HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 1857
As Reported by House Committee On:
Civil Rights & Judiciary
Title: An act relating to making technical corrections and removing obsolete language from the Revised Code of Washington pursuant to RCW 1.08.025.
Brief Description: Making technical corrections and removing obsolete language from the Revised Code of Washington pursuant to RCW 1.08.025.
Sponsors: Representatives Goodman and Abbarno; by request of Statute Law Committee.
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Civil Rights & Judiciary: 1/11/22, 1/14/22 [DP].
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Makes technical corrections to various provisions of the Revised Code of Washington.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON CIVIL RIGHTS & JUDICIARY
Majority Report: Do pass.Signed by 14 members:Representatives Hansen, Chair; Simmons, Vice Chair; Gilday, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Abbarno, Davis, Entenman, Goodman, Kirby, Klippert, Orwall, Peterson, Thai, Valdez and Walen.
Minority Report: Without recommendation.Signed by 3 members:Representatives Walsh, Ranking Minority Member; Graham, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Ybarra.
Staff: Yelena Baker (786-7301).
Background:

Inaccuracies in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) may occur in a variety of ways.  Sections may be repealed, recodified, or amended in a way that changes their internal numbering, and references to these sections or subsections in other provisions of the code then become incorrect.  A bill may change a particular term and references to these terms in other provisions of the code become inaccurate, or drafting and typographical errors may be made in the drafting process.
 
In addition, two or more bills may amend the same section of the RCW without reference to each other.  These are called "double" or "multiple" amendments.  Usually, there are no substantive conflicts between the multiple amendments, and the amendments may be merged, but sometimes merging multiple amendments may require the restructuring of a section.
 
The Office of the Code Reviser, under the direction of the Statute Law Committee, is authorized to correct certain "manifest errors" in the statutes.  These errors may include such things as mistakes in spelling, or obvious clerical or typographical errors.  The Code Reviser is also authorized to recommend to the Legislature changes regarding deficiencies, conflicts, or obsolete provisions in the RCW.

Summary of Bill:

Technical corrections are made to various provisions of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) that:

  • merge multiple amendments created when sections were amended without reference to other amendments made in the same session;
  • update references to the "department of community, trade, and economic development" with the "department of commerce" in accordance with the renaming of that department by 2009 legislation;
  • add the erroneously omitted expiration date of June 30, 2016, to amendatory language in the section which related to the vocational rehabilitation pilot program and expired on June 30, 2016;
  • repeal the expiration date of July 1, 2013, for amendments to two sections in the chapter related to hospital safety net assessments due to the conflict with the overall chapter expiration date of July 1, 2025, adopted by 2021 legislation;
  • decodify groups that are no longer active, including:  the school bullying and harassment work group, hate crime advisory working group, statewide coordinating committee on sex trafficking, and a task force to review federal 2007 race and ethnicity reporting guidelines;
  • correct in certain sex offense statutes terminology relating to behavioral health disorders, including changing the term "person with a chemical dependency" to "person with a substance use disorder" and "developmentally disabled, mentally disordered" to "a person with a developmental disability or a mental disorder";
  • update a reference to a federal law which was reclassified and renumbered in 2017; and
  • change the term "apartment" to "lot" in a section of the Homeowners' Associations Act.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) This is the annual technical corrections bill requested by the Statute Law Committee.  The bill makes truly technical nonsubstantive corrections to the Revised Code of Washington. 

 

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Roger Goodman, prime sponsor.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.