H-3842.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2203

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      53rd Legislature     1994 Regular Session

By House Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives L. Johnson, J. Kohl, Long, King, Sheldon and Springer)

Read first time 01/28/94.

Allowing superior courts to use collection agencies.

    AN ACT Relating to courts; and adding a new section to chapter 36.18 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 36.18 RCW to read as follows:

    Superior court clerks may contract with collection agencies or may use county collection services for the collection of unpaid court obligations.  Collection may not be initiated with respect to a criminal offender who is under the supervision of the department of corrections without the prior agreement of the department.

    Any contract with a collection agency shall be awarded only after competitive bidding.  Factors that a court clerk shall consider in awarding a collection contract include but are not limited to:  (1) A collection agency's history and reputation in the community; and (2) the agency's access to a local data base that may increase the efficiency of its collections.

    The servicing of an unpaid court obligation does not constitute assignment of a debt, and no contract with a collection agency may remove the court's control over unpaid obligations owed to the court.

                            --- END ---