Bill would explicitly list Labor & Industries as a limited‑authority law enforcement agency

Senate Bill 5209 would explicitly list the Department of Labor and Industries (LNI) among the statutory examples of limited‑authority law enforcement agencies, aligning the statute’s examples with LNI’s existing investigative activity involving workers’ compensation and related fraud investigations.

In a staff briefing, Joe McKittrick summarized the current statutory definition of a limited‑authority law enforcement agency, which provides a non‑exhaustive list of example agencies. The bill would add LNI to those examples; the staff briefing noted there was no fiscal note requested for the bill.

LNI staff told the committee the change is not intended to grant new powers — investigative staff would not gain arrest authority — but to avoid delays and denials when local prosecutors or law enforcement check the statutory list for whether LNI investigators have authority to obtain warrants, issue subpoenas, coordinate criminal investigations and refer matters for prosecution.

Tammy Phelan of LNI said the omission of LNI from the statutory example list can cause “delaying our access to needed information or denying that until further conversations can be had.” Larry (Lawrence) Grant, senior staff responsible for LNI fraud prevention and investigations, described typical investigative work including covert surveillance, and said investigators are sometimes asked by local law enforcement to show statutory authority when conducting joint investigations.

LNI staff and sponsor Sen. John Lubbock said the bill merely clarifies the statute so investigative staff across the state can coordinate more efficiently with prosecutors and local law enforcement; the hearing closed with public testimony and no committee vote recorded in the transcript.