Chelan County sheriff opposes renewed bill changing sheriff oversight

CHELAN COUNTY – Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison is urging lawmakers to reconsider a prefiled bill for the 2026 legislative session that would revise eligibility requirements and oversight mechanisms for sheriffs, police chiefs and town marshals, arguing it threatens voter authority and local control.

Morrison outlined his concerns in a written statement dated Jan. 10 regarding Senate Bill 5974, which was prefiled for the 2026 session after a similar proposal, House Bill 1399, failed to advance during the 2025 Legislature.

House Bill 1399 was sponsored by Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland; Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Seattle; Rep. Jamila Taylor Reed, D-Seattle; Rep. Beth Doglio, D-Olympia; and Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane. The bill moved through committee and was amended with a substitute measure but was returned to the House Rules Committee and ultimately died before the end of the 2025 session.

Senate Bill 5974, sponsored by Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, and Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, reintroduces and expands on many of the same concepts. The bill would establish uniform eligibility standards for sheriffs, police chiefs and town marshals statewide, including minimum age, education, experience and background investigation requirements. It would also condition continued eligibility for office on maintaining peace officer certification through the state Criminal Justice Training Commission.

Morrison said the most troubling aspect of the proposal is the practical effect of tying an elected sheriff’s ability to remain in office to certification decisions made at the state level.

“The most concerning provision of SB 5974 grants an unelected state board the authority to remove a duly elected Sheriff from office,” Morrison wrote. “This represents a fundamental shift of power away from voters and toward centralized authority.”

Morrison said sheriffs are already accountable through elections, recall processes and public scrutiny, and he questioned the need for what he described as sweeping changes. He said both the Washington State Sheriffs’ Association and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs oppose the bill.

“This is the third consecutive year legislation has been introduced to ‘modernize’ the Office of Sheriff, yet no clear problem statement has been identified,” Morrison wrote. “Claims of ‘accountability’ do not justify sweeping changes such as imposing candidate requirements, redefining duties, or allowing state-level removal of a locally elected constitutional officer.”

The prefiled bill would also expand and formalize restrictions on the use of volunteers, youth cadets and specially commissioned officers, limiting their authority unless they are certified peace officers. Local governments would be required to adopt or amend ordinances to comply, with most volunteer-related provisions proposed to take effect in 2027.

Morrison warned that authorizing state-level mechanisms that can result in the removal of an elected sheriff could set a precedent for other elected offices.

“If the Legislature may authorize an unelected body to remove an elected Sheriff, where does that authority stop?” he wrote.

Morrison said his opposition is rooted in constitutional concerns and fidelity to voters rather than resistance to professional standards. He said he remains open to working with lawmakers on alternatives that preserve local control while respecting constitutional limits.

Senate Bill 5974 will be considered when the 2026 legislative session convenes.