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Bill would let accredited private labs supplement state toxicology testing to reduce backlog
Summary
House Bill 12-28 would allow blood and breath analyses performed by ISO/IEC 17025‑accredited labs to be valid in criminal and civil proceedings alongside state toxicologist methods. Supporters cited multi-hundred‑day backlogs and repeated DUIs during delays; opponents warned of inequitable access and urged funding for the state lab instead.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — House Bill 12-28 would establish an alternative means of validating blood and breath analyses for driving-under-the-influence and related prosecutions by recognizing testing from laboratories accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard alongside the state toxicologist’s methods.
Committee staff and multiple testifiers described the problem the bill aims to address: Washington’s toxicology backlog. Representative David Hackney, the sponsor, said the state processed about 19,000 nonlethal toxicology requests last year with an average…
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