AWC Legislative Bulletin - Volume 30, No. 10
March 9, 2007
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In this issue:
What You Need to Know Now
From the Director: Pace Quickens As Deadline Approaches
Energy & Telecommunications
Environment & Water
General Local Government
Infrastructure, Transportation & Economic Development
Land Use & Housing
Law & Justice
Municipal Finance
Personnel & Labor Relations
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AWC Legislative Contacts & Officers
Law & Justice
This bill passed out of the House Appropriations Committee on March 3 and was made eligible for a vote of the full House on March 6. The bill was amended in the Appropriations Committee to move oversight of the Auto Theft Authority created by the bill from the State Patrol to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and to make changes related to scoring of prior offenses. This version of the bill would be funded with an additional $10 surcharge on traffic infractions.
AWC continues to be supportive of this measure to improve community safety by taking serial auto thieves off the streets.
ESHB 1030 passed the House unanimously on Thursday, March 8. This bill would allow for an additional one-year and a day sentence enhancement for offenses that involve eluding police. It is named the Guillermo "Bobby" Aguilar and Edgar F. Trevino-Mendoza Public Safety Act of 2007 in honor of two young men in Yakima who were killed by a driver eluding the police.
Appointment/Election of Municipal Court Judges & Clarifying Court Contracting Authority (SSB 5353)
SSB 5353 is now on the Senate floor calendar. The substitute version of the bill that passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee requires all municipal courts with part-time judges, both those that appoint and those that voluntarily elect their judge, to submit the judge for a retention election after two years of service and a retention election to continue serving every four years thereafter. Cities that appoint judges would also have to go through a nominating committee process.
The bill also still contains the provisions expanding subject matter jurisdiction to include domestic violence and other protection orders for all municipal courts.
These requirements are particularly problematic for those courts that operate part-time due to the potential additional cost associated with issuing protection orders, as they are often needed on an emergency basis.
We will be working with legislators to ask for changes to the bill that would leave the municipal court contracting authority provisions, which AWC does support, and to make the other provisions of the bill discretionary.
Indigent Defense (HB 1793)
HB 1793 removes the limit on the number of cities that may receive indigent defense grant funding administered through the Office of Public Defense. The limit under the current program established two years ago is five cities. The bill passed the House unanimously on March 7. AWC supports this legislation to assist cities in meeting their constitutional obligation of providing counsel to those who are indigent. We hope to have a Senate hearing scheduled soon.
Wrongful Injury or Death Cause of Action (SHB 1873)
While the substitute version of this bill was amended to limit the scope of additional liability, AWC still opposes this legislation that increases liability in wrongful injury or death claims. The scope of SHB 1873 is limited to economic damages and raises the age limit for dependent children on whose behalf parents may recover economic damages from age 18 to 25, which was not limited in the original bill. We continue to oppose these costly and unnecessary proposals that will not increase accountability but which will increase the amount of damages in these cases.
As this Bulletin is being sent to print, we anticipate a second substitute to be introduced, which may further limit who may file a cause of action in a wrongful death or injury suit. AWC will continue to actively work on this proposal.
Court Overpayments (HB 1994)
HB 1994 allows courts to retain overpayments related to litigation of $10 or less in the local government’s current expense fund, rather than transferring them to the Department of Revenue under the Unclaimed Property Act. Because the cost of processing the overpayment to comply with the current law is more than the value of the $10 overpayment, such overpayments are particularly problematic. They happen regularly when a person pays a traffic infraction, but misreads the amount of the fine. Many courts report having overpayments of a few cents and being required by current law to expend court resources – both staff and postage – to return the overpayment.
AWC supports HB 1994, which is on the House floor calendar for a possible vote of the full House.
Reentry of Offenders into the Community (SHB 1874)
SHB 1874 failed to pass out of the House Appropriations Committee before the cutoff and is considered dead for the session. However, debate on the offender reentry issue will continue through a related bill, 2SSB 5070, which addresses state programs related to offender reentry, and which is on the Senate calendar for possible floor action. AWC continues to work on the sections of this proposal related to liability for offender supervision and housing. We are working with key senators to include limitations on the number of offenders who may live in one location if they are receiving housing vouchers from the state.
Regarding a Statewide Enhanced 911 Emergency Radio Network (SHB 2225)
This bill would establish a work group to study how to enhance the delivery of emergency information to the public in the event of an ongoing emergency. The bill passed out of the House unanimously on Tuesday, March 6.
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