Senate-passed bill to expand DUI testing clears first hurdle in House amid backlog, cost concerns

Senate Bill 5880, which would expand who can legally perform DUI blood tests, passed the state Senate unanimously and began moving through the House Committee on Community Safety on Thursday.

The bill aims to allow private companies to handle and test evidence and prevent criminal cases from going uncharged because of massive backlogs at the Washington State Crime Lab.

Under current law, toxicology testing must be performed by individuals certified by the state toxicologist. The bill would also allow testing by laboratories accredited under international forensic standards known as ISO/IEC 17025, established by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission.

Bill supporters and opponents weigh in

Supporters, including Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans, testified that the change would reduce significant backlogs by allowing more qualified laboratories to process evidence.

“Washington state has one of the longest turnaround times for toxicology testing in the country. In Seattle, it takes 22 months for us to get a toxicology report back,” Evans explained. “That is 22 months of suspects driving without any conditions, 22 months of no restrictions applied by the court. We have multiple cases in my office where someone gets a second and third DUI in the meantime, as we delay justice — that’s unacceptable, and it kills people.”

However, not all prosecutors shared that view.

Russell Brown, Executive Director for the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, said his organization doesn’t believe opening up testing to private labs will fix the backlog, and, based on the volume of samples left to be tested, the price tag could be substantial.

“Simple testing could be $200 to $300 if you kind of run some numbers on the back of a napkin,” Brown said. “We think it could be close to $40 million to clear the backlog under this dynamic.”

Lawmakers were told that roughly 19,000 cases requiring toxicology testing were referred to the state lab last year, a 5% increase over prior years. Average turnaround times in Washington are about 10 months for alcohol and THC testing and 22 months for other drugs, compared to roughly 45 days in many other states.

Other opponents warned that the proposed bill could create a situation where wealthier agencies could pay for testing while less wealthy agencies would not have the funds to close cases.

“The state’s failure to adequately fund the toxicology lab should not result in a pay-to-play judicial justice system,” James McMahon, Policy Director with the Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, said.

Karlie Valdez with the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Washington Defender Association asked lawmakers to add language ensuring the bill complies with due process rights. She wants provisions requiring private labs, especially out-of-state ones, to share findings, documents, and participate in interviews without forcing defense attorneys to rely on depositions and subpoenas.

“Interstate subpoenas and depositions are extraordinarily complicated, expensive, and uncertain, and in many cases, they are functionally unavailable to defendants,” Valdez said. “We believe this problem can be avoided entirely by including a provision requiring the contracting agency to require laboratories and clinics to cooperate with reasonable interview discovery requests as a condition of state procurement contracts.”

DUI thresholds to remain the same

The bill would keep existing legal thresholds intact, including the 0.08 blood-alcohol limit and the five-nanogram THC standard.

It also clarifies how test results may be admitted in court and reinforces procedural requirements for breath testing, including observation periods and calibration checks, while preserving a defendant’s right to challenge the reliability of the results.

Amy Freedman, a Senior Deputy King County Prosecutor, testified that it could be avoided if lawmakers dropped the state’s blood-alcohol limit to 0.05.

“That is part of the reason why our toxicology lab is backlogged, because they are having to do drug testing on all the tests that are under a 0.08,” she explained. “If you lower the per se level, three things happen. One is, we have fewer crashes, we have fewer of those going to the toxicology lab. The second thing is, if you lower the per se level, the limited testing that the toxicology lab does now will stop at 0.05, and they won’t have to do the additional drug testing for 0.05 and above. The third thing is that you’ll have less people having to come in and testify.”

Lawmakers structured the measure as a phased change. One section would take effect immediately but expire in June 2027, when a second section would become permanent law. Backers said the approach is intended to give courts, law enforcement, and laboratories time to transition without disrupting active cases.

If approved by the House, the bill would be added to Washington’s impaired-driving statutes governing how evidence is collected, tested, and weighed in DUI prosecutions statewide.

Follow Luke Duecy on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.