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Heated testimony on HB 2387 as lawmakers weigh voters’ authority vs. state certification
Summary
Representative Bridal Burnett’s HB 2387 would preserve voters’ authority over elected sheriffs while creating recall-based accountability tied to decertification; sheriffs and the Washington Sheriffs Association largely supported the bill as voter-protective while civil-rights groups, the ACLU and advocacy organizations opposed it as a weakening of statewide certification and accountability standards.
The House Community Safety Committee heard extensive and at times heated testimony Jan. 27 on House Bill 2387, a bill that would preserve elected sheriffs’ political accountability to voters while creating a statutory recall pathway tied to certain decertification outcomes.
Sponsor Representative Bridal Burnett (12th District, a former sheriff) said the bill is a ‘‘sheriff’s bill and the voters bill’’ that strengthens enforceable accountability while keeping the ultimate decision with local voters. Burnett and supporting sheriffs argued the office historically belongs to the electorate and warned that statutory schemes in other measures would improperly transfer removal power…
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