity or person. The Washington state patrol must
37 forward information on the misuse to the attorney general's office
38 for appropriate action.
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1     (3) The Washington state patrol, jointly with the department of
2 licensing, must develop protocols to ensure that the ACCESS data
3 system, Washington state information provided through Nlets, DAPS,
4 DIAS, and other systems are not accessible to a federal immigration
5 authority, unless required by a valid court order.
6     (4)(a) Beginning October 1, 2026, and each year thereafter, the
7 Washington state patrol, jointly with the department, must submit a
8 report to the governor's office and the appropriate policy and fiscal
9 committees of the legislature detailing actions the Washington state
10 patrol has taken in the prior 12 months to ensure compliance with
11 this act, chapter 440, Laws of 2019, and the governor's executive
12 order 25-09. The report must also contain information by federal,
13 state, and local agencies, on:
14     (i) The number of queries on Washington driver's license or
15 identicard and vehicle registrations information in DAPS and DIAS;
16     (ii) The number of queries received from the Nlets system and
17 ACCESS data system terminals, of Washington driver's license,
18 identicard, and vehicle records, including data identifying the
19 number of incoming queries. The number of queries from state and
20 local agencies outside of Washington may be grouped by state;
21     (iii) Those that were approved, provided, utilized, and denied
22 access to the ACCESS data system, Nlets, DAPS, and DIAS.
23     (b) By January 1, 2027, and each year thereafter, the governor's
24 office must hold at least two public meetings on the statistics and
25 information submitted in the reports. At least one of these public
26 meetings must be held on the east side of the state and at least one
27 of these meetings must be held on the west side of the state.
28     NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act is exempt from the rule of strict
29 construction, and shall be liberally construed to give full effect to
30 the objective and purpose of protecting personal privacy and
31 preventing the misuse of information in state databases for civil
32 immigration enforcement purposes.
33     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 7.   This act may be known and cited as the
34 Washington federal firewall act.
35     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8.  This act is necessary for the immediate
36 preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of
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1 the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes
2 effect immediately.
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