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Bill to expand vacatur of treaty‑rights convictions draws broad tribal and OPD support
Summary
House Bill 1982 would let tribal members vacate state convictions tied to exercising treaty fishing, hunting, gathering and pasturing rights regardless of conviction date, create an OPD tribal‑liaison position, and authorize OPD representation for vacatur filings; tribal leaders and OPD urged passage, while members asked about scope and fiscal impact.
The Community Safety Committee heard testimony on House Bill 1982, which would expand existing state law to allow vacation of convictions tied to the exercise of treaty Indian rights beyond fishing to include hunting, gathering and pasturing, remove the pre‑1975 time limit, and permit vacatur for convictions rooted in enjoined local ordinances.
Corey Patton, staff to the committee, prefaced the bill by tracing treaties that reserved fishing and other rights and by summarizing the legal background: federal litigation (United States v. Washington, the Boldt decision) had found some state regulations interfered with treaty rights, and Washington law in 2014 created a narrow vacatur process for certain fishing‑related convictions. "House Bill 1982 does three things," Patton said:…
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