(The Center Square) – Governor Bob Ferguson saved one of the most controversial bills from the 2026 legislative session until Wednesday, the last day for bill signings.
SB 5974, the sheriff decertification bill will require county sheriffs and police chiefs to meet new eligibility requirements, which include having at least five years of full-time law enforcement experience, and not having done or said anything that would get state certification revoked by the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC). The commission could revoke certification for misconduct, leading to elected sheriffs being removed from office by an unelected board, appointed by the governor.
During Wednesday’s bill signing ceremony in a conference room of the Governor’s office, Ferguson said the measure will “bolster public trust” in law enforcement.
“Sheriffs and police chiefs should be held to the same standards as their own officers and deputies,” Ferguson said. “They should be certified and have law enforcement experience, pass the background check, and have a clean criminal history.”
The governor did not veto any sections of the bill, much to the dismay of a group of sheriffs who urged him to do so. But Ferguson did indicate he has some “reservations” about the measure.
“Under this bill, sheriffs and police chiefs who are decertified are removed from office,” he said. “I do have some reservations about the process for creating a vacancy. I’ve had good conversations with the sponsor and other legislators as well about that, and we’ll probably be doing a little work on the interim.”
Pressed by reporters to explain his “reservations” and what he hopes to change, Ferguson declined to offer specific details.
Lawmakers did amend the bill ahead of final passage to clarify that the five years of experience provision doesn’t apply to current sheriffs. Pacific County sheriff, Daniel Garcia, a Navy veteran who won office without prior law enforcement experience, would have been decertified if not for the change.
King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall would also have been decertified, but for an amendment to exempt her from the bill’s required five years of consecutive commissioned law enforcement service.
Mason County Sheriff Ryan Spurling was among a group of sheriff’s who urged the governor to veto a section of the bill. They suggested that as opposed to having the CJTC decertify an elected sheriff, a recall proceeding could be initiated if a sheriff is decertified for conduct after taking office. That process still leaves it up to voters.
Spurling told The Center Square the measure as signed into law will have a chilling impact on sheriff’s free speech rights.
“Some of that impetus is they want to control what sheriffs say, and this is one of those wrestling matches, because I hear politicians say things that aren’t necessarily true all the time, yet they’re not necessarily held accountable, but sheriffs are in a different category, according to a lot of people,” Spurling said. “This bill effectively will mute sheriffs because of the threat of being decertified and removed.
Some have suggested that the bill is squarely aimed at Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank for political and sometimes provocative social media posts.
Swank, who was elected in 2024 with more than three decades in law enforcement, described SB 5974 as government overreach to suppress his First Amendment rights.
“I don’t recognize your authority to impose these controls over me, and when you try to remove me from office, thousands of Pierce County residents will surround the County-City Building in downtown Tacoma and will not allow that to happen,” Swank told the Senate Law & Justice Committee during a January 15, 2026 public hearing. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I and they are prepared. Are you prepared?”
Critics also argue that the measure could have a chilling effect on law enforcement recruiting efforts.
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs reports Washington ranks 51st among the 50 states and the District of Columbia for officers per capita.
