H-3932              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1712

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Representatives Crane and Todd

Read first time 1/22/86 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.

AN ACT Relating to non-English speaking persons; adding a new section to chapter 46.61 RCW; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 46.61 RCW to read as follows:

          Any non-English speaking person arrested for a violation of RCW 46.61.502 or 46.61.504 need not be advised of the right to counsel pursuant to JCrR 2.11(c) until such time as an interpreter is obtained to assure proper advisement in the arrested person's native language.  Law enforcement personnel shall take reasonable steps to obtain the services of a qualified interpreter within a practical period of time.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.