(The Center Square) – The Washington State Office of the Attorney General could soon have investigators rolling around the state with confidential driver’s licenses and plates under a proposal offered by Democrats last week.
The majority party proposed identical bills in both chambers of the Legislature last week after the AGO requested the tools. If approved, House Bill 2096 and Senate Bill 5829 would allow the Department of Licensing to issue AGO investigators confidential forms of identification, subject to rules set by the DOL.
Several other states already have similar laws, as does Washington, but the statute doesn’t extend to the AGO. The proposal stands out as lawmakers focus on balancing another multi-billion-dollar budget gap with only 60 days in the 2026 legislative session. Any distractions will have to fight for a hearing.
Rep. Julia Reed, D-Seattle, deferred comments to AGO Deputy Communications Director Mike Faulk.
“The IDs have a very limited and specific use, to allow our staff to pass a cursory identification check without compromising their personal information, where it is relevant to their case work,” Faulk said.
State law already allows the DOL to issue confidential forms of identification to commissioned officers of local, state and federal law enforcement for covert activities. Faulk told The Center Square that this proposal just extends that to AGO consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental investigations.
He said various industries require identification to verify age or location before purchasing something or accessing certain content. Verification is a hurdle for investigators, since the AGO doesn’t require its personnel to risk disclosing their identities when looking into businesses that may be breaking the law.
“Investigators have experienced online doxxing and attempts to publicize their names,” Faulk said. “Confidential IDs reduce a target’s ability to widely disclose an investigator’s true identity to others in the same industry and help protect state investigators from potentially dangerous targeting online.”
Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, and chairman of the Washington State Republican Party, told The Center Square that this proposal looks like a double standard to him. Federal immigration officers use similar tools to conceal their identity, which Attorney General Nick Brown and the majority have condemned.
Democrats have repeatedly called out U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for wearing masks and using unmarked cars to take immigrants into custody. Some people argue that it’s hard to tell the difference between ICE and a kidnapping, and want federal agents to identify themselves in ICE raids.
“We will look at the proposal on its own merits, as we should with every bill, but it is very difficult not to see the irony,” Walsh said. “I’d like Brown to at least acknowledge the inconsistency of his position and maybe walk back some of his criticisms of ice if he wants these same tools for his investigators.”
Brown proposed legislation with Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, last Friday, requiring businesses to notify their employees ahead of potential ICE activity when the government requests certain records.
Saldaña and more than a dozen other Senate Democrats also proposed a bill on Monday that would prohibit law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings outside undercover operations. It would also allow anyone detained by an officer in violation of the proposal to sue that officer for damages.
According to federal data, assaults on ICE agents increased roughly 1,150% from Jan. 21, 2025, to Nov. 21, 2025, compared to that same time period under the Biden administration in 2024.
Walsh thinks confidential IDs are “legitimate tools” for law enforcement and said he’s open to the AGO deploying them if they can be used to avoid misuse. The proposal only allows the AGO to use the IDs for undercover operations during a specific assignment, directing the DOL to establish governing rules.
Like the Democrat sponsor, the DOL deferred The Center Square’s requests for comment to the AGO.
Faulk said the risk of misuse is “extremely small.” The confidential IDs aren’t tied to a Social Security number. You can’t use them to board an airplane, apply for credit or deposit a check. He said the IDs are only so AGO investigators can “pass a cursory identification check” without revealing their identity.
He declined to say how many investigators may use the tool, but said it wouldn’t require new funding.
“It’s a short bill,” Walsh said. “I don’t see anything wrong with it, but I guess my questions for the AG would be: Are you going to ensure there’s proper oversight of how these tools are used?”
