OLYMPIA, Wash.- The Washington State House unanimously passed a bill funding grants for backcountry search and rescue volunteer organizations on Feb. 13.
HB 2257 allows Washington’s Military Department to appropriate funding from the state Back Country Search and Rescue Account to issue grants to volunteer search and rescue operations.
The bill is a response to the financial burden caused by search and rescue operations in rural Washington counties. Search operations are typically coordinated by sheriff’s offices, who rely on volunteers to carry out rescue efforts.
Under current state law, search and rescue missions are not covered by state funding, and costs are absorbed by counties. If passed into law, the bill would allow the state to absorb some of the financial impact of maintaining search and rescue operations in rural areas.
The grant funding would cover equipment and training for volunteers, which is currently solely funded by donations. Because it appropriates funds from a preexisting state account, there is no additional funding required by the state to enact the policy.
Now that the bill has sailed through the House, it awaits introduction in the Senate.
