(1) In addition to other responsibilities set forth in this chapter the commission shall:
(a) Advise and confer with the governing authority of any political subdivision of the state or federally recognized Indian tribe deemed eligible under the federal Highway Safety Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-564; 80 Stat. 731) for participation in the aims and programs and purposes of that act;
(b) Advise and confer with all agencies of state government whose programs and activities are within the scope of the Highway Safety Act including those agencies that are not subject to direct supervision, administration, and control by the governor under existing laws;
(c) Succeed to and be vested with all powers, duties, and jurisdictions previously vested in the Washington state safety council;
(d) Receive crash reports, toxicology reports, and related investigation information from state or local law enforcement agencies;
(e) Receive driver licensing records from the department of licensing for motor vehicle collisions resulting in a fatality;
(f) In reviewing traffic crashes resulting in the death of a pedestrian, bicyclist, or other active transportation user, include members from the council in the review process and provide a summary of the review results to the council at a regularly scheduled meeting. The number of councilmembers in attendance for the review are limited to less than a quorum of the membership;
(g) Present reports prepared under this section regarding fatal traffic crashes involving the deaths of active transportation users to the council during the calendar year that the review under (f) of this subsection is published; and
(h) Carry out such other responsibilities as may be consistent with this chapter.
(2) The commission may:
(a) As a public health authority, collect health care information under RCW 70.02.050(2)(b). Any health care information obtained under this subsection is exempt from public inspection and copying under chapter 42.56 RCW. The health care information may be collected from, but is not limited to, hospitals, emergency medical services, medical examiners, and coroner offices. The commission may compile and link the records data from these sources, store this information in a secure database, and perform statistical and epidemiological analyses to identify causes and trends in traffic fatalities. Such health care information must only be used for the purposes of this chapter, including for anonymized reports on fatal or serious injury collisions and for providing such reports and underlying data to the University of Washington's institute for health metrics and evaluation;
(b) As part of its purpose to identify contributing factors contributing to fatal and serious injury collisions, convene a fatality review committee to review any available information, including: Crash information maintained in existing databases; statutes, rules, policies, or ordinances related to the incidents; and any other relevant information, including reports and records described in this section;
(c) Make recommendations regarding changes in statutes, ordinances, rules, and policies that could improve the safety of all road users, including motor vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, pedestrians, bicyclists, and individuals using personal mobility devices. Additionally, the commission may make recommendations on how to improve traffic fatality and serious injury data quality, including crashes that occur in privately owned property such as parking lots;
(d) Consult with local cities and counties, as well as local police departments and other law enforcement agencies and associations representing those jurisdictions on how to improve data quality regarding crashes;
(e) Obtain and examine medical records related to individuals involved in fatal traffic crashes that occur in Washington including, but not limited to, postmortem medical examinations and emergency medical treatment and trauma care provided after a traffic collision. Medical records may be reviewed by members of the fatality review committee and are subject to the protections described in (a) of this subsection; and
(f) Publish reports summarizing trends, contributing factors, and policy or program recommendations resulting from reviews. Reports may not include personally identifiable information or information with which, in combination with readily available public sources, members of the public could discern personal information.
(3) All meetings or deliberations of a fatality review committee are confidential and are not subject to the requirements of chapter 42.30 RCW, the open public meetings act.
(4) Discussions among participants of a fatality review committee during fatal crash review proceedings and documents, other than the final report of the committee, prepared by the commission are inadmissible and may not be used in a civil or administrative proceeding, except that any document that exists before its use or consideration in a review by the commission, or that is created independently of such review, does not become inadmissible merely because it is reviewed or used by the commission.
(5) For confidential information, including medical records and personal information under RCW 42.56.230 (7) and (9), that is obtained by the commission, neither the commission nor any participant in the fatality review committee may publicly disclose such confidential information. Such confidential information must only be used for the purposes of this chapter. No person who was in attendance at a meeting of the fatality review committee or who participated in the creation, retention, collection, or maintenance of information or documents specifically for the commission or the council shall be permitted to testify in any civil action as to the content of such proceedings or of the documents and information prepared specifically as part of the activities of the council. However, recommendations from the council and the commission generally may be disclosed without personal identifiers.
(6) The commission may review, only to the extent otherwise permitted by law or court rule when determined to be relevant and necessary: Any law enforcement incident documentation, such as incident reports, dispatch records, and victim, witness, and suspect statements; any supplemental reports, probable cause statements, and 911 call taker's reports; abstracts of driving records; and any other information determined to be relevant to the review. The commission and the council must maintain the confidentiality of the information to the extent required by any applicable law.
(7) If acting in good faith, without malice, and within the parameters of and protocols established under this chapter, representatives of the commission and members of a fatality review committee convened by the commission are immune from civil liability for any activity related to reviews of any particular fatalities and serious injuries.
(8) This section does not create a private right of action, except if representatives of the commission and members of a fatality review committee act in bad faith by disclosing confidential information protected under this chapter.