RCW 70.48.071 (Washington): Every City and County Jail Adopts Operating Standards and Runs by Them

Citation

Revised Code of Washington, Chapter 70.48 RCW (City and County Jails Act), Section 70.48.071, “Standards for operation — Adoption by units of local government.” [1987 c 462 § 17.] Read from the Washington State Legislature’s RCW site on October 1, 2026.

What It Says (Verbatim)

“All units of local government that own or operate adult correctional facilities shall, individually or collectively, adopt standards for the operation of those facilities no later than January 1, 1988. Cities and towns shall adopt the standards after considering guidelines established collectively by the cities and towns of the state; counties shall adopt the standards after considering guidelines established collectively by the counties of the state. These standards shall be the minimums necessary to meet federal and state constitutional requirements relating to health, safety, and welfare of inmates and staff, and specific state and federal statutory requirements, and to provide for the public’s health, safety, and welfare. Local correctional facilities shall be operated in accordance with these standards.”

What It Means in Plain Language

Every Washington city, town, and county that runs an adult jail must adopt written operating standards, set at no less than what the federal and state constitutions and statutes require for the health, safety, and welfare of inmates and staff. Then the jail must be run by them.

The statute does not mention pests. Its reach into pest control runs through what the jail adopts. Where a jail’s adopted standards include a pest control policy or procedure, the statute’s last sentence applies to it as to the rest: the jail is to be operated in accordance with it. If that policy sets a service frequency or names a licensed provider, the jail’s service agreement and records are where that shows.

This page does not determine which documents a given city or county adopted as its standards.

Who It Applies To

“All units of local government that own or operate adult correctional facilities” in Washington: cities, towns, and counties. It does not address state prisons operated by the Washington Department of Corrections. How it reaches a privately operated facility depends on who owns or operates it, and is not determined here.

Documentation Evidence

• The operating standards the city, town, or county adopted, and the record of their adoption
• The jail’s pest control policy or procedures within those standards
• A service agreement, and service records, that match what the policy sets: frequency, provider, and records

Confidence Notes

HIGH confidence on the quoted text, read from the Washington State Legislature’s RCW site on October 1, 2026. Which guidelines a given county considered, and which documents it adopted as its standards, are not verified here.