WA bill aims to speed up DUI cases by allowing more labs to perform toxicology tests

Washington lawmakers are moving to tighten the rules around how toxicology evidence is handled in DUI and drug-impaired driving cases, advancing a bill that would expand who can legally perform blood and breath analysis and how those results are admitted in court.

Senate Bill 5880 updates state law to allow toxicology testing to be conducted not only by individuals certified by the state toxicologist, but also by laboratories accredited under an international forensic testing standard set forth by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), known as ISO/IEC 17025.

Supporters say the change modernizes Washington’s DUI testing system and helps address backlogs by allowing more qualified labs to process evidence, including newly elected Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans, who told the Senate Law and Justice Committee that half of all DUI evidence includes alcohol and drugs.

“This bill is not something that’s novel. In New York, Colorado, and other states, they allow private testing,” Evans said. “This is something that is going to be better for public safety, to keep our community safe, our neighbors safe, and our families safe.”

The bill keeps existing legal thresholds intact, including the 0.08 blood-alcohol limit and the five-nanogram THC standard, but clarifies how test results can be introduced as evidence in court. It also reinforces detailed procedural requirements for breath tests, from observation periods to calibration checks, while preserving a defendant’s right to challenge the accuracy or reliability of the testing.

Brad Lane, the Senate traffic and safety resource prosecutor, said 19,000 cases requiring toxicology testing were referred to the state toxicology last year, which represented a 5% increase from previous years. He also said the average turnaround time for toxicology referrals in other states is 45 days.

“For us, it’s 10 months for alcohol and THC,” Lane told the committee. “For drugs, it’s 22 months … so I think it speaks to the gravity of the situation.”

Prosecutors like Evans and Lane worry that a long wait for results limits the time to weigh evidence and file charges within the state statute of limitations.

Lawmakers structured the proposal as a phased change. One section would take effect immediately but would expire in June 2027, when a second section would become permanent law. Backers say that approach gives courts, law enforcement, and laboratories time to transition without disrupting ongoing cases.

James McMahan with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs said more work needs to be done before the bill becomes law, but the issue could be solved by sending more money and resources to the current state lab.

“There’s an old saying that as the watering hole will get shallower, the animals around it start to look at each other differently,” McMahan said, referring to the bill. “More resources to the toxicology lab make this not as much of a problem.”

If approved, the measure would be added to Washington’s impaired-driving statutes, which govern how evidence is collected, tested, and weighed by judges and juries in DUI prosecutions statewide.

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