A 2025 Washington state law promised funding for more law enforcement officers in cities and counties.
Washington state ranks last in the nation for police officers per capita, standing at 51st behind all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Roughly a year after going into effect, officer counts have yet to increase, but a few local agencies might still take advantage of the funding while others will choose to pass it up altogether.
Last month, the Centralia Police Department became the first agency in the county to take advantage of funding under House Bill 2015 when the city council approved a 0.1% local sales tax to fund criminal justice.
Centralia Police Chief Andy Caldwell said he sees the policy as an opportunity to earn funding while making the local agency better.
“House Bill 2015 sets up a lot of really good things for law enforcement agencies to pursue,” Caldwell said. “They set out a set of standards inside House Bill 2015 that, when you look at them, they actually make us provide a better service to the community. They require training that's good for the community.”
Caldwell said he isn’t worried about training and reporting requirements to access the funding, arguing “it doesn’t change anything operationally.”
But he does admit the policy is far from perfect. Chief among his concerns is that requirements within the law might be a barrier for smaller agencies.
“There are some times where it's easier for larger agencies to pursue things like this than mid-sized or smaller agencies,” Caldwell said. “We can't dedicate a person to trying to figure out how to jump through all the hoops that the state sets up for us.”
According to the Criminal Justice Training Commission website, Centralia is among 49 cities and 12 counties — including Thurston County — that have asked for initial approval for a public safety sales tax under the new law.
On the other hand, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office appears skeptical of the opportunity. When asked about funding under HB 2015, Undersheriff Kevin Engelbertson said the funding was “not free money,” pointing out a list of eligibility requirements and concerns with up-front costs and rising local sales tax rates.
“It requires compliance with the policy, training, accountability and reporting mandates,” Engelbertson said in a statement to The Chronicle. “Meeting these requirements may require additional staff, policy revisions, audits and reporting, while also taking deputies away from patrol for mandatory training.”
Washington State House Bill 2015
Much to the surprise of many of the state's law enforcement officials and advocates, the state’s Democrat majority passed House Bill 2015, in large part thanks to the efforts of Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson. The policy was pitched as a way to provide funding for local level law enforcement agencies across the state and make good on a campaign promise from Ferguson to provide $100 million in funding for additional officers for city and county agencies.
The new law, which was implemented in July of last year, promised two funding avenues for local jurisdictions that adhered to a list of eligibility criteria to fund public safety and bolster officer numbers.
The big ticket item came in the form of a $100 million grant program administered by the Washington state Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) that will expire in June 2028. That money was pitched as funding for a large chunk of new officer salaries and was expanded to help hire a range of crisis responders, such as those responding to mental health cases.
To answer concerns about sustaining the funding beyond the grant program, the bill also allowed city and county governments to pass a 0.1% local sales tax without voter approval.
The sales tax can be used on a broad range of criminal justice items. After Centralia passed the tax increase last week, Centralia Finance Director Bret Brodersen said his staff was recommending the revenue be split between the police department and public defender funding.
To access the funding, agencies must meet a list of criteria. That list includes compliance with the Keep Washington Working Act, additional training for officers, policy changes and data tracking and reporting, among others.
Additional training requirements focus on deescalation and crisis intervention, while data tracking and reporting would collect more information on officer use-of-force incidents.
A delayed impact
The impact of House Bill 2015 has, thus far, been muted at best. Washington state officer counts published yearly by the Washington state Association of Sheriffs showed a small decrease in officer per capita counts from 2024 to 2025.
But the association's executive director, Steven Stratchan, said increases prompted by HB 2015 could still show up in officer counts in the next couple of years.
That's because funding under HB 2015 has only recently become accessible to many of the state's law enforcement agencies, despite the law going into effect last summer. Strachan said the delay was “to be expected” given the work necessary to establish the criteria and qualification process through the CJTC.
“I’ll credit the CJTC,” Strachan said. “The Legislature gave them an incredibly complex pile of requirements.”
In some cases it may also be because an agency has decided not to pursue funding or has elected to pursue one funding source, but not the other.
So far, no agency in Lewis County or southern Thurston County has applied for both the sales tax and grant program. Caldwell did not rule out the possibility of applying in the future.
According to the CJTC website, 34 jurisdictions have applied for the grant program, putting it far below the usage of the sales tax, which has seen applications from 61 agencies.
Thurston County already approved the local sales tax to help fund its sheriff’s office. Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said that funding, coupled with funding from a separate voter approved public safety tax, prevented layoffs during a recent county budget crisis, allowing the county to maintain its existing officer count.
At the same time, it’s unlikely the county will be able to increase its officer per capita numbers. Sanders does not plan on applying for the grant program because the county can’t afford to participate.
While the grant program offers up to $125,000 in state funding per new position, it also requires a 25% local match.
“If the economy and the inflation and stuff weren’t so bad, we would have survived,” Sanders said. “We could have done all sorts of things with this. Right now, just so few agencies are able to grow.”
For comparison, neither the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office or the Chehalis Police Department have taken advantage of grant funding or sales tax revenue allowed under HB 2015.
When asked if the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office might take advantage of either funding avenue, Engelbertson said the funding is “appreciated” but added that the office would need to consider the tradeoffs.
“ESHB 2015 also ties eligibility for both grant funding and a new local revenue source to compliance with these state-mandated requirements, encouraging counties to adopt state-prescribed policies in exchange for financial support,” Engelbertson said. “Before accepting these conditions, local governments should weigh the long-term costs, reduced local flexibility, and the risk of creating permanent obligations after temporary grant funding expires.”
The undersheriff also referenced the possibility of a voter-approved public safety tax that has been discussed by the Lewis County Board of Commissioners in recent months and is currently a topic of discussion with the county’s law and justice council.
“A ballot measure would allow the citizens of Lewis County to decide for themselves whether they support a local tax to fund public safety and criminal justice services,” Engelbertson said.
For previous reporting by The Chronicle on the recent public safety sales tax passed by the Centralia City Council. visit https://tinyurl.com/46xsypj9.
