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Committee hears mixed response to bill aligning state law with federal work-authorization for public-safety hires

House Community Safety Committee · February 18, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Engrossed Senate Bill 50 68 would replace references to lawful permanent residents and DACA status with a federal 'legally authorized to work' standard for applicants to law enforcement, civil service, prosecuting attorney and DSHS positions; proponents said it helps recruitment while critics warned about background-check gaps for noncitizen applicants.

The committee received a staff briefing and public testimony on Engrossed Senate Bill 50 68, which aims to align state employment-eligibility language with federal work-authorization standards so that any individual "legally authorized to work in The United States under federal law" may apply for specified public roles.

Martha Whaling summarized the bill’s changes: it removes explicit references to lawful permanent residents…

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