Tarra Simmons

Tarra Denelle Simmons^[1] (born 1977)^[2] is an American politician, lawyer, former registered nurse, formerly incarcerated individual, and civil rights activist for criminal justice reform.^[3]

Simmons earned a degree in Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Pacific Lutheran University in 2000. She graduated from Seattle University School of Law magna cum laude in 2017. After earning her Juris Doctor, Simmons received the Skadden Fellowship and was named National Law Student of the year by National Jurist. The Skadden Fellowship funded her work^[4] to “provide civil [legal] assistance in Kitsap County to low-income people recently released from incarceration.” According to the Kitsap Sun,^[5] Simmons was the first Seattle University School of Law student to receive the award and the first formerly incarcerated individual to receive the award.

Simmons was initially denied her application to sit for the Washington State bar exam due to her status as a formerly convicted person. She challenged the Washington State Bar Association rules in the Washington State Supreme Court and won, with the court unanimously ruling in her favor. She was later sworn in as an attorney in the State of Washington on June 16, 2018.^[6]

Simmons has previously been appointed by former Governor Jay Inslee to serve on the Statewide Re-Entry Council,^[7] which she co-chaired with former King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. Her advocacy has earned her recognition by United States Senator Patty Murray,^[8] the YWCA of Kitsap County,^[9] the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers^[10] and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.^[11]

Previous to serving in the Legislature, Simmons advocacy^[12] led to the adoption of the New Hope Act, a bipartisan law streamlining reintegration after incarceration.

Simmons is an attorney in private practice and has formerly worked as a registered nurse. She previously served as a legal intern for the Public Defenders Association.^[13]

From 2015 to 2024, Simmons was the founding director of Civil Survival, a nonprofit focused on assisting the formerly incarcerated. In July 2024, Simmons left the organization, alleging discrimination and retaliation in a wrongful termination lawsuit. The litigation was settled in August 2025.

In 2020, Simmons was elected to the Washington House of Representatives for District 23-Position 1.^[14] Her victory is assumed to be the first legislative race to be won by a formerly incarcerated individual in the nation. Currently, Simmons serves on the committees for Community Safety, Health Care and Wellness, Technology, Economic Development and Veterans, and Rules. She also serves as the Vice Chair for the Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry Committee and as the Deputy Speaker Pro Tempore.^[15] Simmons was re-elected in 2022 and 2024. She is currently running for re-election for a fourth term.^[16]

In the Legislature, Simmons’s work has focused on improving affordability, expanding access to health care, mental health services, voting rights, behavioral health and improving reentry and rehabilitation services for formerly incarcerated individuals.^[17] She has sponsored legislation, subsequently adopted into law, that strengthens hospital charity care requirements,^[18] reforms the prior authorization process of insurance companies,^[19] requires insurers to cover mental health and substance abuse disorders at the same level as all other medical care,^[20] restore the right to vote immediately upon release from incarceration^[21] and reform how Washington State assesses and collects conviction-related fines.^[22][23] She also has sponsored legislation that led to the creation of the state’s Independent Office of Behavioral Health Consumer Advocacy,^[24] expanding reentry services for people leaving incarceration^[25] and invested in improving healthcare nursing standards and workforce shortages in underserved communities.^[26][27]

Simmons has also advocated for police accountability, transparency and immigrant protections. In 2026, she sponsored bills to prohibit state and local law enforcement from hiring any previously sworn ICE officers on or after January 20, 2025.^[28] She also has sponsored legislation to establish a court-supervised appeals process for officers placed on a prosecutor’s Brady List^[29] and to create statewide standards requiring officers' usage of body cameras.^[30] While not successful, she sponsored legislation that would have reformed resentencing processes and guidelines.^[31] During the legislative process concerning the creation of a new tax in Washington State on income above $1,000,000, Simmons worked to remove a corporate tax break from the legislation and include more tax relief for working families.^[32][33] She has also secured over $100 million in capital budget investments across her district, focusing on affordable housing and land conservation projects.

Simmons grew up in Bremerton, WA. She has two children. A formerly incarcerated individual who has experienced homelessness, she served 20 months in prison from 2011 to 2013 after being convicted in Kitsap Superior Court of drug and theft charges.^[34] She is in recovery for substance abuse.^[35]