Bill would create grant program to support law-enforcement aviation units; sponsor narrows scope to search-and-rescue

Martha Whaling, staff to the Technology, Economic Development and Veterans Committee, briefed the committee that House Bill 19-69 would create a grant program administered by the Washington Military Department to provide financial assistance to aviation support units and for wildland fire suppression. The bill would prioritize funds for maintenance and operation of support units, allocate remaining funds to search-and-rescue costs including training, and, if any funds remain, provide them to the Washington State Patrol aviation section.

Jessica Van Horn said the grant program is subject to appropriation and the department anticipated needing 1 FTE to administer the program; she identified illustrative administrative costs of roughly $363,000 in the 2025-27 biennium and about $318,000 per biennium thereafter, and said total grant funding needs were indeterminate. The Department of Natural Resources provided a separate illustrative fiscal estimate for extending some DNR wildland-fire resources to sheriff aviation use of about $1.5 million and 5.2 FTE for training, contract management and inspections, but Van Horn and sponsor testimony noted that the sponsors planned to strike sections 2–4 to limit the bill’s scope and reduce the fiscal note.

Representative Burnett, the bill sponsor, described local aviation units’ long record of assisting across county lines for search-and-rescue, wildfire response and other missions and said the intent is to provide sustainable support without supplanting local funding. James McMahon of the Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and law-enforcement witnesses including King County Under Sheriff Jesse Anderson and Spokane County officials said only four counties currently operate law-enforcement helicopter units and described statewide reliance on those assets; they urged state support to sustain regional operations.

Pat Sullivan of the Department of Natural Resources said DNR had safety and liability concerns but has been working with sponsors and agreed to the proposed amendments. The public hearing concluded after completed testimony; the sponsor indicated an amendment would remove sections related to DNR wildland-fire funding and focus the bill on sheriff search-and-rescue aviation.