FINAL BILL REPORT

SHB 217

                                  C 363 L 87

BYHouse Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Armstrong, Patrick, Hine, Lewis, Locke, Scott, P. King, Wang, Ferguson, Niemi, Ballard and Crane)

Revising various provisions affecting superior courts.

House Committe on Judiciary

Senate Committee on Judiciary

SYNOPSIS AS ENACTED

BACKGROUND:

State law requires superior courts and court clerks to perform administrative duties in the course of performing their judicial function.  Three of these duties are:

(1)  overseeing the settlements of estates, including filing and maintaining documentation on the expenses paid by the personal representative.  Records of those expenses must be kept for six years;

(2)  keeping a record of the daily proceedings of the court and recording all verdicts and other decisions after the judge has signed them; and

(3)  maintaining a trust fund for a litigant or for other purposes.  Other purposes could include child support payments required to go through the court.  Extensive use of trust funds for these support payments would increase recordkeeping for the court clerks and could delay the support payment.

The administrator for the courts, under the supervision of the chief justice of the state supreme court, is given several responsibilities by law to assist in the efficient running of the courts throughout the state.

SUMMARY:

Changes are made in the duties of the superior court clerk.

The period of time that the clerk must keep records on expenses paid by the personal representative in the settlement of an estate is until the completion of the probate and the discharge of the personal representative.

Superior courts are authorized to follow local court rules regarding the recording of daily court proceedings and entering of verdicts and other decisions.  The requirement that all these decisions be signed by a judge is removed.

A superior court clerk is allowed to send child support payments directly to the recipient rather than depositing the check in the court's trust fund.  The court clerk may require that support payments made to the court be certified funds or cash.  In all cases, the clerk must require certified funds or cash from a person for five years after one of his or her checks is returned to the court due to insufficient funds.

The administrator for the courts is required to examine the need for new superior and district court judges based on a weighted caseload analysis.  This analysis compares the workload of different judges and courts.  The results of the examination are to be reviewed by the board for judicial administration and the judicial council, who will then make recommendations to the legislature.  It is the legislature's intent to have a weighted caseload analysis be the basis for creating additional district court positions in the future.

VOTES ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      House 94   1

      Senate    44     0(Senate amended)

      House 97   1(House concurred)

EFFECTIVE:July 26, 1987