CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

                        SENATE BILL 6429

                        57th Legislature

                      2002 Regular Session

Passed by the Senate February 13, 2002   YEAS 46   NAYS 0 President of the Senate Passed by the House March 6, 2002   YEAS 90   NAYS 3

CERTIFICATE I, Tony M. Cook, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is  SENATE BILL 6429 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.

Speaker of the       House of Representatives

Secretary

Approved Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.

FILED

Governor of the State of Washington

Secretary of State                   State of Washington

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                         SENATE BILL 6429

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             Passed Legislature - 2002 Regular Session

State of Washington   57th Legislature        2002 Regular Session

By Senators B. Sheldon, Johnson, Kline, Costa, McCaslin, Gardner, Long and Winsley; by request of Governor Locke and Attorney General

Read first time 01/17/2002.  Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Regulating the admissibility of benevolent gestures in civil actions.

    AN ACT Relating to expressions of benevolence, sympathy, and regret; and adding a new chapter to Title 5 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  (1) The portion of statements, writings, or benevolent gestures expressing sympathy or a general sense of benevolence relating to the pain, suffering, or death of a person involved in an accident, and made to that person or to the family of that person, shall be inadmissible as evidence in a civil action.  A statement of fault, however, which is part of, or in addition to, any of the above shall not be made inadmissible by this section.

    (2) For purposes of this section:

    (a) "Accident" means an occurrence resulting in injury or death to one or more persons that is not the result of willful action by a party.

    (b) "Benevolent gestures" means actions that convey a sense of compassion or commiseration emanating from humane impulses.

    (c) "Family" means the spouse, parent, grandparent, stepmother, stepfather, child, grandchild, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, adopted child of a parent, or spouse's parents of an injured party.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  Section 1 of this act constitutes a new chapter in Title 5 RCW.

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