SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 6401

As Passed Senate, February 11, 2002

Title:  An act relating to standardizing references to county clerks.

Brief Description:  Standardizing references to county clerks.

Sponsors:  Senators Kline, Costa, Long, Fairley, Thibaudeau and Kohl‑Welles.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Judiciary:  1/21/02, 1/28/02 [DP].

Passed Senate:  2/11/02, 47-0.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Majority Report:  Do pass.

Signed by Senators Kline, Chair; Kastama, Vice Chair; Costa, Hargrove, Johnson, Long, Poulsen, Thibaudeau and Zarelli.

Staff:  Lidia Mori (786‑7755)

Background:  Clerks of superior courts are required to keep various records.  Some references exist in the Washington State Code to clerks being required to keep a "journal" or a "book."  There is concern that this is archaic language and inaccurate because it does not reflect how records are kept now.

Current law requires all owners of federally assisted housing to serve a written notice of the anticipated expiration or prepayment date on each tenant household residing in the housing, and on the clerk of the city or county if in an unincorporated area.  Proponents of this bill believe the direction to serve notice to the county clerk is incorrect and potentially confusing.

Summary of Bill:  It is clarified that where current law requires county clerks to keep certain information, the information is entered into a "record" or in the form of a "record" rather than a "journal" or "book."

All owners of federally assisted housing must serve a written notice of the anticipated expiration or prepayment date on each tenant household residing in the housing, on the clerk of the city, or the clerk of the county legislative authority if in an unincorporated area.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  This is a clean‑up bill.  Court clerks don't even keep large journals anymore.  "Clerk of the county" is a generic term and it should instead say clerk of the board of county commissioners or clerk of the county legislative authority.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Betty Gould, Thurston County Clerk; Ken Kunes, Grant County Clerk.