Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee
SB 5836
Brief Description: Adding an additional superior court judge in Clark county.
Sponsors: Senators Wilson, L., Cleveland, Dhingra, Frame, Mullet, Padden and Rivers; by request of Administrative Office of the Courts.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Increases the number of statutorily authorized superior court judges in Clark County from 11 to 12. 
Hearing Date: 2/20/24
Staff: Edie Adams (786-7180).
Background:

The number of superior court judges in each county is set by statute.  Any change in the number of full- 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's recommendation is based on an objective workload analysis developed annually by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).  The objective workload analysis takes into account available judicial resources and the caseload activity of the court.

 

The state and the county share the cost for superior court judges.  Benefits and one-half of the salary of a superior court judge are paid by the state.  The other half of the judge's salary and all other costs associated with a judicial position, such as capital and support staff costs, are borne by the county.

 

New superior court judge positions are filled by gubernatorial appointment, and the appointed judge must stand for election at the next general election.

 

Clark County has 11 elected superior court judges.  The eleventh judge position was added in 2020.
Summary of Bill:

The number of statutorily authorized superior court judge positions for Clark County is increased from 11 to 12.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.