Washington bill addressing racial disparities in traffic stops dies in committee

A bill in the Washington Legislature that would have limited the circumstances under which law enforcement officers can conduct traffic stops has failed to advance from the House Community Safety Committee.

The bill, championed by groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, was intended to reduce racial disparities in traffic stops and vehicle searches without compromising road safety. It faced strong opposition from groups representing Washington law enforcement and prosecutors who argued it would negatively impact public safety by restricting law enforcement.

The bill, Traffic Safety for All, would’ve eliminated the ability of police to pull drivers over solely for non-safety-related traffic violations, such as driving with a broken taillight or registration tags expired for less than a year.

Supporters of the bill said it would’ve allowed law enforcement to allocate more resources to pull over motorists who are distracted, under the influence or reckless – offenses they said pose the greatest risk to public safety. The bill’s supporters, like the ACLU and WCPA, say minority and low-income drivers are disproportionately impacted and burdened by non-moving violations and the associated fees, as well as by incidents where traffic stops of minority drivers for non-safety-related reasons escalated to violence, sometimes even fatal. They argued this bill would help improve trust of law enforcement.

Racial disparities in stops and searches have been a problem for the Washington State Patrol for more than 20 years. An InvestigateWest investigation of more than 7,000 high-discretion searches between 2018 and 2023 found that the patrol searched Native Americans at a rate five times higher than white Washingtonians, reaffirming a pattern uncovered in the organization’s 2019 report on the same topic. Police also searched Black and Hispanic motorists at disproportionate rates.

Discretionary searches include vehicle searches, pat downs and police canine searches where the officer uses their judgment to conduct the search rather than obtaining a warrant. Some police bias experts say limiting the circumstances where an officer can conduct a discretionary search is the best way to mitigate the racial disparities. The Traffic Safety for All bill aimed to limit the ability of police to pull drivers over for non-moving violations – interactions that can be used as a basis to conduct a discretionary search – indirectly limiting the number of circumstances where law enforcement can perform a search. In lieu of pulling motorists over, law enforcement officers could have sent motorists a mailed warning for a non-moving traffic infraction.

“Even though the bill didn’t make it out of committee this year, I remain committed to working with the stakeholders on this issue,” state Rep. Chipalo Street, D-Seattle, chief sponsor of the bill, said in a written statement to InvestigateWest on March 5.

It wasn’t the first time a bill seeking to curtail traffic stops for non-moving violations failed to advance in the Legislature. A similar bill also failed to make it out of committee in 2024 after facing opposition from law enforcement groups.

In a public hearing Feb. 10, those groups again testified in opposition and seemingly found support from some members of the House Community Safety Committee, who expressed concerns about limiting law enforcement and the effects on public safety. The bill was not brought forward for a committee vote.

Still, supporters of the bill say they’re committed to retooling Washington’s approach to traffic safety to make enforcement more fair.

“I believe these policies will make our roadways safer, and I am considering several options to find the best way to move them forward,” Street said.

InvestigateWest (investigatewest.org) is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Reporter Melanie Henshaw covers Indigenous affairs and communities in the region.