Bill would create military-department grants to help backcountry search-and-rescue volunteers

For the record, Martha Whaling, staff to the Technology, Economic Development and Veterans Committee, told the committee the bill would require the Washington Military Department to provide grants to search-and-rescue organizations to cover anticipated and incurred volunteer backcountry search-and-rescue costs, including planning, equipment, training, exercise and operations.

The bill would allow the military department to provide grants to political subdivisions and prioritize rural counties, frontier counties and distressed areas, but only for costs that cannot be reimbursed through another mechanism. Jessica Van Horn, staff to the committee, told members the new grant program is subject to appropriation and that the department anticipates needing 1 full-time equivalent to administer the program.

Van Horn said the military department estimated 1 FTE at a cost of about $270,000 for the 2025-27 biennium and that grant awards themselves are indeterminate because the program is subject to the Legislature’s appropriation. The fiscal briefing included an illustrative range for grants of roughly $500,000 to $1,000,000 per fiscal year (about $1 million to $2 million per biennium), but Van Horn and Whaling emphasized the total cost is indeterminate and would depend on future appropriations.

No members of the public who had signed up remained in the room when the committee called public testimony. Vice Chair Macri read names of people who had signed in but not present; the committee concluded the public hearing without testimony.

No formal motions or votes were recorded during the hearing on this bill.