Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee
SSB 5575
Brief Description: Adding additional superior court judges in Snohomish county.
Sponsors: Senate Committee on Law & Justice (originally sponsored by Senators Lovick, Robinson, Das, Liias, Nobles, Padden, Salomon, Stanford and Wellman; by request of Administrative Office of the Courts).
Brief Summary of Substitute Bill
  • Creates two additional Superior Court positions for Snohomish County.
  • Requires the Snohomish County legislative authority to document approval and agreement to pay for the additional positions in order for them to become effective.
Hearing Date: 2/22/22
Staff: Matt Sterling (786-7289).
Background:

The number of superior court judges in each county is set by statute.  Any change in the number of full-time and part-time judges in a county's superior court is determined by the Legislature after receiving a recommendation from the Board for Judicial Administration (BJA).  The BJA recommendation is based on an objective workload analysis developed annually by the Administrative Office of the Courts.  The analysis considers available judicial resources and the caseload activity of the court.


Superior court judges and court commissioners hear felony and other criminal matters, civil matters, domestic relations matters, guardianship and probate matters, juvenile matters, and child dependency cases.  Additionally, superior court judges hear appeals from lower courts and appeals from state administrative agencies.


The Washington Constitution provides that the state and county share the cost for superior court judges.  A superior court judge's benefits and one-half of the salary are paid by the state while the county pays the other one-half of the judge's salary.  For an additional judicial position to become effective, the legislative authority of the affected county must approve the position and agree to pay, out of county funds and without reimbursement from the state, expenses associated with the new position.  Snohomish County has 15 Superior Court judges.
Summary of Bill:

Two additional judicial positions are created for Snohomish County, increasing the number of Superior Court judges from 15 to 17.  The additional judicial positions are effective only if the Snohomish County legislative authority documents its approval of the positions and agrees to pay for the expenses of the additional positions without compensation from the state.  The positions would then be created on July 1, 2022. 
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.